Top cop Cross is back from Africa for his latest thriller, doggedly tackling the murder of a niece who was working as a high-class prostitute.

Caroline fell victim to a serial killer uses the cover of a sex club frequented by the country's top politicians, law-makers and businessmen.

While Cross encounters a cover-up of presidential proportions, both Secret Service and bad guys conduct their own bloody investigations.

Patterson is as readable as ever, laying on the action and twists, and although he doesn't short-change fans this book isn't as good as other recent Cross novels.

A sub-plot about Cross's Nana in hospital seems tagged-on, getting in the way of the main story.

David Knights