The Big Bad Wolf (Alex Cross)
by James Patterson
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Book Summary Information
Author: James PattersonEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-10-01
ISBN: 0446610224
Number of pages: 432
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Book Reviews of The Big Bad Wolf (Alex Cross)
Book Review: He'll Huff, And He'll Puff, And He'll Blow Your House Down...
Summary: 4 Stars
Big Bad Wolf, $7.99 US, will find you rooting enthusiastically for Alex. This ninth installment in the Alex Cross Series, penned by James Patterson, finds Special Agent Cross engaged in an unfathomable battle with a steely Russian mob figure -- a predator known only as the Wolf -- whereby he vaults from state to state in his official FBI capacity, desperately bidding to save the life of an abducted suburban mom and several other endangered captives. When lives hang precariously, can Cross cut red tape and avoid the bureaucratic inertia of his Bureau cohorts?
Across the USA, men and women are being kidnapped in broad daylight, never to be "heard from" or "seen" again. There are no discernable commonalities or patterns in the disappearances, which leads Cross and his team to deduce that the victims aren't being seized for monetary ransom. So what's going on? Americans are being bought and sold (slave trade) domestically, by organized crime, for massive profit, that's what! Can Cross put an end to this misery of human trafficking? What personal toll will be exacted on Alex for daring to bring down The Wolf?
Drawing on your heartstrings is something Patterson is expert at. Listen to him sympathetically describe Mrs. Elizabeth Connolly, 37, who is the victim abducted by two of The Wolf's underlings from Phipps Plaza in Atlanta for an exorbitant $150,000 fee. "`Mom' (what the target was labeled) was sexy in the wholesome, clean-cut way of many upscale American suburban women. And she did resemble the supermodel Claudia Schiffer. That was her undoing." Patterson makes Lizzie an Everywoman, (career sacrificed for her husband the Judge, and three daughters) and yet she's atypical, stunningly visual in her appeal.
Writers like Patterson are at their peak when they're heaping fresh and devilish problems upon their protagonists. So it seems very realistic when Alex's class supervisor at Quantico, Gordon Nooney, wants to hold the "rising star" down by tossing barbs at him, by baiting him, bringing up his past troubles and demonstrating he's clearly upset at the special considerations that have been extended to the FNG. I wish I could say that James didn't telegraph where he was going with this particular character, but it was very obvious from early on in Big Bad.
One of the more interesting characters Patterson has ever dreamt up -- Lili Olsen -- left quite an impression on me. A precocious teen hacker from Dale City, Virginia, Lili's managed to crack the encryption on a secure chat room where murder and kidnapping are being discussed openly by at least six people who appear to be making "purchases" of some sort. The agent that fielded her original call screwed up, so FBI researchers Alex and Monnie Donnelly take it upon themselves to do the follow-up. Lili's return in future Cross would be favored!
Long hours spent away from his home base on the "White Girl" case also inflict some damage on Alex's personal life, when former girlfriend Christine Johnson makes a sudden reappearance to seek full custody of Alex Jr. in the middle of the SA's first important investigation for the FBI. Threats against the Cross family eventually trip Alex up. When Christine is given temporary guardianship of Alex Jr. in the final chapter of the book, and flies away to live in *Seattle, I promise you, all of Patterson's longtime readers will shed some crocodile tears.
Fans of Alex Cross will delight in the new direction Patterson has charted for his hero by removing him from that somewhat limiting role in D.C. and developing him into a federal agent. This tactical move seemed overdue, and it guarantees more globetrotting adventures and more inner turmoil for the venerated detective. Patterson fans recognize the FBI job Alex has garnered makes for better reading, and it's kind of enjoyable watching Alex get dumped on (deservedly so) for piling dangerous career responsibilities on his "already crowded plate" at the expense of his loving family.
Summary of The Big Bad Wolf (Alex Cross)
Alex Cross battles the most ruthless and powerful killer he has ever encountered - a predator known only as "the Wolf. "Alex Cross's first case since joining the FBI has his new colleagues stymied. Across the country, men and women are being kidnapped in broad daylight and then disappearing completely. These people are not being taken for ransom, Alex realizes. They are being bought and sold. And it looks as if a shadowy figure called the Wolf - a master criminal who has brought a new reign of terror to organize crime - is behind this business in which ordinary men and women are sold as slaves. Even as he admires the FBI's vast resources, Alex grows impatient with the Bureau's clumsiness and caution when it is time to move. A lone wolf himself, he has to go out on his own in order to track the Wolf and try to rescue some of the victims while they are still alive. As the case boils over, Alex is in hot water at home too. His ex-fiancee, Christine Johnson, comes back into his life - and not for the reasons Alex might have hoped.Literature & Fiction Books
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