Ali Cross, Book 1, James Patterson, author; Zeno Robinson, Andre Blake, narrators
Ali Cross is the son of the well known detective, Alex Cross. His stepmother, Bree, is also with the police department. Ali wants very much to be a detective too…RIGHT NOW! However, although he is only 10 years old, he dismisses that pertinent fact. He and his siblings are pretty worried about their dad. He is facing a trial. During an investigation, someone became belligerent. Alex stepped out of his way and the man fell down the steps. He is unconscious still. If he dies, Alex Cross could be charged with murder! The prosecutor said the man did not fall down accidentally, but was pushed by Alex.
As the trial approaches, Ali had enough to worry about, but then, his friend Gabe Qualls disappears. Did he run away? Was he kidnapped? Ali does not think the police are doing enough to find him. Ali loves his dad, and his dad is a cop, but Ali doesn’t think he likes all cops. Neither do many of the people in The Washington DC area where Ali lives. They refuse to give evidence when questioned. This behavior is not helpful, but it is not stressed in the book, as it should be.
I found myself seriously questioning the parenting skills of Ali’s folks. Ali often bent the rules or outright disobeyed them. His dad punished him occasionally, but apparently the punishment was not long enough to seriously deter Ali from disobeying them. Ali was arrogant, and selfish at times, only thinking of what he was feeling and not about the danger he might be putting someone else in, because he didn’t listen. Still most of the time, his disobedience was related to helping others. Yet, how do you ignore the fact that he put himself and others in danger by simply doing what he, at 10, thought was best.
When Ali calls his friends, Ruby and Mateo, who are siblings, and Cedric who looks like Lebron James, to help him look for Gabe, they use the game called Outpost that they all played, in order to find him. Clues are definitely there. In the process, Ali discovers how dangerous secrets can be when he is framed for a robbery. He winds up disappointing, not only his friends, but also his dad because sometimes a secret is like a lie, and those you hide the truth from feel they can no longer trust you. On the other side of the coin, however, is the fact that Ali also winds up helping to find Gabe and to set him free from several bad influences. He becomes a hero in the process. The moral is that rules sometimes have to be broken, but great care should be taken when one breaks them.
I found serious fault in the books message about the police and one’s responsibility for one’s own behavior. While everyone does break a rule at some time, it is not up to others to pay for the mistakes or damages that the rule-breaking causes. Alex, a good cop, sums up criminality by blaming the police and excusing the criminal because the message is that the criminal is sometimes being treated too harshly by the system and the cops. The plight of the victims, though, is never even mentioned or considered. Since I define cops as the good guys, I believe the book fell a bit short of the mark by not reinforcing obeying the laws and respecting others, including the police.
The audio was read very well by the two readers. I had two young grandkids with me in the car who listened to the book, as well, and they really enjoyed it.