Season 1’s 8 Biggest Changes to James Patterson’s Alex Cross Books

Notice! This article contains spoilers for season 1 of Cross.

Despite borrowing many narrative beats from James Patterson’s book, Alex Cruz books, Amazon Cross departs significantly from its source material in more ways than one. From its earliest moments, Amazon Cross draws subtle references to its source material. For example, it features a scene in which the central killer recalls how Alex Cross worked on the Gary Soneji case, which ends up being a direct return to the first novel, Along came a spiderin James Patterson Alex Cruz series.

As the series progresses, it becomes apparent that it reintegrates many characters from the source material’s lore, albeit in slightly different roles. However, despite introducing many elements from the books into its plot, the Amazon series does not hesitate to have its own original elements. Unlike most adaptations, Cross It intentionally avoids being too similar to the original books and makes many changes to the original stories.

8

The reason for Alex Cross’s wife’s death is different in the books

Maria is murdered by someone else in the books

Just like the original books, Amazon Prime Video’s Cross establishes the titular character as a widower, haunted by his inability to save his wife. In both the books and the show, Alex Cross’s wife, Maria, was murdered. However, while the books long maintain an air of ambiguity surrounding the death of Alex Cross’s wife, the series makes it one of the main drivers of its plot before revealing the truth behind it in its final episodes. In James Patterson Alex Cruz books, the identity of Maria’s killer remains a mystery until the 12th edition, Cross.

The 12th book finally confirms that she was murdered by a gunman just when Alex Cross showed up at her workplace to pick her up. Many clues in the book also suggest that the shooter likely targeted Alex Cross but accidentally killed his wife. The killers of Maria, Miss Nancy and Peter in the series are driven by a personal grudge against Alex Cross. They blame him for sending their beloved, Diedre, to prison for life because he testified against her in court and claimed that she had psychopathic tendencies that could not be corrected.

7

The show appears to change the gender of a major character from the books

Kayla Craig could be the counterpart of a big villain

Kayla Craig is portrayed as one of Alex Cross’s allies almost all the time Cross Season 1 runtime. However, given the way in which she shares her last name with the main villain of the original novels, Kyle CraigIt’s hard not to wonder if the show changed the villain’s gender. In Cross In Season 1’s mid-credits scene, Kayla also makes a suspicious deal with a secondary antagonist, Bobby Tery, which may have set her up as Season 2’s main villain.

Considering their common surname, Kayla Craig could also be related to Kyle Craig in some way. She may be looking to improve her family’s reputation because she is related to a criminal like Kyle, or she may eventually betray Alex Cross. Regardless of what role she eventually plays in the Amazon Prime Video detective show, she is an original character who does not appear in the original books.

6

The Amazon series adds more thematic depth to James Patterson’s stories

He plays with themes involving masculinity and violence against black men

Although James Patterson’s original novels play with some deeper themes in some of their stories, the books mostly play out like the standard fictional detective tale fare. Amazon Prime Videos Cross aims to borrow many narrative threads from the books, but brings its own originality to them and expands them in a positive way, playing with many didactic themes. Like most crime thriller protagonists, Alex Cross is also portrayed as an emotionally numb and stoic police officer.

However, Instead of portraying his emotional withdrawal as a strength, the show establishes that this is his greatest weakness. His anger and overwhelming sadness over his wife’s death not only taint his relationship with his family, but also distort his judgment. By highlighting how Alex Cross ends up attacking an innocent black man after finding circumstantial evidence against him, the show also touches on the topic of police brutality and how systemic issues in law enforcement can lead to tragic consequences.

5

Alex Cross is another imperfect hero on the Amazon Show

Despite his talents, Cross makes some serious mistakes in the series

Alex Cross is portrayed as a sage in the original books by James Patterson. Even in the series, there are times when the character’s colleagues step back and let him do all the thinking because they trust his deductive skills and intelligence. However, the show also portrays him as a flawed hero, who, Despite his intellect, he often makes poor decisions and serious errors in judgment. For example, when Cross recalls one of his court statements from a few years ago, he himself is surprised that he had claimed that a criminal was irredeemable.

Many black characters in Crossincluding his family members, sometimes also struggle to admire him because of his complex and contradictory nature. As much as his colleagues trust him, they don’t believe him in the show’s final arc because a video clip proves he assaulted an innocent man in broad daylight. Cross also allows his emotions to get the better of him in many situations and says mean things to his best friend, Sampson, despite realizing the consequences of his actions and words.

4

The Amazon Show Feels More Progressive Than James Patterson’s Books

The series surprisingly breaks some norms of the thriller genre

One of Amazon’s most intriguing side stories Cross involves the titular character’s loved ones encouraging him to seek therapy after his wife’s death. However, Alex Cross avoids seeking help, ignoring how his grief is affecting his personal and professional life. Towards the end of the series, the character finally redeems himself by turning to therapy, which becomes a fundamental step in his healing journey. Characters in “parent” books and shows rarely face their emotional struggles head-on, especially in action thrillers that focus on heroism.

Although James Patterson’s original books highlight how the loss of his wife affects Alex Cross, they don’t really challenge the traditional portrayal of male heroes in any way. Instead of following the same path as the books and sidelining Alex Cross’s emotional vulnerability in favor of stoicism, the show takes a much more progressive approach towards portraying heroic male protagonists.

3

The series intentionally avoids adapting any specific James Patterson story

There’s a specific reason why the show is so different from the original books

While Morgan Freeman Alex Cruz the films are much more faithful adaptations of the works of Amazon’s James Patterson Cross avoids focusing on source-specific stories. Instead, it just borrows character beats, themes, and tropes from the books while presenting a wholly original plot. As explained by executive producer and showrunner Ben Watkins (via Collider), the show does this to”explore what is really happening right now in society.“

James Patterson also seemed pleased that the show had etched its own identity rather than following the books. “It’s something I say when someone is developing one of my books or characters: I prefer the story to be completely new,” he said (via Weekly entertainment). While some viewers will be disappointed with the show’s approach to adapting Alex Cross’s books, it’s intriguing how it strives to expand the books’ lore and history rather than recreate it.

2

Ed Ramsey is not a villain in the tradition of the original books

He is an original antagonist written for the Amazon show

In addition to reconstructing the reason for Maria’s death and connecting it to original villains like Nancy and Peter, the Cross it also introduces another new villain, Ed Ramsey, who does not appear in the books. Labeled as the “Fanboy Killer”, Ramsey keeps Alex Cross on his toes throughout the show and is portrayed as an influential man who uses his power and resources to pull all the strings and control those around him. The show also adds other original characters like Bobby Trey and Shannon Witmer to the mix to keep things fresh.

1

One aspect of Sampson’s story is significantly different in the Amazon show

Sampson remains Cross’s best friend, but doesn’t do anything crucial

Sampson helps Alex Cross dominate Nancy and Peter in Cross final moments of season 1. However, Alex Cross does most of the fighting. Even after Peter overpowers Sampson, Alex Cross stands firm against the villain and takes him down before it’s too late. As a result, Alex Cross eventually single-handedly avenges his wife’s death on the Amazon show. In the original books, on the other hand, Samson plays a different role when it comes to avenging Mary’s death.

The books reveal that Sampson became increasingly concerned about Alex Cross’s mental health after he lost his wife. He realized that if he followed the path of revenge, he would lose the last shreds of humanity he had left. Therefore, Samson takes responsibility for avenging Mary’s death and kills the sniper who shot her. This makes Sampson’s characterization more important in the books than in Amazon. Cross.