Rating: 
Summary: I can't believe that I read the whole thing!
Review: I can't believe that I read the whole thing. What kept me reading? There was a good degree of suspense. I wanted to see if I was right about the ending. It was so very predictable with poorly developed characters. I thought Anne had potential as a nun turned private investigator, but in the end... Some of the reactions about the Catholic Church might have had a basis in reality hundreds of years ago, but I doubt that the hierarchy or the people of the Church would react that way now. I haven't read a book this bad in a long time.
Rating: 
Summary: Not one of his best
Review: The story is about two young teenage girls, one, aged sixteen, from Newport, Rhode Island, and one, aged fourteen, from Maam's Cross, Ireland. Both unexpectedly become pregnant, but each claims to be a virgin. Investigators are sent from the Vatican and a private investigator, who was formerly a nun from Boston, is assigned to protect Kathleen, the pregnant virgin from Newport. Father Rosetti, a priest from the Vatican is sent to investigate the claims from the girls. It is established that they are in fact both virgins, and the Vatican believes that the prophecy of Fatima is coming true, two girls, thousands of miles apart and one girl will bear the Savior, and one will bear the Son of Satan.
This novel by James Patterson was good, but it wasn't one of his best. There were times when the pace of the reading was quite slow and I wanted to stop. The story looks deeply into religion and faith. I learned a lot about Catholicism that I didn't know, even though I am a Catholic. It is evident much research on theology was done to write this novel. There were times when I was sure I know which girl would bear the Savior or spawn Satan, then he would take the plot and twist it and I was back to trying to figure out which girl would bear whom. The ending was very unexpected.
Rating:
Summary: This book truly creeped me out
Review: Patterson, though I've written snidely of his work in the past, is a master of pacing and holding the reader's attention. My past issues have been with his recent descent into a formulaic treatment of a valuable franchise, the Alex Cross series. In this novel, Patterson delivers much more developed and sympathetic characters, and draws nicely on Roman Catholic mythology to create a palpable sense of terror. (I must have felt the hair on the back of my neck rising on at least a half-dozen occasions!) While the denouement is regrettably anti-climactic, the three hundred and forty-nine pages leading up to it are well worth the investment in the book. I hope this is a sign of things to come, and not a reflection that the book is based on an earlier work by Patterson. Besides the ending, my only other quibbles are Patterson's decision to be overly graphic in his sexual descriptions, a touch I didn't appreciate but which may not annoy another reader, and some undelivered promises (read gaps in the plot and omitted details - a danger when reworking an earlier composition). This book is not great fiction; it is an engrossing mental sorbet between serious works. We all appreciate that once in a while, don't we?
Rating:
Summary: Boring
Review: A friend of mine loaned me this book and told me it was a great thriller and suspenseful..so I really had high hopes for this book. I found it to be predictable and boring. His descriptions of Boston and New York were believable but when they took the story overseas I don't think he did much research. I also thought some of the adjectives he used to describe people were overdone. I really really really hated this book and I only read it all the way through just to get it over with. It only took me a few hours to breeze through it anyway. When I finally got to the end I was quite annoyed at the lame ending...all that build up for nothing!
Rating: 
Summary: My first Patterson, but won't be my last
Review: I'd not read James Patterson before, but picked up this book because of its premise, and was quite pleasantly surprised by the author's audacity. As an author of popular fiction that sometimes deals with religious issues myself (CALCULATING GOD; THE TERMINAL EXPERIMENT) I wondered how far Patterson would go with this. Well, he went quite a bit farther than I thought he would, and I fould the book an absolute page-turner. The book is probably more horror than mystery, although the mystery is a good one, and despite what one reviewer below said, I do think Patterson played fair, and gave proper clues and answers to everything, within the context of the book's premise.
Rating:
Summary: Patterson's Worst
Review: I've read most of James Patterson's work and consider him a "popcorn" novelist. Nothing fancy, but usually satisfying. Unlike other reviewers, I like his short (2-3 pages) chapter approach to writing as I think it keeps things moving along pretty well. But Cradle and All just didn't do it for me. I tried, I really tried, but I finally had to give up at about 150 pages. I think the religious and apocolyptic angle just doesn't jibe with his usual style of murder mysteries. Plus, the nun-turned-detective just wasn't believeable enough to pull this one off. This book was a re-write of a book Patterson wrote 20 years ago and reissued to cash in on his popularity. Something tells me that this and The Season of the Machete, another old Patterson book that was just awful, should have stayed in obscurity. Patterson is best when he gets into his characters. The Alex Cross books are highly entertaining and the first in the four San Francisco women series (1st to Die) was very promising. My suggestion is for a new reading to read the series books and avoid most of the rest.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Change of Pace
Review: This definitely wasn't Patterson's typical "Alex Cross" book, but it was truly a page turner. I couldn't put this book down or read it at night before turning out the lights. If you enjoyed "When the Wind Blows", you'll enjoy this book. It was nice to get away from Patterson's usual writing style. I can't wait for the sequel to this one!!
Rating: 
Summary: I Couldn't Enjoy It
Review: This one had a fairly interesting plot, with a couple of great twists. The characters weren't that well developed though. I tried to take this one in with an open mind, and the knowledge that it was a work of fiction. BUT, it went totally against my Christian beliefs in so many parts that I couldn't even enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Diversion
Review: James Patterson takes a Diversion from his usual Hard Hitting Novels such as Kiss the Girls and Along came a Spider to give us a Battle between Good and Evil in the Biblical Sense.
Two girls are pregnant yet they are both Virgins. In accordance with prophecies one of these girls carries the child of Satan, the other carries the Saviour. This is not original but, Patterson gives his usual twists and turns to turn this book into something else.
When Floods, Famine and Disease threaten the World (all according to the prophecies) the church start to take things seriously and send two Investigators a priest and an ex-nun turned investigator to discover whether these truly are miracles. While the first child is in Boston the second is in a rural village in Ireland, A chief Investigator from the Vatican is sent to investigate this girl. Both girls are proven to be Virginal but which is the mother of the saviour. This is the Dilemma that faces the investigators, knowing the games that the Devil plays only makes things more difficult for them.
Follow their Hardships in discovering which is which and in protecting both young girls after the Media gets wind of it right up until the end when a very unexpected twist takes place.
There is alot of mixed critism about this book but I think it is a refreshing change of scenery for Patterson and he shows us his flexibility when it comes to writing. A great Read.
Rating:
Summary: So disappointing from an author that has done much better
Review: Everyone loves the age old battle of good vs evil and contemplating the end of the world etc, but this story with leaps in plot and silly twists and I must smile here those perfect blue eyed saviors is just too funny for words. Please go back to serial killers in DC this just isn't your arena.
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