Happy Reading

Toni's bookshelf: read

The Godfather of Kathmandu (Sonchai Jitpleecheep, #4)
Ape House
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
Operation Napoleon
Walking Dead
The Sentimentalists
The Heretic Queen
The Midnight House
Cross Fire
Peony in Love
Absurdistan
Nefertiti
Finding Nouf: A Novel
City of Veils: A Novel
First Daughter
A Place of Hiding
Amagansett
Peter Pan


Toni Osborne's favorite books »
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Monday, August 22, 2011

"Cross Fire", by James Patterson


Book 17, in the Alex Cross series

After reading so many books in this series, the style and structure have become predictable. I found the story to have many familiar aspects about it that left me with a sense of déjà vu. This latest is definitely for the die-hard fan that slowly plods along or the reader who only reads the occasional thriller.

The plot involves two main running threads. The first involves a pair of assassins who take it upon themselves to eliminate people of questionable ethics, in particular those who have committed crimes against the poor and have escaped the strong arm of justice on a technicality. Alex knows if the killers are not caught soon, this vigilante justice will continue. The second thread involves Alex's old nemeses, Kyle Craig, who recently escaped from prison and is on a mission of revenge '. It is payback time for Alex and his family'.

True to his trademark, Patterson has stayed with his choppy style of writing, short chapters and many empty pages to provide an easy and speedy read. Although the plot follows a pattern that has been used many times before it nevertheless created some entertaining moments. Maybe the time has come to retire Alex Cross and move on to a successor with a different flair to solving crimes.

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