Part of Alex Cross, book 14
First published 2008
Detective Alex Cross faces his worst crime scene when killers massacre his friend Ellie Cox and her family. The brutal murders point Cross toward a new type of criminal operating in Washington's Nigerian underworld. Cross and his girlfriend Brianna Stone track the violence to a gang of teenage killers controlled by a ruthless leader known as The Tiger. This organized crew escalates their killing spree across the capital while Cross struggles to understand their methods. When The Tiger vanishes from Washington, Cross makes a choice that separates him from his partner and his backup. He follows the killer to Nigeria alone. Cross arrives in Lagos to find a country where his police authority means nothing. The Tiger controls territory here and threatens Cross from every direction. Cross must rely on survival instincts rather than detective work as he navigates a place where violence operates by different rules. The pursuit becomes personal as Cross realizes he has entered The Tiger's home ground without protection or allies.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, action
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Lagos, Nigeria, Washington DC
Period: 21st-century
406 pages · Hardcover · Little, Brown and Company
Content warnings: graphic-violence, murder