Ali Cross: The Secret Detective

Ali Cross #3

by James Patterson

The #1 bestselling kid detective is back! Mysteries, crime-solving, homeroom—all in a day's work for Ali Cross. 

Ali Cross has always looked up to his father, the famous detective Alex Cross. And after helping to solve two big cases, Ali knows he has what it takes to follow in his father's footsteps. Eager to keep solving crimes, Ali and his friends hack into police calls and go to crime scenes to watch the detectives at work—and try to crack the cases themselves.    But when Ali witnesses something horrible, he has to grapple with tough questions about what it means to be a detective and a detective's son. Will Ali find a way to follow in his father’s footsteps . . . or will he be the one in danger’s path?  

Genres: Mystery, Middle Grade, Fiction, Young Adult, Crime, Audiobook, Childrens

273 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 27, 2022

About the author

Official US Site
Official UK Site
JIMMY Patterson Books
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James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time and the creator of such unforgettable characters and series as Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride. He has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton, Dolly Parton, and Michael Crichton, as well as collaborated on #1 bestselling nonfiction, including The Idaho Four, Walk in My Combat Boots, and Filthy Rich. Patterson has told the story of his own life in the #1 bestselling autobiography James Patterson by James Patterson. He is the recipient of an Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of James Patterson’s cornerstone series has got to be Alex Cross. I have followed the adventures of DC’s great investigator for years, eager to see where things go. When Patterson introduced a series geared for younger readers, featuring the next generation Ali Cross, I could not help but want to read them as well. My son, Neo, has yet to reach for them, but that is a battle for another day. Patterson addresses crime issues from the perspective of a middle-schooler, doing so effectively and with pizzazz. A great piece that should smack younger readers between the eyes and cater to those who love a good crime thriller.

Ali Cross has large shoes to fill, with his father, Alex Cross, as one of the best known detectives in DC. Ali is so excited to follow in his father’s footsteps that he and some friends hack into the police dispatcher radio system so that they can attend some crime scenes. When doing so one night, they discover that a gang arrest goes sideways and one of the members is shot. This hits the news and churns up a great deal of banter.

At school, Ali faces many in his class who side with the people, that the police are never there when needed and shoot first when they arrive. There is merit to the concern, though Ali does not want every police officer whitewashed with this stereotype. As he tries to have himself heard, Ali becomes the scapegoat for the police, with many feeling he is only spouting what his father professes at home.

Refusing to stand down, Ali seeks to find a way to show that the police, and his father, are not a menace, but actually helpful in the community, What follows is a series of—albeit dangerous—trips to other crime scenes to gather needed evidence. Working on the sly, Ali Cross has to detect the truth and bring it back for the masses. Patterson shines here and hits his target audience with something great!

I will be the first to admit that my relationship with James Patterson books is hit and miss. However, with Alex Cross, I can usually get something great from the esteemed author. This branch-off into the world of young readers has worked well, with a strong narrative and short chapters to hold their attention. Poignant topics and writing that would connect with the younger crowd, Patterson does all he can to keep things ‘real’ and on point. While i do not read all of Patterson’s series, for adult or younger readers, this is one well worth my time and can be of particular interest to Alex Cross fans who need something lighter and shorter. I will keep my eyes peeled for more and nudge this series towards Neo soon!

Kudos, Mr. Patterson, for another great winner in the Cross collection.

Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/

[Megan (ReadingRover) · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was such a disappointment. There was no plot. It’s a mystery series. There was no mystery. That’s never good. There was a bunch of talk about police shootings and gang violence which is definitely an important topic but it wasn’t surrounding an actual storyline that had a beginning and an end. I think it would have been a more effective message if it surrounded a cohesive story rather than several unrelated different things that were happening around the same time. 1.5 stars.

[Daniel Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

An offshoot of the Alex Cross series, Ali Cross is Alex’s teenage son who’s following his father’s footsteps as best a minor could. Anyway, he gets caught up in the issue of police brutality. Well written and a nice flow, but no new ideas presented here. I think the value of the book might be to present the issue in simple terms to a younger audience.

