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As
Robert Parker has his Spenser, so does James Patterson have his
Alex Cross. As Parker did, and is still doing, with Spenser, so
does Patterson with Cross --- make him better with every book and
make every book better as well. ROSES ARE RED continues in that
tradition.
ROSES ARE RED commences with a suspense factor set at about Warp
Factor Eight and doesn't let up from there. A bank robber wearing
a President Clinton mask enters a Citibank in Sliver Springs Maryland.
She advises the bank manager that his wife and children are being
held hostage and will be executed unless her directions are followed
exactly --- and we learn, all too horribly, exactly what that means.
It develops that this and subsequent, similar, robberies are the
work of the Mastermind, a brilliant, deranged individual who is
not only two steps ahead of the police but also appears to be behind
them and next to them as well, knowing exactly what they are going
to do almost before they do it. Alex Cross, the Washington, DC police
psychologist, reluctantly permits himself to be drawn into the case.
Cross has major concerns. Christine, his lover and the mother of
his son Alex Jr., is still suffering from the trauma of her kidnapping
at the hands of Geoffrey Shafer --- suffering that increases one
hundred fold when it is learned that Shafer is alive and at large.
Cross is concerned for Christine and for his relationship with her,
as they grow further apart. Then Cross's beloved daughter, Jannie,
is hospitalized as a result of unexplained seizures.
The Mastermind, meanwhile, continues to strike, while the stakes
of his prizes grow larger and his actions become bolder. The police,
the FBI, and Cross grow more and more puzzled; just when they think
they have the mystery of The Mastermind's identity solved, they
are proven wrong again and again. Who is The Mastermind? Will the
puzzle ever be solved? And how does he do it?
Be warned --- Patterson pulls off an interesting trick at the conclusion
of ROSES ARE RED. Some will not like it. At first anyway; it infuriated
me, initially. The more I thought about it, however, the more I
admired Patterson's willingness to take a chance with his readers.
No matter how you feel about what Patterson does here, however,
all should be forgiven due to his creation of The Mastermind, possibly
the most interesting criminal in suspense literature since Hannibal
Lecter. Cross is almost eclipsed here; that he is not is due to
his continuing growth as a sympathetic character who struggles to
balance his responsibilities to his profession with his duties as
a father. ROSES ARE RED is the latest in a series to keep reading
and watching for. Highly recommended.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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