Along Came a Spider
by James Patterson
★ Top 5 book of 1993 · #3 on Best Books of 1993
Homicide detective and psychologist Alex Cross hunts Gary Soneji, a clever teacher turned kidnapper who snatches two children from under the noses of their Secret Service guards. The case grows ever more terrifying as authorities fail to outwit him.
Best for: Fans of serial-killer thrillers with a psychologist detective hero
Along Came a Spider is #3 on BookWard's Best Books of 1993, out of 36 1993 books that cleared our data bar.
What Along Came a Spider is about
Alex Cross is both a psychologist and a police detective in Washington, D.C., and in this first book of the series he takes on a kidnapping that has frightened the capital. Two children from wealthy, prominent families, Maggie-Rose Dunne and Michael Goldberg, are taken despite Secret Service protection. The man behind it, Gary Soneji, is a careful planner who had posed as a teacher at their private school. Alex, with his partner John Sampson and Secret Service supervisor Jezzie Flanagan, is pulled into a contest of nerve and cunning, where a suspect's claims about his own mind make it hard to know who is telling the truth. Fast, chilling and built on deception, it suits readers who like a crime story that keeps moving and a detective with a real stake in the case.
Along Came a Spider on the Best Books of 1993
Along Came a Spider came out in 1993. Of the 36 books first published in 1993 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #3 on our Best Books of 1993 list.
Why it made the list: 615 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4 out of 5 (47 ratings); 41 are reading it right now. The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
It earns Being read right now.
Nearby on the 1993 list
- The Giver Lois Lowry, #1
- The Scam Debashis Basu, #2
- A Suitable Boy Vikram Seth, #4
- Girl, Interrupted Susanna Kaysen, #5
See all Best Books of 1993 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 1992 Best Books of 1994.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 472 want to read it, 41 are reading it now and 101 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 4 out of 5 from 47 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 97 | 55% |
| Reader love | 47 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 94 | 20% |
Questions about Along Came a Spider
When was Along Came a Spider published?
Along Came a Spider by James Patterson was first published in 1993.
Was Along Came a Spider one of the best books of 1993?
Along Came a Spider is #3 on BookWard's Best Books of 1993, out of 36 1993 books that cleared our data bar. 615 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4 out of 5 (47 ratings); 41 are reading it right now.
Why is Along Came a Spider on the Best Books of 1993 list?
615 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4 out of 5 (47 ratings); 41 are reading it right now.
More of the best books of 1993
- The Giver Lois Lowry, #1
- The Scam Debashis Basu, #2
- A Suitable Boy Vikram Seth, #4
- Girl, Interrupted Susanna Kaysen, #5
- Understanding Comics Scott McCloud, #6
- Trainspotting Irvine Welsh, #7
See the full Best Books of 1993, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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