Jack & Jill (novel)

Last updated
Jack & Jill
Jack & Jill (novel).jpg
Author James Patterson
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Series Alex Cross
Genre Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Publisher Little, Brown and Company
Publication date
September, 1996
Media typePrint (hardcover) & Paperback
Pages432 pp
ISBN 0-316-69371-5
Preceded by Kiss the Girls  
Followed by Cat and Mouse  

Jack & Jill is the third novel in a series written by James Patterson which features Washington, D.C. psychologist and homicide police detective Alex Cross. The previous two books are Along Came a Spider and Kiss the Girls .

Plot summary

A man named Sam Harrison or "Jack" and a woman named Sara Rosen or "Jill" set up a United States Senator. They kill him and videotape it. On the other side of Washington D.C. a different killer kills a child named Shanelle Green using a baseball bat.

Cross is awoken by his partner John Sampson at the dead of the night and is promptly told there is a new case for them. Cross and Sampson drive to Sojourner Truth School in Southeast where the mutilated body of Shanelle Green was found.

Alex then starts an investigation to find the child killer. He is informed by one of his informants of a possible suspect, Emmanuel Perez, aka Chop-It-Off Chuckie. Alex and Sampson go to question the suspect and a police-suspect foot chase occurs, ending when the suspect falls off a building. After the death of their suspect, another child murder is committed, proving that the child killer is still alive.

The police commissioner and Chief of Detectives George Pittman visit Alex's house. They inform him that he was requested to work on the Jack and Jill case because of his famous encounters with psychopathic killers and expertise in psychology. He declines by saying that he has connection with the Truth School killer and he wishes to solve it instead. In the end he has no choice but to work on the Jack and Jill murders. Later, he physically abuses Pittman at a crime scene.

Jack and Jill kill another two famous people. Cross asks Sampson and a group of fellow detectives to work secretly on the Truth School Murders so that the case won't get cold, and concentrates on trying to solve the Jack and Jill case.

Alex becomes part of a group formed in the White House to solve the Jack and Jill case, cooperating with FBI, Secret Service and the CIA. Jack and Jill ask for the help of another killer, Kevin Hawkins, but without Kevin Hawkins' knowledge that he is being used by Jack to elude the cops. Hawkins then kills a woman, who the investigation team initially believe is non-famous but find out is the American president's mistress. Jack and Jill's main target is to kill the president, using the other murders to show that they are good at what they do, and they are serious about it.

Sampson is informed that someone has admitted to the murders of Shanelle Green and Vernon Wheatley. With Alex Cross's help Sampson and Alex go to the address that was given to them. They find out that the child killer is also a child (13 years old), Sumner Moore. 'Sumner' is on the run. He spends the day on the streets, then goes home in the middle of the night and kills his parents in a fit of rage.

Without enough evidence and mistakes by Jack & Jill, the case is still unsolvable. Alex then, with the help of the general inspector of the CIA, Jeanne Sterling, locates Kevin Hawkins, but Hawkins is able to escape.

Sampson is called to the murder of another child. This time it is Sumner Moore; the real child killer is not him. The killer is revealed as another boy who suffers from depression and is on medication, which he has stopped taking.

The president decides to resume schedules as normal. He goes to address the people of New York. At the Madison Square Garden, with enough security, Kevin Hawkins is waiting, dressed as an FBI woman. A bomb explodes and the auditorium is plunged into chaos. The president and his wife are protected by the Secret Service, and try to escape to the alternate escape route, where Kevin Hawkins is waiting. Hawkins is shot and dies at the hospital but he successfully kills the president.

Another murder is reported: Sara Rosen. Alex finds a tape in Sara Rosen's/Jill's apartment that contains the footage of the first victim's murder. By accident, the camera caught Jack as he shot the US senator. Alex thinks that the tape was some kind of revenge by Sara Rosen for if Jack betrayed her.

The next day Alex and the CIA Agent Grayer follow 'Jack' and arrest him. It is Brett Sterling, a CIA contract killer (ghosts) and husband of CIA Inspector General Jeanne Sterling. They arrest Jeanne at their home. She tries to escape but Cross stops her.

The real Jack and Jill are imprisoned in Lorton where Gary Soneji was imprisoned. A few days later the two of them are found dead due to poisoning. Flesh and blood is found under Jeanne's fingernails, meaning that they were murdered and that they fought the murderer. Alex thinks they were contracted by someone with money who will benefit if the president dies, but they don't know and can't find out who.

The real child killer takes Christine Johnson, the principal of the Sojourner Truth School, hostage and kills her husband George at their home. The killer, Danny Boudreaux, a 13-year-old, requests Alex Cross for negotiations. After Cross enters the house, a confrontation happens and Danny is apprehended.

After all the cases are solved, Christine Johnson visits Alex at his home. A day later, while arranging the Christmas tree, Gary Soneji calls and tells him he will come for him and he's the one who left Rosie the Cat at their home. Alex hangs up and goes back to decorating the tree.

Related Research Articles

<i>Suspect Zero</i>

Suspect Zero is a 2004 American psychological thriller film directed by E. Elias Merhige and starring Aaron Eckhart, Ben Kingsley, and Carrie-Anne Moss. The film was produced by Tom Cruise's co-owned company Cruise/Wagner Productions. It was a box office bomb failing to earn half of its estimated $27 million production costs at the box office.

