Alex Cross is a crime , mystery , and thriller novel series written by James Patterson . The protagonist of the series is Alex Cross, an African-American Metropolitan Police Department detective and father who counters threats to his family and to the city of Washington, D.C. Supporting characters include two of Cross's children, Damon and Janelle, as well as his grandmother Nana Mama. The series is usually narrated in first-person perspective by Alex Cross, and occasionally from the villains' point of view in third-person.
51-455: James Brendan Patterson (born March 22, 1947) is an American author. Among his works are the Alex Cross , Michael Bennett , Women's Murder Club , Maximum Ride , Daniel X , NYPD Red , Witch & Wizard , Private and Middle School series, as well as many stand-alone thrillers, non-fiction, and romance novels. Patterson's books have sold more than 425 million copies, and he
102-695: A Wall Street Journal interview, "He's taken shots at me for years. It's fine, but my approach is to do the opposite with him—to heap praise." Legal thriller writer Lisa Scottoline said in a review of Patterson's Kill Alex Cross , "They used to say that 50 million Elvis Presley fans couldn't be wrong, and James Patterson makes 50 million fans look like a good start. He has sold more than 230 million books, and his fans aren't wrong, either." In 2013, Patterson took out ads titled "Who Will Save Our Books? Our Bookstores? Our Libraries?" in Publishers Weekly and The New York Times Book Review , which employed
153-633: A 10th Nikki Heat book was announced. Crashing Heat was published by Kingswell, a division of Disney Books, on March 12, 2019, almost three years after the TV series ended. In February 2012, Hyperion announced three e-book novellas as part of Richard Castle's famous Derrick Storm series. The first novella of the series, A Brewing Storm , was released in digital media on May 1, 2012. It debuted at No. 13 on The New York Times E-Book Fiction Best Seller list, as well as No. 18 on The New York Times Combine Prints & E-book Fiction list on May 20, 2012. On July 3, 2012,
204-532: A Spider ' s release, a reboot was revealed to be in the works, set for a 2011 release date. Idris Elba was attached to the film as the role of Alex Cross. It was rumored to be based on I, Alex Cross , but director Rob Cohen denied this, revealing he only titled the film like such so as to tell fans: "their hero was back"; to avoid confusion the film's name was changed to Alex Cross with Tyler Perry replacing Elba. Edward Burns and Matthew Fox were later confirmed to star as Cross's partner, Tommy Kane, and
255-468: A best-selling mystery novelist, and Kate Beckett ( Stana Katic ), a homicide detective, as they solve various unusual crimes in New York City . Detective Beckett is initially infuriated at the thought of working with a writer and goes to great lengths to keep him out of her way. However, the two soon start developing feelings for each other. The overarching plot of the series focused on the romance between
306-448: A brand that focuses on making money than an artist who focuses on his craft. In an interview for USA Weekend , Stephen King said Patterson was "a terrible writer but he's very successful." King also implied, when asked on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert about how many hours it takes him to write a book, that Patterson needed only 12 hours for two books, noting he and Patterson had "a mutual respect—sort of." Patterson said of King in
357-479: A first-look deal with Entertainment One . In June 2022, Patterson set off a controversy when he said in an interview that older white males find it difficult to find work in film, theater, television and publishing, and that the problem is "just another form of racism." Patterson's publishing house, Hachette, has a workforce that is 65% white and 78% of senior positions are filled by whites. Following publication of data confirming that white males are overrepresented in
408-419: A former U.S. president can offer. Patterson has often said that collaborating with others brings new and interesting ideas to his stories. Of his process, Patterson has said that he is simply more proficient at dreaming up plots than crafting sentence after sentence. In September 2009, Patterson signed a deal to write or co-write 11 books for adults and six for young adults by the end of 2012. Forbes reported
459-419: A job as an advertising executive at J. Walter Thompson . After Patterson retired from advertising in 1996, he devoted his time to writing. Patterson later said that his greatest influence was probably Evan S. Connell 's 1959 debut novel Mrs. Bridge . In 1976, Patterson published his first novel, The Thomas Berryman Number. The novels featuring his character Alex Cross , a forensic psychologist formerly of
