It s a snowy Christmas Eve, and Detective Alex Cross is at home celebrating with his family. Nana Mama s famous pecan pie is in the oven and the kids are hanging their favourite ornaments on the tree. Just as Alex s wife Bree emerges from the kitchen with a bowl of homemade eggnog, his phone rings with news that shatters the night- at a nearby home, a family has been taken hostage - and the situation is spiralling out of control fast. Alex rushes to the scene and confronts the unthinkable- a father is threatening to murder his own children and his ex-wife. Then just as the insanity peaks, a second horrific situation explodes - one that no one could have foreseen and that puts millions of people at risk. This is a red alert of the darkest kind, and Alex is forced to make a decision that could end as many lives as it saves - including his own. Merry Christmas, Alex Cross is James Patterson s most shocking Alex Cross novel yet- a breakneck-paced and heart-pounding adrenaline rush of a thriller.