Cross Fire

A series of precisely executed political assassinations is giving Washington's corrupt a very bad week. The sniper is methodical, anonymous, and possibly motivated by genuine grievance against some genuinely guilty targets, which complicates Alex Cross's investigation considerably. Simultaneously, his arch-nemesis Kyle Craig, the Mastermind, has arrived in DC with one goal: the complete destruction of everything Cross loves. Cross Fire puts Cross in his most structurally complex situation yet, hunting a vigilante killer while being hunted himself by the most dangerous adversary of his career.

Andre Braugher and Jay O. Sanders share the narration, and both bring professional authority to the material. Braugher's Cross has gravitas appropriate to the personal stakes, while Sanders handles the ensemble scenes with energy. The wedding subplot that runs alongside the investigation gives the novel some of its warmest moments in audio, creating tonal contrast that the performances navigate well. At under seven hours, Cross Fire is one of the series' tighter entries.