Pop Goes the Weasel
by James Patterson
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Book Reviews of Pop Goes the Weasel
Book Review: ANOTHER EXCELLENT NOVEL FROM PATTERSON!
Summary: 5 Stars
I just can't get enough of James Patterson. I loved 'Along Came a Spider' and this was just as good. Det Alex Cross is now after British Intelligence resident psycho Geoffrey Shafer, who loves playing computer games, but in real life. He hunts down women and kills them just so he can tell his fellow gameplayers that he is Death. The women that he selects are random and so Cross and his colleagues are finding it hard to piece this puzzle together. But the game suddenly turns personal for Cross and he must end it before there are dire consequences.
Thankfully, Patterson introduces us to the killer early into the story and so we can follow Shafer's warped mind and the cops that are trying to catch him. Patterson also takes this story over a couple of months, even years, which is different to the usual crime fiction, where even the most cunning and intelligent serial killers get caught within a couple of weeks of their horrific crime.
I highly recommend 'Pop Goes the Weasel' as each chapter is only a few pages long and you want to read just one more...
Book Review: Just So-So -- Read Kiss The Girls Instead
Summary: 2 Stars
I almost gave this a 3 due to its very intriguing premise, but the suspense wanes quickly because Patterson gives too much away about the serial killer early on. It would have been much better if details were simply hinted at to keep you guessing. (Read Patterson's Kiss the Girls, which I rated a 5. It's a real page turner!)Suspense/crime/mystery novels are more exciting when the reader doesn't know much more than the detective. At least half the fun is developing your own theories and playing detective yourself.
Of course, there are exceptions. In The Red Dragon (the prequel to Silence of the Lambs) Thomas Harris gives a lot of information about the killer, however he holds enough back to keep you interested by revealing tidbits along the way. In The Red Dragon, Harris provides a lot of psychological insight by slowing revealing the killer's thoughts and his childhood.
The ending of Pop Goes the Weasel is anti-climatic. Don't waste time on Pop Goes the Weasel -- read Kiss the Girls &/or The Red Dragon instead.
Book Review: Frustratingly Disappointing
Summary: 2 Stars
I had read Patterson's "Kiss the Girls" a while ago and was hoping for something of similar quality in "Pop Goes the Weasel." However, this work was incredibly disappointing. While the villain is diabolical and the premise -- that he's acting out fantasies that are part of some sick role-playing game -- is interesting, there's absolutely nothing about the rest of the plot that's any good. There's no mystery, since you know who did it in Chapter 1; that's okay, you could still have a compelling crime/puzzle story where you know the details but the hero doesn't. Nope. There's no clever legal maneuvering or climactic trial: the court scenes don't make any sense and don't have any of the drama of an LA Law rerun. There's no good detective work -- stuff just happens (like, a guy in the FBI hands them some needed details, or, a kid on the Internet knows who the killer is). And there's not even any witty banter by a clever protagonist that keeps you amused while the plot just sort of blahs along.A very disappointing read...
Book Review: Not so great
Summary: 2 Stars
I'm a big fan of Patterson's, but this was so weak I can't recommend it to anyone. There were an awful lot of loose ends left hanging and some solutions that made no sense whatsoever. One thing I do have to mention is references to editing errors in the hardcover version. Either they were fixed in the paperback or the other readers weren't reading carefully. Many reviewers pointed out the fact that Alex makes a major announcement in chapter 27 and then repeats it in chapter 40. Look carefully and you'll see that the second "announcement" was in fact just the family talking about the news. Jannie makes a reference to "living together first" that clearly indicates this isn't a new announcement. The other big error everyone pounced on refers to a phone call Alex receives in Bermuda. Yes the phrase he keeps remembering was emailed, but there was a phone call telling him to check email, so he had heard the voice before.Not that I'm defending what's primarily a weak book, but the editing errors aren't as bad as others have claimed.Book Review: Classic Cross
Summary: 5 Stars
Pop goes the Weasel is another classic Alex Cross novel. It is what you have come to expect from James Patterson in this series. Alex Cross is the like the guy next door. He has the perfect family. His kids almost seem to be to perfect. They act as if they are 30 but they actually are much younger than that. If this is the first Alex Cross novel you have read you won't be missing anything. You can pick up here and not feel that you need to have read the other books to know what is going on. Pop goes the Weasel has snappy dialogue, which you come to expect from any Patterson book. The pace will leave you breathless. It's hard to stop anywhere in the book because every chapter ends with suspense and will make you want to read more. The villain is very unlikable. Sometimes you would feel like you would want to get your hands on him. He is exactly what the titles says- A weasel. Patterson is able to mix enough graphic details to make you cringe and enough heart-warming material to make this an all around good read. 5 Stars