Pop Goes the Weasel
by James Patterson
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Book Reviews of Pop Goes the Weasel
Book Review: Mystified by his popularity
Summary: 2 Stars
I am an avid mystery/suspense/thriller reader. This is my first (and last) exposure to James Patterson. His writing style is childish. The dialogue is unconvincing and his narrative technique of 'explaining' a previous statement is insulting and boring. An example: '"Go for it girl," Nana said and gave Janne a hug. She is very good at encouraging others.' Rather then giving the reader some credit for interpreting Nana's exclamation, Patterson notifies us that "go for it' is a form of encouragement. His characters are incredibly cliche. Now, I like a good slashing as well as the next guy, but his descriptions of perversity are gratuitous. It is medically inaccurate and unrealistic for detectives to opine that a victim's tongue must have been secured with Krazy Glue rather than staples. Although the genre is very well entrenched by now, more skillful authors can still present a serial killer/thriller story without apprearing so calculating. Try John Sandford's 'Prey' series or Michael Connelly (esp. 'The Concrete Blonde) to see how writers can be graphic and insightful without being trite.Book Review: Embarrasingly poor
Summary: 1 Stars
This was the first Patterson book I'd read, having heard about him for years from friends. I was bitterly disappointed, and still can't fathom why he's so popular. Alex Cross is preposterous caricature, a brilliant criminologist-family man-Porsche driving-athlete who somehow has time to work in soup kitchens, chauffeur inner-city youth around, chase multiple serial killers at once, have a passionate love affair, spend time with his family (and he seems to do all of this each day, no less). . .
The prose is wooden, the characters are paper-thin--their names are usually enough to identify whether they're really, really good or really, really bad, the only types that exist in the novel (there's one exception, a character who's right in between and is predictably killed for it), the plot isn't even faintly credible, and Patterson's insistence on telling the reader what's going on instead of showing it gets tiresome quickly.
The ending just kills the book entirely--it's completely unbelievable, even by the standards of the plot twists that preceded it. This book's a pure potboiler.
Book Review: The best of the Alex Cross Series
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the best of the Alex Cross Series. A Taunt, Super Sonic Thriller that Does not stop for a moments breath. In this Book, James Patterson gives Alex Cross some thing that he really needed, a worthy opponent. Geoffrey Shafer is a British diplomat who has a special hobbie, Role Playing games that deal in death. He plays with out mercy, and kills with out remorse. When the murders attract the notice of Detective Alex Cross, the game of life and death will be taking to new levels. Alex Cross has gone against some of the worse murderers in modern fiction(Gary Soneji, Casanova , Jack & Jill, Mr. Smith) but none of them can't compare to Geoffrey Shafer, The Weasel. He's smart, charming, cold and calculating. The only word to truly describe him is evil, and he has no qualms to do the most unthinkable and most horrifying act at any time. All and all, Shafer is to Cross what Moriarty is to Homes. Two Opposing chess players in the game of life and death. From the opening page to the shocking final, this is James Patterson at his best. Get it, and keep the lights on when you read it.Book Review: Pop Goes another Great book
Summary: 4 Stars
Once again, Patterson knocks it home with another great book. I really enjoyed this fast paced page turner. It was almost difficult for to not look forward in the book to see how things were going to turn out. The plot and the character development in this book is amazing.
To sum up with out spoiling, Cross is on the hunt again for a killer who is playing a game called the Four Horseman. The killer calls himself Death and is quite bi-polar to say the least. The twists and turn were great. I was a little concerned when half way through the book turned in to a Law and Order type of feel, but have no fear Patterson made to keep the thrill alive throughout the duration.
Once again, another fun read. Also, some people seem to mistake the order of the books. Its helpful (maybe not completely necessary) to read the Cross series in a particular order. Here is a link to a List i put together, hope you find it helpful.
http://www.amazon.com/Alex-Cross-Series-In-Order-James-Patterson/lm/RPDN9G1NBTS3Q/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_title_full
Book Review: Not as good as the others
Summary: 3 Stars
I've been a fan of Patterson since the first Alex Cross book I read (Jack and Jill). I'm not a big fan of this genre, but his books are usually great. This one, however, was a bit of a disappointment. It seemed rushed, particularly in the last half of the book. Furthermore, alot of "TA-DA"s (for lack of a better word) that went without much explanation - just "and then this happened." The ending was just plain silly, if you ask me. I don't want to give any of it away (I hate it when people do that) but I never quite believed alot of what I was supposed to believe which made the "surprises" pretty unsurprising.I also agree with a previous review regarding the "Oprah-esque" home life chapters. I barely skimmed through them. I know detectives have happy homes too, but this is a murder mystery. I didn't buy the book to hear about his fireside chats with Nana. I would not recommend this one, although the premise behind the villian(s) was truly intriguing. I give it 3 stars for the villan and his morbid game.