Alex Cross, Run by James Patterson

Synopsis:

DON'T LOOK, ALEX CROSS Top plastic surgeon Elijah Creem is renowned for his skills in the operating room, and for his wild, no-expense-spared "industry parties," bringing in underage exotic dancers and models for nights of drugs, champagne, and uninhibited sex. That is, until Detective Alex Cross busts one of Creem's lavish soirees and ruins his fun. Now Creem is willing to do anything to avoid going to jail. DON'T THINK, ALEX CROSS But Alex doesn't have time to dwell on that case. A beautiful woman has been found murdered in her car, a lock of her hair viciously ripped off. Then a second woman is found hanging from a sixth-floor window with a brutal scar slashed across her stomach. When a third mutilated body is discovered, rumors of three serial killers on the loose send Washington D.C. into an all-out frenzy. JUST RUN Alex is under so much pressure to solve these three grim cases that he hasn't noticed that someone else investigating him-someone so obsessed and so twisted that they'll do anything-ANYTHING- to get the vengeance they require.

This book was full of action. There were cases to solve left and right, but most of them were connected. Alex has three men to take down in this one before things spiral way too out of control.

I think this book was a lot better than the previous entry in the series. The bad guys were more interesting and it moved at a faster pace. There were also no terrorism sub-plots, which has left me disinterested for a bit in the last couple books.

The crime scenes were unique and reminded me of earlier cross books all at the same time. They were gruesome but psychologically interesting.

This one definitely kept me turning the page and wanting more. I can’t believe I am nearly caught up on this series!

4/5 stars

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Merry Christmas, Alex Cross by James Patterson

Synopsis:

It's Christmas Eve and Detective Alex Cross has been called out to catch someone who's robbing his church's poor box. That mission behind him, Alex returns home to celebrate with Bree, Nana, and his children. The tree decorating is barely underway before his phone rings again--a horrific hostage situation is quickly spiraling out of control. Away from his own family on the most precious of days, Alex calls upon every ounce of his training, creativity, and daring to save another family. Alex risks everything--and he may not make it back alive on this most sacred of family days. Alex Cross is a hero for our time, and never more so than in this story of family, action, and the deepest moral choices. MERRY CHRISTMAS, ALEX CROSS will be a holiday classic for years to come.

How fitting that I began this book during a snowstorm.

I loved the first half of this book. It was intriguing, horrifying, and sad all at the same time. Christmas is supposed to be a time of happiness but when a father holds his children and ex wife hostage it is anything but happy for them and Alex.

It kept me turning the page at a rapid pace and was a great read.

Once that was solved was when it went downhill and I had to force myself to keep reading. This is because it continued off of the story of The Family from the previous novel, and I wasn’t a fan of that whole story line or the characters involved. It started to drag for me even though the action was still at top speed.

If this book would have ended at the first half, it would have a perfect 5/5.

3/5 stars

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Kill Alex Cross by James Patterson

Synopsis:

The President's son and daughter are abducted, and Detective Alex Cross is one of the first on the scene. But someone very high-up is using the FBI, Secret Service, and CIA to keep him off the case and in the dark.

A deadly contagion in the water supply cripples half of the capital, and Alex discovers that someone may be about to unleash the most devastating attack the United States has ever experienced.

As his window for solving both crimes narrows, Alex makes a desperate decision that goes against everything he believes--one that may alter the fate of the entire country. KILL ALEX CROSS is faster, more exciting, and more tightly wound than any Alex Cross thriller James Patterson has ever written!

I notice that this book did not get many favorable reviews, but I am not sure why.  It certainly isn’t the best book that I have ever read, but it was not the worst either. I thought that it was entertaining and it kept me turning the page.

I didn’t care a whole lot about the villains, but I liked that they kept the identity of the kidnapper from us until Alex found out as well.

I also really like Bree as a character. That may be why I am enjoying these later installments more than other readers are.

I feel like the kidnapper’s storyline did end a bit abruptly. He wanted to kill Alex, and the book is even titled after that, but he didn’t even attempt to kill him. I found that a bit weird.

It was a pretty average book with a terrorism element, but I still found it entertaining. I found it hard to stop reading.

3.5/5 stars

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