Customer Reviews

The Postcard Killers

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(47)
2 star:		(19)
1 star:		(59)

 

 

This is the second worst James Patterson book I've ever read, the first being "You've Been Warned." I really don't know why I even finished reading the book because I was disappointed within the first few chapters. There is absolutely no character development and the writing style is awful. It sounds like alot of us Patterson fans are fed up with his "book factory" that cranks out a dismal book every other month. I think I'm officially done with Patterson which is a shame considering he used to be one of my favorite authors.

First off, it was my fault that I read this. I should have learned from Patterson's past books, on how bad this would be, and I should have listened to myself. I used to like Patterson a lot, but now his books are hit and miss, much more of them are a miss, and this is no exception. This is a clunker.

I won't ever bother going over the plot. I read it once and I don't want to remember it. Honestly, it's that bad. What makes it that bad? Well my fellow reader, I'm glad you asked.

The Characters: All of the characters are annoying. One of the main characters is Jacob, a cop from NYC, and he annoyed the bejesus out of me. He flashed his badge and expected people to jump and do what he wanted. The problem is that he was pretty much all over the world doing it. I guess it never occurred to him that his NYC police badge would mean diddly squat outside of his jourstiction. People were doing what he wanted, pretty much. If he didn't get what he wanted, he'll throw a hissy fit and throw things through windows and start yelling a people like he owned the place. The other main character was Dessie, who's a sometimes gay and sometimes straight reporter. I guess she hasn't made up her mind yet. Not only is she a reporter, but she feels the need to solve big crimes for the cops. I found that to be laughable.

Also, the repetition of things grated at me nerves. How many times do we have to hear different and the same characters tell us that "The American smells", "Can't the American take a shower", "Why does the American smell so bad." "Hasn't the American heard of soap?" Okay we get it, Jacob stinks.... do we really need to read bout it so much? Speaking of repetition let's talk about Dessie, the sometimes report/crimfighter, shall we? Over and over again we are treated to , "Why did the killers contact me?" "Why did the killers choose me?" "Why would the Postcard killers send me a postcard". Then if that isn't enough, we're treated to other characters ask over and over, and over, "Why would the killers contact you?" Then when the killers do their things, we get to see them do the set up over and over, and over. When they started setting the victims up, I knew exactly what they'd do and what they said before they did it. Yeesh!

The writing style if just awful. There's no plot twits, nothing to keep the reader hooked to the page. Nothing like, "OMG, I never saw that coming!!" The sad truth my friends, is that we see everything coming, and there are no surprises.

Usually, I'd say get it from the library, I won't even suggest that. This is a clunker. Don't even waste your time on this.

Over the years I have read the Alex Cross books and enjoyed them. Recently, though, Patterson's other books and all the books he is "co-writing" with some aspiring author, are just AWFUL!! Luckily, my library charges $.50 for each brand-new book I recieve written by authors of my choosing. This last one wasn't worth the $.50!! I've about had it with James Patterson and Whomever. There is little substance and I am finally giving up. Mr. Patterson, have you just run out of ideas? Go back to the drawing board and see if you can find some "creative juices".

I read 1-2 books a week but this book could not grab my attention. I rarely never not finish a book. I got to page 100 and realized at this rate I would be done with it in a month. I read the epilogue and called it good.
Characters in the story were flat and I could not relate to them. Story line was terrible with no intriguing moments. I hate to say this about Patterson's books but I expected a lot more out of him. Seems to me like he is doing it for the money and he isn't writing most of his novels lately
Might just have to Change authors.

In the "Postcard Killers," Patterson teams up with popular Swedish crime writer Liza Marklund to write a serial murder mystery set in some beautiful European settings. The book starts with Sylvia and Mac seducing an English couple they met in a museum. In a short time, the couple turns up dead. Soon we learn that this is not an isolated incident, but similar, seemingly random murders of young couples gave been sprouting up all over Europe. The only clue to these grotesque murders is a postcard sent to the local paper where the future murder will take place.

This is how we meet Swedish crime columnist Dessie Larsson, who has just received a similar postcard. Enter Jacob Kannon, an NYPD detective whose daughter was murdered on her honeymoon, and who has obsessively been following the murders as they occur--finding out about Dessie's postcard and traveling to Sweden to meet with her. The sub-plot becomes Dessie's and Jacob's complicated relationship. Dessie can't stand Jacob and doesn't understand why the killers chose to address the postcard to her. Jacob is hurt by Dessie's indifferent behavior and vows to do anything to catch the killers.

While Jacob and Dessie try to figure out the killers' motive, the murders continue to occur until they become an international journalism sensation--with the killers referred to as the "postcard killers." What further complicates the murders is that the victims are arranged into strange poses following their murders, which leads Dessie to a nagging suspicion that the killers are trying to send some kind of message.

