Detective Alex Cross is back in Roses Are Red, the latest masterpiece from best-selling author James Patterson. Best known for his novel turned blockbuster movie, Kiss The Girls, Patterson has managed to create his most evil and frightening bad guy to date.
Where most authors write bad guys to be evil beyond our imagination, Patterson has created one so terrifying that he passes from fantasy to reality as you turn each page.
The story picks up following the incidents of Pop Goes The Weasel, in which Cross' love interest Christine had been kidnapped and held captive for a year. Still suffering from the incident, Christine is a different person and is much colder and more insecure than she was before. Her and Alex now have a son, Alex Jr. but they are still not married and the relationship between them is barely hanging on. She pleads with Alex to quit his job, but instead Cross takes a case that will push him to a place that he has never been and maybe push Christine away for good.
This time the bad guy is into bank robberies, but not your old fashioned kind. He likes the thrill of the robbery, but more so, he gets off on the murders that go along with them, even though he never enters the bank himself.
The killer calls himself The Mastermind, and he is just that. He is a killer so intelligent and daring that he truly earns the name as the book moves along. The Mastermind hires a new crew for each of his horrific robbery/murders. He always gives his crew the exact plans to pull off the heist, he tells them exactly where to be, and when to be there. He stays two steps ahead of the cops throughout the story.
Patterson has outdone himself this time. He manages to dive deeper into the personal life of his main character than ever before. As problems arise at home with Christine and later with his daughter Jannie, you see a side of Cross that has been hidden in the previous books. He also gives us a page turner that will keep you guessing until the very last sentence.
All of the old characters are back as well. Cross' grandmother, Nana Mama is back and bolder than ever, always giving the right advice. Cross' partner Sampson is there with the much needed detective help on the never ending case. Also returning is FBI agent Kyle Craig who as usual is asking for help from Cross as soon as the new bad guy turns up in Washington D.C.
If you have never read a James Patterson novel, this is a good time to start. All of his books stand alone, but may be a bit better to start at the beginning of the series. Either way this story is one that will capture you on the first page and hold you until the end. His writing style is very different than most authors, although it could be compared to best selling writer and story teller Sydney Sheldon. He writes short chapters, mostly just two or three pages. There is not a lot of time spent on detail or useless dialogue. He writes a story and does his best to get you through it without a lot of boring side tracks.
Patterson is very busy right now on many upcoming projects. Along Came a Spider, which was the first Detective Cross book, is set to be released on Feb. 2, 2001 by Paramount Pictures. Morgan Freeman is reprising his role as Cross. Then in March of next year Patterson will take a break from this series to open a brand new one. 1st To Die, is the first in a series set in San Francisco which will feature a police detective, an assistant district attorney, a reporter, and a medical examiner who join together as the Women's Murder Club, to track down a serial killer. 1st To Die will then be released on NBC as a four hour mini series in May 2001, just in time for the May sweeps period. Finally, look for a non-series novel in July called Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas. Patterson fans have a lot of great things to look forward to. The future looks bright and after this novel and judging by the cliff-hanger finish of Pop Goes The Weasel, I am sure we haven't heard the last of Detective Alex Cross either.
Book Grade A+