[Christine B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sadly very disappointed with this one! The first two books in the series were awesome but this one was lacking. The storyline was a lot less exciting. No action packed scenes. A LOT of swearing (hello this is a middle grade book?!?)! Also the book clashed swearing with church going and prayer. Not appropriate in my opinion. Also heavy on political police racial justice.

[Kylie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was ok. It was my least favorite book of the whole series. There was no plot or mystery at all. Throughout the book, Ali kept breaking his father’s rules, spying/helping on crime scenes, and worrying about the debate between Ali and Sienna. This was all that happened. Though I did enjoy this series even though I don’t like mystery books. If you like mysteries books, you will like this series. I’m glad I read this series.

[Karen Trend · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't manage to finish this 3rd book in the Ali Cross series. The kid acts like an adult and gets himself into sticky situations by sneaking out of his law enforcement parents house in the middle of the night. Totally unbelievable and annoying. Shall not be reading any more of these.

[Paula Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of James Patterson's series that I have been enjoying is Ali Cross's teen detective series. Ali Cross is Alex Cross's youngest child and he is following in his father's footsteps. This book starts with Ali's best friend Gabe creating an app that turns the police scanner into transcription and sends an alert to their cell phones. One early morning Ali and his friend Gabe snuck out to call at an apartment that is known for its gangs. On the scene, Ali sees his dad and then learns a cop has shot one of the gang members. This incident sparks a discussion and debate at school about police shootings and Ali starts to encounter bullying as a "cop kid". What I did like though was that Ali's friends who knew him stood by him during this and his family of course I have always adored. The part that frustrated me the most was Sienna; I hate her character as Ali likes her and tried to be friendly but she wasn't taking a bar of it and just treated him horribly for his views. Come on, Ali find someone better to crush on. Ali Cross - The Secret Detective was another amazing read in the Ali Cross series and I am looking forward to seeing what future adventures Ali Cross and his friends get up to.

[Bookreader626 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally finished! By far, my least favorite of the trilogy. I thought this book was pretty slow in the middle, and of course, the end left off on a cliffhanger (minor cliffhanger). As of right now, there is no book 4. Overall, it was a good series with little cussing. There is little to no romance with plenty of action-packed pages.

[Jaer Armstead-Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unlike the first two installments of this series, this one had no major mystery to solve. A lot of little internal struggles from the main character kept the story going but nothing ‘‘twas there to make the novel stand out.

[Adeline P · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book for James Patterson for one was super lame and also a disappointment for this series. I have no idea how this book really goes together with the other 2 books. The other 2 books were a lot better and they contained elements that went together. This book just seemed a bit off in my opinion as it didn't fit in the series and it didn't have a good plot. I struggled trying to read this book often because I feel it was not engaging by any means. This book was also in a sense inappropriate for young audiences as they swear more in this book and they oddly bring religion into the book. The book in my opinion brings off the whole vibe of disobeying your parents is cool or is a rebel-like thing to do. When Ali got grounded for instance, he kept leaving to go to more cop scenes which is what he got grounded for to begin with. He kept getting caught by multiple people in his household but it never seemed to matter as he repeated his actions over and over, and his grounding was not taken seriously. I liked how the book went over the overall problem of police brutality as I think it is a good topic for us to learn but, this information was presented wierd. It seemed like the whole middle portion of this book revolved around the debate Ali had in his school and then the debate in my opinion was lame. There was no clear wrong or right side and it was just a mess. If I were you and you see this book I wouldn't read it if you liked the other 2 books in the series because it will negatively change your view on the other 2 books.

[Linda Munro · Rating 5 out of 5]

These may be written for the younger audience but they certainly appeal to the kid in me.

Ali Cross, son of Alex Cross has recently solved two big Police Cases and the taste of adventure has whetted his appetite for more. Every family has one child that goes against the norm, like Ali, I was that child, and I wanted to know more. I was the child who searched through documents and asked questions the elders thought their meager explanations should satisfy. Following in my footsteps is my niece, we are the two people in our family that know the most concerning family secrets, and total truths. While we may have aggravated our elders, we really never put ourselves in danger, which is what Ali Cross always manages to do.

This time, Ali witnesses something horrible, to find the truth, will he be the next victim?

[Yak233aol.Com · Rating 2 out of 5]

Third in the series, this book has Ali Cross, the son of Detective Alex Cross, participating in a school debate over police violence.

