Customer Reviews

Violets Are Blue (Alex Cross)

5 star:		(59)
4 star:		(63)
3 star:		(70)
2 star:		(62)
1 star:		(94)

 

 

It may be true that when an author becomes enormously popular while writing a suspenseful series, they're under some sort of pressure to keep writing more and more covoluted or even more and more bizarre plots to keep readers interested. Enter James Patterson not entirely unknown for some strange plots in his stand aloen books or even bizarre premises i.e., his older title When the Wind Blows where children are gnetically altered in the womb so they are born with wings and can fly. Once again in his latest Alex Cross book, Patterson introduces several more bizarre elemnts to a case Alex tries to solve.

In the novel, Violets are Blue, two brothers are featured as grisly serial killers whose murders at times either resemble the work of vampires or tigers. Now thousands of readers favorite psychology/detective is on a mission to find the killer when his partner is found dead. And if this isn't enough, almost immediately in another part of the country another murder occurs which almost mimcs Alex's partners death. As Alex crisscrosses the nation investigating these bizarre murders and some other very weird folks, somebody known as the Mastermind is keeping track of Alex's every move. Its as if this individual, who some readers may remember from the previous book Roses are Red, is always one step in front of Alex taunting him with warning phone calls and threats agaisnt his family. Alex spends the majority of the book preplexed, confused, overworked and overwrought. By the end, Patterson ties up at least two parts of the plots neatly but leaves one danglgnthread. And it is this thread which left this reader perplexed, confused and overwrought. For it seems that this may be the end of Alex Cross or is it?

Fear not Patterson fans if this is the end for dear Alex. We can eagerly wait for the second book featuring the Womens Murder Club from 1st to Die and perhaps another romance goodie like Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas. But this reader still can't help but remember how much I enjoyed Along Came a Spider when Alex Cross burst onto the literary scene and had me holding my breath till the next book was published.

Violets Are Blue is almost two completely separate tales in one book. One involves gruesome murders where the blood has been drained from the victims. This series of gorey murders leads into the world of modern vampires. This is frightening and intriguing and draws the reader into the dark world of fact and fiction surrounding this cult-like existence. It is both fascinating and repelling at the same time. When the Mastermind, the bad guy from Roses Are Red, turns out to be involved, then it begins to feel like two separate stories that never quite seem to fit themselves together. This would have been far better had the Mastermind not been a part of this. That part feels forced. You never feel like "Oh yeah, now I see who it was!" more like "Oh, him........well, I guess so."
It just kind of fizzles in the finale.

I was getting very bored with Alex Cross, and the number of Alex Cross books James Patterson was putting out. I was glad he came out with Suzannes Diary for Nickholas and 1st to Die. I was reading about Mr.Patterson last night, and I read that he said that after 2 books going back to Alex Cross is going to be fun, and that he has great ideas about this book.

Anyways, I have read it, in 2 days, and it is the 2nd best book of his I have read (When the Wind Blows is first). This book was very creepy, and very intence, and I enjoyed every page I read. James Patterson is still on top...............

People are dying brutally and it appears that they are being ravaged by animals and covered with bites. Detective Alex Cross of KISS THE GIRLS fame is on the case again and things are just not adding up. He is being pulled into this twisted, murderous, rampage while receiving calls from the Mastermind who is stalking him, and undoubtedly wants him dead.

Patterson leads the reader on a merry chase all over the country while uncovering murders that go back as far as 15 years. His spunky sidekick Jamilla, one of only two female detectives in her department helps him to mix and mingle with the Goth crowd suspected to be at the bottom of it all.

The last part of the book is the culmination of the sadistic "Mastermind" and his plans, now set in motion for the destruction of Cross. It ties together characters and happenings from past books. I found this book predictable, no surprises here, but enjoyable none-the-less. I would give it 3.5 stars...

