I know that this is being haled as another edition in Alex Cross series, but I can't help but feel they slapped a two-page introduction at the beginning and changed a couple of character names to take an interesting by an obscure author and shoot the sales up because of ties to Patterson. It is a cheap ploy, and it irks me even as I find that I enjoyed the book.

The introduction states that the book is actually by Alex Cross. He has been wanting to tell the story for years. The Trial looks back to events that took place in Eudora, Mississippi in 1906. Ben Corbett, a successful lawyer in Washington, D.C. has been asked by President Theodore Roosevelt to go back to his hometown and look into accusations of lynching taking place there as well as rumors of an active Ku Klux Klan, which has been outlawed..

In many ways, Corbett is the perfect fit for such an assignment as he has a history of defending African Americans in cases brought against them. At the same time, Corbett almost needs to stay home because his marriage is crumbling because of all the time he devotes to his career. Not surprisingly, he is unable to turn away the President's request. This is not only because it is the President, but Corbett served under Roosevelt in the Spanish-American War. He is to meet up with Abraham Cross, the great, great uncle of Alex Cross, who will help with the investigation.

Upon returning back to Eudora, old memories of family and friends rush back, including his awkward relationship with his father Judge Corbett. Then, there is the girl who gave him his first kiss. She is now married to a state senator, but that doesn't prevent them from reconnecting.

The reminiscing is off-set by the horrible nature of the things he learns about the lynchings that have been taking place. They are not only happening, but the lynchings are horribly gruesome. Often times, participants will take toes, fingers, or other body parts as souvenirs of the experience. He also finds himself surprised at the identity of some of the people involved in the lynchings.

Just his presence makes things more difficult for the African American community in Eudora. Everyone knows what he is doing, and the Cross family becomes targets for the Klan, which leads to an incident where some African Americans are killed. Three of the perpetrators of the attack are arrested by the reluctant sheriff, and the "Trial of the Century" ensues. Obviously, Corbett will play a major role.

The story is actually pretty interesting. It reminds me a lot of John Grisham's earlier works blended with Patterson's brief chapters and quick pacing, though I did find the vocabulary and reading level to be of higher quality with this work.

The reader does have to take some leaps of faith. For example, the fact that both Corbett and Abraham Cross are acquainted to the President through convoluted explanations, and it is hard to get why Nana Mama is the source of the story for Alex Cross when she would be a Cross by marriage rather than birth. With that said, I did find the story to be very interesting.

Readers just have to be prepared for the cheesy ploy made by the publisher to use the Patterson brand to help sales of this book since it is only barely an Alex Cross title.