Product Description

Roses Are Red, James Patterson's sixth Alex Cross thriller, openswith the District of Columbia detective attempting to mend his nearly unraveledfamily. The year-long kidnapping of one's intended (1999's Pop Goes the Weasel) will dothat to a relationship. Christine, the kidnappee, is amenable with onereasonable condition: that her family's horizon remain uncluttered by homicidalmaniacs. How unfortunate, then, that the joyous christening of their newborn sonis rudely interrupted by the FBI bearing news of several heinous murdersrequiring the attention of detective (and doctor of psychology) Cross."Three-year-old boy, the father, a nanny," Kyle said one more timebefore he left the party. He was about to go through the door in the sun porchwhen he turned to me and said, "You're the right person for this. They murdereda family, Alex."As soon as Kyle was gone, I went looking for Christine. My heart sank. She hadtaken Alex and left without saying good-bye, without a single word.Which leaves Cross free to hunt the Mastermind, the barbarous brains behind awidening series of bank robberies in which employees or their family members areheld hostage and, when instructions aren't followed to the finest iota,slaughtered. Given the cases' glaring and unfathomable inhumanity, Cross's long- time DCPD partner (the wonderful giant, John Sampson) gives way to the warm,attractive, and fiercely intelligent FBI Agent Betsey Cavalierre.The longer and harder Cross and Cavalierre remain on his trail, the bolder andmore brutal--and shiveringly close to home--the Mastermind's strikes become.And, thanks mostly to lightning-short paragraphs and a point of view thatrappels from the first-person Cross to the third-person Mastermind, the taleprogresses at hot-trot speed to a bona fide doozy of a denouement. It'll be overbefore you know it, so sit back, hold your breath, and enjoy the show. And staytuned for the next one. --Michael Hudson

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3836 in Books
• Published on: 2001-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 416 pages

Amazon.com Review
Roses Are Red, James Patterson's sixth Alex Cross thriller, opens with the District of Columbia detective attempting to mend his nearly unraveled family. The year-long kidnapping of one's intended (1999's Pop Goes the Weasel) will do that to a relationship. Christine, the kidnappee, is amenable with one reasonable condition: that her family's horizon remain uncluttered by homicidal maniacs. How unfortunate, then, that the joyous christening of their newborn son is rudely interrupted by the FBI bearing news of several heinous murders requiring the attention of detective (and doctor of psychology) Cross.

"Three-year-old boy, the father, a nanny," Kyle said one more time before he left the party. He was about to go through the door in the sun porch when he turned to me and said, "You're the right person for this. They murdered a family, Alex."

As soon as Kyle was gone, I went looking for Christine. My heart sank. She had taken Alex and left without saying good-bye, without a single word.

Which leaves Cross free to hunt the Mastermind, the barbarous brains behind a widening series of bank robberies in which employees or their family members are held hostage and, when instructions aren't followed to the finest iota, slaughtered. Given the cases' glaring and unfathomable inhumanity, Cross's long- time DCPD partner (the wonderful giant, John Sampson) gives way to the warm, attractive, and fiercely intelligent FBI Agent Betsey Cavalierre.

The longer and harder Cross and Cavalierre remain on his trail, the bolder and more brutal--and shiveringly close to home--the Mastermind's strikes become. And, thanks mostly to lightning-short paragraphs and a point of view that rappels from the first-person Cross to the third-person Mastermind, the tale progresses at hot-trot speed to a bona fide doozy of a denouement. It'll be over before you know it, so sit back, hold your breath, and enjoy the show. And stay tuned for the next one. --Michael Hudson

