Rating: Summary: SAVE YOUR MONEY Review: Been a fan for a long time, but I think this was the end for me. I cannot believe how bad this novel was. NO plot, characterizations were non-existant and what a waste of my lovely birthday and Christmas gift certificates. Will not purchase any more of his books, will wait and check them out of the library if I am curious about the next one.
Rating: Summary: OH MY GOD Review: This book was amazing. I have not read any books since high school and started reading Roses are Red and finished with Violets are Blue last week. It was awesome. I never knew what was going to happen next.
Rating: Summary: I want a refund Review: Given the other reviews, this is somewhat redundant; but, felt compelled to add my name to the list. Disappointing is an understatement. I have been a Patterson reader for years - not sure if I will continue. I appreciate that authors can't always create a "top five" - but, please don't insult your loyal readers by publishing work you know to be inferior.
Rating: Summary: Not His Best But Still Good Review: Not quite up to par with his earlier works but still very exciting, entertaining with some great villians. If you want a quick read this book will deliver. Better reads are MURDER DOESN'T FIGURE, TELL NO ONE and Patterson's earlier works.
Rating: Summary: I haven't felt this cheated since "Hannibal". Review: As a long time James Patterson fan, (I read "Virgin" the FIRST time it came around) I finished "Violets Are Blue" angrily and with a sense of having been betrayed by the author. In "Roses Are Red", Patterson ruined a perfectly good read when he inexcusably switched to writing his hero, Alex Cross, in the first person (the conceit of the man thinking he can write in the voice of a streetwise, black, Washington D.C. police officer, smacks of unrepentant hubris,) then ended the novel revealing Mastermind's true identity. In "Violets are Blue", Patterson, again writing Alex Cross in the first-person, wastes three-quarters of "Violets" on an absurdly-thin, gratuitously violent Vampire sub-plot which pre-supposes his readers have FORGOTTEN Mastermind's identity. He THEN spends the last quarter of the novel "re-revealing" the Mastermind's identity with subsequent results. What was he thinking? Not since Thomas Harris pandered to the studios by re-inventing Claris Starling for "Hannibal", have I experienced an author so cavalier about his characters or disrespectful of his readers. Shame on you James Patterson!
Rating: Summary: Creepy & Intense Review: "Violets Are Blue" is a good read. Alex Cross, ace detective and psychologist, must track down modern-day vampires while simaltaneously battling a serial killer called, 'Mastermind'. The concept is creepy. The mood is intense. The action flies by in short spurts of about three pages per chapter. The highlight is the first person perspective of Alex Cross. You sense his frustration, fear, competitiveness, anger and guilt. James Patterson wove a very complex and rich character. There is some disappointment. The vampire murders actually become monotonous. Sure, Patterson finds some creative methods of dealing with each victim, but the reader loses the intitial terror and dread as the bodies pile up. Also, 'Mastermind' is too similar to Gary Sonji, a serial killer from 'Along Came A Spider' who re-appeared in a later book. The deja vu is a lapse in creativity. We don't that kind of hook to buy the next book. With those two exceptions -- "Violets Are Blue" is a good thriller. Enjoy!
Rating: Summary: Time to move on Review: I've read all of the Alex Cross books, and I should have stoped after the last one. The cliff hanger left at the end of the last book is ended here in Violets are blue, but it contrived and very very disappointing. I feel cheated. It seems the book was pushed out to hit the Christmas book buying season. I'll be very leary about buying another James Patterson novel.
Rating: Summary: What were you thinking,Mr Patterson? Review: I've been a big fan of Patterson's and have read all his books. I like mystery thrillers and his are right up there at the top of my lists. That's why I was so appalled at the grossness of his latest book. I tried to persevere but didn't get very far. The scene in the funeral home was the final straw! I put it down and don't know if I'll ever pick it up again. At this point I don't even care who the Mastermind is!
Rating: Summary: Truly a lousy book - Patterson should be ashamed Review: Not only does Patterson get most the locales wrong in this trite book based in San Francisco, but I seriously doubt that he wrote the book himself. This is a miserable piece of dreck. Men write books in certain ways and women write in other ways. Caucasions write with a certain style and African Americans do the same. Patterson is presumably (from the jacket cover) a caucasion male. In reading this book, I had the distinct feeling that a black female wrote the book. No man worth his salt would refer to a male character over six feet tall and "in perfect physical shape (sic) etc." being 180 pounds. A man of that height at that weight would be a string bean. And yet that is just what the villains in this piece are described to look like. Then there is the lead character: how wimpy is he?!!!!! He simply moons after the female detective in L.A. and acts like a curr dog throughout. I got so disgusted with this poorly written book that I threw it down several times before I returned it to the store and was successful in getting my money back. Don't bother reading this. Not only does it insult my intelligence by its very existence, but it is such a shoddy piece of writing that most high school freshmen could do far better. P.U. it stinks!!!
Rating: Summary: I'll give it a last try..... Review: Well actually a couple more times since I believe JP deserves a couple more tries before I really drop him into a "kill" file. Violets are blue is not all that bad. But it greatly lacks of depth and this is a serious flaw in book writing. If you torn the page off right from around page 240 onwards, voila!!! you have 2 novels. One's about the vampire and one is about the payback with the so called Mastermind in which it is absolutely irrelevant. My opinion is, he could've just add a couple of pages more on Roses are Red and finish it off and start with clean sheet with whatever title he would like to put. Having it like now is just utter silly. But I really like the short chapter although some of it are just meaningless and looks like he's writing that chapter after a bad night or day
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