“It had been three days since my friend disappeared and I was starting to think the worst might have happened.”

From James Patterson’s Ali Cross.

When Ali’s friend Gabe disappears on the walk home from middle school, Ali is left wondering what happened to his friend.  What should have been a fun, relaxing time right before Christmas vacation is overshadowed by Gabe’s disappearance.  While his homicide detective father, Alex Cross, is busy helping with the investigation however he can, Alex is also busy dealing with an unjust lawsuit, so Ali decides to do anything that he can to find Gabe alive.  A Christmas Eve break-in at the Cross house throws everything into even more confusion when coupled with Gabe’s disappearance, his dad’s case, stolen police service weapons, and a seriously messed up Christmas.  A solid detective is assigned to Gabe’s case, but Ali is unsure of how well she can handle the investigation with everything else going on, and Ali realizes that he is Gabe’s only hope.  While the boys initially connected over their love for the video game Outpost, the more Ali searches for his friend, the more he realizes that he doesn’t really know much about his quiet, reserved friend.  When he needs some help with his investigation, Ali asks his Outpost squad and real-life friends Cedric, Ruby, and Mateo to help him search in both the real and digital worlds.

This mystery is fast-paced and captivating in Patterson’s traditional style.  While the majority of the story is told from the young detective’s point-of-view, a portion is told from Alex Cross’ perspective, bringing a deeper layer to the book.  Ali Cross is a fun thrilling mystery that will be interesting for Patterson fans of all ages.