Along Came a Spider (25th Anniversary Edition)

By: James Patterson

Narrated by: Taye Diggs

Length: 11 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Discover the classic thriller that launched the number-one detective series of the past 25 years, now one of PBS's "100 Great American Reads".

Alex Cross is a homicide detective with a PhD in psychology. He works and lives in the ghettos of D. C. and looks like Muhammad Ali in his prime. He's a tough guy from a tough part of town who wears Harris Tweed jackets and likes to relax by banging out Gershwin tunes on his baby grand piano. But he also has two adorable kids of his own, and they are his own special vulnerabilities.

Jezzie Flanagan is the first woman ever to hold the highly sensitive job as supervisor of the Secret Service in Washington. Blond, mysterious, and seductive, she's got an outer shell that's as tough as it is beautiful. She rides her black BMW motorcycle at speeds of no less than 100 mph. What is she running from? What is her secret?

Alex Cross and Jezzie Flanagan are about to have a forbidden love affair - at the worst possible time for both of them. Because Gary Soneji, who wants to commit the "crime of the century," is playing at the top of his game. Soneji has outsmarted the FBI, the Secret Service, and the police. Who will be his next victim?

Gary Soneji is every parent's worst nightmare. He has become Alex Cross's nightmare. And now, listener, he's about to become yours.

©1993, 2018 James Patterson (P)2018 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Patterson's storytelling talent is in top form in this grisly escapist yarn." (Library Journal)

"Brilliantly terrifying! So exciting that I had to stay up all night to finish it! Packed with white-knuckle twists." (Daily Mail)

"An incredibly suspenseful read with a one-of-a-kind villain who is as terrifying as he is intriguing." (Clive Cussler)

Not who you think

I love this book. The narrator was awesome. I was easy to get into and stay in tune throughout. This book did not waste any time with capturing my attention. The first chapter went directly into jaw dropping thriller.

Great book, with subpar narration.

You either love Patterson or you don't. I am not one of his biggest fans, but I do enjoy most of his books. This one is one of his best. I did not care for the narration, though. I felt like Tase Diggs just did not get what the author had in mind as he wrote the book. Very disconnected.

Good story - terrible narrator

The narrator sounds like he’s reading the book for the first time. Robotic with no emotion. It was so terrible, I had a hard time focusing on the story which was evidently really good.

Liked the storyline, bad narrator

It took me awhile to get into this audiobook. Not because of the story but because of the way the narrator read the book. It sounded more like a teenager reading instead of fluid dialogue. I probably won’t listen to another book with this narrator.

along came a spider

The story is great, however the reading was just one toned. there was times that you didn't not realize a different character was talking.

As usual I love his writing

Great story line with lots of twists and turns I knew I would love it and I did.

awesome listen!

Excellent book. will definitely continue this series. very gripping the whole time. probably the fastest I've ever finished a book.

Fun and Intense, Not PG

This is my first Alex Cross book and it was fun, intense, dark and sometimes tough to hear (because of the violence), but that made the stakes higher. Narrator was great

good listen, steady action and suspense

I enjoyed listening to the book. The detective mystery wasn't something that exactly warranted guessing whodunnit, but more of a suspenseful action storyline. A great bit of escapist fiction which is good to while away the hours.

Great Listen

Storyline - B+
Narrator - B+
Editing - C

Story had me in the fog for a while, figured out some of the surprises early which kind of deflated the ending.