Along Came a Spider is a psychological thriller that pits Alex Cross against criminal mastermind Gary Soneji/Murphy. As a trained psychologist, Alex possesses profiling techniques to help him catch criminals. In this novel, he quickly profiles the teacher who kidnapped two children from their school. He uses what he knows about this teacher to predict his motivation and future moves. As the novel progresses, Alex correctly deduces several details regarding Gary’s life, including his abuse as a child. Once Gary is captured, Alex’s training is required again as Gary claims to suffer from multiple personality disorder, which is now known as dissociative identity disorder (DID). Gary Murphy claims to have no knowledge of the acts of his alter Gary Soneji, including the kidnapping of Michael Goldberg and Maggie Rose Dunne. When Alex hypnotizes Gary Murphy, he appears to have memories that only Gary Soneji could have yet continues to act as a mild-mannered door-to-door salesman, not a kidnapper. Alex’s training informs him that a true case of DID is rare, and that many mental health professionals do not believe it exists. However, Gary fits many of the components of DID, including the fact that his abuse began when he was at a formative age.