Thanksgiving means family, turkey and ushering in the holidays for most people but for some it is also the time of year when author James Patterson releases his annual Alex Cross thriller.

And 2021 has been no exception.

In “Fear No Evil,” which given the fact Patterson publishes a book almost every month includes a blurb reading “An Alex Cross Thriller” in a point size that is larger and a font that is bolder than the title, Cross and his regular supporting cast of characters face a cabal of mercenaries taking out law-enforcement officers who are on the take from a drug cartel.

The mercenaries kidnap the corrupt officers, torture them until they write a confession of their misdeeds, kill them then leave the bodies and the written confessions behind. These killings and confessions lead the drug cartel to send killers to wipe out the families of the slain officers as notice to other corrupt cops not to write confessions.

Regular Alex Cross readers will not be surprised that “Fear No Evil” contains plenty of side notes for supporting characters that dovetail into the main plot. John Sampson, Cross’ lifelong friend and fellow detective, is the featured supporting character here. Sampson lost his wife in a recent Alex Cross book. He and Cross are targeted by the mercenaries and the drug cartel … as well as M, the mastermind who has followed them for years.

As with all Alex Cross books, Patterson writes in a way that long-time readers should immediately fall into the rhythm of Cross’ mix of fighting crimes and leading a loving family while new readers should be able to jump right in here or into any of the 27 books in the series without having read any previous books to follow the narrative.