510-825: A ninth season, on May 12, 2016, it was announced that the show would be canceled instead; the final episode aired on May 16, 2016. On October 6, 2021, every episode became available on Hulu . In June 2011, TNT acquired exclusive cable rights from Disney-ABC Domestic Television to air the first two seasons of Castle beginning in the summer of 2012. In advance of the series' fourth season, TNT broadcast an eight-hour marathon of episodes on September 15, 2011, including five from season 3. Castle began airing on TNT every Wednesday beginning September 26, 2012. Castle also began airing in broadcast syndication on weekends beginning September 29, 2012. Castle joined Ion Television 's lineup, starting on July 5, 2011. The series joined Lifetime lineup beginning on October 5, 2021. In
561-547: A relationship with his family. One of the antagonists in the earlier books is Gary Soneji, who wants to kill Cross for putting him in prison. Cross sometimes works with (or against) the President and Secret Service in a few books such as Along Came a Spider , Jack & Jill , I, Alex Cross , and Kill Alex Cross . An ongoing theme in the earlier novels is the unsolved murder of his first wife, Maria. The earlier novels were initially named after children's rhymes, but from 2006
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#1732844231703612-483: A single author – 67 – which is also a Guinness World Record . His novels account for one in 17, roughly 6%, of all hardcover novels sold in the United States; as of 2010, Patterson's novels had in recent years sold more copies than those of Stephen King , John Grisham , and Dan Brown combined. His books have sold approximately 305 million copies worldwide. In 2008, Patterson replaced Jacqueline Wilson as
663-545: A total of 24 episodes. On May 10, 2013, ABC announced via Twitter that Castle had been renewed for a sixth season. On May 8, 2014, ABC renewed the series for a seventh season, which premiered on September 29, 2014. On May 7, 2015, the series was renewed for its eighth season, which premiered on September 21, 2015. On April 18, 2016, ABC and ABC Productions announced that Stana Katic and Tamala Jones would not return for Castle ' s ninth season, should it be renewed. Despite several other cast members having signed on for
714-448: A variety of co-authors, such as J.D. Barker , Candice Fox , Maxine Paetro , Andrew Gross , Mark Sullivan , Ashwin Sanghi , Michael Ledwidge , and Peter de Jonge . In May 2017, it was announced that Patterson would also co-author a crime fiction book with former U.S. President Bill Clinton . Patterson said the novel, The President Is Missing , would provide a level of detail that only
765-607: A year apart. A fourth novel, titled Frozen Heat , was released on September 11, 2012, and debuted on The New York Times Best Seller list at No. 7 on September 23, 2012. The fifth Nikki Heat novel Deadly Heat was released September 17, 2013 and debuted at No. 8 on The New York Times Best Seller list. Raging Heat , the sixth novel, was released on September 16, 2014. It landed on No. 6 on The New York Times Hardcover Fiction Best Seller list and on No. 17 on The New York Times Combined Print and E-Book Fiction bestseller list on October 5, 2014. The seventh novel, Driving Heat ,
816-475: Is Gary Soneji dies, which would therefore erase him from any future adaptation of Cat and Mouse , nor does Soneji escape from prison, nor is the trial in court seen or mentioned in the film. A third film was proposed. Pop Goes the Weasel was considered, and a script based on Roses are Red was written, but after Along Came a Spider was panned at the box office, the plans were canceled. Many years after Along Came
867-686: Is brought in by the New York Police Department for questioning regarding a copycat murder based on one of his novels, where he meets and becomes intrigued by Detective Kate Beckett (Katic), the officer assigned to the case. Castle is inspired to take Beckett as his muse for Nikki Heat, the main character of his next book series, and uses his friendship with the mayor to pressure the police to let him shadow Beckett. Castle's exuberant personality clashes with Beckett's more reserved and professional demeanor. However, as Beckett begins to appreciate Castle's assistance in helping her catch killers,
918-601: Is either Double Cross or I, Alex Cross . The series has at numerous times been on the New York Times Bestseller list for several weeks. Double Cross was on the New York Times Bestseller list (at number 1) for numerous weeks before being eventually surpassed. The film series, however, did not fare well, with all three films garnering a negative reception. The most recent film, Alex Cross , received poor reviews and had an underwhelming performance at
969-671: Is hosted by Ning . The website is inspired by methods Patterson used with his own son, Jack, who had been a reluctant reader. Patterson has also set up the James Patterson Teacher Education Scholarship in the schools of education at Appalachian State University , Michigan State University , Florida Atlantic University , and the University of Florida . Patterson also runs the College Book Bucks scholarship program. Recently, his JP Entertainment company signed
