Jack & Jill (Alex Cross)
by James Patterson
|
List Price: Our Price: $4.12 You Save: $3.87 (48%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Jack & Jill (Alex Cross)
Book Review: Original, intense, Patterson...
Summary: 4 Stars
Patterson is back to his usual tricks in this double plot thriller. With his usual knack of giving enough detail to give the reader a good feel for what is happening, but not so much that it has to be trudged through like deep, wet snow, Patterson delivers a fast paced, easy to follow, multi-plot thriller using his favorite good guy, Alex Cross, the same detective from "Along Came A Spider" and "Kiss the Girls." Even though the meat of the plot(s) is not directly dependant on the previous books in the Cross series, READ THE OTHERS FIRST. Following Cross through his adventures adds a certain bit of "human experience" to the books as you start to really get to know Alex Cross and his family. "Jack and Jill," while not on the same stellar level as the previous two, is still a definite must read. For readers that thrive off detail-heavy mammoth books that are slow to unwind as they paint an extensive picture of what the writer is thinking, may not enjoy Patterson, but for the reader that likes just enough detail to be able to paint his/her own picture, but not so much that any amount of imagination on the readers part is usless, Patterson is the man for you. Personal interpitation, that's what books are all about, aren't they. We have television for those times when we want it all laid out for us, and we have books for when we want to add our own details. Also good by Patterson, even though they do not include Cross, are "When the Wind Blows" and "Midnight Club."
Book Review: Riveting!
Summary: 5 Stars
Jack and Jill by James Patterson will have the reader on the edge of their seats! I found this "thriller" to be one of his best yet! I was hanging onto every page and actually read this book in one day - I just could not put it down. Dr. Alex Cross is confronted by solving two different murders - committed by two different murderers, yet both are baffling and both are "perfect". The first killer is killing children in the neighborhood of his son's school and the second killer, known as Jack and Jill, are killing celebrities in the Washington, DC area.Cross is then engaged by the White House to protect the President of the United States and his wife from the notorious Jack and Jill. Cross has his hands full and his loyalties divided. Can he do it?
What is so compelling about this story is that Patterson gets you into the mind of Jack and Jill and well as the child killer. You feel all of their intense emotions and motivations for killing. So, as the reader, you know the killer's next victim as well as knowing what Alex Cross is doing to get the killer. Patterson has you in the mind of the cat as well as the mouse! I love it!
I really love the character of Alex Cross and with each and every "Cross" book I read, I find Cross' character utterly fascinating. Once again, Patterson has you guessing the "real" identity of all the killers and the end comes as a shocker!! If you love shockers - this book will have you floored, but then again, also read Roses Are Red by Patterson - that's a shocker as well!
Book Review: Not Too Bad
Summary: 3 Stars
I read this Alex Cross novel *after* first reading "Roses are Red" and then "Violets are Blue". Compared to those two, this is much more satisfying (although not without some faults, IMHO). James Patterson's most recent two novels are lightning quick reads, not only because of the tiny chapters, but because the attention to detail seems to have diminished as well. Sentences fly by and give you very sparse details. "Jack and Jill" took a little longer to read because my mind was being fed more information, and that alone makes it better. My one major beef with this novel involved the photojournalist - why did he do what he did, and why didn't it affect the rest of the story? That small section could have been easily excised by an experienced editor and we would have never known the difference.At the core, though, is a solid political drama that weaves nicely with the two subplots involving the school killer and the celebrity murderers. You see that although Cross may always catch his man, good does not always have the last laugh over evil.
Some other comments: Regarding "Jack & Jill" and "Roses are Red/Violets are Blue", continually using serial killers who happen to work for the government is getting long in the tooth. Also, surely detective Cross has a dark side, or some flaw? Otherwise, Bill Cosby ought to play Cross in the next movie because it would mean a very small departure from his "sitcom dad" roles.
Book Review: My first Patterson novel......not impressed
Summary: 2 Stars
Usually, there is some merit when a lot of hype surrounds an author, so, reflecting upon that, I decided to give "Jack and Jill" a read. Maybe I should have started with another of his works, because J & J was a disappointment. I don't intend for this to be a scathing review, just honest. I felt Patterson's prose was extremely juvenile and anything and everything about the story, the characters, the pacing was cliched to the hilt. Cliched to the point of becoming an unfunny joke. I found his constant "namedropping" to be exhaustingly irritating. For instance, his description of one of the villians was, "vaguely reminiscent of the actor Kevin Costner in The Bodyguard." I personally believe this is a lack of imagination at play, and because it happened frequently in this novel, I have a hunch it infects his other works. I actually finished this book to see just how stale it could possibly get. Upon finishing, it ranked fairly high on the "stale scale." The main reason I'm writing this review is because this was a number one bestseller, and I read it...and I just don't understand how that became so. The Hardy Boys Mysteries I read as a child were more mature and better written than this particular novel. I am considering reading another of his works to compare, but this book left such a bitter taste, it'll be a while before I get around to it..if at all.Book Review: Wow
Summary: 5 Stars
Onew of the things which Patterson stuned me with in his early books was his originality. And that is more than evident here, is perhaps his most orignal book yet. This is equally chillign and thrilling as his previous two, and equally a pageturner. The two villains picking off the rich and famous are, once more, spine tingling. Patterson really does create excellent villains.
His character development here is perhaps not so good, although he does create a strong subsidiary character in the president.
I love novels which break the rules of fiction. (you know, the rules which state that bombs never manage go off killing millions of people, presidents are always just saved from assasination, the villains are always caught, the culripts always identified, etc) Which smash them completely, showing utter disregard for them and the invisible guidlines which created them. this is such a novel. the ending is a masterpiece. I loved it because it broke through the conventions of the serial killer novels and thriller, absolutely smashing the rules to pieces.
This is his most complicated book yet, and at times the solutions ia bit awkward to understand, what with the multiple twists he keeps piling on. you never really know where you are during the final 50 pages or so. it's a bit confusing trying to get yoru head round it all. nevertheless, this is another first rate thriller.