It is hard to find authors as popular as James Patterson, and his Alex Cross books are at the epicenter. Let's remove the Patterson name for a moment and take an in-depth look at this newest novel. In 1906, race relations are being threatened; The war has just ended; Equality is still a foreign concept -- especially in the south. Theodore Roosevelt (the President of the USA) has placed an urgent call to Ben Corbett - a prestigious lawyer - summoning him to The White House. The President instructs Corbett to seek the aid of Abraham Cross in his home town of Mississippi, and together, investigate the outbreak of burning and lynching of minorities.

When he does arrive, it doesn't take him long to find Cross whom is being escorted by a beautiful young woman, Moody. Moody is Cross' grand daughter and together they show Corbett the true extent of the hate-filled assaults in a once peaceful town. While it does take Ben Corbett a while to accept the truth, he does finally come to realize just how dire the situation is. I'll stop there so I don't spoil the story for anyone whom has yet to read this brilliant novel. There are so many twists-and turns (the biggest being Abraham Cross - the grandfather of Alex) The racial overtones are done incredibly well, and while it is graphic at times, they do serve a greater purpose and keep the novel on track.

Now let's put the Patterson name back, and this good novel becomes great. Patterson is the master of suspense, intrigue, and lifellike characters that change and evolve the story to a level that only a very few authors can replicate. Do I really need to mention this? I mean seriously, if you don't know how good Patterson is...then that cave you live in must be nice and cozy. I'm joking. This latest novel to grace the Patterson name is an exciting thrill ride, that moves along at breakneck speeds and gives the reader a reason to place Patterson back on top of the genre. Well done. Well done, indeed.

Although this book was NOT an 'Alex Cross Novel' I found the story riveting. Perhaps because I feel exactly as the "author" of the story portrayed the main character .. a person who didn't understand NOR didn't go along with the treatment of blacks back then. The fact that it was so 'secretive' and thought of as 'the right thing to do' was disconcerting at BEST. And it could cause one to wonder about the activities of "certain groups" in 2009.

I thought Mr. Patterson created WONDERFUL characters, as usual, and that the story didn't skip a beat. No, it WASN'T an Alex Cross novel, but for me, it was CERTAINLY not a disappointment.

I DO want more Alex Cross stories .. like maybe 10 more!!!

While some reviewers of this book have been dissappointed, I find Alex Cross' Trial to be an excellent read - even if it is large font and quick chapters.

In addition to giving the Alex Cross reader/follower insight into his (Cross') personal history, the "Trail" gives a real feeling for what was going on in America at the turn of the 20th Century. A bit of research myself and I find that Patterson talks a great deal about his research into the book and the reason for writing it.

The setting is Washington DC and Southern Mississippi; Teddy Roosevelt is President and a key character in this not-so-fictional book. And any reader of American History knows that T. Roosevelt was politically motivated by almost everything he did - case in point is Franklin Roosevelt's wedding.

Patterson and Dilallo have touched heavily on the epitimy of man, and woman's, ability to ignore the well being of another human because it does not fit our purpose. More of that "what's-best-for-MY-family" syndrome. Not a lot had really changed from John Newton's time to the early 1900's, or for that matter since the time of Cain and Able to now.

A good read. An important storyline.

To that end....

First, let me warn this is not your typical Alex Cross novel. It is not a mystery that requires Alex Cross to investigate and find a brutal killer. Instead, it is a novel written by Alex Cross about an ancestor, Abraham Cross, and a Washington D.C. lawyer named Ben Corbett. This is a tale about the courageous fight for freedom, racial struggles in the South, and the trial of the 20th century.

In the early 1900's, Attorney Ben Corbett is sent to his hometown of Eudora, Mississippi to investigate rumors of lynching and the Ku Klux Klan. President Roosevelt reaches out to the young attorney personally to get the assignment done. With his marriage already on the rocks, Corbett obeys the President and leaves his wife and 7-year-old twins behind in Washington and sets off to a Southern hometown where he is not wanted.

Corbett arrives in Eudora and takes a trip down memory lane on a bicycle. His father, the most honest and fair Judge of the South, doesn't welcome him. His childhood friends and old neighbors are all smiles, but leery of his presence. Corbett soon partners up with Alex Cross's great-uncle, Abraham, and cousin Moody Cross. It doesn't take long to witness the truth behind President Roosevelt's suspicions of lynching. Corbett sets on a journey with his partners to figure out who is behind the terror and the truth breaks his heart.

Even though I expected this latest installment of the series to be like the other traditional Alex Cross books, I thoroughly enjoyed this irresistible story. James Patterson did it again! Through his descriptive words and emotional dialogue, you feel like you're back in the 1900's in the South experiencing the lives of our ancestors. He drew in readers with a story of love, murder, courage, and fear.

I picked this book up at the library (I was the first on the list to get it)as I don't automatically purchase a James Patterson book anymore. I was prepared to not like it but was somewhat surprised as I kept reading that it was an interesting story of an era in our history that was violent and sad. First let me clear something up as one reviewer was angry with the title "Alex Cross's Trial". The title could be misleading but if you read the inside flap it tells you that "Trial" is the name of the book Alex Cross writes for his children to tell the story of his great uncle. Without that indeed the title misleads you a bit. Secondly I don't care who wrote the book-we all know Mr. Patterson uses co-authors these days. It was explained to me that he comes up with the idea, hires a co-author, gives this person the outline he wants the storyline to adhere to and thus we come up with sort of a James Patterson book. (now don't quote me on the last sentence-that is the way it was explained to me by another author).

