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Feb 13, 2008

Judy rated it:

I like James Patterson's style and his method of story telling. The action moves along quickly and the characters, while not all that memorable, are suitably likable or villainous. It's a real page turner, as forensic psychologist Alex Cross tracks down the sadistic mafia killer known as The Butcher, the man who killed Cross's wife ten years earlier.

However,there's one thing about this book that drove me batty. Patterson has a series of Alex Cross books (most notably "Along Came More...

5 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 10, 2007

Christopher rated it:

Being a big Patterson fan and following the character of Alex Cross through all of the his books I am sad to say that I am really beginning to get tired of him. It really pains me to say that because I have come to really like all of the characters that have been created within the Cross series but it just feels like there is very little life left in Alex Cross. The stories are beginning to sound the same and the endings are becoming very predictable. To be honest I only finished this book ou More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jan 07, 2008

Amanda rated it:

I used to love James Patterson books. (I loved Alex Cross' badass persona complemented by his squishy in the center role as a family man.) But lately I've chosen to stay away from Patterson's books. The bloom is off the rose, so to speak. I honestly believe that the sheer volume of his work has caused the stories to be diluted somewhat. I read Big Bad Wolf in September, and was incredibly disappointed. However, because I have been with this character of Alex Cross for over a decade now, an More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Nov 08, 2011

Jonathan rated it:

James Patterson's novel, "Cross" was a great book overall. The fact that James was able to incorporate important information on all of the characters in a quick manor. You didn't seem to remember every character's story, but you were given just enough information to understand what ideas each character stands for. The fact that this book was an action packed thriller kept me even more interested into the book. I cannot stand it when authors ramble on about pointless details that do not More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Nov 05, 2008

Andreana rated it:

1. A 5-7 sentence summary (beginning, middle & end) of the book, including an explanation of the motive of the main character and the conflicts encountered.
2. Your favorite line from the book and a 2-3 sentence explanation of what the line infers about the story, message OR main character.
3. Review of book: 3-4 sentences about your opinion of the book, backed up with details, AND a justification of why you gave the number of stars you gave.

1. The main characte More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Apr 21, 2008

Parker M. rated it:

2nd Review (due 4/22/08)- Mrs. Turnbow
Alex Cross, a detective, is looking into murder/rape cases that coincide, when his wife (Maria) is shot and killed. He does everything that he can to find her killer but comes up short when the cases drop out of the area. 10 years later, after a career change, Cross is called up by a former partner. The murder/rape cases were back in the area. After long examination into the case and many days later, they find out who murdered Maria. In a twisted and u More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Sep 09, 2007

Lisa rated it:

This latest installment in the Cross series may have you thinking it's the last as Alex turns in his resignation to the FBI and settles into private practice as a psychologist. However, instead of spending more time with his kids and Nana Mama, he's being recruited by the DC police and his long time friend John Sampson.
Sampson for his part, doesn't really want to involve Alex because the murderer might just be the man who killed Crosses own wife Maria, more than 10 years earlier. This rap More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 28, 2008

Donna rated it:

Before Cross, I read two or three of the Alex Cross novels, so others are more qualified than I to comment on the series as a whole.

Alex Cross and his family are likable characters. Their creator, James Patterson, seems to know just where the line is drawn in terms of placing the good folks in danger and also depicting the despicable crimes of the antagonists. Just a few more details of torture by the evil Butcher of Sligo would have put me over the edge.

My rating of the More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 11, 2011

Rachel rated it:

*sigh* James Patterson has been one of my favorite writers for a long long time. But this book just makes me sad. Sure I read the whole thing. I mean, it was an easy read. But that's really the best thing I can say about it. The Alex Cross series has also been my favorite of his to read on a regular basis, but it has just gotten to the point that he doesn't put any effort into his books anymore. Sometimes he has some good ones (You've Been Warned that came out a few months ago was good, d More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 11, 2007

Dani rated it:

Maybe I've just outgrown the excitment of the Alex Cross series, but ive been noticing how these books are just not very well written. Such short sentences, which is being used to evoke a mood, yet I cant help but question if theyre also being used for lack of knowing how to do otherwise! I had very high expectations for this book in the series for it addressed the wife's murderer and retirement from the FBI, and yet ultimately felt unfulfilled... Hopefully the next in the series will do more More...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 02, 2009

Toni rated it:

Alex Cross was working for the FBI when an unknown man gunned down his wife Maria, in front of him. The killer was never found and the case turned cold. Years later, after Alex left the FBI he became full-time psychologist some times working as a free agent for the FBI. At one point, his former partner John Sampson calls in a favour....

