Rating: 
Summary: a book with a bite
Review: This exciting book is a lot of fun. There were some episodes that are a bit loose, and unnecessary, such as the attack by the kids in the Sire's house; we never learn how they got there, etc etc. But who cares? The book is a real thriller.But I roared with laughter when I first opened the book and saw the dedication. So Kyle Craig is a real person, Patterson's FRIEND no less! Thanks a lot, pal. I can think of better ways to commemorate a friendship in literature. With friends like this, who needs vampires?
Rating: 
Summary: Decent Read
Review: Overall, a decent story. I always expect alot in an Alex Cross story. Maybe I expected too much. The vampire stuff was kinda interesting, as was Alex and Jamilla. Other good characters like his family and crew from his job, as well as the FBI. Suspense at the end with old foe the Mastermind, wait til you find out who it is. Had me stunned. All in all, I'd recommend it to Patterson fans. As always, I look forward to the next Alex Cross story.
Rating: 
Summary: Another Patterson Thriller
Review: Patterson has once again proved himself one of the best suspense authors on the planet. His books are fast reads, page turners in the truest sense of the phrase, and really fun to read. Alex Cross is once again pitted against The Mastermind from Roses Are Red plus other adviseries which test his all his skills. If you are a fan of high octane thrillers I recommend Violets Are Blue or any other James Patterson novel(especially the Alex Cross series).
Rating: 
Summary: Save the trees
Review: The biggest waste of paper that could ever exist! 115 chapters for 391 pages!! An obvious ploy to stretch the number of pages by means of 115 pages that had only 1/2 page or less of printed content. The book could have been condensed to 50 pages at most or more mercifully gone unpublished. The content of those 115 chapters was inane. Somewhere in them one would expect to find a plot or storyline but no such luck.
Rating:
Summary: The Patterson ...[mis-leading]
Review: I have been a fan since his first book was published. Personally I always enjoyed his earlier books, they were more meaty. In this book Mr. Patterson proves that no one can write more than one book a year and be good at it. Violets are Blue is a terrible book. Before the book is half over we have figured out who the bad guy is and why. He's writing to a formula and like Robert Parker, with Spenser, his main character has been been lost to the lure of big money, i.e. multiple publishing deals and movies. Mr. Patterson owes his readers and his characters more. All three of his new books are mediocre, this one is down right bad! Save your money.
Rating:
Summary: Not Patterson's Best...
Review: As an avid James Patterson (and Alex Cross) fan, I believe I'll enjoy any book he publishes. However, if this had been the first book I'd ever read by Patterson, I don't know what I'd think. I enjoyed this because I know the characters, the writing style, etc... It was a fine continuation to the Alex Cross series, but as a stand-alone book, I'm not so sure I'd feel the same. Also, I (like many other reviewers) was really bothered by the way The Mastermind's identity was revealed in "Roses Are Red." I think it would have made much more sense for Patterson to write this book more like he wrote "Along Came A Spider," where the READER knows the identity, but must wait for Alex Cross to figure it out. Instead, he wrote it like his fans should've forgotten the killer's identity. It kept making me feel like the book was a big mistake. I wonder what he was thinking writing it the way he did????
Rating:
Summary: Violets are Blue
Review: James Patterson has once again kept me turning the pages of his latest novel featuring Dr. Alex Cross. As I read I noticed much of his writing is straight forward, no flowery language or overuse of deadword words: typical he said she said. Figurative language was not a strong point in Patterson's writing either. His style did include strong sense images though, especially sense image-sight. I especially appreciated the detailed descriptions of the events Cross encountered. The vocab was also not too challenging, but the choice of words was appropriate for the novel. Overall I thought his style was very intriguing and not overshadowed by unnecessary or overwhelming expressions or wordings.
Rating:
Summary: Horrible, horrible, horrible, horrible!!!
Review: I just had to comment on this book again. I read it about 3 months ago and am still amazed that the bad feelings I have for Violets are Blue are still so strong. Vampires are on the loose and are killing people across the country. Cross follows them everywhere. There are plenty of twists but no turns. A lot of stuff happens, and Cross and Co. never can figure out why. But the problem is, Patterson never reveals to the reader any reason to care about the vampire killings. Two things amazed me: how inept the police were in finding the killers, and how Patterson came up with this convoluted crazy stupid plot. Then there is the whole mastermind fiasco. The mastermind is the villian from the book Roses are Red. After reading that, you know who the Mastermind is, so throughout this book, the reader is left to wonder when Cross will find out who it is. Then in the last several pages, Patterson throws in what he probably thought was a clever plot point about the mastermind in tying him to several other crimes, but its not clever if it's not explained. I was left just shaking my head. It would have been cool if it had made sense or been feasible or possible. But what Patterson described was both impossible and ridiculous. I guess in Patterson's world, all serial killers operate with a personal vendetta against Cross. That seems to be the plot in every book.
Patterson is a great writer. I enjoyed 2nd Chance much more than this book. He just needs to work on his plots a little more.
Rating:
Summary: Good follow up to Roses Are Red
Review: After the disappointment I felt in Roses Are Red, Patterson follows up with a much better conclusion to the Mastermind case. While chasing a unique band of killer "vampires", Alex Cross continues to be tormented by the Mastermind, whose identity was revealed in Roses Are Red. Patterson had masterfully put together a dual villain-hunt in Cat and Mouse, but doesn't quite get it together here. Regardless, the book still had a lot of action and suspense in true James Patterson fashion.
Rating:
Summary: Classic Patterson--although a bit fomulaic...
Review: I enjoyed the book--great plot, good character development & he has an ingenius way of weaving together plots almost seamlessly. However his books seem to be getting too predictable--I knew the killer half way through the book. Now I'm very good at solving things like this but I thought it would be more along the lines of..you don't know who it was until the very last page. That's the kind of reading I enjoy & I felt this installment in the Alex Cross series lacked. I think maybe Patterson needs to take a new "angle" or "direction" with the Alex Cross series--they're getting a bit stale & he's so talented--it's a shame to waste that.
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