As I read the story it brought to life an era we perhaps would rather not read about or think about. I belive the author or authors did an amazing job of reliving that time in history. Mississippi and other southern states had many years of turmoil over the race issue.

You get to know the characters pretty well and see how the race issue tore friends and families apart. Even the main character, a lawyer, Ben Corbett by defending injustice and helping the less fortunate, risks losing his family, friends, his father and even his life. I think it's a great character study of human values. I'm not sure I would say I enjoyed reading the book as I found it informative and interesting.

Many will and have already disagreed with me and we all have different tastes for sure, but I would read it again as I found it more on the literature side than just a suspense/mystery! I will admit I have not cared for some of James Patterson's latest books and didn't even finish a couple of them but I found this one worth reading. I like more historical type books so might be why I could get into this one.

Being from the South (but not Mississippi), I certainly know about the horrows this book spoke of. It was an absolute truth (but I do not feel that I am personally responsible for any of the terrible things that happened). Slavery was a part of the South that should not have happened but did. The one thing that is never talked about is that it happened in the North and Africa also. Maybe not exactly, but I saw some of the recent worse discrimination I know of in the Chicago area when I lived there.
The lynching, killing and awful treatment of the Blacks was brought to light in this book to anyone in this day and age that had not been exposed to this part of the South. There again, I have heard of Blacks who went North only to come back to the South and wanted to stay as a "slave" of their master as they were treated better than they were in the North. The North was cold and it was hard to get work, find a place to live, and be treated like a "real person". There are many stories of the South that are proclaimed to be only a Southern occurance - like moonshine also - that were not just a Southern problem. The book was an excellent read but am sorry someone has not exposed the North and their problems just as vividly. The treatment of the immigrants (Irish, Jews, etc.) is just not as exploited.

While reading this, it seemed that I was reading a John Grisham novel, set in his usual Mississippi setting, with all of the typical Grisham-esque descriptions attendant to his style. That said, I thought it was a good read despite all the seemingly impossible connections of the day (Teddy Roosevelt, Mark Twain, etc.) Entertainment, whether a book or a movie, many times requires us to suspend disbelief. Sure it was unbelievable that Ben Corbett could survive a hanging attempt...but who cares? The story that followed after that was worth the time to read it.

Like many of the reviewers already posting, I have also stopped buying many of the Patterson novels and have decided only to buy the Alex Cross and Women's Murder Club series. Although his mass production has very much diluted the quality of what bears his name, once in a while he takes me back to the style of novel I enjoy. This may have been a "bait and switch" with the Alex Cross moniker on it, but I can forgive the indiscretion after absorbing the content.

I am surprised that readers purchase a book based on the title alone. It is very clear that this book is not a traditional Alex Cross book but the tie-in with the Cross family history gives some added dimension to the Cross family for those of us who have enjoyed them over the years. This is a fictional but well-written story about events that occurred in the South and shaped our country. While James Patterson teams up with unknown authors more often than most, he has co-authored such masterpieces as "Jester" and put it in the hands of readers who may otherwise not have had the opportunity. If you're looking to read only a detective story, this book is not for you. If you're looking to read a compelling story of the South and racial relations at the turn of the century...this book certainly is for you.

I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one believing it was another great Alex Cross novel....well not really technically, but either way I couldn't put it down. I bought it and read it cover to cover in one evening.

The characters in this books are easy to relate too, and the subject matter may be "disturbing" for some, but it is what it is and life was like that in those days and in some places I assure you it's not so different now.

If someone asked me about this book I would say, it's not what I expected......it far exceeded my expectations and even made me forget my original disappointment that it was not true Alex Cross. My advice, don't get sucked into all the drama of those who cry "It's not Alex Cross!". Don't fret over the co-author and whatever James Patterson "slaps his name on" in the name of making money. Anyway you look at it, it was a riveting read. Give it a chance!

I am surprised how many have given this book such a low rating. It was as if those who have read many of these Alex Cross books were disappointed because this was not what they were expecting. I have seen that when authors, artists, and musicians do something different, often fans have a hard time accepting the change.

Now because I am new to James Patterson, I did not have any preconceived expectations for this book. I gave it 5 stars because it was a great and interesting story that above all else was an easy read which challenged my thinking about how people behave.

I hope as I read other James Patterson books which I now intend to do, that I am not so influenced by this book to negate what good I can find in them just because they are different.

Just my two-cents!

Having grown up in the deep South, before and during desegregation, I could relate to this book. I don't know which was the most shameful American experience, what we did to the native Americans or the African Americans. Read this book and In Bitterness and in Tears: Andrew Jackson's Destruction of the Creeks and Seminoles and you decide.

Even though it was not your typical "Alex Cross" novel, it was hard to put down. Read it in 2.5 days. Easy to read and very hard to put down.

As an avid reader, and a James Patterson fan, I can say that this book did not disappoint me. It kept my attention so much that I read it within 6 hours!

Although the book is fiction, it could well be someone's actual story, and it is easy to identify with characters in the book. Reading this book gave some much needed insight as to where the racial tension of today comes from.

I love James Patterson's style and content and look forward to the next one...Especially a new Alex Cross Novel!