Part of Alex Cross, book 17
First published 2010
Detective Alex Cross should be planning his wedding to Bree, but a sniper has other plans for his schedule. The marksman executes a corrupt congressman and a crooked lobbyist with surgical precision, then continues picking off dishonest politicians across Washington D.C. The FBI sends agent Max Siegel to take over the case, creating a jurisdictional battle with Cross as bodies pile up. The killer demonstrates insider knowledge of his targets' movements, suggesting someone with deep Washington connections pulls the trigger. Cross faces mounting pressure from multiple directions when his most dangerous enemy, Kyle Craig, calls with a deadly promise. The Mastermind has returned to the capital with one goal: destroying Cross and his family permanently. Cross must navigate the investigation, his conflict with Siegel, his upcoming wedding, and Craig's lethal threats simultaneously. The sniper case becomes secondary as Cross realizes Craig poses the ultimate threat to everything he holds dear.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, action
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, jurisdictional-battle
Setting: Washington DC
Period: Contemporary
356 pages · Hardcover · Little, Brown and Company
Content warnings: violence