Friday 27 November 2009

Cross Country - James Patterson

==Synopsis==

Alex is called on to help the investigation of the deaths of an entire family, when he gets there he realises one of them is Eleanor Cox his ex girlfriend. Witnesses have mentioned that the perpetrators, although masked seemed to be very young, they could even children.

Soon there is another mass killing and once again Alex, Bree and John are called in to investigate, yet again it seems that children are involved.

All too quickly Alex discovers that the person they want for these murders has left the country, but Alex can't just leave it there, he wants to bring him to justice for Eleanor's sake, and to do so he must travel to Africa and put his own life in danger.

==My Thoughts==

I enjoyed this book, but there was something very sad about it. Throughout Alex's trials in Africa we hear of the horrendous atrocities which happen on a daily basis to real life residents of those countries, and it seems inappropriate to enjoy a reading book detailing the rape and murder of young children, knowing that there is probably a young child suffering at that moment in time. But I did enjoy it, because as dark as some of the scenes were, the book is about more than a few pages.

Again, even though I said I enjoyed the book there are an awful lot of plot holes in it, and I don't like the way Patterson is trying to turn Alex into some John McClane style action hero, he has always helped the police from the sideline, getting inside the mind of the killer, and occasionally coming up against bad guys during the course of the investigation. And throughout the entire series of books he has struggled with the dilemma of catching the bad guy, or spending time with his family. Yet here we're supposed to believe that he can set that quandary aside with a flick of a switch and rush off to one of the most violent and dangerous places on earth. And we're supposed to believe that his current girlfriend has absolutely no problem whatsoever with him rushing off half way around to world because of his feelings for a dead lover!

I've mentioned before in a James Patterson book review that I like the short chapters, because you're not waiting for ages to get to the next chapter if you find yourself dropping off whilst reading (as is the case with the book I'm reading at the moment, and it's very annoying), but I think he's taken it to the extreme in some cases with this book. A couple of chapters were only 2 pages long, and once you take away the large header and footer, the actual text only takes up one page. The book was paced quite nicely though, but there was one part of the storyline that I would have removed, but I can't say much as I don't want to spoil it, except to say I thought Alex had far more integrity.

I do think James Patterson should think hard before producing another Alex Cross book though, because he seems to be running out of ideas and taking Alex in a direction that is completely inappropriate considering everything we know about Alex.

Double Cross - James Patterson

Double Cross is part of the Alex Cross series of books by James Patterson which started off several years ago with Cat and Mouse.

== Synopsis ==

Alex has given up consulting for the FBI, and moved back into private practise. He hasn't cut all ties with the police though, because he's still dating Bree (Brianna Stone) who's a senior homicide detective, and of course his best friend is John Sampson, also a detective.

Whilst on a weekend camp with Bree, she receives a call to attend a murder scene. Rather than mess around swapping cars Alex travels to the scene with all intentions of waiting in the car, but curiosity gets the better of him, and he goes up to the scene. He soon finds himself being drawn into the investigation despite his reservations.

Unbeknownst to Alex, at the same time Kyle Craig, who was Alex's nemesis for so long is planning his escape from death row, but what does the so called Audience Killer who Alex is now trying to catch have to do with Kyle Craig?

==My Thoughts ==

If you haven't read any of the Alex Cross series you may find some aspects of this book a little confusing. Having said that, it's also a standalone story, there are a few references to previous books, but it shouldn't spoil your enjoyment too much.

The whole series is great though, so if you are going to pick one up, then I'd highly recommend reading them from the beginning.

Double Cross is written in Patterson's usual style; the book flows at a steady pace, and never becomes dull. He also writes in very short chapters, some of which are only a couple of pages long, and although it might seem that short chapters will break up the flow, they actually do the opposite, they help keep the tension going throughout the novel. I also prefer shorter chapters, as I generally read for pleasure (rather than to study) when I go to bed, and there's nothing worse than starting to drop off, but having another 20 pages to read before you get to the end of a chapter.

