Mary, Mary

Mary Smith is sending email to the Los Angeles Times describing murders in vivid, accurate detail — murders of prominent Hollywood figures that the killer is committing against an audience of millions. Alex Cross is pulled from a Disneyland vacation to consult on a case where the celebrity victims and the spectacular media strategy suggest something more calculated than an obsessed fan. The eleventh Alex Cross novel takes the series to Los Angeles and into the specific pathologies of fame.

Peter Jay Fernandez, Melissa Leo, and Michael Louis Wells share the narration of a thriller structured around performance and audience — the killer's apparent enjoyment of public attention is mirrored in the novel's use of multiple voices. Fernandez's Cross carries the weight of someone for whom these cases are genuinely personal. At just under nine hours, Mary, Mary is a propulsive entry with an unusual villain whose motive involves the machinery of celebrity.