If you read "Roses Are Red", then you know that the last page of it tells you who "The Mastermind" really is. It was a cliffhanger, and I hate those, but you couldn't deny it was a good novel. "Violets Are Blue" literally picks up seconds after the other novel's end, and goes for a good ride from that point on. The beginning is gripping, and the end is by far one of the best Patterson has ever written. The middle is the problem. For one thing, The Mastermind's identity isn't "revealed" in this one until the last quarter of the book - even though it was clearly stated in the last one - so you are supposed to act surprised at the revelation (I guess if you didn't read the other book, it would be a surprise). For another thing, the vampire/S&M storyline just gets too graphic for no reason. The sex/murder scenes just are more than we need to know. Some of the best parts of the book are at the beginning when the couple is found murdered and you try to figure what happened. When we stand bedside while people are graphically killed, the imagination doesn't have to go anywhere - so I feel some of the middle is too over-the-top. However, I have to say that the last quarter of the book (after the vampire storyline is over) is the best. When it's just Alex Cross versus The Mastermind, it's incredible work! Characters from all the previous novels get cameos or mentions (including a cameo from one of the better female characters in the series - Kate McTiernan). As the Mastermind goes after those in Cross' life to kill them while Cross tries to stop him, it's stuff that you can't put down. You'll be reading this one late into the night, that's for sure. Unfortunately, within the first few pages you can easily tell where this will all end up and what Cross' next life-move will be, but it still makes for a good story. Almost 5 stars, but the vampire killings are just too bloody graphic for my taste.

I have read all of the Alex Cross novels and I must say that "Violets are Blue" is frustrating to read and not up to par with the other Cross novels. The biggest frustration centers around the Mastermind. I was disappointed with the way "Roses are Red" ended and was looking forward to having the matter resolved quickly with Violets are Blue. Instead, the reader is lead through several anti-climatic scenes with the Mastermind getting close to dealing with Cross, but then deciding the "time wasn't right." Gimme a break! Each chapter seems to rehash the same type of suspense that goes nowhere and leaves the reader plowing through another endless chapter of mayhem, gore and another budding romance between Cross and another female. Read it, seen it, tired of it! I love Cross' character, but Patterson does him a disservice with this storyline. What else could happen to this man! I for one will continue to look forward to more novels, but I am leary and disappointed that Mr. Patterson has gone into the mass market, cookie cutter manner of writing. Take a break Mr. Patterson and write the next Cross novel with better care and respect for the character and your many readers.

I rarely write a review of a book I dislike, but if I can warn a single person away from this book, the effort will be worth it. "Violets Are Blue" was so predictable, so poorly written, and so shamelessly padded, I was almost laughing. I was reminded of the time in high school when I was given an assignment to write 2000 words about some topic, I can't remember what. Well, I wrote the paper, but when I counted the words, I was less than half way to the 2000 word total. So I spent hours adding in extraneous material any way I could to bloat the paper to the requisite length. Patterson has done the same thing to two (flimsy) mysteries stories and rolled them into one.

Both mysteries are so predictable that if you can't figure out the bad guy before detective Alex Cross does, you might think about switching to reading romance novels. One manhunt goes from city to city throughout the U.S. so that Patterson can add paragraphs of flimsy local color, including street directions to every scene, local restaurants (where I'm sure Patterson will dine for free from now on), etc. In neither mystery does Cross actually DETECT. The bad guy is simply the last suspect standing.

A shameless padder, Patterson gives a plot summary for every one of his previous books and phones all the (living) key characters from them. And every other chapter is a warm, touching slice of his family life. Which has nothing to do with the plot, but sets the reader up for the next book in the series.

I liked "Along Came A Spider". Since then, Patterson has obviously decided it's less work to be a hack than a good writer, and the pay is the same.

I have read all but 2 of the Alex Cross books by James Patterson; a few weeks ago I finished "Roses are Red" and anxiously snatched up its sequel, "Violets are Blue," after doing so. I admire James Patterson's way of getting you immediately involved in his Cross novels via the suspense and plot turns and VERY short chapters (though stylistically he leaves alot to be desired), but I just felt a bit empty after reading "Violets".

In this book, Dr. Alex Cross has two cases on his back; first, he's receiving daily threatening calls from the Mastermind, the psychopath Cross failed to capture in "Roses". The Matermind's identity is known to anyone who reads the last page of "Roses are Red" but Cross is still in the dark, even as the Mastermind promises Cross he and/or his family will die soon. Added to this, Cross's FBI friend Kyle Craig draws him into a string of brutal "vampire murders" around the country where the attractive and healthy victims are found hanging upside down and drained of nearly all their blood.