Unusually for Alex Cross novels, there is very little attention paid to his family, they are mentioned on occasion, and there's one incident involving Damon, but his normal angst regarding his family versus police work are played down in this novel.

There are two parts to the ending of this book, one part I thought was obvious from very early on in the book and wasn't a surprise at all, the second part however I was surprised at.

I would definitely recommend this book, but in order to get the best out of it, I would recommend reading the Alex Cross series from the beginning.

Wednesday 4 November 2009

Hard News

Hard News is written by Jeffery Deaver, who is probably best known for his Lincoln Rhymes series, the most famous of which was The Bone Collector which was made into a film starring Denzel Washington.

The book is about a young woman who is working in the news room of Network News, when she receives a packet containing a video from an inmate found guilty of a murder for which he has constantly pleaded his innocence. After watching the video Rune cannot help but believe the man, his plea has hit a nerve and she wants to tell his story to the world. In order to do so, Rune must convince the anchor of the station's current affairs broadcast that it would be a worthy cause. The anchor (Piper Sutton) is unimpressed at first, until she discovers the man in question is the very man who was convicted of murdering her boss and Network News executive.

Rune is instructed by Piper to being investigating the man's claim, however, she wants to keep it close to their chests due to the nature of the investigation. But of course nothing goes to plan, and Rune finds her own life in danger after a hitman comes to town, determined to stop the story going ahead.

I've read a couple of Deaver books, but this is the first one that didn't centre around Lincoln Rhymes. I found the writing to be some what below the standard I was expecting. At no point did I find myself vesting any interest in any of the characters, in fact I found all of them quite irritating in one way or another.

The plot also seemed a tad unrealistic, and several times I found myself thinking, 'yeah, like that's gonna happen' or something similar. I would say it is an adult book, but it's almost written on the level of a teenage writer, as if Deaver is trying to bring in readers from another dymanic.

All in all I was very disappointed, it was an okay story, but far from good and definitely not of the standard the Deaver can write to.

TheReapers

John Connolly has to be one of the best authors around at the moment. From the first page of Every Death Thing, the Charlie Parker series has been superb reading.

The Reapers comes from a slightly different angle to the rest of the series, the emphasis isn't on Charlie, but on Louis and Angel.

The basic outline of the story is that years before Louis took a contract to kill a young man, which of course he managed with no problems. However, the man wasn't who he thought he was, and his father has spent years tracking down the man who arranged the hit, the killer and his driver. The driver was taken out in the bathroom of a bar, and now Louis is in the firing line.


The writing, as usual, is outstanding. John brings the characters to life and without being boring gives you enough detail so you feel like you really know them.

I've said in a previous review for another book, that you're not really supposed to admire people who kill for a living, but you can't help but admire Louis even in the earlier books. In this book you find out lot more about his past and it becomes far more apparent how past events shaped his life and his future.

There is also more to find out about Angel as well, although much of his past is well known from the previous novels, we find out more about what makes him tick and his inner thoughts and feelings. Angel is another man who's qualities you can't help but admire. He went through a terrible childhood, he's been subjected to some horrendous acts because of his association with Charlie, and was just a simple burglar (albeit not a very good one) before meeting Louis. Yet despite wanting a peaceful life, he has found love in Louis, and has stuck with him through thick and thin.

I normally don't like books that jump backwards and forwards throughout, but in this case it adds to the suspense of the book. We get to find out a little more about Louis' past, before jumping back to the present day.

The only thing I don't really like about the book is that Charlie very often is referred to as The Detective. Really Charlie deserves better treatment than to lose his identity and be referred to just as the Detective.

Because it doesn't centre around Charlie, the supernatural element is barely mentioned. This is shame, because it was one of the things that made John's books stand out amongst other crime based novels.

But that doesn't stop it being a real page turner. My hope is that John doesn't do a Scarpetta and take the characters any further. In my opinion one more book would complete the series, seeing the trio going out in a blaze of glory, rather than carry on until they became dull and boring.