Jack and Jill: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Classic Patterson
Review: First let me start by saying I love Patterson. I have read 4 so far and am looking for his older books. I think Jack and Jill is the best yet. It is an original story line that keeps you glued to the book. I couldn't wait to see what happened next. Both stories going at the same time keep me reading through the each chapter to get to the next. I thought they should have made a movie out of this book. I agree the Denzel Washington would have made a better Alex Cross or maybe Larence Fishborne! I can't wait to see who will be Samson.

Rating:
Summary: James Patterson just keeps getting better!
Review: I loved Kiss the Girls and Along Came A Spider, andfelt that Jack and Jill was a continuation of alook into one mans life. Patterson created a terrific character in Alex Cross. I can't wait for the next Cross book.

Rating:
Summary: Good enough
Review: I think that the story of the book is a little bit out of reality, I don't think that if the president's life is threatened he will make his normal life and he will walk in Manhattan like a normal person, I also think that the people who works and live inside the White House are under investigation all the time and are followed by the security people in their spare time, so part of the story of the book doesn't have much sense. Nevertheless the book is a page turner and the end of the book, for me, was the only way to finish it, you will guess the end before you read it.

Rating:
Summary: Good enough
Review: I think that the story of the book is a little bit out of reality, I don't think that if the president's life is threatened he will make his normal life and he will walk in Manhattan like a normal person, I also think that the people who works and live inside the White House are under investigation all the time and are followed by the security people in their spare time, so part of the story of the book doesn't have much sense. Nevertheless the book is a page turner and the end of the book, for me, was the only way to finish it, you will guess the end before you read it.

Rating:
Summary: Brutal
Review: Jack and Jill is everything a thriller should be. The story is gripping, the body count plentiful and best of all, there is no sugar coating in describing the death and sex scenes. I listened to this book with great concentration, losing myself in the story and with my heart beating faster with each new murder. I loved the story, the sub plots and how it all came together. A fast read to be sure but a great one. Mr. Patterson really knows how to write them. The audio production was excellent. Two readers were used one for the first person account of Alex Cross and the other for the third person passages. I also liked the added touch of suspense music and sound effects which really enhanced the audio book to make it sound like you were listening to a movie. I can't wait now to begin Cat and Mouse and I have already ordered Pop Goes the Weasel so I hope Amazon ships it soon. A great audio mystery to add to my ever growing audiobook collection.

Rating:
Summary: Patterson's Alex Cross wins "hands down" again!
Review: Of course, after reading "Along Came a Spider" and "Kiss the Girls", this book could only rate 9 1/2 as I feel Patterson's previous novels were the opening to a totally new field of detective novels and this book is more or less a sequel to them. Again, James Patterson has reintroduced Alex Cross, a widowed African-American detective living in Washington D.C. with his two children and strongwilled, educated grandmother who raised him from childhood and apparently is still trying to raise him (much as most of our grandmothers do!) The background of Alex Cross is poignant as he lost his wife to violent crime and is attempting to raise his children in a "normal" lifestyle in the midst of murder and corruption of our "real" world. I find this character, as previously illustrated, an admirable man with strong values and commitments to his family and surroundings. This, undoubtedly, is a spellbinding novel, revolving around two sets of murderers, one attacking children from Alex's son's school, and two who are attempting to assassinate the President of the United States. Patterson skillfully moves the murders along in a parallel plot sweeping back and forth in the novel and escaping the normal lulls common in many mystery novels. I also find Patterson's portrayal of our current culture's values based on the importance and accomplishments of the individual victim/victim-to-be predetermining the amount of attention to be given to a "case" is probably more accurate than the reader wants to see, but delicately dealt with and more likely truer than we want to acknowledge. Again, Patterson outdoes himself in this novel and leaves the reader on the edge of his/her seat until the ending pages!

Rating:
Summary: Good, but not as good as Kiss the Girls
Review: The book is good at keeping your attention. It is the second Patterson novel I've read (both in the last three weeks). The first was Kiss the Girls and Jack and Jill is not as intense. The Truth School Killer storyline reveals the author's need to infuse the life of black low income Washington D.C. residents into his novels. In Kiss the Girls, you had some description of Alex Cross's home and neighborhood. Although good background for that novel, Patterson goes too far with the Truth School Killer storyline. He should have stuck with Jack and Jill as a solo storyline. The ending was too abrupt and cliche'd in dealing with the conspiracy angle, perhaps because of the overall length of the book. I was disappointed when he cut off the story in the last few chapters. The entire novel would have been much better off focusing solely on Jack and Jill and their killing spree. In fact, more development of their motivation would have been better.

Rating:
Summary: Jack and Jill
Review: While reading this one I couldn't help thinking, was Kiss the Girls really that good? Patterson does have a terse writing style, but it didn't seem this bad before. It's bad here. All through reading it I was feeling like Patterson just hacked this one out of the word processer in one draft without a second glance. For a guy who writes so sparsely, he sure is repetative throughout the story....'Was Jack up ahead? Was Hawkins Jack? Was this Jack up ahead? Could this be Jack up ahead? Had we just been that close to catching Jack?'....This within 3 pages. Who is this guy's editor, anyway? Another thing that bothered me was so much pop culture was thrown in in an obviously contrived effort to authenticate things (Simpsons, ER, Pulp Fiction, MTV). Now you're wondering, if I hated it so much, why did I finish it? Well, I have to admit, the story itself was quite good, and I pretty much had to see it through to see how things turned out. Given the right director and screenplay, this would make a terrific movie. As for future Patterson efforts, I'll wait for the movies, thanks.