Alex Cross starts a whole new career with the FBI in this novel. Previously, he had worked as a detective for the Washington, DC Police Department. This by no means indicates a change in the type of cases he is going to be involved with, even as he is working his way thorugh training to become an official agent.

This case is one of the most intersting ones. It centers around a kidnapping scheme that is used to capture individuals for use as sexual slaves. The customers are all tied to a secret online chat room called the Wolf's Den and the whole scheme centers around Wolf, a mysterious former Russian KGB-agent with strong ties to the Red Mafiya.

The case proves to be a difficult one to follow as the specifics of the various kidnappings change throughout the investigation. At first, they think the victims are just beautiful women, but before long, Cross and his team realize that young men are also potential victims.

While this is going on, Alex also hears from former fiancee Christine Johnson. She has returned with the hopes of getting custody of their son, little Alex. She has set a photographer on him and his family to get proof that his career has the whole family in danger. This case, like a number of previous ones is able to provide more than enough evidence for her.

I found this one starting a little slow since a number of the major plot points were already used in previous novels in the series, while obviously not in this combination. Once the story (and the hunt) picked up speed, I found myself drawn right into the adventure. It is typican Patterson with lots of action and easy, comfortable reading. In fact, I read it in less than a day on a work day, but that is typical for me with his books. This is another fine addition to the series.