General Books - Page 3

Along Came a Spider (Alex Cross)

James Patterson

Amazon Price: $10.19 List Price: $14.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Grand Central Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 55 new & used starting at $5.97

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Authors, A-Z -> ( P ) -> Patterson, James -> General
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Authors, A-Z -> ( P ) -> Patterson, James -> Paperback
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Mystery -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 335 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

A missing little girl named Maggie Rose. A family of three brutally murdered in the projects of Washington, D.C. The thrill-killing of a beautiful elementary school teacher. A psychopathic serial kidnapper/murderer who calls himself the Son of Lindbergh. He is so terrifying that the FBI, the Secret Service, and the police cannot outsmart him-even after he's been captured.Gary Soneji is a mild-mannered mathematics teacher at a Washington, D.C., private school for the children of the political and social elite. He's so popular that the kids all call him "Mr. Chips." And he's very, very smart. Growing up, he always knew he was smarter than the rest of them-he knew that the Great Ones always fooled everybody. He kidnaps Maggie Rose, the golden-haired daughter of a famous movie actress, and her best friend, Shrimpie Goldberg, the son of the secretary of the treasury, right out from under the noses of their two Secret Service agents. But Gary Soneji is not surprised at his skill. He's done it before. Hundreds of times before.Alex Cross must face the ultimate test as a psychologist: how do you outmaneuver a brilliant psychopath? Especially one who appears to have a split personality-one who won't let the other half remember those horrific acts?Soneji has outsmarted the FBI, the Secret Service, and the police. Who will be his next victim?

The 5th Horseman

James Patterson

List Price: $29.20 By: Warner Books Amazon Marketplace: 20 new & used starting at $0.02

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Authors, A-Z -> ( P ) -> Patterson, James -> General
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Authors, A-Z -> ( P ) -> Patterson, James -> Paperback
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Thrillers -> Suspense

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 193 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The members of the Women's Murder Club face an unspeakable menace in the most suspenseful hospital drama since Coma. Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer is shopping with the newest member of the Women's Murder Club, lawyer Yuki Castellano, and Yuki's mother, Keiko, when suddenly Keiko collapses. She's rushed to San Francisco Medical Center where her condition stabilizes. Yet days later, the hospital calls Yuki with devastating news. Keiko was given the wrong medication and it brought on a fatal heart attack. Even more astonishing, this is not the first time SFMC has made this mistake. Just as patients are about to be released with a clean bill of health, their conditions take a mysterious turn for the worse. As the hospital comes under scrutiny, Lindsay and the Women's Murder Club investigate for themselves. Is there a maniac at work, playing God with peoples lives? And has Lindsay somehow made him -- or her -- even worse? The newest addition to the top-selling new mystery series takes the Women's Murder Club into the most terrifying situation they have yet to encounter.

3rd Degree (The Women's Murder Club)

James Patterson, Andrew Gross

Amazon Price: $7.99 List Price: $7.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Grand Central Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 520 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Contemporary
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> General AAS
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Authors, A-Z -> ( P ) -> Patterson, James -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 173 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

j.p. roxs 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

i absolutely love James Patterson!!! In this 3rd installement of the women's murder club 3rd degree is a book you dont want to put down. Each chapter leaves you wanting more i couldnt wait to see the ending. The part I did not expect was when they killed off the d.a jill. I didnt expect that to happen and although it isnt going to be the same main 4 characters I know he probably wouldnt have done it if he had to. so in all i give this book 5 out of 5 i highly recommend it

Editorial Review:

Detective Lindsay Boxer and Assistant District Attorney Jill Bernhardt are enjoying a quiet afternoon in San Francisco when a townhouse across the street explodes in flames. A sinister note signed "August Spies" is found at the scene of the disaster, and the body of an infant who was asleep in the house at the time of the explosion cannot be found. Soon a wave of violent incidents, all with links to political terrorism and involving "August Spies," sweeps through the city. An upcoming economic summit of the world's most powerful nations will surely be a target. And it's up to the Women's Murder Club to get to the bottom of the violence before it's too late. Delivering the breakneck pace and never-saw-it-coming plot twists that have made James Patterson the most addictive writer at work today, 3rd DEGREE is another searing and unforgettable thriller from the nation's #1 bestselling suspense writer.

