Return of the Spider: An Alex Cross Thriller

Return of the Spider by James Patterson is the thirty-fourth book in the Alex Cross series/franchise and was published in October 2025. Many Alex Cross fans will automatically recognise the references to the Spider and the evil that was Gary Murphy known as Gary Soneji.The New Jersey Police have called the Chief Kane at Metro PD asking for the presence of Alex Cross and his partner John Sampson. They both need to get to New Jersey as quickly as possible but are not given the reason why. Which they do.In a hidden cabin, that nobody had anything to do with had been bought at auction and the grounds, the land around the building is giving up bodies. But Alex Cross is taken down to the basement to a specially created room, where there are multiple trophies taken from murder victims. Cross is handed a book, Soneji’s murder diary and all the cases that he and Sampson had investigated over the years which had seen him sent to jail.As Cross reads the diary everyone is outside looking for more bodies, while he is being sent back over thirty years to when he and Sampson began their careers in Homicide. It is not long before Cross realises that he and his partner are also victims of Soneji. As he reads his mind travels back to their first case and the successes, they had in breaking it wide open. Cross is sick to the stomach.Patterson and Alex Cross are back on form, at last!

What an incredible read going back in time to a character who was a serial killer way back when Alex Crosses career as a detective started. A real page turner read in a day. Look forward to what follows next for this incredible character we know so well especially if we’ve ready every book he’s in which I have.

Amazing writing by PattersonLoved this and can’t wait for the next oneAlways read Alex cross and Michael BennettThanks

Excellent

Mr Patterson you have really knocked it out of the park this time. A magnificent book with many twists and turns.