Along Came a Spider is a crime thriller novel, and the first novel in James Patterson's series about forensic psychologist Alex Cross. First published in 1993, its success has led to twenty six sequels as of 2021.
It was adapted into a film of the same name in 2001, starring Morgan Freeman as Cross.
Plot
Alex Cross, a Black psychologist and police detective, is called to a crime scene where a mother, her daughter, and her toddler son were murdered. As Alex and his partner, John Sampson, explore the crime scene, Alex gets a call from his boss, Chief of Detectives Pittman, demanding that Alex and John join a new investigation into two kidnapped children. Alex and John arrive at the children’s school to discover not only fellow officers from the Washington, DC, police department, but the Secret Service and the FBI. Annoyed that more attention is being devoted to this high-profile case than to the Sanders family murders in the poor neighborhood of Washington Southeast, Alex arrives at the crime scene with the intention of getting out of the investigation. However, the mayor insists Alex take the case.
Alex works closely with the hostage-rescue team, which includes Secret Service supervisor Jezzie Flanagan. Within days, the body of one of the child victims, Michael Goldberg, is found by a river in Maryland. Not long afterward, the hostage-rescue team receives a ransom demand from the kidnapper. The team rushes to Florida to investigate the business where the demand originated from. While there, they receive another demand and decide to follow the instructions in the hopes of saving the other child victim, Maggie Rose Dunne. Alex is chosen by the kidnapper to deliver the ransom at Disney World. As Alex walks through the park, he is approached by a man he suspects is not the kidnapper. Still, the man knows about the ransom demand and is able to convince Alex to leave the park with him. Alex and the man board a private plane and eventually end up at a private airport in South Carolina. As the man leaves the plane with the ransom, Alex frees himself from the armrest he is handcuffed to and chases the man off the plane, only to be hit on the head by an unseen person. By the time Alex’s backup arrives, the ransom is gone, and Maggie remains missing.
Alex is chosen by the kidnapper to deliver the ransom at Disney World. As Alex walks through the park, he is approached by a man he suspects is not the kidnapper. Still, the man knows about the ransom demand and is able to convince Alex to leave the park with him. Alex and the man board a private plane and eventually end up at a private airport in South Carolina. As the man leaves the plane with the ransom, Alex frees himself from the armrest he is handcuffed to and chases the man off the plane, only to be hit on the head by an unseen person. By the time Alex’s backup arrives, the ransom is gone, and Maggie remains missing.
Alex is blamed by the press for the loss of ransom. Alex and John are removed from the case but given promotions. They return their attention to the Sanders family murders. Alex has begun a relationship with Jezzie Flanagan, the Secret Service supervisor, despite his grandmother’s warnings. Unable to let go of the kidnapping case, Alex continues to investigate on his own. Eventually, a teacher from the child victims’ school is found murdered in the same manner as the Sanders women, and Maggie’s shoe is left at the crime scene. Alex and John find a witness who places a Delaware door-to-door salesman in the area.
The hostage-rescue team swarms the home of Gary Murphy, a door-to-door salesman, husband, and father of one. However, Gary saw them coming and is able to escape. Several days later, Gary walks into a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania, kills a man, and takes the other diners hostage. Alex arrives with John and is able to talk Gary out of the restaurant. Gary is arrested and taken to a Virginia prison where Alex visits him. The suspect claims to have a split personality, and Alex convinces those in charge to allow him to hypnotize Gary in order to determine if he is telling the truth. Under hypnosis, Gary appears to become his alter, Gary Soneji, and lashes out at Alex.