Mary, Mary

FBI agent Alex Cross is on vacation when he gets a call from the Director. An actress has been shot outside her home in Beverly Hills. Afterward, an editor for the Los Angeles Times receives an e-mail recounting the murder in shocking detail, signed Mary Smith. HER CALLING CARD: The authorities fear this is only the beginning. More killings follow, and more e-mails arrive immediately after. Mary Smith is targeting Hollywood stars and power brokers, and she is getting better every time. Right from the start, this case is like nothing Alex has ever confronted before. Could this be the plan of an obsessed fan or a spurned actor, or is it part of something much more terrifying? And how could a woman be capable of these vicious crimes? "YOU'VE GOT MAIL." People make enemies easily in Hollywood. To track down a merciless killer, Alex must navigate a world where the stars and players sip San Pellegrino at the Ivy as hopefuls hover around studio gates armed with 8 X 10 glossies. Everyone is desperate for a close-up, but this is one fan Hollywood could do without. Members of the A-list fear they're next on Mary's list, and the case catapults into blockbuster proportions as Cross and the LAPD scramble to find a pattern before Mary can send one more chilling update. Filled with the ruthless and shocking twists that make his fans hunger for more, Mary, Mary is James Patterson's most sophisticated thriller yet. Copyright © 2005 by James Patterson. Published by Warner Books.