Not the best book of the series.

[Lulu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this series and I love seeing Ali grow up. The real disappointment here was that there was no mystery to solve. It really was about Ali as a person.

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Third in a series..Young Adult themed-no mystery here...Black Lives Matter themed toward the young adult reader.

[Amy Goffinet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I technically give this book 3.5 stars, but I rounded up. It is well-written, but the “mystery” part of the book is lacking. The way the summary was written, you would think the intensity of the book would start at the beginning, but it did not really happen until the end, which let me down. This one was much better than the 2nd book, though.

Also, I do not remember so many curse words being in the first two books. I normally would not care, but I do not know if I feel super comfortable recommending this one to my 7th grade students.

[Luke Mautz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book.

[Isla McClory · Rating 3 out of 5]

Personally i did not like this book it was very detectivey and i don't really like detectivey.

[Mark Buxton · Rating 4 out of 5]

What worked:
The main topic of the book is a current event that’s also an important social issue. The role of the police in society is debated, both figuratively and literally. The catalyst this time involves the shooting of a gang member by a policeman trying to stop a shootout between opposing gangs. The boy isn’t seriously hurt but it ignites deep feelings by people with conflicting thoughts. One side thinks the police are murderers and that their excessive use of force is a threat to citizens. The other view thinks the police are honest and caring and they’re trying to do their best in difficult situations. The author effectively shares ideas from both sides in an intriguing tale about a real-life problem.
As the son of a police detective, Ali finds himself thrown into the middle of the conflict at school and in public. Many classmates taunt him with jeers and bumps and a fake Instagram account with his name in the handle doesn’t help matters. Many people think Ali will always side with the police but he actually has a mind of his own. All the policemen he knows are good men and women but he understands how it looks when officers are forced to fire their weapons. Some people become obsessed with isolated instances and they ignore dangerous situations where officers step up to protect citizens. Even with the support of his closest friends, Ali feels alone when nasty comments and threats are targeted at him.
Nana Mama, Ali’s great-grandmother, is an admirable character living with Ali, his sister, his dad, and his stepmother. She steps up to calm a crowd of people who’ve collected outside the house to protest the police. She projects her voice with authority and manages to allay some of the tension. Ali has a habit of sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night and he feels like Nana Mama always knows what he’s doing. She never scolds him but offers thoughts to consider. She understands Ali’s behavior and worries and she does her best to lend support. She even lets him start dinner one evening even though it’s clear it will be a disaster.
What didn’t work as well:
This book differs from the previous two books and the title seems misleading. Ali isn’t actually solving any crimes as he’s caught up in tensions between the police and the public. The story itself is thought-provoking but it’s not what readers might expect when they start the book.
The Final Verdict:
The book doesn’t go into great detail regarding the issues surrounding the behavior of police but it presents the problem in terms young readers can understand and accept. This topic is the focus of the whole plot without any major twists or diversions. Overall, I recommend you give the book a shot.

[Storm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buoyed with confidence after helping to solve two big cases, Ali wants to keep solving crimes and following in his father's footsteps. So ... since his overly friend managed to create a program that hacks into police calls and notifies them, they can now head to crime scenes to watch the detectives at work—and try to crack the cases themselves. Granted these are teenagers with undeveloped brains, but at some point an adult needs to step in and say the obvious.


Alex being not stupid quickly realizes what his son is doing after seeing him at a crime scene. He admonishes Ali not to do it again, after Ali witnesses something horrible. But Ali being a teenage know it all, considers himself too smart to be caught, or proven wrong. It isn't until John Sampson puts the fear of god into Ali that he stops to think maybe what he's doing might be wrong. Unfortunately that reality check lasts all of 8 pages.


Teenagers, what can I say? I kind of hated how the older folks kept letting Ali get away with stuff that no sane parent would have let him get away with. It's not all their fault, they grounded him and set rules but he still rebelled, as teenagers do. While I hate that aspect, I will conceded that this is how teenagers are.


The entire debate about cops protecting the public from Gangs while getting hosed for being racist or using excessive force is one of the more contentious issues being brought up. I thought for the most part this was handled really well with balanced points of view on both sides using the show, don't tell method which meant the final debate was barely touched upon despite being hyped for many chapters.

