For my first post on BookHub id like to break down James Patterson's books a little bit in case any of you readers would care to begin reading his books. I'm gonna first focus on his writings about Alex Cross, a detective from D.C.
Along Came a Spider
Gary Soneji is the most of dangerous of criminals. A psychopathic serial-kidnapper with a genius-level IQ and an obsession with famous criminals, he doen't want money and he doesn't want political favors. Gary Soneji wants to be somebody, to live on the collective unconscious of America, and he's well on his way in this novel, the first in James Patterson's Alex Cross series.
On a bright spring day, Soneji, posing as a teacher at one of the most exclusive private schools in the country, abducts the daughter of a world-famous movie star and the son of the Secretary of the Treasury.
Called in to investigate the case is Detective Alex Cross, a homicide investigator and forensic psychologist specializing in serial killers. Pursuing Soneji across the east coast, Cross soon realizes that he is not dealing with an ordinary psycho. The man he is chasing is an organized genius so obsessive that he wipes his fingerprints off the pages of books.
Finally capturing Soneji, Cross is faced with a double problem: how can he find a kidnapped child when the only man who knows where she is isn't talking, and how can he ensure Soneji's conviction, when the madman has adopted the expertly-crafted facade of a family-man with a monstrous split-personality?
Kiss the Girls
Alex Cross is back again in this second book about his solving scarey mysteries! In this book, Casanova, an 18 year old hardened criminal is at work, stalking beautiful women for awhile, especially college women, and then killing them.
Casanova's victims are not all dead though. He is holding some of them hostage in this huge house, and won't let them near each other, for fear of escaping of course. One of the victims is Alex Crosse's dear niece, Naomi, nicknamed Scootchie. She is hopelessly trapped in Casanova's prison, praying with the other women to escape.
But escape doesn't come easily for these women, except for Kate McTiernan, who Casanova captured. She is a REAL fighter, and managed to get out, and eventually found help for the other women held prisoner. She gets hurt badly at first though escaping, and is layed up for awhile before being able to talk.
And Casanova doesn't just capture her once, but he finds her, and traps her again before he is caught in the act.
And the complicated thing is, another killer has joined with him across the states in North Carolina. These two men are dangerous partners, and the FBI along with Cross is trying to chase them down.
Jack & Jill
In Washington, D.C., a pair of cold-blooded killers calling themselves "Jack" and "Jill" brutally murder a U.S. senator in a hotel room. The killers, who have videotaped their crime, begin sending taunting rhymes and messages to the police, Secret Service, and FBI. Soon, they strike again, mutilating and murdering a TV newsanchor in her bed.
Unable to process the mixed signals being sent by the crime scenes, the profiles, and the killers themselves, the feds bring in Detective Alex Cross, psychologist, homicide investigator, and serial killer-catcher extraordinaire, to solve the crimes and catch Jack and Jill before they strike again.
Meanwhile, in Cross's home neighborhood of Southeast, another killer begins to abduct and murder a series of young children culled from the campus of the Sojourner Truth School, where Cross's beloved children attend classes.
As the media frenzy heats up and the Truth School killer's crimes spiral out of control, Jack and Jill begin to blaze a trail of corpses across Washington, a trail that may lead to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Cat & Mouse
Detective Alex Cross, homicide investigator, forensic psychologist, family man, piano-player, etc., returns to face his most deadly challenge so far in Patterson's fourth Cross novel.
Gary Soneji, the genius psychopath obsessed with becoming the world's most famous criminal, returns with a vengeance, cutting down eight people with a sniper-rifle in Union Station and leaving Cross's own blood on the murder weapon.
Moving on to New York, Soneji continues his rampage, slaughtering cops and civilians with equal abandon. Cross knows that there is something off about Soneji's behavior, the killings are coming faster and in greater numbers than ever before, and the madman seems to no longer care if he lives or dies.
Meanwhile, a brutal pattern-killer known only as Mr. Smith, who picks his victims apparently at random and vivisects them while they are still conscious, is cutting a bloody swath from Massachusetts to London, and his path is about to intersect with Cross's in the most bizarre manner imaginable.
Pop Goes the Weasel
Detective Alex Cross is a homicide detective/psychologist working for the Washington, D.C. Police Department, specializing in tracking-down some of the most vicious serial killers in the country. In Patterson's sixth Cross novel, our hero faces a man who may be his most ruthless and terrifying adversary ever.
A series of brutal mutilation-murders have gone almost unnoticed in Washington, D.C., as the victims of these heinous crimes are all residents of the area of D.C. known locally as Southeast, a near-ghetto with a sky-high crime-rate. But one man cares: Detective Alex Cross.
