Along Came a Spider

The novel begins with Alex being called to the home of Jean “Poo” Sanders, the scene of three murders. He is shocked by the sight of Poo’s three-year-old son, Mustaf, tossed aside. Poo is a sex worker, as is her 14-year-old daughter, Suzette, and they live in a poor, primarily Black neighborhood where crimes often go underreported and unsolved. When Alex is called away from the Sanders house to investigate the kidnapping of two affluent white children, he becomes angry. He feels Poo and her children deserve the same attention as Michael Goldberg and Maggie Rose Dunne. He believes Poo and her children are being brushed aside due to being Black and poor, while Michael is the son of a politician and Maggie is the daughter of a famous actress. Although Alex becomes invested in the kidnapping, he is outraged by this unequal treatment.

Alex is a trained psychologist who once opened his own private practice but was disheartened to learn that most people do not trust a Black psychologist, and he was forced to shut his practice down. He lives in the neighborhood where he grew up, the same neighborhood as the Sanderses, a place where residents are often distrustful of the police because of past injustices—including the lack of concern for people like the Sanders. He works to change this attitude by making himself seen and available as a police officer concerned for his neighborhood. Alex also volunteers at St. Anthony’s Church, serving lunches and treating patients who seek him out for counseling.

As Alex works on the kidnapping case, he becomes romantically involved with Jezzie Flanagan, a Secret Service supervisor. Jezzie is a white woman Alex admires for her commitment to her job and ability to command respect in a male-dominated space. However, Alex understands that an interracial relationship between him and Jezzie will receive pushback. He sees discomfort and judgment in a room-service waiter’s flustered reaction and strangers’ looks as he and Jezzie ride on her motorcycle. At one point, Alex and Jezzie attempt to attend a basketball game and are insulted by a group of men who disapprove of a Black man dating a white woman. Even Alex’s grandmother, Nana Mama, tells him that she doesn’t like Alex’s relationship with Jezzie because “Jezzie is a white woman, and I do not trust most white people” (281). While Nana Mama’s comments come from a place of concern, they exemplify the disapproval Alex and Jezzie face not only in the city at large but in their respective communities. This struggle is an ingrained part of Alex’s life as a Black man, and by including it, James Patterson makes him feel fleshed-out and real.