I think Patterson heaps too much into this novel. Through two-thirds of the 393 pages the Mastermind does little more than threaten Alex, and that wears thin after awhile -- it's almost like filler, like a "b-story" storyline that is stretched to fill up book space. In "Roses" the Mastermind was all about action -- nearly every 2nd or 3rd chapter he pulled something. Here, he's just a boogeyman on a phone through so much of the novel.

The vampire murders story is NOT as gorey as some reviewers here would have you believe (try a little Laurell K. Hamilton if you want to experience some REAL gorey story writing), and though I found the twin blond vampire brothers interesting as heck, the whole Sire thing was a bit farfetched and lacking in real suspense (should have made the blond brothers the main focus of the story, they were so intriguing). Also, the solving of that case didn't leave me feeling the case was solved at all; it was too convoluted, with too many possibilities that other killers could still be out there, or that someone could simply pick up where the Sire left off . . .

Knowing the identity of the Mastermind didn't keep me from enjoying the book, and I read it through quickly and eagerly. But while "Roses are Red" was satisfying like a big bowl of popcorn -- light, but filling -- "Violets are Blue" made me search for the butter or salt, trying to give this popcorn some badly-needed flavor.

I have read all of James Patterson's books, and was anxiously awaiting his latest. I was very disappointed in the vampire story and found a lot of the sexual scenes unnecessary for such a talented writer. In the previous book, I already knew the identity of the Mastermind, so it was no big surprise in the this book when it was revealed. I hope he continues on with the Alex Cross stories, but I also hope he returns to his writing of old and not the style in this book.

This book's been getting pretty bad reviews. I'm really surprised, because I ended up really enjoying this one. Yes, I admit this is not Patterson's best work, but it was still thrilling and chilling. "Violets are Blue" is the dark conclusion to "Roses are Red."

Before I get this review started, I have read the following books by Patterson: Kiss the Girls, Along Came a Spider, and Roses are Red. Just wanted to show that I HAVE read other books by him so I don't have somebody trying to say I don't know what I'm talking about. This is all my opinion, and I'm not afraid to go against the grain on this one.

We follow Detective Alex Cross once again as he is on a case that involves some of the most gruesome murders he has ever seen. The body count is rising and it's happening everywhere. The strangest thing is that the victims don't appear to have been killed by people, but more like by creatures. As Cross goes down further and further along the road of truth, the more disturbing the truth becomes.

The story also picks up where it left off with "Roses are Red." Because as Cross is on the case, The Mastermind is still lurking and taunting him. Once again, the heartless killer threatens everything and everyone that Alex Cross cares about. The Mastermind wants Alex dead, and he will not stop the mayhem and rampage until he gets his wish. Could this be the end for Alex Cross?

I thought it was a really good read. I finished it in less than three days. Usually when I finish a book the quick, that means that I really enjoy it. The action is sharp and fast-paced, with almost a cliff-hanger lurking around every chapter. The chapters are also very short, which makes it all the more easier to read. The narration is quite powerful and convincing; you can tell that Patterson has the most fun when he has Alex Cross narrating the story.

Yes, it's not as good as the other books by him, but that still doesn't mean you shouldn't read it. If you like Patterson and you have read "Roses are Red," give it a chance! What do you have to lose? (Yes, read "Roses are Red" first, since that is the first part. Too bad that "Roses are Red" tells us who The Mastermind is at the end, I think he could've left that out. That way it'd be more shocking when we read this one. Oh well.) I think the problem that people had with this one was that it seemed too much like something Stephen King would write and that the killers weren't realistic enough. Well, after writing so many Cross novels, Patterson wanted to take a different approach. I don't see anything wrong with that, but I can see why other people did.

I found "Violets are Blue" to be a great page turner that kept me guessing. It is quite violent, so it's not for the squeamish. And, it gets VERY disturbing at times. Although while it may not be Patterson's best work, I found the book to be very well-written and structured. A great thriller with numerous twists and turns along the way.