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  • Along Came a Spider

  • Written by: James Patterson
  • Narrated by: Taye Diggs
  • Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (263 ratings)

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Along Came a Spider

Written by: James Patterson
Narrated by: Taye Diggs
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Publisher's Summary

Discover the classic thriller that launched the number-one detective series of the past 25 years, now one of PBS's "100 Great American Reads".

Alex Cross is a homicide detective with a PhD in psychology. He works and lives in the ghettos of D. C. and looks like Muhammad Ali in his prime. He's a tough guy from a tough part of town who wears Harris Tweed jackets and likes to relax by banging out Gershwin tunes on his baby grand piano. But he also has two adorable kids of his own, and they are his own special vulnerabilities.

Jezzie Flanagan is the first woman ever to hold the highly sensitive job as supervisor of the Secret Service in Washington. Blond, mysterious, and seductive, she's got an outer shell that's as tough as it is beautiful. She rides her black BMW motorcycle at speeds of no less than 100 mph. What is she running from? What is her secret?

Alex Cross and Jezzie Flanagan are about to have a forbidden love affair - at the worst possible time for both of them. Because Gary Soneji, who wants to commit the "crime of the century," is playing at the top of his game. Soneji has outsmarted the FBI, the Secret Service, and the police. Who will be his next victim?

Gary Soneji is every parent's worst nightmare. He has become Alex Cross's nightmare. And now, listener, he's about to become yours.

©1993, 2018 James Patterson (P)2018 Hachette Audio

What the critics say

"Patterson's storytelling talent is in top form in this grisly escapist yarn." (Library Journal)

"Brilliantly terrifying! So exciting that I had to stay up all night to finish it! Packed with white-knuckle twists." (Daily Mail)

"An incredibly suspenseful read with a one-of-a-kind villain who is as terrifying as he is intriguing." (Clive Cussler)

What listeners say about Along Came a Spider

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Maybe just not my type of book?

I struggled to get through this book... not quite sure if it was the narration which was mediocre (not the worst I've ever heard, but definitely didn't do the book justice, in my opinion) or if it was the story itself (found it quite copy and disorganized at times). Thinking I'm going to read the book hard copy before I make my final decision on 'Along Came A Spider'.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Robotic narration

I enjoy James Patterson which is why I chose this book, but I almost had to stop listening because of the terrible, robotic, unimaginative narration. By far the worst of all the books I’ve listened to!

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Which one was the spider?

I've read a lot of his books and this one definitely doesn't disappoint...give it a try it is a great book written by a very gifted writer that will keep you on the edge of your seat and has a very surprising ending !!!

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

good

nice one .. interesting and must listen best way to listen to good music. .

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Robotic narration did not do the book justice

The storyline is interesting and engaging, which was the thing that stopped me from quiting on this book. the narrator sounded like a robot. All the characters have the exact same voice and none of their personalities came through at all. At times I was confused who is talking, or whether something is the narrative, a character's inner thoughts or speech.
if you can find this book narrated by someone else, I'd stay away from this version.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars

Narrator makes it impossible to listen

I've tried multiple times to listen to this book and I just can't deal with the narrator. I think he's the worst I've heard but I've been privileged with them. He doesn't tell the story, he reads it. Every character, every situation, same monotone droll. A character is said to do a Nixon impression and he reads it straight. Sorry. I cant judge the story

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Bad narration

I thoroughly enjoyed the writing, but the narration was awful. The character voice differentiation was almost nul, and the narrator mixed up what voices he had created. It was as if a grade school child had been reading a text for the first time for a teacher in front of the class. Not impressed.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Taye Diggs was great as the narrator.

I read the book 20 years ago, but listening to Diggs read it to me was so much better!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Tough book to hear

This book has a good plot line but is tough to hear. it is a gruesome story and I skipped over several chapters. I will take a break from Jim Patterson books.

The narrator does sound like a robot. However you get used to it and possibly with the number of characters, acting it out would be confusing.

The kidnapping of children is not an easy listen. Skip it if you have kids.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Trouble with the narrator

I think this is a good story and I want to continue with Patterson but the narration stood in the way of my focus. He was reading a story, not telling one. For example, the accented word was almost always the last word of the sentence. I doubt he speaks that way.

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  • Maestro
  • 2018-12-10

Good Story Ruined by Poor Narration

When there is so much voice talent out there in the world, why would you match a great story and award-winning author with such poor narration? I don't know Mr. Diggs' resume for such work, but he is incapable of shifting between characters and his voice is really quite monotone for most of this work. Disappointing!

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27 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • Anonymous User
  • 2019-02-14

Not who you think

I love this book. The narrator was awesome. I was easy to get into and stay in tune throughout. This book did not waste any time with capturing my attention. The first chapter went directly into jaw dropping thriller.

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23 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Maria
  • 2019-01-03

MC Patterson fan

The story was good but the narrator was terrible. I am a Patterson fan but this was tough to listen to.

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • David S Stanley Jr.
  • 2020-08-19

Outstanding Drama; BUT Read NOT Narrated

This was a excellent Novel with emotional highs and lows and an ending that would make Alfred Hitchcock proud.
If ‘reader" (and that’s all he was0 made this novel almost impossible to follow. It was read in an emotionless monotone with little if any different inflection between characters. Too often I had to back up to figure out who was talking.
I remember enjoying this book much more when I originally read it.

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15 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Tammia
  • 2018-12-30

The book is good but the reader is not.

This story is complex and enticing. The reader put weird inflections into his interpretation. In many places his pace is pedantic and very off.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Westley Dent
  • 2019-03-09

Good Read

Good book, enjoyed the story. It was suspenseful and easy to follow. The narration left a little to be desired.

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10 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Valérie
  • 2020-09-04

The narration spoiled it for me.

I was very much looking forward to this story comment but the narration is hideous. After a quick search for an alternate narrator, of an unabridged version, I decided to read the reviews. There are enough negative reviews regarding the narration come of that I have no desire to invest the time in this book.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Norman D. Harrison
  • 2018-12-26

Exciting

loved it. Very exciting.
very surprised ending.
sometimes very scarry.
If you like mysteries, you'll love this book.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Nate_D
  • 2020-08-31

Great book, with subpar narration.

You either love Patterson or you don't. I am not one of his biggest fans, but I do enjoy most of his books. This one is one of his best. I did not care for the narration, though. I felt like Tase Diggs just did not get what the author had in mind as he wrote the book. Very disconnected.

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4 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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  • GigiNapa
  • 2020-08-23

Taye Diggs was awful!

This production would have been a lot better if the narrator wasn’t so terrible! Love Taye Diggs the actor, but as a narrator....NO. Completely monotone, zero vocal changes between characters and he reads like we are all Kindergartners. Save yourself the 11 hours and just watch the movie.

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2 people found this helpful