The People vs. Alex Cross by James Patterson

Synopsis:

This time it's Alex Cross on trial.

Alex Cross is on the wrong side of the law. Serving a suspension from the force while he awaits trial for murder, Cross has been branded as a trigger-happy cop, another bad apple walking the streets with a gun, an accusation that Cross will do anything to refute. To make himself feel useful again, Cross opens a counseling office in the basement of his home. When his former partner Sampson shows up needing his help, Cross jumps at the chance, even if it may end up costing him what's left of his career. When a string of young, blonde women go missing, the investigation leads Cross and Sampson to the most depraved, darkest corners of the internet. Struggling to prove his own innocence and uncover the truth lurking online, Cross must risk everything to save his most at-risk patient of all...himself.

There was a whole lot going on in this book. Alex Cross was on trial for murder while there was a massive case going on involving the dark web and some demented person wanting to kill blonde women.

As most Cross books go, there were a lot of unbelievable twists and turns, but they’re written for entertainment purposes, not to be hyper-realistic. Once you get over that bit, it was a good read – although very disturbing. The Dark Web is very real, and things like this happen, which just makes your stomach turn.

Once I became hyper-aware that this was the 25^th book in the series, I started thinking about the formula they all follow. All of the cases are different, and Alex’s personal story certainly progresses throughout the series, but most of the books are pretty much the same. There’s still something that keeps me coming back. I’m invested in the characters and the family.

The older Ali gets, the better his character gets. He has such a personality that it has almost rejuvenated the series in a way, even though it never really died. He is just very youthful and his character is full of promise. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised to see a spin-off series at some point following his life story.

The People vs. Alex Cross was an engaging book, and there were some interesting technological aspects to it. If you are this far into the Alex Cross series, you have to keep going. If you haven’t started it, I would highly recommend it for any crime novel lovers.

It was also nice to see Alex get back into the therapy game. I will be more interested in this going forward too.

4/5 Stars

Memorable Quote: “I smiled and gazed beyond the breaking waves to the sea and the far horizon, feeling that these kinds of moments, these small triumphs, were more than enough to keep me working for the good in the world despite all the dark webs I’d been thrust into over the course of my life.”

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Lifeguard by James Patterson

Synopsis:

Working as a lifeguard at a luxurious Florida resort, Ned Kelly meets the woman of his dreams. It feels perfect in every way-except that she's used to caviar and Manolo Blahniks, and he's used to burgers and flip-flops. So when Ned's cousin offers to cut him in on a fast break-and-enter job, Ned can't turn it down. The risk is high, and the reward is even greater-$5 million. But the robbery goes devastatingly wrong. Forced to run away from his town and the woman he's fallen in love with, Ned knows that only distance and secrecy can save his life. But who is pursuing him? The FBI? Whoever sabotaged the heist? Or is it all somehow tied in to his new love-and his oldest enemies?

Lifeguard fits into multiple categories. It is a romance novel, a crime novel, a suspense novel and no much more.

For being a fugitive, Ned was an extremely likable character. I wouldn’t mind a series made about him alone. But, the series would have to be prequels to this book, as I believe this novel had a satisfying ending to his story.

Ellie was also a fun character.

This book was more character driven than story driven, and that is what made it fun to read. All of the character had very different personalities and it was fun getting to know them.

That doesn’t mean that the story was lacking at all, it just wasn’t exceptionally unique. A mediocre story line was made up for by the fun and interesting characters.

Lifeguard reminded me a little of the TV show White Collar which made it even better as I enjoy that show a lot.

4/5 Stars I really enjoyed it, but those who aren’t fans of Patterson may not.

I would call it a nice summer thriller. 

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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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Four Blind Mice by James Patterson

I was really back and forth on this book. So, I will explain both story lines.

Alex Cross and John Sampson:

This book gives more character development for John Sampson than any of the previous ones had. I really liked that. Usually he is only presented to us as Alex’s best friend/partner. But here we get to see a little bit into his personal life. It is a different side of John that we don’t normally get to see, and I would like to see more of.

Alex’s family life is evolving. Jamilla is becoming a larger part of his life and Nana Mama is getting older. It is going to be interesting to see how these two things impact the series as it progresses.

The Four Blind Mice:

The bad guys in this book were just kind of boring. You don’t figure out that they know who Alex is until the very end. I feel like this series is at its best when the killer(s) know Alex Cross is onto them and they are fighting against each other; The killer(s) fighting to keep their games going without Cross catching them, and Cross fighting to solve the cases.  They became more interesting at the end, but not enough to make up for the whole book.