1020-469: The USA TODAY Best-Selling Books list. The season three finale introduced a graphic novel based on Castle's previous novel character, Derrick Storm. Castle: Richard Castle's Deadly Storm was published by Marvel Comics on September 28, 2011. It debuted at No. 3 on The New York Times Best Seller list on October 16, 2011. This has been followed by three more graphic novels, published
1071-531: The American Library Association , told the Tampa Bay Times she was writing Patterson a thank-you letter. In 2017, digital humanities scholars Simon Fuller and James O'Sullivan published research showing that Patterson does not do much actual writing when collaborating with other authors. O'Sullivan writes: "Patterson is all about story... 'author', in its widely accepted sense, isn't always
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#17328442317031122-451: The Girls and Along Came a Spider ), both released to negative reaction. Both of them are very loose adaptations of the books, with Along Came a Spider changing many of the plot's elements, while Kiss the Girls changes nearly the entire story's plot, except for the fact that Alex's niece is kidnapped and its primary antagonist is Casanova. A significant, and well-noted, change upon the books in
1173-513: The James Patterson Pledge with Scholastic Book Clubs to put books in the hands of young readers. Alex Cross (novel series) The series began in 1993 and is ongoing. Nearly all the stories have made bestsellers lists and garnered favorable reviews, especially Double Cross ; Cross Fire ; I, Alex Cross ; and Alex Cross, Run . The series is published worldwide, with Little, Brown currently holding publication rights in
1224-544: The United States, in paperback, hardcover, and audiobook editions. The first book in the series, Along Came a Spider , was released in 1993 to positive reviews, spawning a series of over twenty subsequent novels. The series has resulted in three movies, Kiss the Girls (1997), Along Came a Spider (2001), and Alex Cross (2012). Alex Cross is a widower, detective, and father who fights against criminals who wish to kill Cross and others. It mainly emphasizes Cross trying to solve difficult cases while attempting to maintain
1275-482: The Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation who now works as a private psychologist and government consultant, are his most popular and the top-selling U.S. detective series of the 2010s. Patterson has written more than 200 novels since 1976. Patterson has had more than 114 New York Times bestselling novels, and holds The New York Times record for most #1 New York Times bestsellers by
1326-521: The Year. He is the first author to have No. 1 new titles simultaneously on The New York Times adult and children's bestsellers lists, and to have two books on NovelTrackr's top-ten list at the same time. In 2019, Patterson was awarded a National Humanities Medal . He appeared on the Fox TV show The Simpsons (in the episode " Yokel Chords ") and in various episodes of Castle as himself. Patterson works with
1377-713: The backstories of supporting characters like Detectives Javier Esposito and Kevin Ryan, Medical Examiner Lanie Parish, Captain Roy Montgomery, and Captain Victoria Gates, through multiple episodes. Real-life writers Stephen J. Cannell , James Patterson , Dennis Lehane , and Michael Connelly appear as themselves during periodic games of poker at Castle's apartment. Typically, they discuss Castle and Beckett's current case and tease Castle about his involvement with Beckett. Following Cannell's death on September 30, 2010, an empty chair
1428-448: The box office. Kiss the Girls was the best-received film in the series. Castle (TV series) Castle is an American crime mystery / comedy-drama television series that aired on ABC for a total of eight seasons from March 9, 2009, to May 16, 2016. The series was produced jointly by Beacon Pictures and ABC Studios . Created by Andrew W. Marlowe , it primarily traces the lives of Richard Castle ( Nathan Fillion ),
1479-417: The combined Prints & E-book list on August 26, 2012. Castle: Never Judge a Book by its Cover was released on July 9, 2013. The game was available on Steam and could be downloaded on most mobile devices. It is no longer available for download. Players work with Castle and Beckett to find clues and stop a serial killer. On August 20, 2014, ABC announced that the early development stage had begun on
1530-651: The deal was worth at least $ 150 million, but according to Patterson, the estimate was inaccurate. Patterson founded the James Patterson PageTurner Awards in 2005 to donate over $ 100,000 that year to people, companies, schools, and other institutions that find original and effective ways to spread the excitement of books and reading. The PageTurner Awards were put on hold in 2008 to focus on Patterson's new initiative, ReadKiddoRead.com, which assists parents, teachers, and librarians in finding books for their children. The social networking site for ReadKiddoRead
