Roses Are Red (Alex Cross)

Author - James Patterson ... [Goo?] [Posters]

This Mass Market Paperback Book item from Vision was reviewed on 4-Nov-2008.

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1) Mass Market Paperback Book Roses Are Red (Alex Cross) by Vision. Doesn´t an author owe us a beginning, middle and ending to a story without having to read the previous and next book? There is nothing wrong with a series where the main characters are the same but the plot should start and end in each book. This is the sixth book in the Alex Cross series and it´s just the same old thing over and over.

This book is a page turner but not because the story is exciting and compelling; it is a page turner because there´s a lot of white space. It is a little extreme when a 400 page book is broken up into 126 chapters with generous margins and the beginning page of each chapter is 2/3 white space.

A character from a previous book comes to life again on one page and then is left hanging for the next book I guess. Some of the other reviews gave accolades for such a surprise ending; well it was a real surprise as it was like Patterson just drew a name out of a hat and stuck it on the last page in the last paragraph. Guess this villain will be identified for Alex Cross in the next book and punished. But with Patterson it might be several books later.

Even with these short comings I give this book three stars since most of the book was interesting and kept my attention. Not a thriller, just an interesting read for most of the book. Alex´s personal life gets boring and adds nothing to the story. Every night there is dialog with his family when he goes home, having dinner, jostling with his kids, etc. It was strange that whenever he got a call at home about a new murder that it was his junior partner that called or came by to pick him up. I would think it would be the other way around.

Your disbelieve has to be in a high state of suspension when reading about investigations as none of the rules are followed by the FBI, Secret Service or the Police. In this book Alex Cross goes into a suspect´s apartment while the suspect was gone and the suspect returned while he was still in the apartment. The suspect was arrested based on what was found in the apartment. This was illegal in every respect as there was no search warrant and therefore any evidence found would be invalid.
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2) Mass Market Paperback Book Roses Are Red (Alex Cross) by Vision. In Roses Are Red, Washington police detective/psychoanalyst Alex Cross is pitted against one of the most intelligent and ruthless criminal masterminds to ever wreak a trail of havok through the pages of a novel, calling himself, appropriately enough, the Mastermind. Having recruited a string of co-conspirators and henchmen - who themselves don´t even know the Mastermind´s true identity - he kicks off an explosive campaign of crimes, starting with a string of bank heists. The robberies are precise and unusually ruthless, and the Mastermind and his cohorts don´t hesitate to execute innocents when their instructions and demands aren´t followed precisely, to the letter and to the second. Even minor discrepancies that have no bearing on the success of the heist carry with them a lethal penalty. For those working under the Mastermind, however, the sword cuts both ways: Mastermind himself won´t hesitate to kill off his own team members if it advances his agenda.

Cross is brought into the case by the FBI, with whom he´s repeatedly worked before. Cross (who narrates almost all of this and other novels in this series himself, with select chapters skipping away to give a villain´s point-of-view on events) is an outstanding protagonist - likable, a master himself at what he does but not to the point of infallibility, and narrating events in a way that gets you right into the investigative proccess and lets you see how they go about figuring things out, looking for patterns, building a psychological profile of his nemesis, etc. Cross also has a good edge to him - he´s as much of a hunter as any of the criminals he tracks, with part of him thriving on the thrill of the chase, and with a strong dedication to justice that makes almost any case he works on personal. At the same time, the books in the series always showcase a lot of Cross´s private life as a family man, and the ´day-to-day´ going-ons within the family and within Cross´s personal life. His tendency to get deeply, almost obsessively, involved in each case sometimes puts a strain on the family aspect, and the character is aware of that. In this and other books he´s sort of walking a tightrope between his role as a detective whose unique skills are always highly in demand, and his ability to live a life outside of police work with his family. The supporting characters - both Cross´s family and the other cops and FBI agents he works with, are very well developed, easy to like and care about, and these personalities, as much as the plot and its turn, make a book like this one a cut above many of its peers.

Roses Are Red is fast-paced without sacrificing personality or the descriptiveness that makes you feel like you´re there in the scene. The plot takes a lot of twists and turns - both in the ongoing schemes of the increasingly daring Mastermind and in the relationships between the book´s characters, without seeming contrived or rushed. The action feels real, the characters knowable, and for most of its length the novel is an immensely enjoyable roller-coaster ride of a thriller.