These guys were not that interesting to me.

Overall, I DID enjoy the book. I feel like it is a good filler book in the series. The character progression for Alex and John were great, but where the book faltered was with the bad guys.

3.5/5 stars 

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Kill Me If You Can by James Patterson

If you want to pick up a book that is near impossible to put down until the last page is turned, here it is.

When a professional hit goes wrong and a bag of diamonds ends up in Matthew’s hands, his life turns around forever. No longer is he a poor college student, he is now on the run from very influential crime bosses who want their diamonds back.

The contract killer known only as The Ghost is on his trail.

Matthew takes his girlfriend Katherine to Paris to try to escape, and everything goes downhill from there.

Will The Ghost get to Matthew and Katherine before they can escape, or will they get caught up in something larger than themselves?

This book is so fast paced, I read it in only a few hours. The whole book is action filled and intense.

James Patterson nails it again. I super recommend this one.

Romance. Adventure. Action. AND A HUGE TWIST. What more could you want from a Patterson book?

5/5 stars!

http://www.amazon.com/Kill-Me-If-You-Can/dp/0446571865

Guilty Wives by James Patterson

Patterson does it again!

He nails the suspense and mystery that are evident in the majority of his novels, and this one will take you on a crazy ride all the way to the end. I feel exhausted just reading it, but it was well worth it.

Imagine going on an innocent vacation with a few of your friends, and after a night out partying you wake up to being accused of the crime of the century.

You know you are innocent, but will your words mean anything?

This novel takes you on the journey of Abbie’s time in jail and her desperate attempt to prove her and her friends’ innocence.

You could not imagine what she has to go through while she is in prison, and it may leave you cringing in your seat.

This novel is pretty long with 400+ pages, but in normal Patterson fashion, the chapters are short, and it is really easy to get through. I didn’t want to put it down once I had started.

5/5 stars This was an excellent suspense novel and there was never a dull moment. 

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Patriot's Blood by Richard Holcroft

This book embodies basically everything that interests me in a book. You have Mob references, conspiracy theories, detective work, and a lot of suspense.

It is based around a Lawyer, Marchetti. He is asked by a client of his to investigate a case for him in case of his death.

Once Marchetti begins to do the detective work, he puts everyone around him in danger. But worse than that, it is unknown danger. He cannot figure out where the threat is coming from and who is behind all of it.

It started off with the bombing of an important building and most of the facts were covered up or completely ignored by the government and the FBI. Marchetti’s client was one of the few who had witnessed the bombing and had seen who may had been involved.

The other witnesses began disappearing – staged suicides.

This novel is very well written! It kept me on the edge of my seat for the whole ride. Especially when it really began heating up at the end.

The end was packed full of action, so much that it had my heart beating quickly!

5/5 Stars. It was such an exciting read! I loved it!

Read ahead for spoilers

The Quickie by James Patterson

Ever since I saw this book on the shelf, I had been interested in reading it. I kept putting it off and putting it off to buy other Alex Cross series novels instead. Finally I convinced myself to just buy it. It has taken me awhile to get through it. That doesn’t mean the novel is bad. I will get into that in a minute.

It starts off with Lauren, and NYPD detective finding her husband doing shady things behind her back. She decides to get revenge, and in the process witnesses a murder that changes her life forever.

She sacrifices her career, friendships, and her own relationship trying to figure out how to make things right. But will that ever work out for her?

This novel is fast paced and it will keep you turning the pages.

For me, I couldn’t really decide if there was a “good guy” in the novel. I wasn’t really rooting for anyone in the end. It made it harder to get through because I felt no connection to any of the characters. So the experience will be different for everyone. I think that is one good thing about this novel. Everyone will see it differently.

3/5 stars. As I said, I couldn’t relate to the characters. It was well written, and it did make me want to see what ultimately happened in the end.

And the ending was one that I enjoyed

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11th Hour by James Patterson

Lindsay Boxer and the Women’s Murder Club are back in the latest installment – The 11^th Hour.

Lindsay is pregnant and having trouble in her marriage. That won’t be the last of her problems.

When a major movie star is on the suspect list of a gruesome case of serial killing, nothing will be easy.

Lindsay and her girls will go over the evidence time and time again.

Even when it all points towards one person, the outcome cam come as quite the surprise.

I have loved the Women’s Murder Club series from the very first book and this one surely did not disappoint. I have been waiting for it for about a year, and I was very pleased. I had missed reading about all of these characters.

5/5 Very well written, nice twist at the end 

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