Rating: 
Summary: Can Alex Cross Ever Get Rid of Gary Soneji?
Review: In Cat and Mouse, things get too close to home. Now there are two killers-one that operates in America, the other in Europe. The killers believe that Alex Cross is the only worthy opponent in the deadly game each has planned.Alex Cross is also falling deeply in love since the loss of his wife. And this new romance will make him and his new love Christine all the more vulnerable. Gary Soneji is back. He vows his last act on earth will be taking the life of Alex Cross. But first he wants a little fun and games. Union Station in Washington and Penn Station in New York are scenes of chaos as Soneji creates a train ride to hell. With time running out, Cross must predict Soneji's next move; the lives of thousands of people are hanging in the balance. Meanwhile, another game of cat and mouse is taking place. Thomas Augustine Pierce, referred to by the FBI and Interpol as St. Augustine' for his uncanny ability to catch killers, has been chasing his demon, Mr. Smith, since his fiancee was brutally murdered, her heart cut out-literally. Panic will spread through Europe when Mr. Smith strikes in London, then in Paris. When the Soneji case takes a baffling new twist, Pierce must put the Mr. Smith case on hold to assist in a special investigation.
And either Cross, or Pierce will solve the complex case. This book made me wonder what was going to happen next. I thought it was an excellent read!
Rating: 
Summary: Clunky and repetitive
Review: The first third or so of the book is great. Alex Cross is a well developed, intelligent, likable character -- although, I do think James Patterson tries too hard to show us what a wonderful, unique person Alex Cross is. I got it after the second time, Mr. Patterson. The third, fourth, and fifth times just start to annoy. After the detective is taken out of the action, the story turns downward for the middle third of the book. What happens next is only loosely connected to what came before, the common threads being the two different killers' hatred for Mr. Cross and how driven yet unoriginal the two killers are. Somewhere near the last third of the book, Alex reenters the plot. Because he's such a great character, the author managed to save what would have been a less than mediocre book. The book has the feel of a rush job, something the author didn't have the time or desire to work on. This book is really two noveletes stitched together with the seams still showing.
Rating:
Summary: Typical Patterson
Review: This is my sixth Alex Cross novel. I did not read them in their published order, so certain character developments were lost on me. Regardless, I thought 'Cat & Mouse' was an enjoyable read. However, the first half of the book was so formulaic and cumbersome, that it made the plot twists toward the end necessary and less surprising. Patterson did a better job intertwining two plots and two killers together in this story than he did in later ones. But he seems to always create the exact same sort of predator and prey--he is by no means a diverse novelist. That said, if you're a developing Patterson fan or on the cusp of obsessive, pick up this book. Otherwise, there are far better reads out there.
Rating: 
Summary: Who's the Cat and who's the Mouse?
Review: Gary Sonji is a horrible cold hearted killer who LOVES to kill... it's up to Alex Cross to stop him...but who is the mysterious Mr. Smith? and why does Mr. Smith kill all his victims so cruelly? there's a reason, and i guess you'll just have to read to find out!
Rating:
Summary: Gary Soneji Returns
Review: This book is fantastic. I enjoyed this book so much.
The thing that I enjoyed most about this book is that it's so easy to read. It does have three hundred and ninty nine pages in it, it is so easy. The chapters are about one to two pages long. This book gets off track sometimes, but then it picks up tremendously. There is a downside, I gave this book four stars instead of five because it has a bit more profanity that it should have. This book is about a murderer in America and a murderer in Europe and they both lead Alex Cross( a Washington D.C. police officer) and the rest of the bureu to a big case. Also another murderer is on the loose, Gary Soneji, who has vowed to kill Cross and his family. the two murders play a dangerous game of cat and mouse with Cross.
