23rd out of 51 books
—
233 voters
Violets Are Blue (Alex Cross #7)
by
James Patterson (Goodreads Author)
D.C. Detective Alex Cross has seen a lot of crime scenes. But even he is appalled by the gruesome murders of two joggers in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park - killings that look more like the work of savage beasts than humans. Local police are horrified and even the FBI is baffled. Then, as Cross is called in to take on the case, the carnage takes off, leaving a trail of b...more
Paperback, 391 pages
Published
October 1st 2002
by Grand Central Publishing
(first published January 1st 2001)
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Jun 15, 2007
Maria
rated it
1 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Mindless idiots with nothing better to do
According to this book, here are James Patterson's 7 Golden Rules of Writing:
1. Write simple sentences. Don't use big words or describe people wearing colors other than black or "powder blue."
2. Dialogue should be monotonous. Have your characters say the same thing over and over. Especially the hero. He has to bemoan his life yet cheer himself on in the next breath, reminding himself how great he is. Over and over. Bemoan, cheer, repeat! If that doesn't work, have other people say the same thing...more
1. Write simple sentences. Don't use big words or describe people wearing colors other than black or "powder blue."
2. Dialogue should be monotonous. Have your characters say the same thing over and over. Especially the hero. He has to bemoan his life yet cheer himself on in the next breath, reminding himself how great he is. Over and over. Bemoan, cheer, repeat! If that doesn't work, have other people say the same thing...more
The bodies of men and women are turning up all over the U.S. showing signs of attack by animal and human teeth. As it turns out, a pair of brothers who just so happen to also be vampires are responsible for the attacks. Known by the FBI for his ability to profile killers better than just about anyone else, Dr. Alex Cross is brought in to investigate and is terrified beyond anything he has ever experienced before in his life. His investigation takes him to San Francisco where he meets and, in typ...more
The book before this one ended with a Cliffhanger. Unusual for Patterson, not to solve the case within the book but continue the chase in a second novel. Fortunately I had the sequel at hand (half of my books are in Germany, the other in Austria...so they're not always available right away for me)
New main characters (for this new case) are presented, including 2 vampire-like siblings and 2 guys that reminded me of "Siegfried & Roy", and I'm sure Patterson got his inspiration for them in Las...more
New main characters (for this new case) are presented, including 2 vampire-like siblings and 2 guys that reminded me of "Siegfried & Roy", and I'm sure Patterson got his inspiration for them in Las...more
This will be my last JP book. It seemed like a recap of all the other books and I kept thinking "why can't he come up with some new material??" I've read all the others and didn't need to spend another 8 hours recapping. Yes - there was a new pretty good story but I got hung up on the numerous references to all of the past books.
In typical James Patterson fashion, Violets are Blue begins in an explosive way. Alex Cross’s partner and girlfriend has just been murdered in a completely defiling way. At the scene of the crime, the Mastermind calls Alex to taunt him. The Mastermind begins calling Alex almost every day, at all hours, threatening, teasing… Mystery One.
Mystery Two is unveiled as two joggers are killed in San Francisco. People are turning up in various cities, hanging upside down, bitten and drained of their blo...more
Mystery Two is unveiled as two joggers are killed in San Francisco. People are turning up in various cities, hanging upside down, bitten and drained of their blo...more
This book had many interesting parts, even if it did leave a lot to be desired as far as total resolution. (view spoiler) I have read previous books (and I think a later one) about Detective Cross, but this one flowed better than the others. I liked the way the path traversed the nation, although I did not like the way that the cities all seemed to have only...more
When I first started reading Violets Are Blue, I didn't think I was going to lie it as much as I did the others. My first thought was "Vampires? Really?" I had assumed it was going to be like all the other vampire novels that are on the shelves today, but then I remembered (1) this is James Patterson and (2) this was written two years before the disgrace to English Literature was even a "sparkle" (ha pun) in its author's eye, or dreams as the story goes (Twilight, if you are unsure as to what I'...more
Sigh...
Read by Daniel Whitner and Kevin O'Rourke
Duration: 8 hours, 10 minutes
I used to think the Alex Cross series had a lot going for it. I used to be very impressed with it when I first discovered it about 10 years ago. I don't know if my tastes have improved or if the series has declined but this is definitely not as good as I remember them being (and frankly, I'm scared about going back and re-reading one of them and ruining my only strong memories of the series).
