Ali Cross: The Secret Detective (Ali Cross, 3)

This is the third book in this series. Ali has been playing detective in the middle of the night. His friend Gabe has developed an app that scans police radio calls. It flags these calls in their neighborhood. Ali and his friends show up in hopes to crack the case themselves. As you can guess Dad and Nana Mama aren’t as fooled as Ali thinks. He gets busted time and again. Still he can’t resist just one more call. Until he witnesses the one that makes him question if he has what it takes to follow in his dad’s footsteps. While he is dealing with their late night high jinxs. He is feeling the pressure at school. A young gang member was shot by a police officer. And Ali is facing a lot of harassment at school. Like him being a cop’s son is going to be able to fix things. Since he can see all the sides of this tension and feels he sympathizes with them all he is being pulled apart. Somehow he gets picked to debate this. With him representing “the police.” And the girl he is crushing on representing “the people.” And everyone shows up on the big day. Everyone is there including the police chief, the police commissioner and more.This is a fast paced book that I could not put down. Before I knew it it was 5:00 am. I love how we see this young man grow. He still has the drive and curiosity but he is also a deep thinker.The audiobook was narrated by Zeno Robinson. He has given Ali just the right timbre to his voice. I must admit that I listened to this book more than read. His voice just swept me away.

Patterson has done it AGAIN with Ali Cross. Youthful twist, turns and surprises.I can't wait for next book in this series.

I enjoyed this book and look forward to seeing more of Ali Cross.It was a fast and easy read.

Donated to local grade school.

We first learned of Ali Cross from the reading list of a Christian homeschool curriculum provider, recommending the first book in the series. While Ali in the first book sometimes evaded his father’s wishes, he was generally a good kid trying to help his friends in sometimes challenging circumstances.This time around, the family-friendliness of the story has deteriorated. Ali is constantly disobeying his father (and largely getting away with it). The one time he declines a friend’s urging to break the rules, it’s by a hair and seems to turn more on fear of legal consequences than on concern for his father’s or great-grandmother’s wishes (or for safety). And the language has turned foul; “damn” and “hell,” as well as other profanities, are sprinkled liberally throughout, unlike the previous two books.The primary topic of the book is the argument over whether policing is a benefit or a detriment to a community, with vignettes of police shootings interspersed with officers (and would-be detective Ali) providing (non-violent) help, as well as criminal mischief. Ali is involved in a debate—awkwardly, facing off against a girl that he likes—over the topic, which gains attention in the community beyond the school. Ali, as a detective’s son and the “pro-cop” debater, faces antagonism from schoolmates, which friends help him navigate. Given that the debate seems to be the focal point of the book, it’s oddly brief in the actual presentation, with only limited points on either side.The story is fast-paced, with 43 chapters for 253 pages. Readers will feel the tensions of middle-school life, where doing the right thing isn’t always safe or enjoyable and picking your battles isn’t always up to you. Ali also sees adults who prove that nonviolent courage can be powerful. Hopefully, he’ll start to realize that rules are generally there for good reasons.

Before I downloaded this book I checked the reviews. First review cites profanity in the first two chapters and significant profanity in the rest of the book. The reviewer took offense and returned the book. I've gotten 88 percent through the book and haven't found a single profanity. I guess different people see profanity in different words. But I saw none of the ones I learned as a kid. This book is well written , easy to read, matches the style and quality of the first two books in the series, and thematically focuses on how police are perceived in different segments of our American population. A good read. No profanity.

Pure reading enjoyment!

Fair story this time. Other series are better. Still like any James Patterson books ready for another women's murder club and Michael Bennett books

My nephew loves these books and asked for this for his birthday. He was pleased receiving it !

My 12 year old nephew and his 46 year old father 😊 loved it. All finished in 3 days. Can’t wait for the book. Don’t keep us waiting long please JP.

This book was written by the acclaimed author James Patterson and would completely suit all ages.It is about Detective Alex Cross's son Ali who is obsessed with being a detective like his dad, who he adores. He and his friends invent a device that they can use to scan police frequencies and pick up on any crimeshappening in their area. They then attend the scene and hope they can help solve the crime. Everything goes horribly wrong when a gang member is shot by a young police officer and the community rises up against thepolice department. Ali feels it is up to him to defend the police so a debate is organised at his school to addressthe conflict. MUST READ>

This was an ok book at best more about black v white but people should remember that there is good & bad in every race also seemed very short on pages to read. Not one of james Patterson's best

BRILLIANT, BRILLIANT, BRILLIANTWHAT MORE CAN I SAY