Mary, Mary (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "ACT ONE, SCENE ONE, the Storyteller thought to himself, and couldn't hold back a dizzying rush of anticipation..." (more)
Key Phrases: Mary Smith, Mary Wagner, Jeanne Galletta (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Last seen in London Bridges (2004) chasing a terrorist, Washington, D.C., PD detective turned FBI agent Alex Cross is enjoying a much-needed vacation at Disneyland with his family when he's called in by the FBI to consult with the LAPD on a high-profile murder case. A-list actress Antonia Schifman has been slain, her face so badly cut up that she's almost unrecognizable. The murder isn't random; an L.A. Times gossip columnist has received a series of e-mails from a woman named Mary Smith, taking responsibility for the killing of Antonia, her chauffeur, and a well-known female movie producer. Cross studies the e-mails, which make reference to Mary's ordinary appearance and her fixation on the perfect families, particularly the children, of both women. When another prominent woman is slain, Cross is sucked into the case full time, jeopardizing the outcome of the custody battle he's involved in over his youngest son. As Cross studies the e-mails and patterns of the killer, he realizes he can't be certain of anything, even the gender of Mary Smith. The thrills in Patterson's latest lead to a truly unexpected, electrifying climax. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Description

FBI agent Alex Cross is on vacation with his family at Disneyland when he gets a call from the Director. A well-known actress was shot outside her home in Beverly Hills. Shortly afterward, an editor for the Los Angeles Times receives an e-mail describing the murder in vivid detail. Alex quickly learns that this is not an isolated incident. The killer, known as Mary Smith, has done this before and plans to kill again. Right from the beginning, this case is like nothing Alex has ever confronted. Is this the plan of an obsessed fan or a spurned actor, or is it part of something much more frightening? And particularly baffling, how could a woman be capable of these vicious crimes? Members of Hollywood+s A-list fear they+re next on Mary+s list, and the case grows by blockbuster proportions as the LAPD and FBI scramble to find a pattern before Mary can send one more chilling update.Filled with the ruthless and shocking twists that make his fans hunger for more, MARY, MARY is James Patterson+s most sophisticated thriller yet.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1st edition (November 14, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031615976X
• ISBN-13: 978-0739461259
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (186 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #126,244 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 11 in The Alex Cross Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Okay Okay, December 18, 2006

By	Dindy Robinson "Swimming Kangaroo Books" (Arlington, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Mary, Mary (Alex Cross Novels) (Hardcover)

Mary Mary by James Patterson is typical of his Alex Cross novels-- single dad Alex tries to juggle parenting and career along with a love life. This book centers around a series of murders of Hollywood mothers, with the killer sending emails to a Hollywood reporter and signing them as "Mary." FBI Agent Alex is pulled off a vacation with his family to Disneyland to help the LAPD with the case, although they are not exactly appreciative of his help.

I do enjoy the Alex Cross novels; I appreciate that Cross is a loving father and his conflict between taking care of his children and satisfying the demands of his job. The plot in this book, however, has holes big enough to drive a Zamboni through. The motivation for the face slashing of the victims is never adequately explained-- or, I should say, the slashing of the original victim is never explained satisfactorily. How the killer eventually catches up to Alex at the end is another big question. In this, as in so many other books, Patterson does not play fair-- he withholds crucial information till the end of the book in order to be able to keep the identity of the killer a surprise.

Underlying the main story is another continuing storyline of Alex's attempts to gain custody of his son, Ali, from his ex-wife, Christine. There are hints all the way through the novel that something is going on with Christine, but we never find out what, nor do we find out what causes her big change of heart at the end.

This is my continuing problem with the Alex Cross novels-- Alex Cross is a good, interesting character and the plots are taut and original. But Patterson does not seem to be confident enough in his own abilities as a writer to give the reader all the information necessary throughout the book. He withholds information and then, at the end, after he's almost reluctantly divulged everything in the space of about two pages, he abruptly stops the book before we have a chance to absorb the sudden disclosures and resolve everything in our own minds.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Patterson and Cross are back in the groove now..., March 18, 2006

By	Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

After James Patterson's last Alex Cross novel London Bridges, I was beginning to think that the Cross character had perhaps run its course. So with a little trepidation, I picked up Mary, Mary from the library. It now appears that London Bridges was an anomaly, and Patterson/Cross are back on track.

Alex Cross is vacationing with his kids and grandmother at Disneyland, when he gets a call asking for a short one day consult on a celebrity killing in LA. Reluctant to give up his vacation time, he decides to make this one exception. That was his first mistake... While he was gone, the mother of his 3 year old shows up and takes the child back to Seattle, while also petitioning the court for permanent custody. His ongoing romance to Jamilla is also floundering, so he's left with little social life and a feeling that his personal life as a father is failing. The Mary Smith killer is keeping him occupied however. Pretty soon he finds himself traveling coast to coast on a regular basis helping the LAPD analyze the emails and clues as to who "Mary Smith", the killer, might be, as well as who might next be in the sights of the killer. And even when they have a person in custody who fits all the evidence, Cross isn't quite sure there isn't something else going on...

The action part of the story line for this novel was good. There are a number of characters that Patterson puts "in play" as potential suspects, and there's really not much elimination until the end. I was completely surprised at the twist ending, which was good. From a character standpoint, Patterson has set up Cross for some significant romantic changes ahead. All the regular players are moved out of the picture, and a few new ones make their appearance. All goes to show that Patterson isn't done with this series... And if they continue to play out along these lines instead of London Bridges, that will be a good thing...

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars 1 Star being the lowest - - then deduct TWO more stars!, January 10, 2006

By	T Lan - See all my reviews

I really, REALLY mean it this time - - NO MORE PATTERSON BOOKS FOR ME!!! This was the sorriest excuse yet! His publishing company must have paid some of the critics well - I finally gave in and bought this after hearing one of them state -- "the scariest Alex Cross novel yet!!!" Yeah, right!!! The scariest part was the child-custody hearing - I'm sitting there reading chapter after chapter about his child-custody fight??? WTF???

Speaking of Chapters - chapter breaks appeared every-other page!!! In the middle of a thought!!! Patterson must've gotten paid by the page rather than by the word!

The ending was far-fetched and nowhere close to believable. So he got the idea from an inmate of a psychiatric hospital??? So what made him so DRIVEN to continue killing??? Please!

My 8-year-old granddaughter could've done a better job!

Shame on you, James Patterson!!!