Violets Are Blue (Alex Cross)

James Patterson

Amazon Price: $7.99 List Price: $7.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Vision Amazon Marketplace: 468 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Authors, A-Z -> ( P ) -> Patterson, James -> General
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Authors, A-Z -> ( P ) -> Patterson, James -> Paperback
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Mystery -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 333 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Fans of James Patterson's resourceful cop Alex Cross will be relievedto find that he's back on familiar territory with Violets Are Blue--and,more importantly, that this is one of the best Alex Cross thrillers yet.The malign criminal genius of Roses Are Red is fixing to giveAlex a hard time once again. The FBI joins Patterson's dogged cop in aparticularly unsettling investigation: two San Francisco joggers have beenviciously murdered and are found suspended by their feet, with all the blooddrained from their corpses. And when further brutal deaths follow in Californiaand on the East Coast, Alex is forced to contemplate the bizarre possibility ofmodern-day vampires, although his instincts point him to one of the manysinister religious cults that flourish on the West Coast. Aided by JamillaHughes, a streetwise young woman detective from San Francisco, Alex finds thathe has to crack not one but two impenetrable mysteries to stop furtherbloodletting.Patterson fans expect the extremely concise, page-turning chapters (116 of themhere!), along with a reluctance to dawdle over details of his hero's personallife, and both characteristics are firmly back in place. If you can resistreading this one in just a few sittings, you deserve some kind of a thrillerreader's medal. --Barry Forshaw, Amazon.co.uk

You've Been Warned

James Patterson, Howard Roughan

Amazon Price: $9.99 List Price: $27.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Little, Brown and Company Amazon Marketplace: 33 new & used starting at $3.25

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Authors, A-Z -> ( P ) -> Patterson, James -> General
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Authors, A-Z -> ( P ) -> Patterson, James -> Hardcover

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 415 Average rating: 2.0 of 5

Warning: take the book title seriously 2 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

While waiting for her chance to hit it big, aspiring photographer Kristin Burns makes ends meet by working as a nanny to two delightful children who has the misfortune of having the clichéd cold and uncaring stepmother. Kristin dreams of one day having her photographs displayed at a gallery and continues to snap photos of every day New Yorker capturing those special moment. One day, she awakens from a horrifying nightmare with scenes so vivid that they leave her bones chilled. Grateful that it was only a dream, she goes on with her daily routine and takes the same route to work. However, when she stumbles upon the same scene that she dreamt about, Kristin's life is forever altered. The pictures she's taken of people appear transparent; some of them depict the subjects in a most gruesome state - brutally murdered. When she thought life couldn't get any worse, she starts to see ghosts of people from her past. As the line between dream and reality becomes muddy, Kristin feels like she is going mad, unable to decipher the meaning of the strange things happening to her. What is the meaning of her father's warnings? Why is a mysterious stranger stalking her? Dare she heed their warnings?

YOU'VE BEEN WARNED is a creepy thriller spun out from James Patterson's writing machine. Patterson deviates from his usual crime thriller. This book has elements of paranormal, psychological and a dash of erotica. Kristin is plagued by the same chilling dreams. Her torrid affair with the man of her dreams is beginning to unravel. As we see her world spin out of control, we see this naïve aspiring photographer turn into a stalker herself as she develops an obsession over the family she's working for. However, what started off as an intriguing novel quickly became a weird and incoherent tale which, just like Kristin, left me struggling to separate dream from reality. Add the inexplicable supernatural/paranormal aspect and what we have is one messy, convoluted plot that failed to make sense. Unfortunately, Patterson's trademark short chapters fail to provide the profundity necessary for this type of plot to truly excel. In the end, what started off as an interesting premise was ruined by a tortuous plot that failed to achieve a satisfying conclusion. Two stars for those two adorable kids.

Editorial Review:

Kristin Burns is making her way in New York City. Her photos are being considered at a major Manhattan gallery, she works by day with two wonderful children, and the man of her dreams is almost hers for keeps. But just as everything she's ever wanted is finally within reach, her life changes forever--with one murderous nightmare. Kristin wakes up every morning from the same chilling, unforgettable dream. And suddenly, it's visiting her during the day too. As her life turns stranger by the minute, Kristin is haunted and terrified. Is it all in her head? Or is the nightmare becoming her life? Kristin searches desperately for what's real through the lens of her camera, only knowing two things for sure: that no place is safe and the fate of everyone she loves lies in her hands.

1st to Die (The Women's Murder Club)

James Patterson

Amazon Price: $11.19 List Price: $13.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Grand Central Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 88 new & used starting at $1.51

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> General -> Classics
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> General AAS
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Authors, A-Z -> ( P ) -> Patterson, James -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 545 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

First in the Women's Murder Club series 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

First book in the Women's Murder Club series.

Four professional women in San Francisco (a cop, a medical examiner, an assistant DA, and a reporter) join forces to catch a serial killer who is brutally murdering newlyweds.

Lots of page-turning action and Patterson's trademark gruesome, misogynistic murders. Read this for the gory murder mystery, not for the character development. While I didn't love it, I liked it enough that I will continue to read the series.

