Kiss the Girls (Alex Cross, No. 2) [Mass Market Paperback]

James Patterson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1995

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.Us Alex Cross is back to solve the most baffling and terrifying murder case ever. Two clever pattern killers are collaborating, cooperating, competing--and they are working coast to coast.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

"Casanova" works the East Coast, "The Gentleman Caller" works the West Coast, and these two serial killers might just be working together. Washed-up Washington, D.C., police detective Alex Cross gets involved when his niece is abducted. Since this is a new work by the author of the best-selling Along Came a Spider (LJ 12/92), don't be surprised that Paramount has bought the film rights and that BOMC has made it a main selection.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Kirkus Reviews

Advertising executive Patterson doubles neither our pleasure nor our fun by giving us two intense, Hannibal Lecter-type murderers for the price of one in an improbable and hopelessly derivative mess of a thriller. Feds and local authorities on both coasts are baffled by a pair of serial killers targeting beautiful young women: The Gentleman Caller works the scene in sunny L.A., where he brutally murders and dismembers his prey; his counterpart back East, who calls himself Casanova, trolls the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area for sexy coeds to victimize. Their MOs provide plenty of fodder for an author trying to cook up a work of psychological terror: Both are powerful, handsome, brilliant (natch), commit perfect crimes, and, despite their busy schedules, manage to keep in touch with each other. To catch them, you obviously need a perfect crime fighter. Enter Alex Cross, the Washington, D.C., detective/psychologist hero of bestselling Along Came A Spider (1993), who gets dragged into all this after his niece Naomi, a student at Duke University, vanishes. Working with the authorities and a medical student named Kate McTiernan, who was lucky enough to escape Casanova's clutches, Cross begins to understand how the two dueling psychos operate. Just in the nick of time, too, because the Gentleman Caller, on the run from the law out West, decides that nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina with his old buddy Casanova. So, what does Cross, whose favorite niece is now in the clutches of two sickos, do? Fall in love with Kate McTiernan, of course, in an ill-placed romantic subplot intended to raise the stakes in the deadly cat-and-mouse game. Does Cross save Naomi? Are the two killers brought to justice or, at the very least, consigned to gory demises? Who cares? As a storyteller, Patterson is a great ad copywriter. (First priting of 275,000; film rights to Paramount; Book-of-the-Month Club main selection) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (December 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446601241
• ISBN-13: 978-0446601245
• Product Dimensions: 4.1 x 1 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (390 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #41,596 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #28 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Authors, A-Z > ( P ) > Patterson, James
  • #32 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Thrillers > Psychological & Suspense
  • #56 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Police Procedurals

More About the Author

From my publisher:

James Patterson...


* James Patterson holds the New York Times bestsellers list record with 63 New York Times bestselling titles.

* JP has sold more than 220 million books worldwide. And considering pass-along and libraries, it's safe to say many more people than that have read a Patterson!

* In 2010, JP was named by kids everywhere the Children's Book Councils' Children's Choice Book Awards "Author of the Year" in 2010. More than 15,000 kid and teen readers voted for JP in a category he shared with Suzanne Collins, Carl Hiaasen, Jeff Kinney, and Rick Riordan. His Witch and Wizard series saw the biggest launch of a series for young readers ever, surpassing sales of first installments of Twilight, Diary of A Wimpy Kid, and Percy Jackson & The Olympians.

* JP has grossed over 3 billion dollars in worldwide sales. This is larger than the worldwide theatrical gross of Avatar, the highest grossing film of all time.

* JP has had 43 New York Times hardcover #1 bestselling novels, also a publishing industry record.

* Last year, JP has sold more books than John Grisham, Dan Brown, Tom Clancy, and Stephen King combined (source: Nielsen BookScan).

* JP properties are gaining wide interest amongst film and TV producers. JP's award-winning series for young readers, Maximum Ride, is currently with Avi Arad (Spiderman, Iron Man) and Universal Pictures. Lloyd Levin (Green Zone, Watchmen) is attached to produce a feature film adaptation of JP's newest young readers series, Witch and Wizard, and James Patterson Entertainment is set to produce the next Alex Cross film, I, Alex Cross which will feature Idris Elba (The Wire, The Losers) as Alex Cross. And, a television adaptation of JP's 2007 love story Sundays At Tiffanys aired in December 2010 starring Alyssa Milano and Eric Winter.

