Reviews

This book is the second installment in the Alex Cross series by James Patterson. Alex Cross is a policeman and forensic psychologist. In this book, Cross finds out that his niece, Naomi Cross, has been missing for several days, spurring him to embark on a manhunt for her kidnapper and/or murderer. In delving further into the case, Cross realizes that there are actually two serial killers working on separate coasts, the Gentleman Caller operating in L.A. and Casanova operating in North Carolina. At first, Cross plays with the idea that they are one and the same person, but pretty soon, he dismisses that notion. He then realizes that the two serial killers have been communicating, first as competitors and then later as collaborators. Cross teams up with Kate McTiernan, a woman who was recently kidnapped and escaped death at the hands of Casanova. She is the only witness they have, so they rely on her to help piece together who Casanova really is. I obviously cannot say who either killer is; I wouldn't want to spoil it. I'll just say that the identity of Casanova truly surprised me. I guess nothing should surprise me anymore, but this twist did. I really enjoyed the book, at least more than I enjoyed the first book in the series. I think his writing style is growing on me.

This book was also made into a movie, starring Morgan Freeman as Alex Cross, Ashley Judd as Kate McTiernan, Tony Goldwyn as Dr. Will Rudolph, and Cary Elwes as Detective Nick Ruskin. The movie seems to shy away from any romance between Alex Cross and Kate McTiernan, just as they did in the movie Along Came A Spider with Cross and Jezzie Flanagan. So much for Hollywood loving romance! There are two other differences that I detected between the movie and the book. In the movie, one of the serial killers, the Gentleman Caller, is shot in the woods; in the book, it happens on a crowded city street. Furthermore, the altercation between Cross, Kate McTiernan, and the other serial killer, Casanova, occurs quite differently in the movie than it does in the book. And I was confused by how they portrayed Casanova in the climactic scene. One of his motives that is floated is that he takes women because he "loves" them, at least as much as a psychotic killer can love the women that he kidnaps. It is thought that he only kills the women if they break his rules, but that ultimately he keeps the women as trophies and makes attempts in his own way to romance them. The words that Casanova was saying in the climactic scene were laced with hatred toward women. It just did not seem to fit his M.O. at all. Needless to say, this scene did not play out this way in the book at all. I much preferred the book version of this scene. I thought the rest of the movie was done rather well and stayed true to the book.

snoopysbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.75

coffeecrafts_books82's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

rkking's review against another edition

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3.0

While I found this second book in the Alex Cross series more exciting than the first book, there has been something nagging at me since finishing it. I just now realized what it was. Though I enjoyed the cat-and-mouse thriller tactics of the killer Casanova, I wound up being pretty disappointed with the reveal of who he really was. This is mainly because of one quick scene in which 'Casanova' is in the same room as Cross, acknowledges Cross, and exits the room. but the following chapters, which is told in Cross' POV, depicts the same room yet no mention of him interacting with this person (and considering who the person wound up being, it doesn't make sense why Cross wouldn't question the man's presence at that time. That bugged me.
But otherwise, an enjoyable thriller that kept me going, and wasn't bogged down by as much of the pointless stuff that was in the first book.
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nikilikes's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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