Editorial Review:

Imagine a killer who thinks, "What is the worst thing anyone has ever done?"--and then goes far beyond it. Now imagine four women --a police detective, an assistant DA, a reporter, and a medical examiner --who join forces as they sidestep their bosses to track down criminals. Known as the Women's Murder Club, they are pursuing a murderer whose twisted imagination has stunned an entire city. Their chief suspect is a socially prominent writer, but the men in charge won't touch him. On the trail of the most terrifying and unexpected killer ever, they discover a shocking surprise that turns everything about the case upside down.

Kiss the Girls (Alex Cross)

James Patterson

Amazon Price: $10.19 List Price: $14.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Grand Central Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 47 new & used starting at $5.00

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Authors, A-Z -> ( P ) -> Patterson, James -> General
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Authors, A-Z -> ( P ) -> Patterson, James -> Paperback
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Mystery -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 346 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Over the top 2 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

As is the case in nearly all James Patterson's novels, the villains are over the top here--geniuses, handsome devils, phi beta kappas--and the crimes they commit over years are well beyond belief. There are no crimes in real life to compare with those in this book or in other Alex Cross novels. Not even Jeffrey Dahmer or Jack the Ripper could compete with Casanova and his sidekick, The Gentleman Caller.

And Alex Cross, the psychologist police detective, is perhaps just a little too good in places and a bit naive, even blind, in others. Coupled with his character flaws are more serious plot flaws. Casanova has captured a good many women and is holding them in a cellar at a remote rural area. He parks his car some distance away and visits regularly to have his way with them. But when Cross goes looking there, he finds no path, and there surely must have been one with all the foot traffic in and out. Another flaw: Casanova gets some nasty karate kicks when he captures one victim, bone crushing kicks to the face, as they are characterized. Would there not have been clear signs of his injuries next day when he resumes his public persona? Didn't anyone notice that his nose was purple and bent sideways? It seems to me that the laws of physics apply in fiction, the same as in real life. There are other flaws as well, but two will suffice here. Certainly there are many readers who like crime fiction that goes far beyond reality, but for me it just gets funny, rather than scary, when the laws of nature are abrogated.

I have to add one observation with respect to this book and other Alex Cross novels: it is very dangerous for any woman to become closely involved with our hero. Such women get shot, raped, cut, traumatized for life, kidnapped, tortured, electrocuted, etc. Cross's love affairs are not to be envied, despite the fact that he keeps meeting gorgeous and willing females. Perhaps he should consider celibacy for the sake of society.

Editorial Review:

In Los Angeles, a reporter investigating a series of murders is killed. In Chapel Hill, North Carolina, a beautiful medical intern suddenly disappears. Washington D.C.s Alex Cross is back to solve the most baffling and terrifying murder case ever. Two clever pattern killers are collaborating, cooperating, competingand they are working coast to coast.

Roses Are Red (Alex Cross)

James Patterson

Amazon Price: $7.99 List Price: $7.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Vision Amazon Marketplace: 726 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Authors, A-Z -> ( P ) -> Patterson, James -> General
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Authors, A-Z -> ( P ) -> Patterson, James -> Paperback
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Police Procedurals

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 455 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Roses Are Red, James Patterson's sixth Alex Cross thriller, openswith the District of Columbia detective attempting to mend his nearly unraveledfamily. The year-long kidnapping of one's intended (1999's Pop Goes the Weasel) will dothat to a relationship. Christine, the kidnappee, is amenable with onereasonable condition: that her family's horizon remain uncluttered by homicidalmaniacs. How unfortunate, then, that the joyous christening of their newborn sonis rudely interrupted by the FBI bearing news of several heinous murdersrequiring the attention of detective (and doctor of psychology) Cross."Three-year-old boy, the father, a nanny," Kyle said one more timebefore he left the party. He was about to go through the door in the sun porchwhen he turned to me and said, "You're the right person for this. They murdereda family, Alex."As soon as Kyle was gone, I went looking for Christine. My heart sank. She hadtaken Alex and left without saying good-bye, without a single word.Which leaves Cross free to hunt the Mastermind, the barbarous brains behind awidening series of bank robberies in which employees or their family members areheld hostage and, when instructions aren't followed to the finest iota,slaughtered. Given the cases' glaring and unfathomable inhumanity, Cross's long- time DCPD partner (the wonderful giant, John Sampson) gives way to the warm,attractive, and fiercely intelligent FBI Agent Betsey Cavalierre.The longer and harder Cross and Cavalierre remain on his trail, the bolder andmore brutal--and shiveringly close to home--the Mastermind's strikes become.And, thanks mostly to lightning-short paragraphs and a point of view thatrappels from the first-person Cross to the third-person Mastermind, the taleprogresses at hot-trot speed to a bona fide doozy of a denouement. It'll be overbefore you know it, so sit back, hold your breath, and enjoy the show. And staytuned for the next one. --Michael Hudson

