Rating: 
Summary: Prime Patterson!
Review: Who's afraid of the big bad wolf? Well...probably no one, because Patterson doesn't develop him or invest him with much genuine, convincing menace at all.
Colourful, yes, but not really scary. The Wolf in question is a powerful and vicious Russian gangster, the latest dragon which Alex Cross must slay. All across America, people are being bought and kidnapped. It's a sort of white-slave ring open to the highest bidder. And, who is operating this? The Wolf, of course, a "terrifying" mystery-man and huge undiscovered stain on the name of justice. Throw in twists, murders, Cross's new experiences in the FBI where he now works, and you have a typically riveting James Patterson book. Oh yes, and Alex Cross's family is, shockingly, in danger again too. But, this time, not from death... (It's quite a decent sub-plot, actually, but it's as severely underdeveloped as only Patterson can accomplish.) One of these days I will see sense and stop buying Patterson's books. I mean it. They're bad. (After all, if you ever tried to think of them "seriously" you'd laugh so hard your sides would require sewing back up.) But, I expect it's about as likely to happen as your average person saying "I really must put in more time at the gym" and actually doing it. And why? Because his books - the Cross series in particular, which remains my strong favourite - are so jolly entertaining. Indeed, The Big Bad Wolf is excellent. Prime Patterson. Very fast, very snappy, very very enjoyable. I loved it. The series is firmly back on track, I feel. Or, at least, as much back on track as it is ever going to be considering Patterson's style and that this is now just easy pop-fiction for the undemanding time-starved masses and always will be. It's all cheerfully - and also ineffectually - dramatic (when he uses exclamation marks after a statement, you find it hard to stifle the chuckles) and very implausible, and also at times woefully underdeveloped. Sometimes I get the feeling that if Patterson developed everything more, his books could be just as entertaining but also much more worthy and far better than merely "very entertaining". Instead, the plots fly along and his characters (who could actually be quite interesting) are reduced merely to proper-nouns and pronouns. But, this isn't going to change so I must stop complaining and just enjoy it. This style is here to stay, and as it is it works adequately enough. Patterson fans should really enjoy this one - eve if it's end is a little too quick and open-ended. After all, it has everything. A killer, Cross, his family, heartless killings, twists, and even issues with Cross trying to fit in with his new job at the FBI (Once again, if only these issues were explored more fully...*sigh*) Even the quality of the writing has improved a little again. Normally, you'll find yourself jolted along by a proliferation of simple sentences, but not so here. I spotted several (yes, several!) compound and complex ones as well this time! It's formula is almost exactly the same as any other Cross book, but don't let that stop you. As I've said, James Patterson is not for you if you are looking for anything more than a simple, entertaining story, but if that is what you're looking for, he's your man. His books are my very guilty but very pleasurable pleasure.
Rating: 
Summary: Patterson's Worst Yet...ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Review: A dozer. This book is lackluster; severely lacking in both character and story development. Seems to me that Patterson has decided to rest on his laurels and churn out drivel for his fans. My advice: don't waste your money on this. If you want to read it, check it out from your local library...then you won't feel so ripped off. For other reviewers--please resist revealing the ENTIRE plot in your reviews. Sheesh, it would be nice to have at least ONE surprise left while reading. (Although in this particular book there's not much "plot" to reveal.)
Rating: 
Summary: Good thriller!
Review: I enjoyed the heck out of this, probably more so cause I just finished "Sam's letters to Jennifer" and it did nothing for me. While this is not the best Alex Cross novel it was still nice to be back in familar territory! If you like the Cross novels you should enjoy this one.
Rating:
Summary: HUFF AND PUFF
Review: First off, I think it's pretty pitiful that Stephen King in his EW column had to lower himself to call a fellow writer "dopey." Maybe King's jealous that Patterson is so successful. At any rate, there have been ups and downs in the Alex Cross series, but BIG BAD WOLF has more than enough of good moments to validate the continuance of this series.
What makes this work is Patterson's trademark short chapters; his terse dialogue, and his understanding of Alex Cross and his family and friends. The addition of Christine Johnson coming back to reclaim her son adds an additional emotional tension to the book. Patterson gives Alex some good supporting characters in Monnie, the FBI computer hacker, who helsp tremendously; his long time friend John Sampson, who is going to be a father, and a nice array of despicable villains. The Wolf? Who is he...we have to wait until the next novel. Typical of Mr. Patterson who so floored us when we find out who FBI agent Kyle Craig was. Oh, yes, Kyle's in this one, too, as vile as ever.
I liked this book; for those of you who have given up on him, shame on you.
Rating:
Summary: What a waste of paper
Review: A pervious reviewer hit it on the nose. Patterson can't write. It astonishes me that he's a best seller, considering the putrid crap that he produces. A 4th grader with a crayon could put together a more compelling storyline. Steven Segall movies have better developed characters.
