Book Review: Cross

Alex Cross, the character popularized by Morgan Freeman in 'Kiss the Girls' and 'Along came a Spider', is back. This one is a younger version of Cross, probably more romantic. As the novel's tale progresses, he is soon widowed by a mysterious killer and raises two children with his grandmother.

Alex is now in private practice, having quit the FBI and has made a truce with himself that his wife's murderer has got away. Then his former FBI colleague Samson shows up, seeking help on a case, a case that offers a chance of retribution. A low life in custody has offered Samson a deal, claiming that he knows the killer of Alex's wife.

There is another parallel plot involving a handsome, twisted hit man who mutilates, rapes and kills his victims at the bat of an eyelid. He has a vendetta of his own against, a mob boss's son who betrayed him. Could this be the killer but Alex's wife? Cross is an excellent read, fast paced and riveting. This is the best Patterson book I've read.

An interesting observation:

The hitman's name is Michael Sullivan and he has a vendetta against his mob boss's son. Why does that sound so familiar?

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Book Review: Step on a Crack

This is another run of the mill tale from Patterson and Michael Ledwidge. The plot opens somewhat promisingly. The first lady is fatally poisoned and the perpetrator swears that this is only the beginning.

The funeral of the diseased is held in a huge church in New York and is attended by high profile people who include Politicians, Wall Street bigwigs and media celebrities.The church is sieged by a mysterious group of terrorists and as expected they are making demands.

Thrown in the situation is the protagonist, Michael Bennett, a NYD cop and former negotiator. Though he is never in any physical trouble from the terrorists, the task of rescuing the funeral attendees fall on his already burdened shoulders.

Bennett is the father of ten children and his terminally ill wife lies in a hospital close to the church. This is an attempt by the authors to be a thriller-cum-tearjerker and falls flat in both areas.

After watching movies like the 'Negotiator',I found the book pretty mediocre.
My verdict for this book is: Forgettable!

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Book Review: Beach Road

Yes, this is not the most recent of Patterson's work but I could not pass a bargain at 'The Borders' book store.



This is a decent thriller from Patterson and De Jong but as many have already said, too improbable to happen in 'real life'.



Poor Tom Dunleavy. He is still mourning the loss of a former flame Kate. His professional basketball career has cometo an abrupt end and his present career as a lawyer is at a dead end. He does still get to play basketball sometimes, with a clique of black and white kids on a court, on Beach Road, a street in the elite Hampton neighbourhood in New York.



Then Tom's fate seems to get a 'jump-start' of sorts. Four of his ball playing buddies are killed, execution style, his favorite black kid, Dante is the prime suspect and Tom is of the belief that he can save his buddy from his death sentence and entice his girlfriend into working with him and even win her back.



There is of course the court trial, which would pale in comparison to any of those found in Grisham novels.Then there is the much hyped 'twist' at the end. As I was reading the amazon reviews, that there was this twist at the end and that it comes after the verdict has been passed in the trial, I could guess what it was.



The book has a few other main characters besides Tom, Kate and Dante. The book's story is told from the perspective of a handful of these main characters, which enhances the plot. However, as with most bestsellers, it will not go down as a memorable piece of literature and its copies (like the one I bought) will end up in the backshelves of a few libraries with the passage of time.



My verdict: passable and forgettable.

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