In the end run, Roses Are Red takes a turn for the darker (although there´s been a high degree of edge throughout) with events in the last chapters coming out of nowhere to hit the reader right in the stomach with a sledgehammer. The finale really leaves you shaken, and adds a new dimension to a novel that´s already succeeded on multiple fronts. A must-read for fans of mysteries, thrillers, or high-octane action.¤

3) Mass Market Paperback Book Roses Are Red (Alex Cross) by Vision. I would have given this 5 stars if Patterson would have stopped the novel when it should have ended. The surprise ending was such an obvious after-thought. I looked back through the book after I finished it and the surprise ending just doesn´t work. But - I´m going to read Violets Are Blue and hope that Patterson makes it work.¤

4) Mass Market Paperback Book Roses Are Red (Alex Cross) by Vision. James Patterson is one of my favorite reads. His Alex Cross series is sensational. I purchaced 3 different books on this series from you and love everyone.¤

5) Mass Market Paperback Book Roses Are Red (Alex Cross) by Vision. I could not put the down, I was so eager to know what happen next¤

6) Mass Market Paperback Book Roses Are Red (Alex Cross) by Vision. Roses Are Red, James Patterson´s sixth Alex Cross thriller, openswith the District of Columbia detective attempting to mend his nearly unraveledfamily. The year-long kidnapping of one´s intended (1999´s Pop Goes the Weasel) will dothat to a relationship. Christine, the kidnappee, is amenable with onereasonable condition: that her family´s horizon remain uncluttered by homicidalmaniacs. How unfortunate, then, that the joyous christening of their newborn sonis rudely interrupted by the FBI bearing news of several heinous murdersrequiring the attention of detective (and doctor of psychology) Cross."Three-year-old boy, the father, a nanny," Kyle said one more timebefore he left the party. He was about to go through the door in the sun porchwhen he turned to me and said, "You´re the right person for this. They murdereda family, Alex."As soon as Kyle was gone, I went looking for Christine. My heart sank. She hadtaken Alex and left without saying good-bye, without a single word.Which leaves Cross free to hunt the Mastermind, the barbarous brains behind awidening series of bank robberies in which employees or their family members areheld hostage and, when instructions aren´t followed to the finest iota,slaughtered. Given the cases´ glaring and unfathomable inhumanity, Cross´s long- time DCPD partner (the wonderful giant, John Sampson) gives way to the warm,attractive, and fiercely intelligent FBI Agent Betsey Cavalierre.The longer and harder Cross and Cavalierre remain on his trail, the bolder andmore brutal--and shiveringly close to home--the Mastermind´s strikes become.And, thanks mostly to lightning-short paragraphs and a point of view thatrappels from the first-person Cross to the third-person Mastermind, the taleprogresses at hot-trot speed to a bona fide doozy of a denouement. It´ll be overbefore you know it, so sit back, hold your breath, and enjoy the show. And staytuned for the next one. --Michael Hudson¤

7) Mass Market Paperback Book Roses Are Red (Alex Cross) by Vision. Roses Are Red, James Patterson´s sixth Alex Cross thriller, opens with the District of Columbia detective attempting to mend his nearly unraveled family. The year-long kidnapping of one´s intended (1999´s Pop Goes the Weasel) will do that to a relationship. Christine, the kidnappee, is amenable with one reasonable condition: that her family´s horizon remain uncluttered by homicidal maniacs. How unfortunate, then, that the joyous christening of their newborn son is rudely interrupted by the FBI bearing news of several heinous murders requiring the attention of detective (and doctor of psychology) Cross.

"Three-year-old boy, the father, a nanny," Kyle said one more time before he left the party. He was about to go through the door in the sun porch when he turned to me and said, "You´re the right person for this. They murdered a family, Alex."

As soon as Kyle was gone, I went looking for Christine. My heart sank. She had taken Alex and left without saying good-bye, without a single word.

The longer and harder Cross and Cavalierre remain on his trail, the bolder and more brutal--and shiveringly close to home--the Mastermind´s strikes become. And, thanks mostly to lightning-short paragraphs and a point of view that rappels from the first-person Cross to the third-person Mastermind, the tale progresses at hot-trot speed to a bona fide doozy of a denouement. It´ll be over before you know it, so sit back, hold your breath, and enjoy the show. And stay tuned for the next one. --Michael Hudson¤

Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 2-Dec-2008, 04466054849780446605489, 010-840-890-150-120-660-8

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