Rating: 
Summary: The First BAD Cross Book
Review: I've been a fan of the Alex Cross books since Kiss The Girls. I stayed up all night until five in the morning to finish that one. It is still, to this day, the only book that has kept me up all night because I had to know what was going to happen. Since then, I've devoured each new Cross book like a long lost friend. With the exception of Cat & Mouse. This book is a complete waste of time. I don't even know where to begin in describing what is wrong with this book. Cross fans had been patiently waiting through Kiss The Girls and Jack And Jill for the return of Gary Soneji. His presence (or lack thereof) was always in the back of the reader's mind. He was out there somewhere. Lurking. Waiting. Biding his time. Cross has lived in fear of Soneji, suspecting with every crime that Soneji might somehow be behind it. Finally, Soneji has emerged. And his reappearance is completely anti-climactic. Soneji runs around, killing his own family and innocent civilians, leading Cross on a merry chase, yet never directly challenging Cross himself. When they finally do have their final showdown, it is at the midway point through the book. After two novels of buildup, the payoff is an anti-climactic half of a novel. The second half of the book is spent with Thomas Pierce, another FBI agent, who takes over the telling of the tale while Cross is laid up in the hospital. He's trying to uncover the identity of the person who attacked Cross, while he tracks another killer, Mr. Smith, a killer's whose identity is so painfully obvious that it might as well be printed on the back of the book. It's obvious because Patterson never, for one moment, gives you anyone else you could possibly suspect. It is this second part of the novel that is rife with problems. Though Pierce is telling the story in first person, Patterson occassionally slips into third person. Suddenly "I did" becomes "he did." Not good. It seems indicative of the lazy manner in which the book seems to have been written. The book is very choppy. The two criminals, Soneji and Smith, do not complement each other. They seem to be products of what I call the "Batman Syndrome". After the second Batman film, all of the film were required, as if by government regulations, to have two villains. Of course, the problem with doing this is that you rapidly run out of interesting villains. After Kiss The Girls, in which Cross ran up against two villains, Patterson seemed to decide that this was necessary for all of his books. But while the two villains in Kiss The Girls worked because they were actually working together, the two villains in Cat & Mouse have absolutely nothing to do with each other, and the result seems to be a novel with two subplots and no main plot. After such an intensive buildup for the confrontation between Cross and Soneji, this book is a giant letdown. There is an interesting story somewhere with Thomas Pierce, but it's never fully developed, and ultimately falls flat on its face. I recommend this book only for die hard Alex Cross fans. Otherwise, stay away.
Rating:
Summary: Patterson is Great Again
Review: In this book, Alex Cross, a homocide detective from Washington DC, will have on his hands a case unlike any he has had before. He will have to deal with the return of his worst enemy, Gary Sonjei who is out to finish the job of killing Cross.
This book is a non-stop thrill ride because Patterson keeps it moving with new characters and great plot twists. Alex Cross is a interesting character and Patterson does a lot to go into the mind of Cross in this unlike his other works. This is the first novel where Alex is interested in a relationship with the woman he is with.
This book is for anyone who enjoys mysteries and lots of action.
Rating:
Summary: Dragons: Two, Cross: Zero...Now What?
Review: Alex Cross is as close to a superhero as a mortal man can be, but even the self-proclaimed Dragon Slayer is in danger from two fiends at once: The psychopathic madman Gary Soneji, his arch rival from "Along Came the Spider"--and a new, even more psycho murderer named "Mr. Smith," who is cutting a wide swathe (literally) all over Europe and the United States. Soneji is, incredibly, out of prison, and he has a mighty score to settle with Cross. So he drops a few hints--like sniper shootings at New York's Grand Central Station. Just for starters. We know that Soneji has Cross's house under surveillance, and that he knows way way too much about Cross's loved ones--his young son and daughter, and his beloved grandmother, Nana Mama. It's only a matter of time before his insane vengeance reaches Cross himself. Cross knows it too, but Soneji is a genius, and even Cross can't find him. Juxtaposed against this mystery is the parallel one of the diabolical Mr. Smith, who has thus far eluded Interpol, Scotland Yard, the FBI, and hundreds of police from Europe and the US. He makes Soneji look like an amateur, and Cross very much does NOT want to get involved in the case, despite pleas from his FBI friends. Yeah, right. When you're the Dragon Slayer, you gotta slay the dragons! Cross is pulled in to the Smith case as well, and it's too much even for him. While all this is going on, Cross is falling head over heels in love with teacher/school principal Christine, who we met in "Jack and Jill." Recently widowed, Christine isn't ready for a relationship. And Cross is so involved with the two murder cases, he can't give her all the time he wants. Worse--BOTH murderers know about her too...everyone Alex loves is in danger. My only small criticism with the book is that it suddenly changes from one case to the other right in the middle of the story. And while it makes sense, since one situation has been solved, it is much too abrupt for this reader's comfort. We leave a key player (I won't do a spoiler here) near death--and suddenly that person is recovered and back in action. There's an explanation, but it was a bit too pat for my taste. No matter, though. "Cat and Mouse" gallops along just like its predecessors, and made me love Alex Cross even more than before. I hope this series never ends!
