Along Came a Spider

Along Came a Spider (1992) is the first novel in the Alex Cross psychological thriller series by James Patterson. Alex Cross is a Black psychologist and police detective working in Washington, DC, with his partner and childhood friend, John Sampson. In this novel, Alex and John are part of a hostage-rescue team investigating the kidnapping of two children by their teacher, Gary Soneji. As of 2023, there are 32 novels in the Alex Cross series, two supplemental novels featuring Alex Cross, and one spin-off series featuring Alex Cross’s son, Ali. Along Came a Spider was adapted into a movie in 2001, starring Morgan Freeman as Alex Cross.

This guide is based on the Kindle e-book version of the novel.

Content Warning: The source text includes depictions of physical and sexual abuse against a child, insensitive depictions of mental illness, racism, death by suicide, and violence.

Plot Summary

Alex Cross, a Black psychologist and police detective, is called to a crime scene where a mother, her daughter, and her toddler son were murdered. As Alex and his partner, John Sampson, explore the crime scene, Alex gets a call from his boss, Chief of Detectives Pittman, demanding that Alex and John join a new investigation into two kidnapped children.