Pop Goes the Weasel

James Patterson

Amazon Price: $7.99 List Price: $7.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Grand Central Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 347 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Authors, A-Z -> ( P ) -> Patterson, James -> General
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Authors, A-Z -> ( P ) -> Patterson, James -> Paperback
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Police Procedurals

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 363 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Patterson, puh leez 1 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I read Kiss the Girs, a serial killer. Then Spider, aha, another serial killer. Now Pop Goes the Weasel, well he popped and we got that krap all over us. This book is for those who have a choice, Nancy Drew or Pop Goes the Weasel. Patterson uses quantity instead of quality. Forget this one.

Kindle edition review 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Like the previous 4 books in the Cross series, this Kindle edition must have been converted using character recognition scanning software, because it is riddled with the kind of typos you get that way, (e.g. "n" instead of "r" and vice versa etc.) This book is particularly bad. Usually it is just annoying, but a few times I had to re-read the sentence to figure out what it what supposed to say. (Doesn't anyone edit/proof these things??)

As for the novel itself, I'm a bit tired of the cute kiddies and grandma; will probably have to take a break before deciding whether to go on with the series.

I also agree with other reviewers that the ending was a bust, scarcely believable and too much of a teaser for the next in the series. These are not stand-alone novels. (Incidentally, I was intoduced to Alex Cross with the recent "Double Cross" volume, and maybe I'm a bit dense, but it took me half the book to tumble to the fact that Cross is African American. You need to read them in order.)

After working my way through the Women's Murder Club series and the first 5 of Alex Cross, I rank Patterson (and his et al. co-authors) as a mystery/thriller "mill" that produces a modestly entertaining read for those times when you're either desperate for a one night "junk" book, or waiting for the next really good read from the many outstanding authors.

Editorial Review:

Detective Alex Cross is back-and he's in love. But his happiness is threatened by a series of chilling murders in Washington, D.C., murders with a pattern so twisted they leave investigators reeling. Cross's pursuit of the killer produces a suspect, a British diplomat named Geoffrey Shafer. But proving he's the murderer becomes a potentially deadly task. As Shafer engages in a brilliant series of surprising countermoves, Alex and his fiance become hopelessly entangled with the most memorable nemesis Cross has ever faced.

2nd Chance (The Women's Murder Club)

James Patterson

Amazon Price: $11.19 List Price: $13.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Grand Central Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 85 new & used starting at $3.00

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Authors, A-Z -> ( P ) -> Patterson, James -> General
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Authors, A-Z -> ( P ) -> Patterson, James -> Paperback
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Mystery -> Women Sleuths

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 259 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

A page turner, but... 1 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Yes, this book has a nice simple story line that makes you turn the pages. But, those pages are usually three-page snippets (called chapters) and the four women characters of the "club" are stereotyped middle-class working women. The protaganist, Lindsay Boxer is the last person in the world you would want to see heading up a homicide squad: emotional, impulsive and not very bright. The turning point for me was when she and her department buddies wanted to apply a little pressure to a suspected murderer and parole violator. They couldn't figure out how to bring him in on murder charges, so they just showed up at his door to let him know they were watching. Why didn't they simply arrest him on the parole violation? Combine this with her impulsively chasing after bad guys by herself (twice) and her need to be rescued (twice) by a man or men (her father and homicide department buddies), and you've got a less-than-compeling lead character. I'd never heard of James Patterson before, and this book certainly doesn't incline me to read any more of his books. For my money, John Lescroarts' series of books set in the same place--San Francisco's Police Department homicide unit and legal community--are much more sophisticated and equally page-turning.

Editorial Review:

2nd Chance reconvenes the Women's Murder Club, four friends (a detective, a reporter, an assistant district attorney, and a medical examiner) who used their networking skills, feminine intuition, and professional wiles to solve a baffling series of murders in 1st to Die. This time, the murders of two African Americans, a little girl and an old woman, bear all the signs of a serial killer for Lindsay Boxer, newly promoted to lieutenant of San Francisco's homicide squad. But there's an odd detail she finds even more disturbing: both victims were related to city cops. A symbol glimpsed at both murder scenes leads to a racist hate group, but the taunting killer strikes again and again, leaving deliberate clues and eluding the police ever more cleverly. In the meantime, each of the women has a personal stake at risk--and the killer knows who they are.