In a Publishers Weekly interview with Andre Bernard and Jeff Zaleski, James Patterson said, "The Cross books are about nightmares that I have—not literal nightmares but nightmares that I have about the world" (1996). One of these nightmares in America is racism. Alex Cross, an African-American who grew up on the mean streets of the Southeast area of Washington, D.C., must confront racism in many guises as he works as a police detective. In fact, his boss, George Pittman, is described as "a bully, bigot, racist and careerist." Apparently, according to Patterson, cut-throat careerism is as bad as racism. But the real social problems in the novel center around Southeast, a slum area, where Geoffrey Shafer, the villain, dumps the bodies of his victims. When Shafer kills two young girls in the area, a cousin of.....
This is a free excerpt of 135 words. This section contains 1,219 words. This
Short Guide contains 5,639 words (approx. 19 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Short Guide with our Pop Goes the Weasel Access Pass.