From Publishers Weekly
Alex Cross is backAand that alone will have this novel crowning bestseller lists, a feat Patterson's books have achieved often of late, both his Cross (Pop Goes the Weasel) and non-Cross (Cradle and All) thrillers. Patterson won an Edgar for his first novel, The Thomas Berryman Number, but he hasn't won one since. One reason is that his prose, though sturdy as a trusted rowboat, is just as wooden; another is that his plottingAhere detailing Washington, D.C., homicide detective Cross's pursuit of a crazed but crafty homicidal criminal known as the MastermindAis about as sophisticated as that of a Frank and Joe Hardy tale. So why are the Cross novels so popular? In part because Patterson constructs them out of short, simple sentences, paragraphs and chapters that practically define the brisk, fun, E-Z read, and in part because, here and elsewhere, he engages in the smart and unusual tactic of alternating third- and first-person (from Cross's POV) narrative. Mostly, though, readers adore them because Cross is such a lovable hero, a family-oriented African-American whose compassion warmly balances the icy cruelty of Patterson's villains and their sometimes graphically depicted crimes (as is the case here). In the new novel, Cross suffers lady problems as his old love, who's in terror of Cross's job, leaves him, and he fumbles toward a new romance with an FBI agent; he also suffers personal trauma as his beloved daughter develops a brain tumor. That's back-burner action, though. The main focus here is, first, on a series of shocking Mastermind-engineered bank robbery/kidnappings involving wanton killings and, second, on the hunt to ID the MastermindAa hunt both absorbing and annoying for its several (rather smelly) red herrings, and concluding with a revelation that screams sequel. While there's nothing subtle in this novel, every blatant element is packaged for maximum effect: roses may be red, but Patterson's newest is green all the way. U.K. and translation rights, Arthur Pine Associates. 1.25 million first printing; Literary Guild and Doubleday Direct main selections; simultaneous Random House large-print edition and Time Warner Audio. (Nov.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Alex Cross, Patterson's detective hero, is back in a thriller that is guaranteed to hold his many fans spellbound. This time around, Cross' nemesis is the Mastermind, a cunning bank robber who recruits teams of criminals to do his dirty work while he orchestrates the crimes from the shadows. What makes the Mastermind especially frightening is that he takes the bank executives' families hostage in order to ensure compliance, and he kills in cold blood, seemingly at random. Cross is called in on the case, but he may have more than he can handle on his plate. His girlfriend has left him, his beloved daughter is in the hospital, and an old enemy has popped up. But Cross throws himself into the Mastermind case, aided by an attractive FBI agent named Betsey Cavalierre. Despite their resourcefulness, the Mastermind always seems to be a few steps ahead of them, even when the case seems to be coming together. Patterson keeps the pages turning all the way up to the jaw-dropping conclusion, which is sure to have readers eagerly awaiting the next Cross novel. Roses Are Red is far superior to Patterson's most recent novels and should impress readers who enjoyed his earlier Cross books, such as Along Came a Spider (1993) and Kiss the Girls (1995). This one is not to be missed. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Customer Reviews

Patterson back in top form
After the disappointing "Cradle and All" Patterson is back in the vein of his sensational bestsellers "Along came a Spider", "Kiss the Girls" or "Cat and Mouse". This may be his best novel with his most evil villain yet. The Mastermind even tops Gary Soneji, Casanova or the Weasel. The end will simply blow you out of your shoes.

A Good, Exciting Read!
I like Alex Cross books and this one is one of the better ones that James Patterson has written. The ending is sure to keep readers waiting for the next one as it even surprised me. I read this book on a 10 hour plane flight and completed it so it is a fast read. Here I had planned on sleeping on the flight and ended up not sleeping a wink because I couldn't keep my head out of this book!

a return to form-almost!
ROSES ARE RED IS A RETURN TO FORM ALMOST! FOR JAMES PATTERSON,AFTER THE LAST COUPLE OF ALEX CROSS NOVELS WHICH LEFT ME A LITTLE FLAT AND WONDERING IF THE SERIES HAD GONE OFF THE BOIL ALONG COMES THIS STORY WHICH WAS AN ABSOLUTE PAGE TURNER WHICH SUDDENLY GROUND YO A HALT 50 PAGES FROM THE END WHEN WE GO INTO A PROTRACTED ENDING SEQUENCE WHICH LEFT ME THINKING WILL WE EVER FIND OUT WHO THE EVIL MASTERMIND REALLY IS FINALLY WE GET THERE WHEN THE IDENTITY IS REVEALED ON ALMOST THE LAST PAGE WHICH GAVE ME A REAL SHOCK I BETCHA YOU WONT FIGURE OUT WHO IT IS ,ANYWAY HERES HOPING FO A 100% RETURN TO FORM IN THE NEXT BOOK THE ONLY DOWNSIDE BEING WILL JAMES PATTERSON RUN OUT OF STORIES OR NURSERY RHYMES FIRST.