As Cross investigates the "Jane Doe murders," so-called because of the killer's habit of stripping his victims of both clothes and ID, he comes across a lone suspect: Colonel Geoffrey Shafer, a British diplomat and family man who learned to kill as an MI-6 agent in Vietnam, a man who eats unprescribed prescription medication by the fistful and plays a deadly online role-playing game called "Four Horsemen," in which he is the player known as Death.
But Shafer is not the sort to take this unwanted attention lying down. In a daring and vicious counterattack, he kidnaps Cross's fiancee Christine while they vacation in Bermuda.
The abduction of his beloved sends Cross into an obsessive quest to nail Shafer, now dubbed "The Weasel" by the police, finally arresting him for the murder of Cross's partner, Detective Patsy Hampton.
In a shocking twist, however, Shafer's high-priced lawyers win his acquittal, and the Weasel is set free.
Now begins a high-octane game of cat-and-mouse that begins on the streets of Washington and ends on the island of Jamaica, where the players of "Four Horsemen" have gathered for one final round.
Roses are Red
The Mastermind has targeted him as his next victim! And James Patterson's clever
police detective/psychologist Dr. Alex Cross has his hands full in his latest episode “Roses Are Red.” And while his titles may reflect a “simple” line of nursery rhymes, this book (and all its aspects) is far from simple. The Mastermind, twisted and evil psychopath that he is, taunts the police with his phone calls and letters. He has thus far foiled police efforts as he has successfully managed to rob banks (using the families of the robbers as hostages, whom he executes if anything goes wrong!), and creating other evil scenarios. As with other Cross books by Patterson, the estimable doctor has his own agenda of personal problems as well--his divorce, his daughter's illness, his relationship with Christine, his lover, and working with his FBI partner--the beautiful Ms Cavaliere. Fast-paced as usual, “Roses Are Red” crescendos into an explosive climax and fans of Patterson will not be disappointed.
Violets are Blue
The case is difficult enough for Washington DC police detective Alex Cross because the alleged victim was a good friend. The case turns frightening for Alex when the brilliant but amoral criminal the Mastermind threatens Alex's children. Alex immediately leaves the crime scene to return home, but the Mastermind reminds the cop you can run, but you can't hide.
Even while he panics over the safety of his children, FBI Agent Kyle Craig calls Alex while he dines with a special date. Someone killed two military joggers in Golden Gate Park in which bite marks are all over the victims, much of their blood was drained, and they were left hanging upside down from a tree. The case reads identical to one that they failed to solve in DC fourteen months ago so Alex immediately flies to San Francisco. Joined by SFPD Jamilla Hughes, Alex begins to find clues that take the duo into a deadly role-playing underground. However, his children are irate that his work comes first especially with the Mastermind stalking them like a tiger after its quarry.
The “vampire” slayings make for a clever police procedural that takes the audience on a unique tour of the Bay area as well as other areas of the country. The Mastermind subplot seems to interfere with the other tale though it enables the audience to observe a depressed and panicked Alex using work to escape his plight. In his latest Cross thriller, VIOLETS ARE BLUE, James Patterson keenly blends his hero's personal and professional lives as each aspect clash leaving the audience with another complete tale.
Four Blind Mice
The elite assassination team, The Three Blind Mice, knew they were the best, but realized while operating in the An Lao Valley that they also loved to kill. When they left the army, they hired themselves out as mercenaries and are now killing innocent people and framing people who served in Vietnam as the killers. They don't know who hired them or why the men were targeted but the money is too good to ask any questions.
Washington DC police detective Alex Cross becomes involved with the Three Blind Mice when his friend John Sampson asks him to help prove the innocence of Ellis Cooper who is waiting on death row because he was convicted of the wanton slaughter of three women. Both Alex and Sampson are convinced after talking to Ellis and examining the evidence that he is innocent but no one will listen to them. Ellis dies and his two friends vow to find his killers and bring them to justice. As similar deaths occur across the country, The Three Blind Mice come to the attention of Alex and Sampson and when the two sides finally meet, only one will walk away.
James Patterson always delivers a fascinating, action-packed thriller and FOUR BLIND MICE is no exception. Readers familiar with the hero will find he has to use all his considerable skills to counter the deadly precision of his enemies. The plot is well constructed and the action holds up to scrutiny though some of the best scenes in the book occur in the protagonist's personal life. Anyone reading an Alex Cross novel can't help but want more of him.
Big Bad Wolf
A man and a woman abduct former Atlanta reporter Elizabeth Connolly from her home. The victim is the ninth in two years kidnapped by this team, who do little to hide the crime. Instead, the brazen duo takes the victim in public places with their horrified families as witnesses. Several homicides have been associated with this deadly team. The FBI believes that this notorious pair works for the Wolf of the Red Mafiya, Pasha Sorokin who sells the kidnapped people on a white slave commodity market.
