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mariasmusings 's review for:
Criss Cross
by James Patterson
‘Criss Cross’ is the 27th novel in the best selling Alex Cross series by popular author James Patterson. Although not an avid fan, I’ve read over fan of the series and despite finding the previous read disappointing, I was looking forward to diving into this recent addition.
Alex Cross is a psychologist and works with both the FBI and local police. At the start of the novel, Cross is attending the execution of a man who he helped to investigate and convict a number of years previously. Cross and his colleague (and best friend Sampson) seemed unnerved at the execution and shortly afterwards, they are called to a crime scene and a note at the scene suggests that Cross has made a terrible error. Would is this mysterious note-writing ‘M’? Could the recently deceased convict actually have been innocent? And if so, what role did Cross play in his arrest? And so, kick starts one of the converging storylines of the novel.
Subsequent murders all bear a striking resemblance to previous cases investigated by Cross and it seems that ‘M’ is edging ever closer to meeting with Cross. Will either of them survive or will this upcoming encounter prove to the Reichenbach Falls for our hero?
The premise of a hero being painted as less than noble is not a new one but is always an appealing idea. In the hands of such an experienced author as Patterson, this book should be epic – full of decisive moments for our hero, the conflict between his heart and the “right” action etc. However, while there are certainly some thrilling moments in the book, these are few overall. After over 25 outings and many tragedys, Cross deserves better than this story – and so does the reader. Perhaps, if you are new to the series, then you can enjoy the tale but I recall the earlier stories such as the fantastic ‘Along Came A Spider’ or ‘Call the Girls’ and this story is a poor imitation.
Fingers crossed for Cross no 28.
Alex Cross is a psychologist and works with both the FBI and local police. At the start of the novel, Cross is attending the execution of a man who he helped to investigate and convict a number of years previously. Cross and his colleague (and best friend Sampson) seemed unnerved at the execution and shortly afterwards, they are called to a crime scene and a note at the scene suggests that Cross has made a terrible error. Would is this mysterious note-writing ‘M’? Could the recently deceased convict actually have been innocent? And if so, what role did Cross play in his arrest? And so, kick starts one of the converging storylines of the novel.
Subsequent murders all bear a striking resemblance to previous cases investigated by Cross and it seems that ‘M’ is edging ever closer to meeting with Cross. Will either of them survive or will this upcoming encounter prove to the Reichenbach Falls for our hero?
The premise of a hero being painted as less than noble is not a new one but is always an appealing idea. In the hands of such an experienced author as Patterson, this book should be epic – full of decisive moments for our hero, the conflict between his heart and the “right” action etc. However, while there are certainly some thrilling moments in the book, these are few overall. After over 25 outings and many tragedys, Cross deserves better than this story – and so does the reader. Perhaps, if you are new to the series, then you can enjoy the tale but I recall the earlier stories such as the fantastic ‘Along Came A Spider’ or ‘Call the Girls’ and this story is a poor imitation.
Fingers crossed for Cross no 28.