There are two concurrent plo...more
Read by Daniel Whitner and Kevin O'Rourke
Duration: 8 hours, 10 minutes
I used to think the Alex Cross series had a lot going for it. I used to be very impressed with it when I first discovered it about 10 years ago. I don't know if my tastes have improved or if the series has declined but this is definitely not as good as I remember them being (and frankly, I'm scared about going back and re-reading one of them and ruining my only strong memories of the series).
There are two concurrent plo...more
Violets Are Blue, written by James Patterson, is now my new favorite novel. Unlike the rest of the books in his Alex Cross series, this one focuses on something most people don’t believe in. So rather than the original, and more often portrayed, serial killers, in this book Alex Cross is busy hunting “vampires”. His searching, or hunting, takes him to countless places and experts that will hopefully give him some clues to help him find his blood drinking friends. Personally, I loved it, but I c...more
Patterson once again produces another bestseller as he follows up his book Roses are Red with an award-winning sequel Violets are Blue. Cross-is dragged into another horrifying case that even sends a shiver down his spine. Real live vampires are on the loose throughout the nation and everyone in a panic with no one to look to for help. Cross-chases the blood trail from coast to coast while trying to ignore the psychotic killer who is stalking and threatening to kill his family. This book was a...more
This was the first James Patterson book I have ever read. All right... The problem with this book was that the first two-thirds were very good and incredibly tense and the pacing of the story was well done. Patterson's major hero, Alex Cross faces three villains, the Mastermind and a couple of vampire brothers...
SPOILERS AHEAD
What ruined this was certainly the last act. He spends the majority of the story building up the bothers as actually having super-human powers. They pull off incredible fea...more
SPOILERS AHEAD
What ruined this was certainly the last act. He spends the majority of the story building up the bothers as actually having super-human powers. They pull off incredible fea...more
James Patterson- Violets Are Blue (Little, Brown and Company 2001) 3.5 Stars
Still haunted and taunted by the Mastermind, Alex Cross must hunt down a new serial killer. This serial killer believes he is a vampire and uses his fellow vampires to commit murder, allowing them to drink their blood (I hope you all thought of a Dracula like voice as you read that, because that is what was running through my mind). Meanwhile he must also try to figure out just who the Mastermind is.
I figured that Violet...more
Still haunted and taunted by the Mastermind, Alex Cross must hunt down a new serial killer. This serial killer believes he is a vampire and uses his fellow vampires to commit murder, allowing them to drink their blood (I hope you all thought of a Dracula like voice as you read that, because that is what was running through my mind). Meanwhile he must also try to figure out just who the Mastermind is.
I figured that Violet...more
VIOLETS ARE......PURPLE!!!!
I usually try to make it my business not to read any books relating to either werewolfs or vampires. As a matter of fact, I stopped reading Patricia Cornwall's Kay Scarpetta series for this exact reason....the werewolfs had invaded the pages. Since I like to read all of my series "in order", Violets Are Blue was the next one up at bat in the Alex Cross series. Little did I know that it would have the "dreaded" vampires as the main characters.
This book had two stories...more
I usually try to make it my business not to read any books relating to either werewolfs or vampires. As a matter of fact, I stopped reading Patricia Cornwall's Kay Scarpetta series for this exact reason....the werewolfs had invaded the pages. Since I like to read all of my series "in order", Violets Are Blue was the next one up at bat in the Alex Cross series. Little did I know that it would have the "dreaded" vampires as the main characters.
This book had two stories...more
When I first started reading Violets Are Blue, I didn't think I was going to lie it as much as I did the others. My first thought was "Vampires? Really?" but Mr. Patterson did not disappoint.