No longer with the Metro DC police force, the FBI assigns trainee Dr. Alex Cross to investigate the snatchings because the brass believe his unique approach to criminology is needed to break the case. Alex begins making the round picking up tips from his myriad of DC sources. The abductions and collateral murders continue as Alex gets closer to catching the felons, but soon a tip hits home that his family is now a target.
THE BIG BAD WOLF is a well written exciting action packed police procedural that hooks the audience from the moment that Elizabeth is snatched in Buckhead's Phipps Plaza as she was already purchased by a client. Bringing student Alex to run the case in spite of his record with DC Metro seems hard to accept especially with the hard nosed agents basically bowing to his greater wisdom. Still once that stark leap is made, fans will enjoy Alex Cross, FBI Agent in Training battling the Wolf and his pack.
London Bridges
Two villains from past Patterson offerings (The Wolf and The Weasel) team up to annihilate small towns in US and Europe by aerial bombing with cluster bomblets that explode above ground level and wipe out anything within 500 yards. Alex Cross, former Wash. DC police profiler, is now an FBI hybrid expert on counter-terrorism, criminal profiler, and detective. Alex is jointly ordered by heads of the CIA and FBI to find and deal with The Wolf and The Weasel, who are threatening to kill thousands in major US and European cities. W/W both know Alex from past encounters and would like to dispose of him for their own individual reasons.
Wolf hires Weasel to bait Alex, giving him free rein to maim and kill DC prostitutes to lure Alex to his old DC stomping grounds and once again team up with John Sampson, his sidekick from DC Police days. Alex and John find a dead prostitute near Alex's home and deduce (amazingly!) that Weasel is back and sending him a message. Meanwhile, Wolf hires a hit-woman sniper who guns down the CIA Director with a head shot from a helicopter hovering 100 feet from the FBI Chief's office, where the DCI is visiting his good friend (all stories of rifts between these agencies are strictly rumors). Alex is relieved to find out that the dead guy is not his pal the FBI chief and sets out to find Weasel and hopefully Wolf.
Mary Mary
A Disneyland family vacation is interrupted when Alex Cross,working for the FBI, is called into a California murder case done by a woman named Mary Smith. All of her victims are women and mothers; and, as well as disfiguring her victims, the killer also leaves puzzling clues at the murder scenes.The "A-List" people of Hollywood are her targets, and all the "golden" people are terrified wondering who's next. Also, she has been relaying details of her gruesome murders via email to a columnist at the LA Times.
In the midst of this horror, Alex is hit with problems in his personal life and a custody battle over his youngest son. He is also stalked by a reporter who doggedly trails him and his family. Alex becomes suspicious of the reporter whose presence is evident throughout the investigation.
When the description of a vehicle leaving a murder scene is released to the press, the city panics. Mary Smith further baffles police when she kills two MEN and sends an email with details of a murder BEFORE it happens. Finally, an arrest is made, but Alex is not convinced the police have the true killer. In New England, he digs into a 20 year-old murder and has to fight for his own life when "Mary Smith" puts him on her death list.
Cross
This installment of the Alex Cross series by James Patterson opens up in nineteen ninety-three when he was just thirty one years old. The story actually starts from the point-of-view of Michael Sean Sullivan, also known as "The Butcher." Sullivan waltzes into a local social club in Baltimore with his buddy Jimmy Hats and cuts up a guy just to send a message. Along the way, Sullivan also rapes then murders a young college girl named Mary Ann. The story soon shifts back to Cross who picks up his beloved wife Maria one day and she is struck by a snipers bullet. Cross rushes her to the hospital where she dies. Afterwards, Cross leaves the FBI and moves his family out of the house, all of them grieving for Maria, the case haunting Cross forever. The story then shifts to present day where Michael Sullivan is still raping and murdering women. The constantly alternating story shifts back to Cross. His former partner John Sampson asks him to help out with a serial rapist/killer who is stalking the D.C. area. A connection between the rapes and Maria's murder brings Cross back into the FBI world. As "The Butcher" rapes women and deals with mob hitmen, Sampson and Cross hunt him down across several states until there is the final showdown between Cross and Sullivan. A thrill a minute page turner that's sure to keep Cross fans excited.
Double Cross
In this newest Patterson book our hero Dr. Alex Cross has settled to a
private quiet life. He is enjoying a prosperous practice in his new life.
He has a new girlfriend name Brianna Stone(also known as Bree). He is now
living the good life. All of that changes with the emergence of a diabolical villain. The new bad guy is known as the Audience Killer or
DCAK. This killer performs his killings before large public crowds. He
gets the maximum exposure. With each murder he uses a different disguise.
