Rating: 
Summary: Trees died for this?
Review: I will take people's word for it that James Patterson, once upon a time, wrote good books. I just might not have found them, because "Violets Are Blue" is the fourth lousy Patterson novel I've read, the others being "See How They Run," "When The Wind Blows" and "Roses Are Red." The premise is simple--people are being killed in slasher-flick fashion (described by Patterson with obvious enjoyment in the bloody details), and DC detective/psychologist Alex Cross is being tormented by the "Mastermind", who's behind the crimes. In the meantime, he's attracted to the perky female San Francisco cop who's on the case and pining for the FBI agent who got killed in this book's prequel, "Roses Are Red." Sure, the chapters are short, but except when it comes to people booting off Patterson goes into zero character detail, his plotting is highly predictible, and his dialogue is atrocious. Occasionally, he'll descend into hilarious namedropping to prove how "hip" he is (yeah, I can really envision a man in his late forties jamming to Nine Inch Nails, as Alex supposedly does). Judging by the inexplicable success of his books, one can only assume that James Patterson made the same deal with Lucifer that was also made by Danielle Steel and David Balducci. For absolute diehards only.
Rating:
Summary: Very Disappointing
Review: Up until Roses are Red I would wait impatiently for Patterson's next book. However, seeing a downward progression in the quality of the plot from Roses to Violets, I will likely pass the next novel by without a glance. This book was very disapointing. I felt like Patterson just threw it together. I miss the earlier quality of his writing.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing.....
Review: Although I did enjoy this book more than 'Roses Are Red', I am diappointed in the path that Patterson's Alex Cross novels have taken. Each novel in the series since 'Cat and Mouse' has involved less police work and very little suspense. At several points in Violets are Blue, I found myself feeling as though I had read this all before - Cross asking himself questions about the killers, Cross yearning for his current partner, Cross yearning for his former partners from previous books, Cross feeling guilty for not being with his children, etc. Where is the suspense? The police work?? In Violets are Blue, Cross did nothing to catch the vampires or the Mastermind - the police find the vampires on a tip from a journalist, and Cross stumbles across the Mastermind after "having a feeling" - please. I hope Patterson has some better ideas for the next Cross novel.
Rating: 
Summary: SCARY
Review: I was sitting in my car yesterday trying to finish the book so that I could give the book back to my mother. My wife got out of the car to buy the children some food from McDonalds. I was eading so intently that I didn't even notice my wife had come back to the car, and was tapping on the window. To see her standing at the window kind of startled me. I'm going to finish the book some time tonight. It was scary, sick, funny, mind boggling, etc. I recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of James Patterson's Alex Cross. Bravo, Mr Patterson, Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: Not worthy of James Patterson
Review: I have read all of the Alex Cross novels except Roses are Red -- and I guessed almost immediately the identity of the Mastermind. This book was not worthy of the talent of Mr. Patterson. As I was reading the book, I kept wondering if someone else had written this book, like Mr. Patterson's teenaged child (if he has a teenaged child). Don't waste your time on this book -- and let's keep our fingers crossed that the style that we loved in Along Came A Spider comes back in the next James Patterson novel
Rating:
Summary: Cataclysmic grammar
Review: If not for the horrible writing and sentence structure, this
might have been worthwile reading. I honestly feel bad for
the publisher on this one. I made the mistake of seeing one of the movies first and saying,
hmm these might be ok books.
Rating:
Summary: Violets Are Blue
Review: I believe that the majority of this book was cut & pasted from his previous novels. It reads like an advertisement for all his prior works.
Rating:
Summary: Total Waste of Time and Money
Review: I have asked my library to never allow me to weaken and take out another James Patterson book. This was, by far, his worst. Overly written just to fill the pages. No plot, no characterization, nothing.
Rating:
Summary: Vampires, Tigers and Alex Cross, OH MY!
Review: It may be true that when an author becomes enormously popular while writing a suspenseful series, they're under some sort of pressure to keep writing more and more covoluted or even more and more bizarre plots to keep readers interested. Enter James Patterson not entirely unknown for some strange plots in his stand aloen books or even bizarre premises i.e., his older title When the Wind Blows where children are gnetically altered in the womb so they are born with wings and can fly. Once again in his latest Alex Cross book, Patterson introduces several more bizarre elemnts to a case Alex tries to solve. In the novel, Violets are Blue, two brothers are featured as grisly serial killers whose murders at times either resemble the work of vampires or tigers. Now thousands of readers favorite psychology/detective is on a mission to find the killer when his partner is found dead. And if this isn't enough, almost immediately in another part of the country another murder occurs which almost mimcs Alex's partners death. As Alex crisscrosses the nation investigating these bizarre murders and some other very weird folks, somebody known as the Mastermind is keeping track of Alex's every move. Its as if this individual, who some readers may remember from the previous book Roses are Red, is always one step in front of Alex taunting him with warning phone calls and threats agaisnt his family. Alex spends the majority of the book preplexed, confused, overworked and overwrought. By the end, Patterson ties up at least two parts of the plots neatly but leaves one danglgnthread. And it is this thread which left this reader perplexed, confused and overwrought. For it seems that this may be the end of Alex Cross or is it? Fear not Patterson fans if this is the end for dear Alex. We can eagerly wait for the second book featuring the Womens Murder Club from 1st to Die and perhaps another romance goodie like Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas. But this reader still can't help but remember how much I enjoyed Along Came a Spider when Alex Cross burst onto the literary scene and had me holding my breath till the next book was published.
Rating:
Summary: Not up to usual standards
Review: Disappointing read - felt that he took some story telling short cuts that cheated the reader somewhat. We expect better!
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