1581-504: The episode order to 24. On January 10, 2011, ABC announced Castle had been renewed for a fourth season for 22 episodes. Season four premiered on September 19, 2011. On December 8, 2011, ABC ordered an additional episode bringing season 4 up to 23 episodes. On May 10, 2012, Castle was renewed for a fifth season by ABC, which started on Monday September 24, 2012. Two additional episodes were ordered on October 19, 2012, and February 5, 2013, respectively, which brought season 5 up to
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1632-473: The lead character's name started appearing in the titles. Novellas Ali Cross Series Overall there have been three theatrical films of the Alex Cross series - Kiss the Girls , Along Came a Spider , and Alex Cross . All met with negative reviews and poor box-office results. Two films, based on the first two Cross novels though filmed in reverse order, have been made starring Morgan Freeman ( Kiss
1683-419: The main antagonist, Picasso. The film was later confirmed to be based on the 12th book in the series, Cross . The film was released on October 19, 2012, to mixed to negative reviews. The film was a minor box office bomb, grossing $ 34 million against its $ 35 million budget. Matthew Fox and Tyler Perry were praised for their roles in the film. A sequel based on Double Cross was in discussion in 2012. Perry
1734-626: The most appropriate term for his role within the writing process." O'Sullivan later conducted the same analysis on The President Is Missing , a collaboration between Patterson and Bill Clinton ; here O'Sullivan concludes that Patterson did most of the writing, aside from the end of the novel. In March 2023, Patterson's Maximum Ride series were banned from two elementary school libraries in Florida's Martin County School District and placed in their middle school libraries. Patterson criticized
1785-701: The most borrowed author in Britain's libraries. He retained this position at least until 2013. In 2018, Patterson worked with Stephen David Entertainment on the true crime television series James Patterson's Murder Is Forever . Patterson's awards include the Edgar Award , the BCA Mystery Guild's Thriller of the Year, the International Thriller of the Year award, and the Children's Choice Book Award for Author of
1836-518: The move, calling it a "borderline absurd decision". He encouraged readers to "send a polite note" to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in response to legislation passed to seek community input on school library materials. Patterson and his wife, Susan, live in Palm Beach, Florida in Palm Beach County , Florida . They have a son, Jack, who was born February 8, 1998. In 2015, Patterson established
1887-453: The movies is that John Sampson is not white but African-American, like Alex himself. Kyle Craig is briefly seen in Kiss the Girls . Along Came a Spider' s adaptation was also changed with the film taking out major plot elements or changing them. For instance, Jezzie Flannagan and Alex Cross are dating in the book, but are described as only friends in the film. Also, the most important changed elements
1938-598: The publishing field, Patterson apologized on Facebook for his accusations of racism. "I apologize for saying white male writers having trouble finding work is a form of racism. I absolutely do not believe that racism is practiced against white writers. Please know that I strongly support a diversity of voices being heard—in literature, in Hollywood, everywhere." In March 2023, Patterson signed an exclusive first-look deal with Skydance Television . Patterson has been criticized for co-authoring many of his books and for being more of
1989-413: The second novella of the new Derrick Storm books, A Raging Storm , was released in e-book format. It landed on The New York Times Best Seller e-books list at #19 and at No. 31 for the combined Prints & E-book list, both on July 22, 2012. The final Derrick Storm novella, A Bloody Storm , was released on August 7, 2012. It debuted on The New York Times Best Seller e-books list at #20 and at #34 on
2040-412: The sequel to Heat Wave , was released on September 28, 2010. Naked Heat debuted at No. 7 on The New York Times Best Seller list. As they did with Heat Wave , ABC released a series of the early chapters online as a promotional tool. A third novel, titled Heat Rises , was released on September 20, 2011. It debuted at No. 1 on The New York Times Best Seller list on October 9, 2011 and at No. 5 on
