I’m not sure how many people in my generation (I prefer X-ennial over geriatric millennial) even know who Charles Lindbergh was, let alone what happened to his kid. But you can learn all about it in this thriller in which a character has somewhat of an obsession with the Lindbergh Baby kidnapping…
Along Came a Spider (Alex Cross #1)
Author: James Patterson
Format: Audiobook
Length: 11 hours (approx)
Read by: Taye Diggs
Originally Published: February 1, 1993
Original Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
View on Goodreads
Date Completed: May 22, 2024
My rating: 
Thoughts
I first read this book years ago after seeing the 2001 movie adaptation starring Morgan Freeman as Alex Cross. I didn’t realize, but it was the first of two movie adaptations although the book, Kiss the Girls, was the second book of the series. So, as I’m wont to do, I read the book and thoroughly enjoyed it (from what I remember). This year, I decided I wanted to start working my way through the Alex Cross series, so I checked out this audiobook on Libby or Hoopla or something and got to listening!
This book is packed with twists and turns and whodunits… it’s got it all!
First and foremost, Dr. Alex Cross is brought to life in this novel. He’s a Washington DC police detective and psychologist and is called to action here to help find two high-profile missing children. But it goes way beyond that. He works with a Secret Service agent, Jezzie Flanagan, who he ends up having, uh, quite the relationship with. Together, they work to find Gary Soneji, a Lindbergh Baby enthusiast, who wants to commit the crime of the century.
I really don’t want to get too spoilery here, because whether you want to read the book or just watch the movie, there’s plenty of twists to make your head spin. And some of them almost seem like they come out of left field. Which is part of the reason I dropped my rating by a star. I wouldn’t exactly say there was too much going on, but there sure was a lot packed into this novel.
Regarding this audiobook version, I liked Taye Diggs well enough, but he didn’t really vary the voices enough for me. He was clear, had good pacing, and was easy to understand. But sometimes it was difficult to know who was talking based solely on the voice.
Overall, I gave this 4 out of 5 stars. It’s a really good first entry to a series. Alex Cross, John Sampson, Nana Mama, and of course Gary Soneji are introduced and characterized well. I’m excited to dive into further entries in the Alex Cross saga!
