Jack & Jill

Plot overview

Alex Cross is a widower, detective, and father who fights against criminals who wish to kill Cross and others. The story follows Cross as he attempts to solve difficult cases while maintaining a relationship with his family. One of the antagonists in the earlier books is Gary Soneji, who wants to kill Cross for putting him in prison. Cross sometimes works with (or against) the President and Secret Service in a few books such as Along Came a Spider, Jack & Jill, I, Alex Cross, and Kill Alex Cross. An ongoing theme in the earlier novels is the unsolved murder of his first wife, Maria.

Characters

Alex Cross, the main character of the series. Born Alexander Isaiah Cross, he has a Ph.D. in Psychology from Johns Hopkins University and has worked for both the Washington, D.C. Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation. His mother died of cancer and he thought his father was dead as well. His wife was murdered by an assassin, which leaves Cross a widower with two children and his grandmother, Nana Mama. In the first few books he is alone until he meets and falls in love with a woman named Christine, with whom he has a third child — a boy — named Alex Jr or Ali. During the books Cross is hunted by a criminal/threat in Washington, D.C., where he lives, which causes Christine to leave him out of fear. He is a detective who tries to be as close to his family as can be. After Christine left him, Alex later started dating again, but some of the women have either died or left him over the course of the novels. By the novel Cross, Alex discovers that an assassin named Jimmy Hats Galati, murdered his wife and was killed by his best friend, John Sampson, who didn't want Alex to go down the road of revenge. Now having solved the murder of his wife, Alex finds the will to move on with his life, finding peace for the first time. In the newest books, he begins a relationship with Bree Stone, whom he eventually marries. Since Roses Are Red up to Cross Fire, The Mastermind, Kyle Craig, has been his primary enemy. It is unknown exactly why Craig wants to kill Alex however. Craig is to have supposedly died in Cross Fire. Cross allows the adopted girl, Ava (after Nana Mama finds her in Kill Alex Cross), to live with his family. Alex marries Bree in Cross Fire and is finally at peace with her. He has had three major love interests throughout the series, Maria Cross (his deceased wife), Christine Johnson (his ex-girlfriend, whom he'd been engaged to), and Bree (his current wife). He has been friends with Sampson since he was 10, meaning they've been friends since he first arrived in Washington, D.C. In Alex Cross, Run, Alex faces several cases and his life becomes severely complicated. When Ava is murdered, he finds her killer and avenges her death along with Bree. However, he still faces several issues: problems with his new wife, Bree; what he will do after Ava's death and whether he will continue being a detective; if he may have children with Bree; and if he will ever stop having to face the recurring problem in his life - endangering himself and his family all the time. Finally, his shrink says she will help him deal with his life for as long as it takes.

John Sampson, is Cross's best friend since childhood and also his partner. Sampson, in Cross is known to have killed Jimmy Hats Galati, Alex's deceased wife's killer. John explains that he didn't want to see Jimmy get away with murdering Alex's wife and also didn't want to see Alex go down a road of revenge and had decided to avenge Alex's wife for him. In another book, Double Cross he is taken hostage while trying to solve the case with Cross's new love interest, Brianna Stone. In earlier books, the first few, he is seen to have had been in love with Nina Childs, who dies in Pop Goes the Weasel causing him to vow to find the killer and get him. In Along Came a Spider some background history is told, one being that when Alex moved to Washington, D.C., after his parents' death (and his move with grandmother Nana Mama) he instantly became friends with Alex. They were known for robbing grocery stores when they were teenagers. Sampson got married in Four Blind Mice to a woman, who he fell in love with, named Billie, despite his reluctance since he is afraid of being a father because his parents were so horrible. It is said that Billie is first and only girl that he has ever had sex with. In Alex Cross, Run Sampson informs Alex that Ava has been killed and later assists Bree and Alex in avenging Ava's death.