This book had 2 separate storylines: one is the hunt for the still at large mastermind. The other plots were a tale about a decade's long series of ritual killings involving either vampires or people who think they are vampires. The idea of introducing supernatural antagonist to this established series was...more
This book had 2 separate storylines: one is the hunt for the still at large mastermind. The other plots were a tale about a decade's long series of ritual killings involving either vampires or people who think they are vampires. The idea of introducing supernatural antagonist to this established series was...more
"D.C. Detective Alex Cross has seen a lot of crime scenes. But even he is appalled by the gruesome murders of two joggers in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park - killings that look more like the work of savage beasts than humans. Local police are horrified and even the FBI is baffled. Then, as Cross is called in to take on the case, the carnage takes off, leaving a trail of bodies across America and sweeping him to Savannah, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Los Angeles . . as his nemesis, the merciless cri...more
An Alex Cross book, this is about the hunt for serial killers in disparate states of the US, who seem to have a liking for the blood of their victims and also use a wild animal to assist in their dastardly deeds. Alex seems to be the only detective able to tackle these crimes as a lot of the book concerns his commuting to and from murder scenes. But on this occasion he is joined by a lady cop who seems as dedicated as him in finding the culprits and putting them behind bars be they jail or zoo b...more
Treading the Middle Ground, by an Alex Cross Fan
Having read every Patterson book, including the non-Cross stories, and in general pretty avid Patterson/Cross fans, we feel this book is neither as bad as the one-star people say or as good as the 5-star people say. Therefore, we compromised at three. Our logic is that Alex is back and in fairly good form, though we start to hear much career doubt in this one, and fear his days are numbered. On the other hand, the plot and story-telling are nowher...more
Having read every Patterson book, including the non-Cross stories, and in general pretty avid Patterson/Cross fans, we feel this book is neither as bad as the one-star people say or as good as the 5-star people say. Therefore, we compromised at three. Our logic is that Alex is back and in fairly good form, though we start to hear much career doubt in this one, and fear his days are numbered. On the other hand, the plot and story-telling are nowher...more
The book was about investigation of several murders that occured.They noticed that on each victum their was bite marks on the neck and that all the bllod was drained out of the body.The two brothers who are vampires would go on man hunts and suck peoples blood out while they were still alive. Kyle Craig who is known as the mastermined was the one sending the two brothers to kill specific people. Alex Cross got bit by a boy who claims hes a vampire and got an infection because he didnt go to the...more
James Patterson needed better fact checkers in this one. At least the section on skydiving was short. Yes, you fall over 60 mph when you belly fly. But when you go vertical, you can easily pass 200 mph, not 100 mph. If an otter flying flat and stable at 16000 feet lost its pilot, the skydivers jumping out of the plane wouldn't see it crash near them shortly after landing.
OK, beyond that, I could have done without the vampire murders. That was a bit graphic. I did get a kick out of hearing that S...more
OK, beyond that, I could have done without the vampire murders. That was a bit graphic. I did get a kick out of hearing that S...more
After being thoroughly disappointed by the last two novels by Patterson that I picked up--his Murder Club series--I figured I'd give him another chance with the latest Alex Cross story, Violets Are Blue. ...Violets are Blue is just plain deplorable. The sentence structure reads like something out of a "See Spot Run" book and the storytelling isn't much better. Supposedly, Cross has been pursued by some person called the Mastermind... However, the secret to the identity of the Mastermind is so ob...more
OK well here it is...
I just started reading Patterson. This being the second book I have read by him(that i know of, or remember). The 1st one was Double Cross, which I liked. This one seems like...Well I was missing something. I didn't realize he had done so many books with Alex Cross being his main character. Had I realized this i would have liked to have started from the 1st one in the Alex Cross series. That way I wasn't to lost over his dealing with different people through this book on him...more
I just started reading Patterson. This being the second book I have read by him(that i know of, or remember). The 1st one was Double Cross, which I liked. This one seems like...Well I was missing something. I didn't realize he had done so many books with Alex Cross being his main character. Had I realized this i would have liked to have started from the 1st one in the Alex Cross series. That way I wasn't to lost over his dealing with different people through this book on him...more
I want to give this 2.5 out of 5. I found the Kyle Craig arc overshadowed the vampire arc completely thus making the vampire story forgettable. I feel the vampire story should've opened the book for the first 1/3 then let the Kyle Craig arc carry the rest. The Kyle Craig story is the biggest and most essential to the entire series , not sure why is was left for the last act of 1/4 of the book or why it wasnt the main focal point for a book on its own. Not sure it needed to piggy back the Vampire...more
"The most impossible person, is always the final answer."
This is my conclude for the detective books, movie, and soap operas I have watched so far.
In this book, there is one thing author didn't make it clear.
If Kyle Craig was that mastermind, how could Alex Cross received the phone from mastermind when Kyle was next to him. How could Kyle listen to mastermind through telephone when Alex was there.
"The most dangerous living thing in the world is human being, and among human, the most dangerous...more
This is my conclude for the detective books, movie, and soap operas I have watched so far.
In this book, there is one thing author didn't make it clear.
If Kyle Craig was that mastermind, how could Alex Cross received the phone from mastermind when Kyle was next to him. How could Kyle listen to mastermind through telephone when Alex was there.