John is tracking Michael Sullivan one of the worst serial rapist and professional killers ever. Sullivan known as "The Butcher" finds his pr More...

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Dec 05, 2011

Michelle rated it:

I don't know why I keep doing this to myself. The Cross books are certainly better than some of the others Patterson keeps churning out with his co-authors. That being said, they aren't as good as they used to be. I think I've come to the conclusion that all good series must come to an end and this one is another that is ready.
After many years, Alex and his friend Sampson are on the trail of the person Alex thinks killed his wife Maria, 'The Butcher of Sligo'. Alex quits the FBI and goes More...

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Jun 21, 2011

Andrea rated it:

James Patterson writes the shortest chapters of any writer that I know of.

Cross, the 12th book about Dr. Alex Cross (PhD), presents the story of who killed Maria, Cross's wife, more than 10 years ago. She was shot as she was leaving work and Cross witnessed the shooting, but could not identify the shooter. This story about a Mafia hit man, Michael Sullivan, a.k.a. The Butcher for his knife work and amputations during his kills. When he attacks and rapes young, executive-type women i More...

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Feb 19, 2011

David rated it:

Prolific author James Patterson has written over 75 books. He has penned young adult stories, romance novels, and non-fiction. He is known best, however, for adult thrillers, especially those starring Alex Cross. Cross is a homicide detective and psychologist who lives and works in Washington, D.C. At the time of this writing, Alex Cross has appeared as the protagonist in 16 Patterson novels. In a seventeenth Alex Cross book, the character is presented as the author of a historical novel. Two of More...

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Nov 29, 2010

Mayberryaftermidnight rated it:

Read this in approx. 36 hours over Thanksgiving break, and I bumped up the rating from 2 to 3 stars after considering that it did, at least, provide some non-television/digital entertainment during a family holiday (no, I don't have an e-reader and I hope I never will, but I don't hate those of you who do have them, and as a book editor, I encourage you to BUY BOOKS IN ANY FORMAT). This is a quick read and one with a few interesting points of view. The only other Patterson book I've read is _Alo More...

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Apr 24, 2010

Lee rated it:

I became a James Patterson fan with the movie, "Kiss the Girls," starring Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd. I loved the way the female protagonist was a match for the serial killer villain and how she fought back against him. Upon reading the book, I became a fan of Alex Cross as well. The middle class cop/FBI agent/psychiatrist raising his two kids without their dead mother, but with the help of his grandmother, "Nana-mama," charmed and intrigued me.

Since then, I'v More...

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Aug 07, 2007

Elesa rated it:

I'm giving this one star because...well...I guess someone sat down and wrote it although I'm not 100% convinced of that. I wish I knew how to make a shorthand symbol for a big fat raspberry. Boring. Without any substance whatsoever, but not in a guilty pleasure way. Almost like the author woke up one morning and thought "Hmm...guess it's time to crank out another Alex Cross novel." Alex Cross deserves so much better than that. I mean - he was portrayed by Morgan Freeman, for pete

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Apr 17, 2010

Mya rated it:

This is a typical beach read, as in fast, dynamic and easy to comprehend while tossing a few fruity drinks back...none of which I was doing. Famed detective Alex Cross, is on the hunt for a savage killer who controls a group of killer youths. They killed a friend of his and her family and the hired killers are on the loose. Vigiliant and determined, Alex is on the trail and refuses to back down even when that trail leads to the darkest depths of Africa, even when it puts his other friends and fa More...

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Feb 14, 2010

Karalee rated it:

Anyone who has read the Dr. Alex Cross books inevitably must be touched by the story of Cross losing his wife, Maria, to a drive-by shooter when their children were babies. Years later, the case remains unsolved and Maria's death has had a huge impact on every aspect of Cross's life -- his family, his career, his personal life. So a book that focuses on Maria's unsolved murder and gives Alex the chance for redemption and closure should be a pivotal, premiere book in this series. Unfortunately More...