[whatbooknext · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ali’s desire to become a much respected detective like his father (Alex Cross) still burns brightly inside him. His friend Gabe has developed an app that feeds into local police radio, sending texts and notifications to Ali at all times, day and night. This allows Ali to follow his passion as he and Gabe observe crimes in progress.

There are many gangs in their area and tensions are high between them and the police. This tension steps up a notch when a gang member is shot by an officer.

This kicks off a wave of unrest that has been bubbling under the surface of their community for some time. Unfortunately as the son of a well known cop, Ali is hit with the backlash of this, at school, outside his home and even in church. When asked what he actually thinks and which side he is on:

Police – doing their job fighting crime

or

Community – who believe police shoot first, ask questions later

he is pressed to make a choice.

With a detective for a dad and knowing other officers, Ali struggles with all of the anger against the police force, but he knows the community is right too, in many situations.

When he finally gets to have his say, he knows this is his chance to try and heal at least a tiny bit of the hurt in his neighbourhood.


No. 3 in this series, this episode explores the very real tension between police and the communities they serve. Many police officers misuse their authority and also judge-before-they-know, resulting in shootings of people, often those who are innocent of any crime.

Main character Ali aspires to be a member of the police force and is caught between the hurt and anger of his neighbourhood, and the good work he knows his detective father and his colleagues perform.

Thought provoking.

[CherylB · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Julie Ditton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devour almost any book with Patterson's name and I have followed and enjoyed the Alex Cross series. a few years ago, Patterson created a spin off series for his Jimmy books imprint that followed Alex's son Ali. The first two books were typical middle school fiction fare; standard mistery adventures toned down to be appropriate for the age group. But in this book, Ali's character is written truer to the way he is portrayed in the main series. Yes, he is getting into mischief trying to solve crimes despite his age. His best friend has created a police scanner app to intercept and transcribe police calls. The two make a habit of sneaking out to go to the scene. This lands Ali in hot water. But Ali is also written as a very smart, serious young man who must face some heady issues. The city is up in arms about an other police shooting of a gang member. The town is divided. Many citizens are outraged by police violence that seems to go unpunished. Others in the neighborhood are fed up with gang violence and the lack of support for the men and women in blue who are trying to keep them safe. Being a cop's kid but iving in a neighborhood beset with crime, he is caught in the middle. Soon he must defend the cops position but walk a political tightrope.and gets roped into a public debate.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reading this series since it first came out. And this one was the best yet. But I have no idea how this particular book got a middle grade rating. This one had a lot of swearing, and got pretty violent. The first book wasn't really violent but was pretty intense but nothing that the middle school crowd couldn't handle. The second one got a little more violent, but was no worse than any other action middle grade books. But this one had quite a bit of violence compared to the first two books. And it had a lot more swearing surprisingly. The first book had one use of the h word, and the second book had no swearing at all. But this one used the h word and the a word constantly. Even used the word "damn" pretty often. The s word was used too, but it was only used like three times at the most. It's funny that the Maximum Ride series (which is another series written by James Patterson) is aimed at the YA market, and contains way less swearing than this book. And this series is supposed to be middle-grade. The swearing wasn't really a problem for me, but I'm just letting parents know who don't want their kids to read books filed with swearing and violence. This book was still pretty good though.

[Sharon Mariampillai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Read

This was an enjoyable read. This is the third book of the Ali Cross series, which is about Alex Cross's son. I am continuing to read this series before I read Alex Cross's series. Therefore, I know I will have many unsolved questions until I read the Alex Cross books, but I thought it was interesting that James Patterson decided to create a kid version of Alex Cross. Ali Cross is the miniature version of his father, Alex Cross. He is Alex Cross's youngest child. He is smart and witty for a middle schooler. In this book, Ali witnesses something horrible. He has to grapple with tough questions about what it means to be a detective, and a detective's son. Will Ali find a way to follow in his father's footsteps...or will he be the one in danger's path? I thought the story was great. I liked how the mysteries always seem to involve one of Ali's friends. Although the intended audience is middle schoolers, I think this is a story that is great for readers of any age group. It has mystery, crime, suspense, and it is fast-paced. It is a great addition to the Ali Cross series. The ending was great. I cannot wait to read the Alex Cross series. Overall, a great read.

