Gary Soneji is a very popular teacher at a private school in the District of Columbia. His students are the sons and daughters of politicians and other government employees. He believed that his own intellect was far superior to that of his students. He could possibly outsmart them anytime he wanted. It was smart. He was cunning and had a dangerous mind. He decides to kidnap one of his students. He knew he could get away with it.

Maggie Rose was a cute blonde girl and the daughter of a famous actress. She trusted him and if he could hide her, there could be a good rescue. Maggie’s best friend was the son of the Secretary of the Treasury. He knew he was smart enough to get them both out of the hand of the vigilant Secret Service agents. Today, he was not greedy. He decided Maggie was enough to drink for now, but was careful nonetheless.

Her friend, Shrimpie Goldberg, would have to keep an eye on her. The boy was almost as smart as he was. Hard to imagine, he thought. Gary could slip in and deftly carry her away. She will come with him without hesitation. He changed his mind and decided to grab them both. Why not, he reasoned. She will never suspect her motive and neither will Shrimpie. He easily brought the duo home when no one was looking. No one would ever suspect him, he knew.

Even Alex Cross will have a hard time uncovering the crime and who is responsible. He is a highly educated detective with a degree in Psychology. Cross works in DC and knows his way. He’s a powerful figure with an intellect to match, and if he can’t solve a crime, who can? When he’s not doing detective work, he plays the piano to relax. He has a new girlfriend. Jezzie Flanagan works for the Secret Service in Washington. She will help him find the mysterious culprit who kidnapped the actress’s son and the son of the Secretary of the Treasury. Jessie is a fast driver and also plays hard. She is a challenge to Alex and has rarely encountered someone so fascinating. Now he has a distraction and she will help him.

Alex and Jezzie will have a hard time discovering Gary Soneji. He has kidnapped numerous children and killed some. He likes Maggie, but he’s not in it to be nice. Shrimpie is very special and just another task that will fatten up the plot. Cross must taunt this seasoned psychopath in his own district and return the children safely to their parents.

Soneji is delighted to have misled the authorities again. The novel, Along Came a Spider, involves the kidnapping of highly prized specimens and he hasn’t even started yet. This serial devil thinks he’s on top of his game. He is the type of criminal who will kill with excitement, but sometimes with an economic plan. You are not sure if you even need the money. If it doesn’t materialize, you can easily get rid of your victims without any guilty worry. He’s heartless but puts on a good show when he does his mischief.

Gary has killed some poor children downtown and this infuriates Alex very much. He himself grew up in the ghetto and made something of himself. These children did not have a chance. Gary also enjoys Lindbergh-inspired kidnappings. He would surpass Bruno, the baby killer. He was always thinking about how he could use his great imagination to creatively handle the best crimes. How superior he thought he was at making the ideal crime scenes and he would never be caught.

Soneji, who calls himself Son of Lindbergh, buries the children alive on a farm.

They were put in his own special coffins that he built from scratch. Then he watches the media parade coverage of his perfect crime on a television there. He hears an FBI detective disparaging him on the tube and decides to get revenge. He escapes and takes the poor man out of his misery. He wanted respect and he would receive it.

Cross and his partner John Sampson search Gary’s apartment once they discover it. They find a note that simply says; I want to be someone Soneji later confesses that he had killed the FBI agent because he was offended by his comments. Shrimpie’s body is discovered. His parents had previously received a rescue call for ten million dollars.

Soneji asks Alex Cross to personally deliver the money to Disney World in Florida. At Disney, a man approached Cross and tells him that he will take them to a place where he has Maggie. The FBI then surrounds the man, who was not Lindbergh’s son. This man says he will kill the girl if he is not released. He takes Alex and the rescue on a plane and they arrive on an island. Then the pilot flies off with the money and lands in So. Carolina.

The plot takes several twists and turns. The pilot is soon killed by two men who take the loot. Mike Devine and Charley Chakely now have the money. Alex’s girlfriend had been the lover of this same man, Devine. In fact, she had planned the whole thing. Soneji, who had been incarcerated, now escapes from prison and heads to Washington. He tortures Devine, hoping to get the stolen money back. He got the money back but then killed Devine.

Cross takes his girlfriend on vacation to the Caribbean islands. He confronts her about what he suspects. Alex wanted to know why she betrayed him. She said that she was originally only interested in him for information. She fell in love with him and his children. She and Devine had left Maggie with a family for two years and then became nervous after the Goldberg child accidentally died.

Near the end of the book, Soneji is waiting for Alex Cross. He had tried to kill Alex’s grandmother and her two sons. Instead, he decides to come to terms with Cross. It was time to eliminate the detective who exposed him. Then a detective shoots Soneji and Jessie dies in prison and Chakely soon after.

This novel offers a lot of action and suspense. It is a book that you will not want to stop reading. It is the first in a series of Alex Cross-themed crime caps.