As are all Patterson's books, it was a quick read with really short chapters. I find it's much easier to turn the page when the chapter is a page and a half as opposed to ten pages. The plot itself is not a "whodunnit," as Patterson and Marklund devote chapters that dissect the circumstances of the murders, but more of a how-do-we-catch-the-villains. The international settings and the controversial biography of the villains add an interesting dimension to the straightforward plot. Overall, an entertaining story.

This has to be one of the most boring book i listened recently (i listen to audio books). The writing is almost childish, i can't believe that James Patterson agreed to put his name on this novel. The character development is so immature that it is not even laughable. The US based cop just goes to all these Europeon establishments and start throwing tantrum for not doing things his way, hahaha. Even though it is too boring, i forwarded and listened to the end, just to see how bad can it get and i was not "disappointed" :o). The end is so bad with almost all questions unanswered that it seems the author lost his own thoughts or could not figure out how to close it. Save your money and ignore this book. I am a big fan or patterson, but lately he has been coauthoring these unintelligent writings.

I stopped buying any Patterson book that is co-authored by a relatively unknown author. I buy lots of other books and kindle products from Amazon but not Patterson - he is strictly a library book for me now. This book with its thin plot line and silly writing justifies my opinion of his work and I am glad I didn't spend any money on it. Most of his Alex Cross books are okay, except the silly one where Alex goes to Africa, but his co-authored ones as a rule are pretty bad and this was no exception.

While I stopped associating myself with Amazon a while back for multiple reasons, I had to make an exception to write a review for this book. While my general opinion on Patterson hasn't changed,(he still sucks and his book factory hasn't churned out a good book in well over three years) I felt that people should know how much of a fraud this book really is.

My first complaint is that it is completely unbelievable. There's a reason why having Alex Cross think that he has jurisdiction in Africa in Cross Country didn't work, namely because it is unreal, so I don't understand why Patterson (or should I say Marklund) thought that it would work a second time. Your Average Joe cop from New York city is not going to have jurisdiction in any place in the world other than New York city, which is why it is unbelievable that he somehow thinks that he has the right to investigate and interrogate people in all of Europe. My other complaint is that the characters are again cardboard cutouts. The cop with a troubled and dark past, the nobody news reporter that suddenly becomes somebody, etc. We've seen this all before.

However my biggest problem of all that I have with this book is that it a complete ripoff of another story featuring a famous detective. You may have heard of him, its not as if his name isn't THAT well known, but you may have heard of him. He only goes by the name of SHERLOCK HOLMES! Sir Arthur Conan Doyle must be turning in his grave so much that hes going Mach 2 right now. For those that are unaware the premise to this book is as follows: A couple send a postcard to someone with a cryptic message that tells them that they are going to murder someone. Without sparing a second thought to this random postcard with a message they cant understand, the recipient ignores it and shortly after receiving it, someone dies. Again for those that are unaware, and without spoiling anything, the premise to Arthur Doyle's "The Five Orange Pips" is as follows: As a mark of death, a very specific group sends someone a cryptic message via the mail by placing five orange seeds (pips) in an envelope and sending it to them. The recipient has no idea what it means and thinks nothing of it. Shortly after receiving the seeds, they are found dead. If this isn't a ripoff than I don't know what is. The descendants of Doyle should sue Patterson for so much money that he will be forced to push a shopping cart down the street in a matter of weeks.

Also on a side note, the marketing departments lies are again on the cover of this book. Saying that Alex Cross' Trial was an Alex Cross book was sad, but saying that Liza Marklund is the bestselling author in Europe is just pathetic. With some research, you can find that she may be one of, if not the bestselling author in Sweden, but certainly not in all of Europe. Its just sad to know that Patterson, a man who can literally put his name on anything to make it a bestseller has to resort to such shameless marketing tactics again. Skip this book.

I tried three times with this audio book before throwing in the towel. I've been a fan of Patterson's for a couple or so years now and have never been so disappointed in a book. My first thought when I was listening to the killers was this has been done before. Then the cop with the gun in his mouth...all of it was too stereotypical.

The only good I could see was in the narrators, but even they couldn't make this interesting enough for me to stay until the end.

This is the second book I've read where I wasn't impressed with Patterson. I'm praying the next book will be better. If not, I'm going to need to take a break. Maybe it's me who has changed...and Patterson is still the same.

I read this book and wished I hadn't. I hoped it would get better as I read, but it only got worse.
Poor plot. No surprises. No twists in the plot. One dimensional, cardboard characters.
Don't waste your time on this one.