[The Honest Book Reviewer · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

This third book in the Ali Cross series is not really a mystery novel. It still has some excitement, but most of this book focuses on the age-old debate about policing. Are the police abusing their powers, and if so, is it in epidemic proportions? I get that this is probably an important theme for a young adult audience to start thinking about, but this is meant to be a mystery series. I think less preaching, and more of a mystery, would be better.

The excitement in this book comes from an app that Gabe, Ali's friend, has developed. The app scans police frequency and they get alerted of crimes close to home. Ali sneaks out at night and observes the police in action over a range of different crimes. The crimes are setup to help support Ali's point of view on the police debate.

The characters were still written well in this story, and that is probably the saving grace. This third book in the series is very different to the first two, and I hope that if there is a fourth book it goes back to a mystery.

[Stacey Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ali Cross has a new app on his phone thanks to his genius friend Gabe. They get alerts from the DC police so they can sneak out of their houses to crime scenes at night. Which of course neither one of them should be doing. But as Alex Cross' son Ali can't help himself. Being a cops son is hard enough but when a gang member gets shot by the police tensions in the neighborhood rise. Ali gets bullied at school. The teachers know what's happening. People are afraid....many afraid of the cops who are supposed to protect them. Ali stands for the police, he knows most of them try hard to do the right thing and it isn't easy. He watches his father put his life on the line to protect people. Protests start to happen and thinking violence may soon follow the school decides to have a debate with Ali on one side and his secret crush Sienna opposing. Ali can see both sides. This is a tough situation, this is the life they live in a crime filled neighborhood. Can Ali help them to count on the police again?

[J · Rating 1 out of 5]

barely any actual solving of a mystery

I expected this book to be more like the first but after the second turning more political it seems like this has just follows that trend. Disappointed to say the least.

Basically this book is about Ali getting picked on for being the son of a detective. Ridiculous. I get that it’s real but this is supposed to be “the secret detective”. He just acts like a kid and goes around chasing danger with the only “crime” he solves is finding a little girl who was probably going to be kidnapped.

Language not really appropriate for children which is pretty funny since he starts out saying his friend and he used another word for “junk” in the beginning and then it just dissolves into the actual bad language and curse words.

Rebellious middle schooler getting away with serious and dangerous stuff with no regard for the law and his parents. Very disappointed. I don’t know if we will look out for book 4. 1 was good, 2 was ok and this was not good.

[Iconic Greatness · Rating 3 out of 5]

This third book in the series is a fun read but does not outperform the first two books.
The first book was about Ali's missing friend Gabe and the Second is about a girl he likes who gets shot in her mothers concert. This third book is just about him sneaking out the house at night to check out what's going on after the police interception app pings his phone.

If you read the other two books then this is worth a rental, as in borrow from the library to save money. What makes the book interesting is you keep asking yourself as you read, why Ali, just why do you keep sneaking out the house at night knowing well your not suppose to do that.

My favorite phrase from the book is
His decision becomes very clear. Just do whatever means the most to you.

[cyrene · Rating 1 out of 5]

The title doesn't fit the story

I tried to give the series the benefit of the doubt. But now that I have completed it, I can confidently say that the whole series is bad. You have a main character who does the wrong thing despite knowing it is wrong. He is supposed to be finding out the truth but almost always lies and breaks the rules. Him wanting to be like his father is one thing, but his father actually does the right thing whilst he doesn't. Also, why must Ali defend the cops? It was a running theme throughout the series that wasn't needed. There are other ways to address police brutality. All the investigations done by the Ali are just lucky breaks besides the first one. Overall, I'm left with feelings of frustration over the lack of character development.

[Michael crage · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book because it was written by Patterson, not realizing that it was a juvenile book, accually book for preteens. The plot was basically nonexistent. The main character was Ali Cross, detective Alex Cross's young son. A friends has invented something that intercepts police calls and in rea timetranslates them and put them in their phones. Then they go tothe site of whtever is happening to see what it is. At the first sitethey go to, a police officer ends up having to shoot a young gang member and the neighborhood does not like it. Ali has to defend the police and is in the minority of believing in them.