Alex Cross Must Die

Patterson’s 32nd Alex Cross title (following Cross Down) interweaves three fast-paced narratives. It opens as Dr. Alex Cross and detective John Sampson are in the field, investigating the gruesome murder of a young man who has been shot in both eyes by a suspected serial killer. Then they receive an urgent call from the FBI, informing them that an American Airlines jet has been shot down as it approached the runway at Reagan International Airport. It is soon revealed that a Vietnam War–era machine gun, triggered remotely, brought down the jet, and it appears that Marion Davis, a revered high school football coach with a troubled past, could be involved. Simultaneously, Alex’s wife, Bree, investigates the murder of a track star and the mysterious disappearance of Leigh Anne Asher, a close friend of Bree’s boss. The audiobook’s skilled ensemble of narrators, headed by William Christopher Stephens, excels in breathing life into the cast of characters, convincingly portraying their personalities and speech.