James Patterson is the best-selling author in the world. At this point he is practically an institution. However, even though I have been reading his work since the very beginning, nothing quite measures up for me like his classic thriller series featuring Alex Cross. The good doctor has come a long way since ALONG CAME A SPIDER, as FEAR NO EVIL will demonstrate.

The stakes have never been higher for Cross as the international terrorist group Maestro, fronted by the mysterious and masked M, is not just threatening global violence, they are pulling it off. Cross and his best buddy, John Sampson, find themselves directly in the crosshairs (no pun intended). But before we get there, we have a lot to unpack as Cross and Sampson are not the book’s only stars.

"The last third of FEAR NO EVIL is a surefire thrill ride. Will Cross and Sampson survive their excursion, and will we finally learn the identity of M? You will just have to dive into this page-turning book to find out!"

The action begins immediately as we witness CIA operative and potential traitor Catherine Hingham being tortured to death by an unknown adversary. This is just the start of CIA personnel and other members of the law enforcement and intelligence fields being targeted. To make matters worse, after the target is eliminated, the killers go after their family and attempt to murder them all --- from grandparents to young children. It is safe to say that FEAR NO EVIL is not for the faint of heart. That being said, who better to meet this violence head on than Alex Cross?

Cross and Sampson were planning an adventure getaway when all this commenced, but their plans have been delayed. Once they were on board, Cross received a threatening text from M that showed him how he knows the location of each member of his family.

Speaking of Cross’ family, his wife Bree --- an ex-cop herself --- takes on an assignment for the Bluestone organization, which will send her to Paris, France, in pursuit of a serial rapist and alleged killer. Not only does the novel jump between Cross and Bree, it offers us glimpses into the Maestro organization with occasional bits on M. It seems there is no one who can be trusted as every level of law enforcement attempts to unmask them before they can kill more people or follow through on any terrorist threats.

There seems to be some adversarial connection between Maestro and a powerful Mexican drug cartel. To get a better handle on this situation, Cross heads to a highly militarized prison in the desert to meet with the head of the cartel, Marco Alejandro, who has been in non-communication isolation for nearly a year. Cross hopes that he might be able to reveal who M is, if not validate why his organization is in a blood war with Maestro. Alejandro is willing to talk but does not know much. He suggests that Cross speak with his sister, who has taken over the day-to-day operations of the cartel in his absence.

Cross’ case is temporarily derailed when he learns of a terrorist incident in Paris with which Bree has been mixed up. Having no idea whether or not she’s alive, he jumps on a flight to Paris to find her. Thankfully, she is okay, and it turns out that the frightening episode was the responsibility of M and his group, bringing Cross’ and Bree’s cases full circle with each other.

As time goes on with no resolution other than for the good guys to sit on the sidelines as Maestro and the cartel kill each other, Cross and Sampson decide to take that trip they were planning to Swan River Valley, Montana. It will make them bait for anyone from either of the battling groups to come after them.

The last third of FEAR NO EVIL is a surefire thrill ride. Will Cross and Sampson survive their excursion, and will we finally learn the identity of M? You will just have to dive into this page-turning book to find out!