Notable antagonists

Kyle Craig/The Mastermind, the main antagonist of the series. He is first introduced in the earlier novels, but doesn't become an actual villain until Roses Are Red where he robs the bank and goes on a killing spree while trying to kill Cross. He is stopped by Cross in the following book Violets Are Blue and is put into prison. In Double Cross he escapes from prison and begins a new massacre while another murderer, known as DCAK begins a new reign of terror, and runs away. He gives a taunting phone call, foreshadowing his return, in I, Alex Cross and he in fact does return in Cross Fire in which he disguises himself as Max Siegel and tries to kill Alex again. He once again fails and, shortly before going to prison again, picks up an officer's gun and kills himself—as well as two officers—by shooting a gas tank. He was once an FBI agent and friend of Alex, but was later explained to have always been a murderer. He had killed his abusive father, presumably killed one of his brothers, and later killed his mother. In Violets Are Blue several things are explained about Craig: in Kiss the Girls he went to college and killed with the villains; he is presumably an atheist, believing he is second to no one; he wants to kill Alex because he wants to prove to himself that he is truly smarter than Cross—but his reason is later changed to be for ruining Kyle's life by sending him to prison. He is described as a "woman hater" despite possibly having a crush on Kate McTiernan in Kiss the Girls. Craig helps Alex on several cases since the first book and even offers Alex a job at the FBI at one-point, which Alex accepts after Kyle is arrested. Kyle is briefly seen in the films Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider. In the new novel, Double Cross, Kyle escapes from prison and murders a few people while on the loose, with his mother being one of the victims. At the end of the novel, he is still at large, despite being wounded by Alex and his girlfriend, Bree Stone. Kyle makes another full return in Cross Fire, where he takes the identity of Max Siegel by plastic surgery. He uses his new identity to gain the trust of Alex once more before revealing himself at the end of the novel. He engages in a final fight with Alex and his wife, Bree Stone, where he is wounded and arrested. Not wanting to go back to prison, Kyle kills himself by shooting an oxygen tank.

Gary Soneji/The Son of Lindbergh: is the main antagonist of Along Came a Spider, where he kidnaps two children from rich families and is captured later on. He meets Alex for the first time and promises to kill him in the nearby future. He is sent to prison by the end of the book and is still there in Kiss the Girls. However, he escapes in Jack & Jill and later calls Alex by the end, promising to see him soon. In the fourth book Cat and Mouse he tries to kill Cross (as well as a man who had raped him in prison), but is killed when he tries to throw a fire grenade but accidentally drops it on himself, burning him alive. Later on in the novel, his friend later attacks Alex as instructions from Soneji. While Kyle Craig is the series' main antagonist, Soneji is Alex's deadliest adversary, and is therefore much more powerful in his own way than the "Mastermind," who is not as deadly as Soneji but is depicted as the main villain. Soneji appears in the movie adaptation Along Came A Spider, but dies in the film (which does not happen in that novel). He also gave the Cross family a cat, Rosie, in Jack and Jill which they keep and start getting attached to - despite Alex's initial hesitant response, thinking the cat to be rigged with a surveillance device of some sort. The cat is thereafter mentioned in most books. Soneji is also seen in two books, and is mentioned in several others.

Book list

The earlier novels were initially named after children's rhymes, but from 2006 the lead character's name started appearing in the titles.

Along Came a Spider (1993, title from line in "Little Miss Muffet"): In the first novel of the series, Gary Soneji poses as a math teacher and kidnaps Maggie Rose Dunne, daughter of famed actress Katherine Dunne, and her best friend.

In 2001, the novel was adapted into a film starring Morgan Freeman as Alex Cross, Monica Potter as Jezzie Flannigan, and Michael Wincott as Soneji.

Kiss the Girls (1995, title taken from line in "Georgie Porgie")

In 1997, the novel was adapted into a film starring Morgan Freeman as Alex Cross and Ashley Judd as Kate McTiernan.

