This is book 3 of the "Alex Cross" series.

This note does not contain major spoilers for the book.

The Alex Cross books seem to be entirely original work by James Patterson.

Complex plot, but the magic CIA assassins are a bit annoying (we have hundreds of contract assassins, apparently), and the casual claim that the big 1960s assassinations are still unsolved is catering to the stupidest conspiracy theories. The two do go together, at least.

Annoyances include magic silencers and a black from the ghetto who doesn't think about what the police will do when they find him parked late at night in a white DC suburb (he's a policeman, and can show ID if they let him, but he doesn't even think about the issue).

I forget if this is the one that has somebody thumb back the hammer on his Glock, or if that was one of the others. That's 1) impossible (the Glocks are striker-fired, they don't have hammers), and 2) basically a bad idea (this side is complicated by a huge variety of firearms all different, but basically, putting a double-action firearm in the ready state leaves you with no safe way to render it safe, unless it's one of the rare ones with a decocker; a single-action firearm being carried is generally carried cocked and locked already).

These are a bit darker than I really prefer. The killers are thoroughly crazy yet brilliant, and in just this one book we have, what, 6 of them (one of whom doesn't kill anybody)? All but one of whom are taken out of play. It really ought to thin the herd some!