Kiss The Girls

The Shadow of the Casanova Killer

When celebrated forensic psychologist Dr. Alex Cross learns that his niece Naomi has gone missing during a family trip to North Carolina, he races into the heart of darkness to confront a predator unlike any he has faced before. In Kiss the Girls, James Patterson weaves a taut, breath-stealing thriller that plunges readers into the terrified world of twelve young women held captive by the notorious “Casanova Killer.” As Cross follows a trail of chilling clues—from cryptic letters left at abandoned hunting cabins to blood-spattered motel rooms—he must outthink a manipulative genius who sees each victim as a prize in his twisted game.

Hunt Through the Maze of Evil

Partnering with Detective Kate McTiernan—herself an escapee from the killer’s clutches—Cross navigates a labyrinth of secret tunnels and underground cells hidden deep in the forests of Virginia. Each revelation peels back another layer of the murderer’s perverse methodology: his carefully staged crime scenes, his taunting radio broadcasts that lure law enforcement into traps, and the coded diary entries that hint at his next victim. Patterson’s heart-pounding prose evokes every rustle of leaves under moonlight, every whispered plea behind locked steel doors, and the electric tension of two survivors racing against time and terror.

Confronting the Monster Within

As Cross and McTiernan close in on the Casanova Killer’s lair, they must wrestle not only with the physical dangers of a remote kill zone but also with their deepest fears and regrets. In a shattering climax beneath the canopy of towering pines, loyalties are tested, sacrifices are made, and the true face of evil is laid bare. Kiss the Girls is a relentless exploration of courage under siege and the indomitable will to rescue the innocent—even when the monster is always one step ahead.

. “A blistering cat-and-mouse thriller where every heartbeat echoes with the promise of salvation—or the threat of oblivion,” writes James Patterson’s description.