2091-419: The series can be read online at the official JamesPatterson .com website or others. The series has been given mixed to positive reviews, with the exception of the 18th book Kill Alex Cross , which has been given mixed to negative reviews, and Cross Country , which received mixed reviews. Many have criticized Kill Alex Cross while few have given it positive reviews. So far, the most positively-received book
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2142-443: The series, Castle writes a novel titled Heat Wave . As a tie-in, ABC and sister publisher Hyperion Books released that novel as a real book with "Richard Castle" as the author. It is entirely in character, from the dedication to the acknowledgments, although the latter mentions the principal cast and the show's creators by first name. ABC released the first half of the novel in weekly increments on their website. The complete novel
2193-465: The text: "If there are no bookstores, no libraries, no serious publishers with passionate, dedicated, idealistic editors, what will happen to our literature? Who will discover and mentor new writers? Who will publish our important books? What will happen if there are no more books like these?" Patterson called the ads an attempt to "stir the pot a little bit." Digital Book World called the ads "refreshing, really. And brave." Maureen Sullivan , president of
2244-474: The two eventually become friends and then lovers. Their cases often deal with murders occurring within various unusual subcultures or milieus, including reality TV shows , vampire enthusiasts, a science-fiction convention , and a man who claims to be a time traveler . A recurring plotline deals with the unsolved murder of Beckett's mother years before, an investigation that leads to an increasingly sprawling and dangerous conspiracy . The series also focuses on
2295-430: The two lead characters and their ongoing investigation of the murder of Beckett's mother. On May 12, 2016, it was announced that despite some cast members signing one-year contracts for a potential ninth season, the show had been canceled. Richard Castle (Fillion) is a famous mystery novelist . Bored and suffering from writer's block , he kills off Derrick Storm, the main character in his successful book series. He
2346-527: Was born on March 22, 1947, in Newburgh, New York , the son of Isabelle ( née Morris ), a homemaker and teacher, and Charles Patterson, an insurance broker. The family was working-class and of Irish descent. Patterson graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in English from Manhattan University and with an M.A. in English from Vanderbilt University . Patterson was a PhD candidate at Vanderbilt when he took
2397-487: Was confirmed to reprise his role. However, the film was cancelled after Alex Cross did not perform well at the box office. Amazon Studios ordered a television series adaptation titled Cross . Aldis Hodge stars and Ben Watkins serves as showrunner from Paramount Television Studios and Skydance Television . It was released on November 14, 2024. The book series have been released in paperback and hardcover, while it can be listened to on audio book or excerpts from
2448-444: Was kept at the poker table for a year in his honor. Castle premiered as a midseason replacement on ABC on March 9, 2009. ABC renewed Castle for a second season with an initial order of 13 episodes (later extended to 24 episodes). The second season premiered on Monday, September 21, 2009. In March 2010, ABC renewed Castle for a third, 22-episode season, which began on September 20, 2010. On November 11, 2010, ABC extended
2499-492: Was published in September 2009 as a hardcover, debuting at No. 26 on The New York Times Best Seller list . In its fourth week on the list, Heat Wave broke into the top 10 at No. 6. Heat Wave was released in paperback on July 27, 2010, and debuted at No. 34 on The New York Times Best Seller Paperback Mass-Market list. It once again appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list on May 27, 2012, at No. 19. Naked Heat ,
2550-531: Was released on September 15, 2015. It debuted on The New York Times Hardcover Fiction Best Seller list at No. 13 on October 4, 2015. On May 20, 2016, it was announced that two more novels would be published in the Nikki Heat series, even though the show itself had been canceled. The eighth book in the series, High Heat , was published on October 25, 2016. The ninth, Heat Storm , was released in May 2017. In July 2018
2601-682: Was the first person to sell one million e-books . In 2016, Patterson topped Forbes 's list of highest-paid authors for the third consecutive year, with an income of $ 95 million. His total income over a decade is estimated at $ 700 million . In November 2015, Patterson received the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation . He has donated millions of dollars in grants and scholarship to various universities, teachers' colleges, independent bookstores, school libraries, and college students to promote literacy. James Patterson
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