Alex Cross

Alex Cross is a crime, mystery, and thriller novel series written by James Patterson. The protagonist of the series is Alex Cross, an African-American Metropolitan Police Department detective and father who counters threats to his family and to the city of Washington, D.C. Supporting characters include two of Cross's children, Damon and Janelle, as well as his grandmother Nana Mama. The series is usually narrated in first-person perspective by Alex Cross, and occasionally from the villains' point of view in third-person.
The series began in 1993 and is ongoing. Nearly all the stories have made bestsellers lists and garnered favorable reviews, especially Double Cross; Cross Fire; I, Alex Cross; and Alex Cross, Run.
The series is published worldwide, with Little, Brown currently holding publication rights in the United States, in paperback, hardcover, and audiobook editions. The first book in the series, Along Came a Spider, was released in 1993 to positive reviews, spawning a series of over twenty subsequent novels. The series has resulted in three movies, Kiss the Girls (1997), Along Came a Spider (2001), and Alex Cross (2012).
Alex Cross is a widower, detective, and father who fights against criminals who wish to kill Cross and others. It mainly emphasizes Cross trying to solve difficult cases while attempting to maintain 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.
The earlier novels were initially named after children's rhymes, but from 2006 the lead character's name started appearing in the titles.
Novellas
Ali Cross Series
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 negative reviews and poor box-office results.
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, and well-noted, 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.
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.
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.
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.