Part of Alex Cross, book 30
First published 2022
A killer moves through Washington DC neighborhoods, wiping out entire families without triggering alarms or leaving traces. Detective Alex Cross works the case as bodies pile up across multigenerational households. The murders happen under darkness with surgical precision. No physical evidence remains at any crime scene. A true-crime writer joins the investigation, spotting details the police overlook. The author labels this killer "The Family Man" and calls the murders a perfect crime story. Cross rejects the idea of perfect crimes. He believes investigations should focus on facts, not narratives. The writer sees patterns that could break the case open. Cross must decide whether to trust this outsider's insights. The methodical killer continues selecting families with deadly accuracy. Cross realizes the investigation itself may be part of the killer's design. The line between solving crimes and creating stories begins to blur. Cross faces a opponent who understands both murder and media.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, thriller, detective, action
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: cat-and-mouse, perfect-crime, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Washington DC
416 pages · Hardcover · Little, Brown and Company
Content warnings: murder, violence