"The most dangerous living thing in the world is human being, and among human, the most dangerous...more
I have read some of James Patterson's books ..I really enjoyed his Maximum Ride series and I have reread them many times..His Alex Cross series I'm not too fond of..I had read Roses are red so I decided to follow up with this..Well I just couldn't finish it..First thing that irked me was Alex's partner Betsy and lover just gets murdered and he goes on a date that quick!!Oh come on!!2nd thing that irked me calling a tiger a love slave..What?!!and then further on down the page to find out the brot...more
As the last book in the series ended with a cliffhanger, I was really looking forward to picking up this one and finding out what happened in Alex's search for the Mastermind. Sadly, I was a bit disappointed, as the Mastermind plotline took backseat and wasn't really important until the last 50 pages or so. Instead, Patterson delves into the vampire subculture...which I found really hard to read. It seemed ridiculous to me, and this is coming from someone who loves the True Blood series...howeve...more
Alex' new case, and possibly the last, confronts him with vampires, or that's at least what it looks like. The killers are on a spree across the US and Alex is right behind them. And just when he thinks he found them, he has to realize that those were just the puppets of the real killer, the Sire.
And as if this weren't enough, Alex is also still being hunted by the Mastermind, who is threatening his life and the live of his family and friends. And he would never have guessed who the Mastermind...more
And as if this weren't enough, Alex is also still being hunted by the Mastermind, who is threatening his life and the live of his family and friends. And he would never have guessed who the Mastermind...more
I've read quite a few James Patterson books and this was definitely not a favorite. Catches your attention with the gruesome murder scenes, but what was the point? Never really found out what all the murders were about.
I rarely figure out mysteries ahead of time. I like that I am not inquisitive enough to try to figure it out and "ruin" the ending for my by already knowing "who done it".
This book, I knew from almost the time a certain character was introduced that the "mastermind" was this char...more
I rarely figure out mysteries ahead of time. I like that I am not inquisitive enough to try to figure it out and "ruin" the ending for my by already knowing "who done it".
This book, I knew from almost the time a certain character was introduced that the "mastermind" was this char...more
An absolutely wonderful read nonstop action and the Vampire Mythos stuff was great to. This Alex Cross book is also notable for the unmasking of the Mastermind. Now for me this had a slightly different feel because I started reading the Cross Novels at Double Cross so I already knew the identity still I think it worked very well in its suspense and wrong footing the reader at every turn. I can't recommend the Alex Cross series enough it is exciting and enthralling and it feels so real, CSI: Miam...more
I first read Violets Are Blue at the young age of eleven when it first hit the shelves. I was hungry for vampire novels (Please remember in those days there was no Stephenie Meyer sparkle vampires there was Anne Rice and her beautiful creations, Stephen King and his brutal monsters, and Poppy z. Brite and her delicate separate species). Violets Are Blue was full of twist and it was so unlike any other book I had ever read it sticks in my mind to this day. Beautifully written and very powerful. I...more
This book was a breath of fresh air after the lame attempt that was "Roses are Red". I was actually extremely happy to find that most of the book was actually centered around what most of these books should be centered around: the bad guys. Unfortunately, Alex Cross's life outside of his work is mundane and uninteresting. There is nothing interesting about a super perfect family with extremely perfect children and a racist old nag of a grandmother. Honestly, if Mr. Patterson wants to make things...more
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| Class of 2013: Book review | 2 | 6 | May 19, 2013 05:47pm |
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The subject of a Time magazine feature called, "The Man Who Can't Miss," James Patterson is the bestselling author of the past year, bar none, with more than 16 million books sold in North America alone. In 2007, one of every fifteen hardcover fiction books sold was a Patterson title. In the past three years, James has sold more books than any other author (according...more
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Offical UK Site
The subject of a Time magazine feature called, "The Man Who Can't Miss," James Patterson is the bestselling author of the past year, bar none, with more than 16 million books sold in North America alone. In 2007, one of every fifteen hardcover fiction books sold was a Patterson title. In the past three years, James has sold more books than any other author (according...more
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“How is San Francisco, Alex? Lovely city. Will you leave your heart there? Do you think it's a good place to die?”
—
6 people liked it
“The cell phone in my pocket went off. Shit! Damn it! Why do I carry these infernal gadgets? Why does anybody in their right mind need to constantly be on call?”
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3 people liked it
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Based on some of these "rules," I just finished a thriller satire called SILENCE OF THE IAMBS. Let's see what happens! (Okay, but I d...more
Mar 05, 2011 06:16pm
Aug 09, 2012 12:31pm