The People vs. Alex Cross

James Patterson seems to me to be a somewhat underrated author. His negative reputation rests primarily on his extraordinary volume of output —  which proves nothing, since this merely puts him in the company of Georges Simenon and Donald Westlake. Meanwhile, his books have fast and thrilling plots that at their best elevate them to well-above-average popular mystery novels. In The People vs. Alex Cross, the twenty-fifth book in the Alex Cross series, Cross is suspended and put on trial following an on-the-job murder.