The Big Bad Wolf

Someone is buying and selling human beings, and the operation is vast enough that even the FBI's considerable resources have failed to crack it. Alex Cross's first case as an FBI agent pits him against a figure known only as the Wolf, a criminal with the reach and ruthlessness of someone who has been operating in the shadows for a very long time. Patterson's ninth Cross novel marks a transition in the series, moving its hero from the Washington PD into federal territory while the threat operating against him grows correspondingly larger.

Peter Jay Fernandez and Denis O'Hare share narration duties in a performance that suits the dual-track structure Patterson employs, alternating between Cross's investigation and scenes that build the Wolf's menace. The partnership between Fernandez's grounded detective voice and O'Hare's capacity for menace creates a compelling contrast. At just over eight hours, The Big Bad Wolf delivers the series' reliably propulsive momentum with a villain built for more than a single appearance.