Cradle and All

Rating:
Summary: Re-titled Rip Off!
Review: Long time James Patterson fans will be greatly disappointed in this re-titled rehash of one of his early works, formerly titled "Virgin". Except for a very few minor plot changes, some more detailed peripheral characters and an altered ending, it's "Deja Vu all over again"!(Suprise! One of the virgin births was conceived pretty much the old fashioned way which the mother "blocks out" until the moment of delivery -a minor enough change that you have to slog through almost the entire book [again, if you read it the first time] in order to confirm suspicions you develop early on.) Don't you just HATE it when an author becomes popular and regurgitates his old material in order to make more money! What happened, Mr. Patterson? Run out of new ideas? Just call me a FORMER James Patterson fan!

Rating:
Summary: Not up to standards
Review: I have read several of James Patterson's books and have enjoyed them all. I put down Cradle and All without finishing it however. This book was not up to the author's normal stadards in my opinion. Everyone's tastes are different and others may enjoy the book but I would not recommend the book.

Rating:
Summary: Buyer Beware
Review: This book starts out badly and only gets worse. It's a complete waste of time and I almost quit reading halfway through it. This is the first James Patterson book with which I have been disappointed. If you really must read it, do yourself a favor and wait for the paperback.

Rating:
Summary: Not worth it
Review: not worthy of being called a thriller, or suspenseful. more for fans of the supernatural than mystery fans. don't bother.

Rating:
Summary: Expectedly Disappointed
Review: Mr. Patterson's Alex Cross novels are wonderful, fast paced and exciting. So when "Hide and Seek" came out I expected more of the same, I was sadly mistaken. Thus I purchased "Cradle and All" with reservation when realizing Alex would not make an appearance.

I was expectedly disappointed with this book. I don't care for teen horror/scream films, which this felt the literary equivalent to. No real surprises and no unforseen plot twists. Although I only spent 1 day reading this book it felt like a waste of my time.

Unfortunately I will no longer purchase a James Patterson novel unless it has Detective Cross in it. Too many books, too little time to waste on novels such as "Cradle and All".

Rating:
Summary: Review of Cradle and All
Review: Cradle and All was a very disappointing read for me. I have read most of Patterson's books and really enjoyed them, always anxious for the next one to come out. This time I feel like I wasted my money.

Rating:
Summary: Don't judge Patterson by this book
Review: I honestly expected to love this book. Being a fan of both the mystery and horror genres (Alex Cross books sit on my bookshelf beside Koontz and King), I enjoy seeing a writer like Patterson cross over into something different now and then. (Yes, I did like When the Wind Blows!) But this story of two pregnant virgins, one supposedly bearing the savior and the other the devil's child, just had too many holes for my tastes. Unlike some other reviewers, I found the novel easy to "get into" and was hooked fairly early. It was the latter third or so of the book that left me disappointed. Patterson leaves many questions unanswered: What were the "clues" that the Vatican investigator used to come to a conclusion about the true virgin? Why does the doctor attending one of the births suddenly declare that "this is not a holy child"? More details were needed to flesh out this short story into a true novel, and to really "play fair" with the reader. Sorry, James, but this one is not a keeper!

Rating:
Summary: A Very Disappointing Read
Review: This was possibly the worst Patterson I have read, and I have read them all...absolutely a waste of time...it read like a bad mass market paperback "horror" novel without the horror...Lets hope that when he returns from "vacation" he can take the time to bring us something better.

Rating:
Summary: Not THAT bad!
Review: This book was pretty much exactly what i expected. I thought the concept was great and the story and characters kept me interested until the last page (this was a 2 day read for me). The ending was a little far fetched and a little better character development would have helped but, all in all, it was pretty interesting. I can't believe all the negative reviews this is getting! (normally i'd give the book 4 stars but im giving it 5 to offset some of the bad ratings)

Rating:
Summary: Memories of Rosemary's Baby
Review: Two ironic things happened to me as I picked up this book and began to read it. The first was that the book almost instantly reminded me of Rosemary's Baby which I had recently watched. And the second was that I almost chose not to borrow this book from the library. Why? Because I truly have disliked James Patterons' books which don't feature Alex Cross. And I especially didn't care for the preposterous When the Wind Blows from several years ago. That said I now have to say that while I may always think of Cradle and All as Rosemary's Baby of the year 2000, I really did enjoy this title and would certainly recommned it to others as a fast summer read.

Two young women in different parts of the world are both preganant and remarkably both appear to be virgins. As their time draws near and the world is host to epidemics, floods, famines and other predictions of Doomsday, the Church strives to determine the validity of these virgin births. Also they want to learn which woman us carrying the Savior and which one the Anti- Christ as predicted by the legend of the Lady of Fatima from long ago. The Church, in their quest, hires a former nun now turned private detective who has her own history with one of the priests also assigned to the case. Between them they are to dsicvoer the real truth about each of these women as well as their offspring and themselves.

Although other readers have complained that this book is rehash of an earlier Patterson book, Virgin, which the dust jacket notes that Cradle and All is reworking of that title, I never read that first book so this read was fresh and brand new to me. Certainly it more than held my attention as I gulped it down in less than two days. And of the book didn't satisfy my urge for a thriller read, the irony of the ending certainly had me closing the book as I was finally able to stop holding my breath.

But the truth be told, this book really whetted my Patterson appetite and I am now eagerly waiting for the next Alex Cross book.

Mr. Patterson, I'm sure you're tired of hearing this but please hurry up and write faster.