He is proving impossible to capture. He openly challenges the police to
capture him. Also added to the mix is a villain from Cross's past,Kyle
Craig(the Mastermind). He has been in prison in Colorado in ADX Florence.
No one has ever escaped this prison Craig becomes the first. He travels
to Washington D.C. to do battle with Alex Cross. Cross now has two forces
of evil to face off with. This makes for an exciting read. Do not miss this book.Another winner from Patterson.
Cross Country
Two families have been brutally murdered in Washington, D.C. and one of the victims is Alex’s old college sweetheart, so he becomes obsessed with the case. When the Nigerian ambassador’s son is murdered in a similar manner, Alex tries to contact the ambassador to warn him. He finds out that the ambassador and his wife were murdered in Africa at the same time as their son. Alex decides that he must head to Africa to try to capture the killer.
Africa turns out to be horrific for Alex. He is brutalized by the police and witnesses unspeakable cruelties in Nigeria, Sudan and Sierra Leone. Adanne, a journalist for The Guardian, befriends Alex and together they try to hunt down “the Tiger” the conscious-less killer responsible for so much carnage.
Cross Country is different from other Alex Cross novels in that Alex’s family and partners are such minor characters and the reader never knows the killer’s thoughts. Because of that, though, this book easily stands alone. This is an action packed thriller, and I found it hard to put down. As a warning to the squeamish, it does contain a lot of graphic violence. The horrors in Africa were heartbreaking and difficult to read about, but I know many of the them are true. I just wish Patterson had included a note documenting his research so the reader would know more about the atrocities in Africa.
Alex Cross's Trial
In 1906, race relations are being threatened; The war has just ended; Equality is still a foreign concept -- especially in the south. Theodore Roosevelt (the President of the USA) has placed an urgent call to Ben Corbett - a prestigious lawyer - summoning him to The White House. The President instructs Corbett to seek the aid of Abraham Cross in his home town of Mississippi, and together, investigate the outbreak of burning and lynching of minorities.
When he does arrive, it doesn't take him long to find Cross whom is being escorted by a beautiful young woman, Moody. Moody is Cross' grand daughter and together they show Corbett the true extent of the hate-filled assaults in a once peaceful town. While it does take Ben Corbett a while to accept the truth, he does finally come to realize just how dire the situation is. I'll stop there so I don't spoil the story for anyone whom has yet to read this brilliant novel. There are so many twists-and turns (the biggest being Abraham Cross - the grandfather of Alex) The racial overtones are done incredibly well, and while it is graphic at times, they do serve a greater purpose and keep the novel on track.
Now let's put the Patterson name back, and this good novel becomes great. Patterson is the master of suspense, intrigue, and lifellike characters that change and evolve the story to a level that only a very few authors can replicate. Do I really need to mention this? I mean seriously, if you don't know how good Patterson is...then that cave you live in must be nice and cozy. I'm joking. This latest novel to grace the Patterson name is an exciting thrill ride, that moves along at breakneck speeds and gives the reader a reason to place Patterson back on top of the genre. Well done. Well done, indeed.
I, Alex Cross
Alex Cross has just been notified that a distant family member has been murdered. As he looks into the details of the gruesome death, he finds connections to even more killings and mysterious disappearances. Soon the pieces of the puzzle begin to fall into place and all signs seem to point to a killer within the White House. Alex Cross has faced his fair share of foes, but never has he gone against a killer who is as untouchable as this madman. Never one to give up, Alex Cross holds nothing back in his quest for justice.
James Patterson brings back his most beloved character in this sixteenth installment of the Alex Cross series. Long time fans will be pleased to know that this latest installment falls much closer to home than recent attempts. Patterson has certainly put Cross through the ringer with countless relationship problems, a myriad of career changes, and even a poorly imagined international romp in Cross Country. This time around we are treated to what hooked us on these novels in the first place: great mystery, strong character development, and the relentless pacing that has become the trademark of Patterson's writing.
While I enjoyed the high profile mystery in this plot, what really sold me were the relationships that are so beautifully explored with the characters we have grown to love. There are some truly heartwarming and gut wrenching scenes that might just catch you off guard, if for no other reason than the glimpse into the eventual reality for Alex that they hint at. Mushy stuff aside, there is still plenty of action and suspense to go around for thrill seekers to devour.
It should come as no surprise to returning readers that this story is peppered with bad language, sexual content, and violence throughout. Readers searching for some "light" mystery reading should keep on searching. However, if you long for a raw, engrossing thriller that will keep you churning pages long into the night, then I, Alex Cross is certainly for you.
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