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Nov 16, 2011

Derek rated it:

Most popular fiction is hardly literary works of art. I am fine with that. In fact, I find a lot of true literature to be fairly dull. But James Patterson takes the art of shallow fiction to new....depths. There was a time with earlier Cross books, that the books were "page turners," "must reads." However, that is often not the case with some of his later efforts. This book was quite short with an antagonist that was hard to take seriously. Some of that could have been More...

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Aug 08, 2011

John added it

Patterson has written a gazillion thrillers and Cross is one of a dozen or so centered around Washington D.C. homicide cop/FBI agent/psychotherapist Alex Cross. It’s my first venture into this character series.

Alex Cross is a psychologist who for whatever reason decides to leave private practice and become a homicide detective. His wife Maria is a social worker. Included in his workload are rape cases, murders, and crime syndicate characters with Asian and European backgrounds. His wife is m More...

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May 01, 2011

Heather rated it:

I picked this up at a yard sale and I'm really glad I didn't have to pay full price for this crap. I have no idea why James Patterson is so popular. I had never read one of his books so I thought for a quarter why not, I'll try it out, I like crime books. The ideas are good, the characters are relatable but the writing is terrible. Instead of creating suspense he tells you 'I'm in suspense', he goes off on tangents to create the vision of what he wants you to see but again instead of actually ma More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 30, 2011

Alice rated it:

I love Alex Cross. I do. I love his family - the children and Nana Mama. I feel really caught up in his life and I really think he is one of the best characters in the thriller genre. So I get really upset when Patterson sells Alex short. Throughout the series, the unsolved murder of Alex's wife Maria has been a major problem for Alex - affecting his relationships and driving him to his workaholic lifestyle. So when the murder is going to be solved, it should be an epic case, leaving both Alex a More...

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Dec 30, 2008

Ashley rated it:

A book I could not put down!!! It was a fast, but great read! For those of you who have never heard of the book or read it, its about the deadliest psychopath named Michael Sullivan or the "Butcher" who goes around brutually murdering people for money, as well as raping women. You may think that's bad enough but listen to this. He mutilates his victims and cuts them into pieces and takes pictures of them for souvenirs. But Alex Cross, a homicide detective working on the case involving More...

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Apr 16, 2011

David rated it:

I was expecting more of this one. It was a page-turner, but it did not have the suspense I was expecting and therefore this disappointment. Excellent book, just not what I was expecting for the other Alex Cross novels I had read.
This is not the Alex Cross that I have enjoyed at the beginning of the series. Cross must have had a head injury because the character just seems to babble along without any intelligible analysis or interpretation of what is happening around him. And then there wa More...

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Mar 27, 2009

Amy (amyb2332) rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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May 20, 2010

Rachel rated it:

There is definitely something about the "thriller" genre that keeps me turning pages and quickly, but this one was pretty gruesome. It is appalling to think that killing is actually a way of life in certain countries right now and unfortunately that isn't fiction. THe really chilling thing is that with technology today, the globe is shrinking and that puts the atrocities of other places closer to home.

While this book is fiction, I can see how it could be possible in tod More...

1 comment like

Jul 04, 2009

Lindsey rated it:

This definitely isn't going to be making any of my Favorites Lists anytime soon, but I will say it was a nice book to read while I was sick. It isn't bad it just isn't very challenging. A nice "summer book" read with an interesting enough antagonist, though Alex Cross himself is more than a little dull to me. The author also has a habit of stuffing as many pop culture references in as possible. Rather than saying "the kids turned on the radio to their favorite station," h More...

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Mar 22, 2009

Sarah H. rated it:

This book was really good. The main character in the book is Alex Cross. He is a detective/cop/therapist.At the beginning of the book, Alex's wife dies and throughout the book Alex is trying to find out who killed his wife.

Alex at one point in the story leaves his job as a cop and becomes a therapist so he can be at home with his kids more since he's an only parent.

Alex gets called back later in the story to take on this case of a man who is called The Butcher, and all More...

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Jul 21, 2007

Renee rated it:

This was the first book in the Alex Cross series I've read. I really enjoyed how fast the chapters read and I found at times I just couldn't put it down. I did almost stop reading it because I'm not a fan of violence but found myself hooked and just had to find out how it ended.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

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