Discover the Penguin books that shaped us

Alex Cross

by23 books in this series
Book cover of Jack and Jill by James Patterson

Jack and Jill

Detective Alex Cross is stretched to breaking point as two killers hit Washington, DC

A controversial senator is found murdered in his bed. On the other side of town, a young girl has been savagely killed. Under pressure to solve both cases, Cross is faced with an impossible choice.

No one in Washington is safe, but can Cross discover the truth before the killers set their sights on their ultimate target?
Book cover of Merry Christmas, Alex Cross by James Patterson

Merry Christmas, Alex Cross

On the night before Christmas, Detective Alex Cross is at home celebrating with his family. But when Cross's phone rings, he knows that this won't be a merry Christmas.

A father has taken his children and ex-wife hostage. Armed to the teeth and high on crystal meth, the man is dangerously unstable. The lives of everyone in that house are hanging by a thread.

As this suburban nightmare is unfolding, another far greater threat is approaching. It will be a terrorist attack on a scale never before seen in Washington, DC, and when nobody expects it.
Book cover of Alex Cross's Trial by James Patterson

Alex Cross's Trial

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'No one gets this big without amazing natural storytelling talent - which is what Jim has, in spades. The Alex Cross series proves it.' LEE CHILD, international bestselling author of the Jack Reacher series
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The fifteenth novel in the bestselling Alex Cross series

Detective Alex Cross delves deep into the past - to a story passed down through his family, of a courageous fight for freedom...

Alex Cross is one of the nation's foremost detectives. But fighting for justice runs in the family, and it's time for Cross to tell the story that was passed down to him from his grandmother - the story of his great-uncle Abraham.

Ben Corbett is lawyer to the underprivileged and downtrodden in 1900s Washington, DC. Out of the blue, President Theodore Roosevelt invites Ben to the White House, asking him to investigate a resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan in Ben's own home town.

Ben returns to Mississippi, and there he meets Abraham Cross and his granddaughter, Moody. Abraham and Moody reveal to Ben the hidden side of this sleepy Southern town, where the Black community lives in constant fear.

In a battle against entrenched hatred, what sacrifices will need to be made to break this reign of terror?
Book cover of Deadly Cross by James Patterson

Deadly Cross

The twenty-eighth novel in the bestselling Alex Cross series

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'No one gets this big without amazing natural storytelling talent - which is what Jim has, in spades. The Alex Cross series proves it.' LEE CHILD, international bestselling author of the Jack Reacher series
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A scandalous double homicide opens the psychological case files on Alex Cross...

When a glamorous socialite and a high school principal are found murdered, the shocking double homicide dominates tabloid headlines.

Detective Alex Cross knew both victims well, especially Kay who had been his patient once. And maybe more.

Alex's former Metro Homicide Partner tracks the slain principal's final movements to Alabama where Alex investigates Kay's past. They discover that although she had many enemies, all of them needed her alive.

The more the investigators push, the more resistance they find, and Alex is left facing a desperate choice between breaking trust and losing his way.
Book cover of The People vs. Alex Cross by James Patterson

The People vs. Alex Cross

The charges: explosive

Alex Cross has never been on the wrong side of the law - until now. Charged with killing in cold blood, Cross is being turned into the poster child for trigger-happy cops.

The evidence: shocking

Cross knows it was self-defense. But, as the case against him builds, even those closest to him begin to doubt his innocence.

The People vs. Alex Cross: the trial of the century

With his whole life and career on the line, if Cross can't convince his own family that he didn't pull the trigger with intent to kill, how can he hope to persuade a jury?
Book cover of Hope to Die by James Patterson

Hope to Die

Detective Alex Cross has lost everything and everyone he's ever cared about.

His enemy, Thierry Mulch, is holding his family hostage. Driven by feelings of hatred and revenge, Mulch is threatening to kill them all, and break Cross for ever.

But Alex Cross is fighting back.

In a race against time, he must defeat Mulch, and find his wife and children - no matter what it takes.

THE END-GAME HAS BEGUN.
Book cover of Return of the Spider by James Patterson

Return of the Spider

'Alex Cross is a legend' HARLAN COBEN

Discover the next book in the globally bestselling Alex Cross series... now the inspiration for the original series CROSS on Prime Video starring Aldis Hodge as Alex Cross.
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Alex Cross thought serial killer Gary Soneji was dead and buried.

But when a hidden cabin reveals a stash of gruesome trophies and diaries, Cross realises the Spider's evil influence has spread wider than he ever thought possible.

The chilling truth soon becomes clear: Cross imprisoned the wrong man.

As he studies the clues, Cross becomes enmeshed in a web of evil designed to ensnare him all along.

Now he must retrace the steps of a long-ago investigation and face…the Return of the Spider.

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PRAISE FOR THE ALEX CROSS SERIES

'Patterson never, and I mean never, disappoints' USA TODAY

'Behind all the noise and the numbers, we shouldn't forget that no one gets this big without amazing natural storytelling talent - which is what Jim has, in spades. The Alex Cross series proves it' LEE CHILD

'Alex Cross ... only gets better and better' LISA SCOTTOLINE

'I wrote, "Along Came a Spider is the best thriller I've come across in many a year. It deserves to be this season's no. 1 bestseller and should instantly make James Patterson a household name." A household name, indeed' NELSON DEMILLE

'[Alex Cross] has become one of the greatest fictional detectives of all time, a character for the ages' DOUGLAS PRESTON AND LINCOLN CHILD