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Summary: IN THE GAME OF CAT AND MOUSE -- WHO WINS???
Review: Call me crazy but this is my favorite Alex Cross book thus far. This is the fourth in the series. I've already read the first three (all of which I enjoyed) but there was something about this one that just grabbed me right from the beginning. I just love how Patterson weaves a tale. And, as much as I joke with my friends about his short chapters, I find them refreshing after some of the heavier things I've read this past summer. No more saying to myself, "I'll read one more chapter before I go to bed." With a Patterson book, you can safely say, "I'll read twenty more chapters" before putting the book down. And, I can't help but smile every time Patterson mentions other authors' books. He does it on numerous occasions in Cat and Mouse and I always find myself checking out the books he's mentioned. This installment finds Alex Cross, once again, coming face to face with ... Gary Soneji. Those of you who have already read the first book in this series, Along Came A Spider, will recognize Soneji as the teacher turned kidnapper who wanted to commit the "crime of the century." Now he has escaped from prison and has come back to seek revenge on the man who put him there....Alex Cross. Across the ocean on the continent of Europe, another madman is killing people by performing autopsies on them while they're still alive. The FBI is all over this killer, dubbed "Mr. Smith", and has assigned their young, crack shot, pony-tailed agent, Thomas Pierce, to head up this investigation. Circumstances will bring him back to the U.S. to help with the Soneji investigation. Of course, it will be up to our hero, Alex Cross, to save the day. Since he's not only a homicide detective, but one with a Ph.D. in psychology, he's very adept at getting into someone's mind. This is the best part of this series -- watching how Alex figures out what the murderer's next step will be. For Alex Cross fans, one of the highlights of this book will be the love match between him and Christine, the principal of Damon and Jannie's (Alex' kids) school. Readers of this series will remember Christine as a character in Jack and Jill (the third book in this series). Sadly, her husband was murdered in that one. Could the timing be right for these two characters? One can only hope. I'm sure I'll find out when I read the next book in this series...
Rating:
Summary: You're clutching your heart the whole way through.....
Review: This is the fourth book of JP's I've read this summer...okay, I was late to join his fan club and have a lot of catching up to do.
Having read so many of his books in such a short span of time I can tell you what draws me to want to read the rest of what he's written. 1) He's the master of suspense. He knows how to construct a plot that keeps you turning the pages. 2) He creates characters you really care about. You find yourself cheering for them, whether it's Alex Cross or one of his "one-off" characters in his stand alone novels. 3) He's very kind to other authors and is constantly plugging other books he likes within his own novels.....I find this very generous. 4) He seems like a really nice guy.....last night I finished "Cradle and All" and was impressed by his sympathy for others. He's the kind of guy you wish there were more of in the world....especially single guys! (yes, I know he's married.) But he's the type you'd love to invite to a dinner party, he comes off as smart, entertaining, and compassionate towards those around him. 5) And finally, he writes really fun, fast-paced novels. They are an absolute pleasure to read! Bottom line.....I recommend all of his books!
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