Cross by James Patterson

Synopsis:

Forensic psychologist Alex Cross's storied career in private practice, with the FBI and as a Washington, D.C., cop has brought him into contact with all kinds of seriously disturbed killers, but his 12th outing from bestseller Patterson (after 2005's Mary, Mary) may be the ultimate in lunatic deadliness. Beginning with a flashback to the murder of Cross's wife, Maria, Patterson quickly introduces Michael Sullivan (aka the Butcher of Sligo). What follows is a frenetically paced series of brutal rapes and killings by Sullivan, once employed by the mob as a freelancer and now at war with them. Cross juggles being a single parent and being involved in the dangerous game of tracking serial killers until he finally decides to give it up for his family. Needless to say, he's drawn back into the game when it promises a chance of finding Maria's killer. Cross's competence and vulnerability make a stark contrast with Sullivan's sadistic mutilations and psychological manipulations of his victims. Fans know that Cross will survive, but at what cost?

 This was one of the most interesting books in the series so far. We finally got some more insight into Alex’s life with his dead wife Maria. Her murder was finally explained to us.

She has been an important part of the whole series without actually being in it, so finally being almost introduced to her character and getting to read about her death made this one of the best books in the series.

The man that Alex and Sampson are hunting down is absolutely insane, but he is good at what he does. It makes it a lot creepier, especially at the end when it is clear that this man really has no soul.

The Butcher is scary and his crime scenes are gruesome; Definitely one of the craziest villains so far.

There was no slowing down once this book took off. It was a very addicting read.

It was interesting seeing Alex quit his long-time career and focus solely on conducting therapy sessions. It was so much different than the rest of the books, but as the saying goes “old habits die hard,” and we see that Alex can never really escape his past.

5/5 Stars

Memorable Quote: “Because you’re Dr. Cross, and I’m the murderer.”

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Mary, Mary by James Patterson

Alex Cross thinks he is finally able to get a nice vacation away with his family. After catching The Wolf, he tries to take some time off and visits Disney Land in California with his kids and Nana Mama.

Then he gets the call.

Famous women in California are turning up dead after being brutally murdered. A gun shot wound to kill them, and grisly slashes across their faces to take their beauty away.

Even more disturbing, they are all mothers. The killer doesn’t harm anyone else in the family, only the women and leaves a strange signature of children’s stickers that are the letter A, A, B.

The person behind the killings – Mary Smith. The killer has been writing emails to a local newspaper writer detailing the killings and why they have happened. They don’t include all of the details though. The details are special. They are the killer’s story.

Who is Mary Smith?

Is Mary Smith even a female at all? The LAPD seem to be convinced it is a woman carrying out these crimes. Based on the email signatures and one single piece of hair found at only one murder site, which is all they need to be convinced that they are dealing with a female serial killer.

Alex Cross isn’t convinced.

The Storyteller

The story teller is the one committing the murders. The storyteller is very interesting character because of how they handle themselves.

Being afraid before committing murders

Getting upset about committing some

Ultimately getting addicted to killing

I was honestly shocked to read who the killer was. I was not expecting it at all. I think I may have entertained the idea earlier in the book but then forgot about it.

It was an interesting twist in the story.

This was one of the better books I have read in awhile as well. The story line is crazy, the murders are brutal, and it really keeps you guessing up until the very end.

And what more could you ask for than a bad ass fight scene where Alex is just awesome?

This is a high point in the series. It is emotional, hectic, and shocking.

5/5 Stars.

Memorable quote: "'I thank God for you every single day of my life, Alex, and I thank him for letting me raise you, and see you turn into the man you did. But I want you to think about why you came to me in the first place, what was going on between your poor parents before they died. Simply put, Jannie and Damon and Ali deserve better than you had. Don't make them orphans, Alex."

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London Bridges by James Patterson

London Bridges was full of the action and drama I expect from an Alex Cross book. The past couple had taken a little of that away; they were more about Alex and Sampson’s personal lives with a side of action and crime fighting.

