I love the series but the story was being dragged. There was no actions in the deaths. I am still curious who was the Wolf's informant?..

Alex Cross, psychologist, former Washington DC detective, and current FBI special envoy, finds himself in new territory in this 10th book of the series. A terrorist has demonstrated the ability to use some sort of massive bomb to wipe out entire cities. It can happen at any time, anywhere in the world. So far, he has limited it to small, mostly evacuated towns but it is clear he has the power, and the organization to unleash his anger anywhere he wants.

Clues point to the “Wolf”, a largely unknown mastermind of destruction that crossed paths with Alex in the previous book, [b:The Big Bad Wolf|6588|The Big Bad Wolf (Alex Cross, #9)|James Patterson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388328154l/6588._SY75_.jpg|1877371]. But to add to the mayhem, another foe from the past also puts in an appearance: the “Weasel” ([b:Pop Goes the Weasel|13143|Pop Goes the Weasel (Alex Cross, #5)|James Patterson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1409590172l/13143._SY75_.jpg|2471943]). So not one, but two Superbadies for Alex Cross to chase down. And of course, he must contend with his own personal life as well, juggling having to keep his kids safe while pursuing potential love interests.

I really enjoy a good bad guy. Or even two. When a bad guy is so well drawn that we know where they’re coming from and what motivates them, then we know we're in for a fun read. We almost come to believe in their cause as well, even when we know where they will end up. Unfortunately, that’s not the case here. The Weasel seems added to this book only because his story hadn’t ended yet and the author didn’t want to just let him go. Here, he comes across as much more of a lackey or just plain thug than he did in his own story way back in book number 5. As for the Wolf, we get a lot of him randomly blowing things up and we come to understand he is a true psychopath because he has absolutely no feelings of remorse for his actions…but that’s about it. It’s frustrating for Alex Cross (and the reader) because the Wolf is so elusive that none of the world’s premier police organizations can find a single clue as to who he is or how to catch him. The man literally has the leading world governments including the US, UK, France, Israel, Germany, and others bowing to his demands. Cross is reduced to traipsing around the world after the Wolf has struck, only to be left clueless until near the end of the novel.

The book is written with James Patterson’s well-recognized style of rapid action and lots of dialog. There are no boring bits to wade through and as such, it’s a fairly quick read for its length. As to the Wolf’s identity, there were so many plot twists in the last 20 pages, it was a bit confusing.

Despite the flaws, these Alex Cross books still have that “what happens next?” feeling. The first few novels were quite good, but the quality has certainly tapered off. I will read more at some point (because I have them on my shelves) but I can’t really recommend this series to others at this point.

The next Alex Cross adventure fits perfectly with the previous book. Alex is still hunting for the Wolf, and comes across another familiar killer.

All the while, Alex is still struggling with him family life, finding that maybe the FBI isn’t all he thought. Everyone begins to suffer and while Alex tries to finally catch a couple killers, he’s watching his kids grow up without him.

I really enjoyed this Alex Cross novel. They seem to keep getting better as the characters develop and the conflict continues to ebb and flow with Alex’s life. I’m speeding through these final books to catch up to the present. The newest titles and releases have me very curious as to what Patterson has up his sleeve for Cross but if it’s anything like the past, I’m sure it’s going to be amazing.