Along Came a Spider by James Patterson

Along Came a Spider

By James Patterson

Published in 1992

Paperback, 502 Pages

From GoodReads.com,

A missing little girl named Maggie Rose. A family of three brutally murdered in the projects of Washington, D.C. The thrill-killing of a beautiful elementary school teacher. A psychopathic serial kidnapper/murderer who calls himself the Son of Lindbergh. He is so terrifying that the FBI, the Secret Service, and the police cannot outsmart him-even after he's been captured.Gary Soneji is a mild-mannered mathematics teacher at a Washington, D.C., private school for the children of the political and social elite. He's so popular that the kids all call him "Mr. Chips." And he's very, very smart. Growing up, he always knew he was smarter than the rest of them-he knew that the Great Ones always fooled everybody. He kidnaps Maggie Rose, the golden-haired daughter of a famous movie actress, and her best friend, Shrimpie Goldberg, the son of the secretary of the treasury, right out from under the noses of their two Secret Service agents. But Gary Soneji is not surprised at his skill. He's done it before. Hundreds of times before. Alex Cross must face the ultimate test as a psychologist: how do you outmaneuver a brilliant psychopath? Especially one who appears to have a split personality-one who won't let the other half remember those horrific acts? Soneji has outsmarted the FBI, the Secret Service, and the police. Who will be his next victim?

I was totally expecting something that would be thrilling, exciting and a page turner with this one; but well it was not to be. I felt drained, bored at some point and left the book many times without reading it for couple of days, the only thing that kept me going, was to get through it for the challenges I was reading this for.

2 kids of famous political and film personality get abducted by a guy who was there own teacher for some time right under the nose of the Secret Service guys who were supposed to look after the kids. The kidnapper calls himself The Son of Lindbergh [ after some famous kidnapping case that has not been solved since ages]. Alex Cross [ our hero] and his pal Sampson are assigned this case in which they have to work with the FBI and the kidnapper is a psychopath with a difficult childhood and has already murdered 200 or more people and all the previous cases are unsolved. He is smart and is 1 step ahead of the forces. He wants to be famous and wants to be noticed.

Well, first things first, the 1st part of the novel was OK, it was fast. but eventually I was bored with Alex [ the narrator. The narration is also done by the kidnapper. ], the FBI, police and politics. Then there is Jenny who is the top notch in the secret Service who were responsible for the kids safety, gets involved with Alex romantically, God! there relationship was boring too...Oh and the worst part I realized what was going to happen too, it was predictable. I didn't like it at all. I think he could have made this one shorter by a 100 pages by cutting out all the unnecessary details. I was BORED.

Not recommended at all.