• LONDON BRIDGES /James Patterson

I

f you haven’t checked on James Patterson’s Dr. Alex Cross since the early books “Along Came a Spider” and “Kiss the Girls,” or the films starring Morgan Freeman of the same names, things have changed, somewhat. Then, Cross and Patterson dealt primarily with serial killers and murderers. With this 10th book, “London Bridges,” which has been followed by more books in the series, Alex Cross is still dealing with these things but on an international scale where murder and serial killing take on the mantle of terrorism. Here, Cross faces two villains from his past, the mastermind Wolf and the malignant Weasel. Along with the FBI, CIA and a bevy of other feds, Cross races against time as the Wolf threatens to devastate metropolitan cities throughout the Western world. To make his point, the Wolf destroys several bridges, killing thousands in the process. If you haven’t visited Patterson in a while or ever, you can step right into this book without having read any of the earlier novels in the series, though the story likely has added resonance for regular Patterson-Cross followers. For non-Patterson fans, it seems likely that readers could step into any one of these novels and find a satisfying thriller.

Patterson writes in a clean, fast-paced style, of short paragraphs and short chapters that keep the pages turning. Patterson’s is a writing style and plot development likely never earn him to great praise from literary critics, but it is a style that is an art unto itself — one that translates well to the millions who read his books.

“London Bridges” may be falling down and fans of suspense will fall for this book and Alex Cross.