Book Review and Giveaway ~ Alex Cross's Trial by James Patterson!

A James Patterson novel is guaranteed high-suspense and thrilling drama but Alex Cross's Trial far exceeds any reader's regular expectations. Riveting, and powerful this novel is strikingly frightening because it relates a true history of terror... the terror instilled by the Ku Klux Klan in the deep south during the early 1900s! The emotions evoked by the descriptions of the fear of the times and the lynchings, which had become rampant, rip at one's human fibre and invoke images so vivid and emotionally charged that you feel as allies to the characters, drawn to read on!


Detective Alex Cross, Patterson's beloved hero, recounts the story told to him by his grandmother by writing a novel entitled TRIAL. The story is of his great-uncle Abraham Cross, his bravery and courage as he struggles against the rising renewal of the Ku Klux Klan. It is also the story of a young white attorney, Ben Corbett, whose mission it is to pull back the curtain which the country had drawn over the reality of the torturous and inhumane behaviours of the Ku Klux Klan.

Returning to his childhood home of Eudora, Mississippi, Ben discovers the town he once thought of as idyllic is not as he remembered and shadows are cast upon the people he once thought of as trustworthy friends. He soon learns misplacing his trust could possibly cost him his life! One person he can trust is Abraham Cross and his daughter Moody, residents of the Eudora's black quarter where living in fear is now commonplace and no one is safe from the wrath of the KKK.

Abraham and Ben fight against all odds to end the terror but it is not until Ben recalls the words of Samuel Clemens {Mark Twain} that he realizes what he must do:

"No mob has any sand in the presence of a man known to be splendidly brave. When I was a boy, I saw a brave gentleman deride and insult a mob, and drive it away.
This would lead one to think that perhaps the remedy for lynchings is to station a brave man in each affected community. But where shall these brave men be found? That is indeed a difficulty. There are not three hundred of them on the earth." (Patterson 2009:158)

Alex Cross's Trial is a fast paced read filled with emotion driven suspense! It reads like a movie and--following in the footsteps of so many other James Patterson novels which have gone before it--should be made into a feature motion picture. Whether you are already a fan of Patterson's character Alex Cross or you have never heard of him this is a gripping tale you don't want to miss!
Five Northern Mama readers will not be disappointed when they receive their copies of Alex Cross's Trial by James Patterson and Richard Dilallo.
Watch for my upcoming review of James Patterson's non-fiction The Murder of King Tut!

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Giveaway open to US and Canadian residents. Giveaway closes September 8th, 2009 10:00pm CT. For further details read General Giveaway Rules.