Alex Cross's TRIAL - Couverture souple

Alex Cross tells the irresistible story - passed down through the generations - of an ancestor's courageous fight for freedom.

Separated by time

From his grandmother, Alex Cross has heard the story of his great-uncle Abraham and his struggles for survival in the era of the Ku Klux Klan. Now, Alex passes the family tale along to his own children in a novel he's written - a novel called Trial.

Connected by blood

As a lawyer in early-twentieth-century Washington DC, Ben Corbett represents the toughest cases. Fighting against oppression and racism, he risks his family and his life in the process. When President Theodore Roosevelt asks Ben to return to his hometown to investigate rumours of the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan there, he cannot refuse.

United by bravery

When he arrives in Eudora, Mississippi, Ben meets the wise Abraham Cross and his beautiful daughter, Moody. Ben enlists their help, and the two Crosses introduce him to the hidden side of the idyllic Southern town. Lynchings have become commonplace and residents of the town's black quarter live in constant fear. Ben aims to break the reign of terror - but the truth of who is really behind it could break his heart.

Written in the fearless voice of Detective Alex Cross, Alex Cross's Trial is a gripping story of murder, love, and, above all, bravery.
Praise for Cross Country:

'[Cross Country] opens with one of the most chilling murder scenes I've read in a long time ... High-octane stuff' Daily Express

'You're just completely engrossed in it from start to finish. Absolutely incredible ... The story is unrelentingly exciting.' BBC Radio 5 Live

A PREFACE TO TRIAL

By Alex Cross

A few months after I hunted a vicious killer named The Tiger halfway around the world, I began to think seriously about a book I had been wanting to write for years. I even had the title for it, Trial. The previous book I'd written was about the role of forensic psychology in the capture of the serial killer Gary Soneji. Trial would be very different, and in some ways, even more terrifying.

What I now feel compelled to write about took place in Mississippi during the time that Theodore Roosevelt was President, the early part of the twentieth century. I believe it is a story that helps illuminate why so many black people are angry, hurt, and lost in this country, even today. I also think it is important to keep this story alive for my family, and hopefully, for yours.

The main character is a man my grandmother knew here in Washington, a smart and courageous lawyer named Ben Corbett. It is our good fortune that Corbett kept first-person journals of his incredible experiences, including a trial that took place in Eudora, Mississippi. A few years before he died, Mr. Corbett gave those journals to my cousin Moody. Eventually they wound up in the hands of my grandmother. My suspicion is that what happened in Mississippi was too personal and painful for Corbett to turn into a book. But I have come to believe there has never been a better time for this story to be told.

Alex Cross [right justified]