Cross Justice by James Patterson

Synopsis:

Alex Cross left his hometown, and some awful family tragedies, for a better life with Nana Mama in Washington, DC. He hasn't looked back.

Now his cousin Stefan has been accused of a horrible, unthinkable murder, and Cross drives south with Bree, Nana Mama, Jannie, and Ali to Starksville, North Carolina, for the first time in thirty-five years. Back home, he discovers a once proud community down on its luck, and local residents who don't welcome him with open arms. As Cross steps into his family home, the horrors of his childhood flood back--and he learns that they're not really over. He brings all his skill to finding out the truth about his cousin's case. But truth is hard to come by in a town where no one feels safe to speak.

Chasing his ghosts takes Cross all the way down to the sugarcane fields of Florida, where he gets pulled into a case that has local cops needing his kind of expertise: a string of socialite murders with ever more grisly settings. He's chasing too many loose ends--a brutal killer, the truth about his own past, and justice for his cousin--and any one of the answers might be fatal.

In Cross Justice, Alex Cross confronts the deadliest--and most personal--case of his career. It's a propulsive, edge-of-your-seat thrill ride that proves you can go home again--but it just might kill you.

This book was very different from the rest of the series. It was almost refreshing. We get to learn a lot more about Alex’s past than we have before and get to meet a lot of his family.

It took me awhile to get through this book, and I’m not even sure why. Perhaps because it was a lot different than the others, or maybe I am just in a reading slump. But, I would pick it up and only read a few chapters at a time. But than vanished when I was about halfway through the book. Once I hit that point, I could just not put it down!

I am still not really sure what the purpose of Coco as a villain was to this book. I know it helped to bring Alex together with a pretty significant character, but that was about it. I was waiting for that story to have a huge twist that made it integral to the book’s plot, and it really didn’t. It was interesting, but I didn’t think it was all that necessary.

My complaint is that there was almost no Sampson in this book, but it wouldn’t have made sense for him to be in it. I just like Alex and John’s interactions.

Overall, Cross Justice is a really solid book in the Alex Cross series. Maybe one of the best in awhile!

4/5 Stars

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Four to Score by Janet Evanovich

Synopsis:

Stephanie Plum, Trenton, New Jersey's favorite pistol-packing, condom-carrying bounty hunter, is back - and on the trail of a revenge-seeking waitress who's skipped bail. With the help of 73-year-old Grandma Mazur, ex-hooker Lula, a transvestite musician named Sally Sweet, and the all-too-hospitable, all-too-sexy Joe Morelli, Stephanie might just catch her woman. Then again, with more mishaps than there are exits on the Jersey Turnpike - including murders, firebombs, and Stephanie's arch-rival bounty hunter chasing after the same fugitive - Stephanie better watch her back big-time if she wants to live to crack this case.

This book had a lot of mystery in it. Stephanie’s main case doesn’t make much sense. There is a woman on the run while playing a clue game with her ex-boyfriend. Meanwhile, the people around her are being cut and injured by someone.

In the middle of that case, someone starts terrorizing Stephanie causing her to lose her car and her apartment. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Morelli’s whole family is convinced that she is pregnant and they are getting married.

It was a strange book right from the start, but that is what made it so intriguing. I found it really hard to put down which was great.

I was right that the chapters don’t seem as long anymore now that I am used to their length. Reading too many James Patterson books had me used to 2-3 page chapters.

I haven’t hit a dull point in this series yet, and I hope that doesn’t happen.

I hope Sally remains a part of this series, but I have a feeling that he will be gone after this book.

5/5 Stars

Memorable quotes: “In my world, God and Santa Claus did not micromanage lives. Of course, that meant you couldn’t count on them to lose weight, either.”

“I like Lula a lot, but last time we worked together I gained seven pounds and almost got arrested for shooting a guy who was already dead.”

“Tonight my aloneness felt lonely, and maybe even a little frightening.”

“I loved my mother, but love only goes so far when you’re trying to explain how your grandmother ended up standing on a blackjack table in a packed casino.”

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Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich

Synopsis:

A “saintly” old candy store owner is on the lam - and bounty hunter extraordinaire Stephanie Plum is on the case. As the body count rises, Stephanie finds herself dealing with dead drug dealers and slippery fugitives on the chase of her life. And with the help of eccentric friends and family, Steph must see to it that this case doesn't end up being her last....

This is a classic story of people not always being like what they seem. Uncle Mo seemed like a stand-up citizen. A guy that everyone loved and an upstanding member of society that sold candy to children. When he is arrested for carrying concealed, Stephanie has to try to bring him in so they can collect the bond money. She keeps hitting a brick wall of nobody wanting to help her out because every loves Uncle Mo.

It was a fun book. There was a lot of action and craziness. I love the emergence of Lula as a big character. As if there weren’t enough comical characters to begin with, she bring even more of a comedic edge as she rolls up in her red Firebird.

I am really starting to like Ranger more as a character now as well. I never disliked him, but he was always just a background character. He and Stephanie have an interesting working relationship, and I like them working together.

As with the first two, the relationship between Stephanie and Morelli is teased throughout the book, I just wonder how long it will take before they are officially together, or whether they ever will be.

Now, Grandma Mazur is trying to find herself a boyfriend, so Stephanie’s parents’ house is even more interesting than ever before. Her family is hilarious and adds something unique to these books.

Altogether, this was a really good read. I can’t wait to read the next one.

5/5 Stars

Memorable Quotes: “I exchanged my flannel shirt for a Rangers jersey and zapped the television on. Probably I should make more phone calls, but the Rangers were playing and priorities were priorities.”

“Damn. What were the chances of two people breaking into Mo’s at the same time? I shook my head in disgust. Crime was getting out of hand in Trenton.”

“I’d decided at an early age to stop being embarrassed over my family. This is yet another advantage of living in Jersey. In Jersey everyone has the right to embarrass themselves with no reflection on anyone else.”

“’When a man’s got a nose like a penis he’s likely to do anything,’ Lula said. ‘It’s the sort of thing makes serial killers out of otherwise normal people.’”

“I knocked on the door and waited, wondering what sort of reception I’d get, praying Morelli was alone. If he had a woman with him I’d be so embarrassed I’d have to move to Florida.”

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