Jack & Jill (1996, title taken from "Jack and Jill" nursery rhyme)

Cat and Mouse (1997)

Pop Goes the Weasel (1999, title taken from "Pop Goes the Weasel" nursery rhyme)

Roses are Red (2000, title taken from "Roses Are Red" poem)

Violets Are Blue (2001, title taken from "Roses Are Red" poem)

Four Blind Mice (2002, title derived from "Three Blind Mice" nursery rhyme)

The Big Bad Wolf (2003, title taken from Big Bad Wolf archetype)

London Bridges (2004, title derived from first line of "London Bridge Is Falling Down" nursery rhyme)

Film adaptations

Overall there have been three theatrical films of the Alex Cross series – Kiss the Girls, Along Came a Spider, and Alex Cross. All met with mixed reviews. The first two movies were financially successful, the third one wasn't.

Films

Two films, based on the first two Cross novels though filmed in reverse order, have been made starring Morgan Freeman (Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider), both released to mixed reactions. Both of them are very loose adaptations of the books, with Along Came a Spider changing many of the plot's elements, while Kiss the Girls changes nearly the entire story's plot, except for the fact that Alex's niece is kidnapped and its primary antagonist is Casanova. A significant change upon the books in the movies is that John Sampson is not white but African-American, like Alex himself. Kyle Craig is briefly seen in Kiss the Girls. Along Came a Spider's adaptation was also changed with the film taking out major plot elements or changing them. For instance, Jezzie Flannagan and Alex Cross are dating in the book, but are described as only friends in the film. Also, the most important changed elements is Gary Soneji dies, which would therefore erase him from any future adaptation of Cat and Mouse, nor does Soneji escape from prison, nor is the trial in court seen or mentioned in the film. A third film was proposed. Pop Goes the Weasel was considered, and a script based on Roses are Red was written, but after Along Came a Spider was panned at the box office, the plans were canceled.

Many years after Along Came a Spider's release, a reboot was revealed to be in the works, set for a 2011 release date. Idris Elba was attached to the film as the role of Alex Cross. It was rumored to be based on I, Alex Cross, but director Rob Cohen denied this, revealing he only titled the film like such so as to tell fans: "their hero was back"; to avoid confusion the film's name was changed to Alex Cross with Tyler Perry replacing Elba. Edward Burns and Matthew Fox were later confirmed to star as Cross's partner, Tommy Kane, and the main antagonist, Picasso. The film was later confirmed to be based on the 12th book in the series, Cross. The film was released on October 19, 2012, to mixed to negative reviews. The film was a minor box office bomb, grossing $34 million against its $35 million budget. Matthew Fox and Tyler Perry were praised for their roles in the film.

A sequel based on Double Cross was in discussion in 2012. Perry was confirmed to reprise his role. However, the film was cancelled after Alex Cross did not perform well at the box office.

Television series

Amazon Studios ordered a television series adaptation titled Cross. Aldis Hodge stars and Ben Watkins serves as showrunner from Paramount Television Studios and Skydance Television. It was released on November 14, 2024.

Release

The book series have been released in paperback and hardcover, while it can be listened to on audio book or excerpts from the series can be read online at the official JamesPatterson.com website or others.

Critical reception

The series has been given mixed to positive reviews, with the exception of the 18th book Kill Alex Cross, which has been given mixed to negative reviews, and Cross Country, which received mixed reviews. Many have criticized Kill Alex Cross while few have given it positive reviews. So far, the most positively-received book is either Double Cross or I, Alex Cross. The series has at numerous times been on the New York Times Bestseller list for several weeks. Double Cross was on the New York Times Bestseller list (at number 1) for numerous weeks before being eventually surpassed.

The film series, however, did not fare well, with all three films garnering a negative reception. The most recent film, Alex Cross, received poor reviews and had an underwhelming performance at the box office. Kiss the Girls was the best-received film in the series.