Try a decent thrill writer like John Le Carre.
Rating: 
Summary: Missing about 100 pages
Review: As someone else said, Patterson just missed with this book. Another unsatisfying ending, with the bad guy not getting "his," and the good guy getting the shaft. Needed another hundred pages or so to bring a few of those strings to a good ending. Probably going to be a "Bigger, Badder Wolf" in the future. Hope it ends better.
Rating:
Summary: He just gets better and better!
Review: Wow, I looked over other reviews and it seems people either really loved or hated this book. Some of the "hated" reviews were by those who are reading Patterson for the first time. Please understand, while each book can and does stand alone, this is an ongoing story of the life and times of Alex Cross, former detective, now a FBI agent. There is a history behind Cross and his family. Before you judge too harshly, maybe it would be a good idea to read a few of his newer novels to get an idea of just who Alex Cross is, where he comes from, and how his family and friends interact.
I found this to be a great book. Once again, Patterson left me on the edge of my seat. The action and suspense were great and the characters took on lives of their own. There are plenty of plot twists and the ending is huge.
Someone is kidnapping people to sell to collectors. Any and all fantasies can be fufilled if you have enough money. Cross, new to the FBI, is assigned to find the "Wolf", the man believed to be responsible for the human slave trade. At the same time, Cross is trying to deal with his own personal crisis at home.
Patterson delivers another solid performance. I can't wait to read the sequel to find out if the Wolf is captured and what happens to Cross's personal life. So if you love the Alex Cross series, you will love this one. If you haven't read any before now, do yourself a favor and pick up a couple so you can understand where Cross has come from. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: I must be a masochist ... (Warning - Some Spoilers)
Review: to keep listening to Patterson's audio books. I have despised his books for years, but unfortunately, my library resources for audio books are very limited and I travel a lot.
"The Big Bad Wolf" is about as bad as it gets. At the risk of repeating previous reviews, I must say that we'd be hard put to find a more amateurish, unsophisticated, boooooring writer of best-selling fiction. The only thing Patterson has going is a pretty good imagination for a general plot. It's all downhill from there.
You will not find one original sentence or phrase in any of this guy's books. The descriptions are hackneyed and bring to mind 5th grade schoolwork. All characters are one dimensional and stereotypical.
The protagonist, Alex Cross, is the most perfect human being to have ever lived. We know this because we're hit over the head with it over and over again, especially at the beginning of the story. Everyone throws compliments at him like confetti and superlatives abound. Of course, he takes it in stride because Cross is also modest. Perfect cop, perfect father, perfect son, perfect boyfriend. He must also be extremely lucky, since in this book he is able to bypass FBI prerequisites to get hired, skip most of his training, work on a major case, and get promoted all within a week or two. Wow!
Not only is the hero a saint, but his children are well-behaved, beautiful and brilliant and his mother is the grouchy grandma with the heart of gold.
Now, the victims are duly frightened and the villains truly villainous. "The Wolf" manages to murder his ex-wife at a large crowded party and escape without trouble or detection. For some reason, no one in the police or FBI is able to guess the identity of the killer. Huh?
The holes in the plot (and I use the word generously) are too numerous to count. Some of the backstories are hinted at, but never followed through properly. But some things are just blatantly silly and unintentionally funny.
"The Wolf" holds a kidnapped sex-slave in a closet, while living in a multi-million dollar mansion. What, he couldn't afford a whole room? The victim knows him as "The Wolf". I guess he must have introduced himself before he raped her. But at least we know that there must lights in the closet because the victim has seen The Wolf's very private tattoos.
The dialogue is amateurish and ridiculous. The scenes between Cross and his family are nauseatingly saccharine. Listening to the cliched "thoughts" of the victim (and others) is worse than any soap opera on TV. I wish I could remember an example from the tape, but I found myself laughing out loud when I was supposed to by sympathetic. Patterson has no clue about how women think.
I could go on and on with the faults of this book (and this writer, in general), but it would require reading or listening again and I don't have the stomach for it. Let it be said that Patterson would not know a lyrical, originally-phrased sentence if it bit him on the nose. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
There are hundreds of writers out there in this genre who could write rings around Patterson. Unfortunately, the average reader can't tell the difference. May I recommend Dennis Lehane, Robert B. Parker, Lee Child, James Lee Burke, Eric Handler, and the list goes on.
Rating: 
Summary: The Big Bad Wolf
Review: I really enjoyed this book.Book is exciting and full of
suspense.
Rating:
Summary: could not put this book down
Review: I just finshed reading Big bad wolf by james patterson,
the suspense kept me on the edge of my seat as he was in pursuit of this
devoius character.
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