Violets are Blue by James Patterson

[katekintailbc]

Violets are Blue
by James Patterson
(Audio- abridged)
http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/6531808

This book was abridged but I'm not sure I could have handled more than this. I was THRILLED to find out almost halfway through that one of the readers was Michael C. Hall, since I've been watching seasons 1 & 2 of Dexter. Very strange but welcome coincidence.

I finished this book today. My favorite part is still the introduction by the author, I think. My second favorite part was getting to know the minds of the vampire baddies. I enjoyed two other James Patterson books I read (this was my third). So I thought I'd enjoy this one, too.

Alex Cross just wasn't my favorite character. He was far too perfect and good for my liking and I wasn't thrilled with the reader who kept making many of the more serious lines sound either positive or like questions. I didn't really like the writing at all. It was too simple, not complex enough. And Cross kept repeating the very same thoughts/narrations over and over again which I didn't need- I got it the first time! Even the second time. But the third or fourth? Got a little annoying. If I heard him explain who Casanova was one more time, I was going to drive my car into a tree. I can't imagine how annoying that would be if I were a fan of the book and had already read the book(s) featuring that killer.

I really enjoyed the bad guys, though (and I loved Michael Hall as a reader). They were terrifying and screwed up but really interesting to watch work. I like psychologically strange and original characters. And I like vampires, so it was neat to see them in this context. Their culture was interesting and I liked the tiger aspect. But I was sad when that part of the case was solved and over.

This turned out to be a crucial part of the Cross series. We find out who the Mastermind is and Cross confronts him. Apparently, the mastermind has been following Cross around for many books and here... the truth is revealed. I wasn't very impressed with the confrontation, battle, and resolution. But I wasn't impressed with the rest of the book, either. I had it figured out halfway through and then I thought up some even more impressive twists in plot that the author didn't take. So it was disappointing to me.

Simple, read strange, and interesting, but it definitely makes me want to avoid all Alex Cross novels in the future.