In London Bridges, two of Alex’s worst customers team up to cause mass destruction for seemingly no other reason than being terrorists. The Weasel and The Wolf are back and they are stronger than ever.

Alex has a few days and a strict deadline to meet The Wolf’s monetary demands, or major cities around the world will be blown to pieces. With the weight of that and trying to keep his family happy on his shoulders, Alex has to fight through the stress and keep his mind focused on catch The Weasel and The Wolf.

The Wolf is one of the most dangerous villains Cross has ever come up against. Even with him being crazy and mysterious, I just really couldn’t like him as a villain. I liked the story line of Alex trying to figure out the case, but The Wolf himself was kind of uninteresting to me.

But, on the other hand, he was also super mysterious and it made me want to know who he was and why he was so set on causing to harm to so many people.

I have to say I was pretty disappointed by the end of the book. Alex finally encounters The Wolf, but we as readers learn absolutely nothing aside from a name. If the next book doesn’t at least give some follow up story then I am pretty confused as to why The Wolf was around for two whole novels.

Spoiler for my reason under the read more further down the page

4/5 I really liked this book, but I still don’t really understand The Wolf, and depending on how the next one starts, the ending seemed like a bit of a cop-out

Also, I already have a HUGE fear of bridges, so reading about bridges being blown up wasn't the most delightful thing in the world!

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Read ahead for spoilers!

Big Bad Wolf by James Patterson

If the last Alex Cross book failed to meet some of my expectations, this one met all of them plus some.

It seems that the more messed up the bad guys are, the better the book turns out to be.

One of the things I liked most about this one was that you are kept guessing about who the bad guys are, and one of them comes as a huge surprise.

Alex is making his transition from the Washington PD to the FBI. Of course, this does not come without some hardship. Alex is having a difficult time adjusting to how the FBI runs things and how they coordinate takedowns.

He decides he has to take charge at some times, but he is still new, so they don’t always listen to him.

As if the transition was not stressful enough, Christine returns and threatens to take away his son.

The Wolf runs a large ring of selling Americans for money. He employs kidnappers to take them and give them to the people who “order” them.

The thing is… no one knows who the Wolf is. He is a mystery man from Russia who is also in the Red Mafiya.

The Wolf has some connection to the FBI. I was waiting and waiting for this to be explained in this book, but it never was. The Wolf story line was not resolved either though, so I expect more to come out of it in the next book.

Also, just as I was praising the last book for showing us more John Sampson, this one hardly had him it in at all. You gain some, you lose some I suppose. There are still a lot of books in this series that I have to catch up on, so there is bound to be more about John later.

4.5/5 stars. More Sampson please!

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Roses Are Red by James Patterson

The sixth installment in the heart-racing Alex Cross series.

I don’t know if I am sweating because it is hot in my house and I am drinking coffee, or if it is because of the emotional roller coaster that this book just sent me on.

I am guessing the latter.

This is probably one of the best suspense/thriller novels I have read in a long time. Probably since the second book in this series Kiss the Girls.

Alex Cross is put on a disturbing case involving multiple bank robberies and murders.

The problem – They are all organized by one person, The Mastermind.

Who is the Mastermind? He is an intelligent person that has access to all of the information he would ever need. How is this possible? Is this man someone inside of the FBI, the police force, or does he just have the best resources anyone could imagine? Well, you will just have to read it to find out…

We meet a new character in this one – Betsey. She is the head of the investigation from the FBI’s side. She is smart, witty, and an overall good person.

I really enjoyed how she and Alex worked together.

This was one of the most interesting cases I think. Just because we don’t figure out who is behind it until the end, so it is a mystery. It was mysterious, it was disturbing, and it takes you on a wild ride.

5/5 stars for sure. If I could choose one book out of all that I have read to receive a full 5/5 rating, this one would be it. It is a must read. But do yourself a favor and read the previous 5 Alex Cross books before diving into this one. It isn’t necessary, but just trust me on that.

Just…. WOW.

It is going to take me awhile to recover from this one.

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Read ahead for spoilers!