<i>Along Came a Spider</i> (novel)

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 five sequels as of 2019. It was adapted into a film of the same name in 2001, starring Morgan Freeman as Cross.

Alex Delaware is a literary character created by American writer Jonathan Kellerman. The Alex Delaware detective series begins with When the Bough Breaks, published in 1985. Delaware appears in 32 of Kellerman's popular murder mysteries. Kellerman set the series in Los Angeles. Delaware is a forensic psychologist, although Kellerman wrote a back story in which Delaware practiced as a child psychologist.

Alex Cross is a fictional character created by author James Patterson. He is the protagonist of the series of books about a former FBI agent and psychologist who works in Washington, D.C.

<i>Kiss the Girls</i> (novel)

Kiss the Girls is a psychological thriller novel by American writer James Patterson, the second to star his recurring main character Alex Cross, an African-American psychologist and policeman. It was first published in 1995, and was adapted into a movie of the same name in 1997.

<i>Mary, Mary</i> (novel)

Mary, Mary is the 11th novel by James Patterson featuring the former Washington, D.C. homicide detective and forensic psychiatrist and current FBI agent Alex Cross.

<i>Cat & Mouse</i> (novel)

Cat & Mouse is the fourth novel in the Alex Cross series by James Patterson. It revolves around Cross dealing with Gary Soneji, the villain of Along Came a Spider, and a serial killer known only as Mr. Smith.

<i>Four Blind Mice</i>

Four Blind Mice is the eighth novel featuring the Washington, D.C. homicide detective and forensic psychologist Alex Cross written by James Patterson.

<i>Cross</i> (novel)

Cross is James Patterson's 12th novel featuring his most famous character, Alex Cross. It was released in 2006. This novel was also released in some markets under the title Alex Cross. This book is followed by Double Cross.

<i>Along Came a Spider</i> (film) 2001 film by Lee Tamahori

Along Came a Spider is a 2001 American neo-noir psychological thriller film directed by Lee Tamahori. It is the second installment in the Alex Cross film series and a sequel to the 1997 film Kiss the Girls, with Morgan Freeman and Jay O. Sanders reprising their roles as detective Alex Cross and FBI-agent Kyle Craig. The screenplay by Marc Moss was adapted from the 1993 novel of the same title by James Patterson, but many of the key plot elements of the book were eliminated. The film was a box office success, although receiving mixed reviews from critics.

<i>Double Cross</i> (novel)

Double Cross is the 13th novel in the Alex Cross series featuring Detective Alex Cross by James Patterson. It was released on November 13, 2007.

Kyle Craig is a fictional character and antagonist in James Patterson's series of novels featuring Washington, D.C. detective Alex Cross. Craig, a Special Agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, is initially a close friend of Cross and assists the detective in his high-profile investigations, and also occasionally asks Cross for help with his own cases. However, in the 2000 novel Roses Are Red, Craig is revealed to be a criminal who calls himself "The Mastermind", having organized a series of brutal bank robberies and murders. He is eventually brought to justice by Cross. From Violets Are Blue onwards, Craig is one of Cross' most formidable adversaries. In the film adaptations of Patterson's novels Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider, Craig is played by Jay O. Sanders.

<i>Cross Fire</i> (novel)

Cross Fire is the 17th book of James Patterson's Alex Cross series. In the novel, Kyle Craig has come back for one final scare to finally kill Alex Cross, but Alex has a special day ahead of him, one that concerns Bree and his relationship. The novel was released in hardcover, paperback, and audio book on November 15, 2010. It was preceded by I, Alex Cross and was followed by Kill Alex Cross. The book sees Alex marrying Bree after proposing to her in the previous book; the book also sees the final appearance of Kyle Craig, who dies by shooting an oxygen tank, killing him and two cops before he can be sent to prison again by Alex.

<i>Kill Alex Cross</i>

Kill Alex Cross is the 18th book in the Alex Cross series, following Det. Alex Cross trying to solve two crimes – the president's kidnapped children and a case of someone poisoning the water supply.

Alex Cross is a crime, mystery, and thriller novel series written by James Patterson. The series focuses on Metropolitan Police Department detective and father Alex Cross as he faces threats to his family and the city of Washington, D.C.. Supporting characters include two of Cross's children, Damon, and Janelle, as well as his grandmother Nana Mama. The series is usually narrated in first-person perspective by Alex Cross, and occasionally from the villains' point of view in third-person.

John Sampson is a fictional character in the mystery novel series Alex Cross and is one of the main characters.

<i>Alex Cross, Run</i>

Alex Cross, Run is the 20th novel in the Alex Cross series written by American author James Patterson. The novel focuses on the protagonist, detective Alex Cross, who must solve three cases at once with the whole city in a frenzy.

<i>Cross My Heart</i> (novel)

Cross My Heart is the 21st novel in the Alex Cross series written by author James Patterson. The novel takes place after Alex Cross, Run, in which Alex tries contemplating a life outside the Metro Police after the apparent death of Ava, an orphan girl they took in. It was initially not planned by Patterson, but was later confirmed to be in the works. The novel once again features Metro Police detective Alex Cross. Cross My Heart was released 20 years after the original novel, Along Came a Spider. The novel's events, having ended on a cliffhanger, were continued in the next novel, Hope to Die.

Parabon NanoLabs, Inc. is a company based in Reston, Virginia, that develops nanopharmaceuticals and provides DNA phenotyping services for law enforcement organizations.