Cross Justice

Alex Cross returns to Starksville, North Carolina for the first time in thirty-five years, drawn back by a cousin's murder accusation that may be tied to the darkest secrets of his own childhood. The investigation in his old hometown, where no one quite welcomes his scrutiny, runs parallel to a series of escalating socialite murders in Florida that pull Cross in opposite directions. Cross Justice is one of the series' most personal novels, forcing Cross to excavate family trauma even as he pursues multiple killers across two states.

Ruben Santiago-Hudson and Jefferson Mays share the narration, with Santiago-Hudson giving the Starksville sections an appropriate tension and Mays handling the Florida storyline and various supporting characters with precision. The Audie Award for Best Thriller and Suspense recognizes what the audio format brings to the Patterson formula, and this is one of the entries where the performance genuinely enhances the reading experience. At under ten hours, it moves efficiently through its multiple plot threads.