Along Came a Spider

Along Came a Spider is the novel that introduced Alex Cross, a Washington DC psychologist and detective, through the kidnapping of two wealthy children from an elite private school by Gary Soneji, a brilliant and disturbed man intent on committing the crime of the century. The novel established the series' template: a psychologically sophisticated killer whose methodical planning is matched against Cross's instinctive understanding of the criminal mind.

Taye Diggs brings a contemporary energy to the first Cross novel, his voice giving Alex a warmth and intelligence that distinguishes the character from the average thriller protagonist. Patterson's breakneck pacing translates naturally to audio, and Diggs's delivery keeps the novel's short chapters firing without letting the urgency collapse into noise.