* JP's books are licensed in 43 countries worldwide, and are in print and actively sold in 100 countries.

* According to a 2010 Bowker Sisters in Crime Survey, JP is the favorite mystery writer amongst readers under 50...AND over 50! Survey respondents comprised American men, women and teens who bought at least one mystery fiction title in 2009 and/or 2010.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Diabolical Characters, Ingenious Plot, September 12, 2002

By 

Wendy Kaplan (Houston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kiss the Girls (Alex Cross, No. 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

I never saw the movie. Never read a book by Patterson. Never really wanted to. So when I idly picked up "Kiss the Girls" while browsing a local bookstore, I didn't expect much; it was on a table of "fun beach reads" or some such thing.

I read the first page or two. I bought the book. And I can't remember much after that, except that, heart pounding, palms sweating, I entered the obscenely diabolical world of two serial killers: The Gentleman Caller, and Casanova, terrorizing both Coasts at once. With skill and his own brand of genius, Patterson takes the reader into the crazed yet terrifyingly logical minds of each killer. We are there while they stalk their victims: young women who are smart, educated, self-assured, and perfectly beautiful. At least in the eyes of their killers. We are there during some of the most gruesome and terrifying murders. We are there as Casanova sexually tortures his live victims in his House of Horrors, in which one infraction of the "house rules" results in horrible death.

What is the connection between these two killers? What is their sick purpose? It falls to police detective/psychologist Alex Cross to solve the mystery. But Alex has more than a professional interest in the case. His beloved niece Naomi is one of the missing women.

I challenge anyone to put this book down once begun. I was absolutely amazed at the hold it had on me--and still does. I immediately ordered the next in Patterson's Alex Cross series, "Jack and Jill." And I have recommended "Kiss the Girls" to every book-loving friend I have.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not a bad read....., December 27, 2000

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kiss the Girls (Alex Cross, No. 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

If you didn't like the movie, which I didn't, then you'll like the book, as I also did.

Here is a quick review of the book. Casanova is a collector of something rare and beautiful....women. When he sees one he thinks is both beautiful and rare, he takes them and keeps them in his personal collection. The problem comes when he takes a family member of Alex Cross, a dectieve. Alex is soon on the case to get back the one he loves. There are also murders across the coast on the opposite side of the states. Could there be two serial killers wanting to out do each other? Or are they working together? If so, how can Alex Cross stop them both? I suggest that you read the book if you want to find out.

Alex Cross is an interesting character. I liked how he had an instant bond with Kate. It seems that Kate and Alex we're almost a mirror image of each other.

When it comes to fiction, it's important to have "good" good guys, but I feel it's more important to have better bad guys. Patterson accomplishes this. Cassanova and The Gentleman are *incredible* some of the things that Casanova does is out right creepy.

The style that Patterson writes in take a little getting used to. It's in both first and third person. When you get used to that, it's a sinch to read. The chapters are 2 and 1/2 pages tops.

The book goes into way more detail that the movie. As I said, if you didn't like the movie, you'll like the book.

24 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars How long must a man lay in the earth ere he rot?, December 18, 2000

By 

Edward Aycock (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kiss the Girls (Alex Cross, No. 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

I read this entire book in about a day... it's easy when the author conveniently supplies us with bite sized chapters, perfect for this modern world! Who wants to be bogged down in depth, or character development? We want a world of red herrings galore, and cardboard characters.

That much I can actually deal with. What bothered me in this book was Patterson's rather disturbing juxtaposition of descriptions of well muscled, and flawless bodies (male and female) against the background of hideous violence. (The scene with the snake was completely uncalled for). Patterson almost seems to be at awe of the villains well muscled physique and *ahem* other body parts...he certainly writes enough about it. But the idea of these women being paraded around in lavish evening gowns in front of their sick captor is just absurd. And honestly, our heroine may be strong, but how many times can she be victimized and beaten and STILL live?

This book is a disturbing look at violence against women,made even more disturbing by the needless eroticism of the violence. This is just rather irresponsible. And set as it is against the flat, unimaginative prose, "Kiss the Girls" adds up to a book that you need to take a shower after reading.