10 member(s) found this review helpful.
I have always read James Patterson's Alex Cross series. And even though I have felt his writing is getting very bad I usually have no problem reading his books.
This one was so violent and Alex Cross seemed so stupid that I just could not take it anymore. The problems in Africa are a serious subject and even though fiction can bring to life real issues I felt that this book was too badly written to do justice to the subject.
8 member(s) found this review helpful.
Reviews of this book speak to the intensity of the action, the drama of the plot. While the reviews are correct, the main issue Patterson addresses is the utter ignorance of the American people regarding what is taking place on the continent of Africa.**
Patterson takes Alex Cross into Nigeria in search of a particularly vile murderer, and in doing so he exposes Alex (and the reader) to a world unknown prior to reading this book. The chaos of war, the misery of the displaced-persons camps, the lawlessness that is fed by lack of structure in the higher echelons of government, all of this forms part of the plot of this very quick-moving story. Prepare yourself for entertainment as you read the words Patterson has written, and settle in for quite a read. I doubt that you'll be able to put down this book because you are drawn into the plot from the very beginning. In my most humble opinion, this is one of Patterson's better books--in addition to plot twists and turns, there is a very real message given to the reader.
** it is not so much that we're unwilling to learn about what's going on, it is that the media which are supposed to bring us news tend to avoid much in-depth discussion of current events in Darfur, Nigeria, etc.,.
4 member(s) found this review helpful.
This is the most intense of the Cross books. It's a really fast read, but the subject is really creepy. Great for those of us who love the creepiness...James Patterson can't write fast enough for me!!!
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
I was a little mixed on this one. This was definitely not a typical Alex Cross story. This one takes Cross to Africa in search of the killers of an old college sweetheart (who had been working on an expose of the goings on in Nigeria) and her family. As usual, this was a page-turner with some extremely bad characters from Africa committing some extremely brutal murders in both the U.S. and Africa. While in Africa, Cross sees first hand some of the outrages being perpetrated on the African people in Nigeria, Sierra Leon, and the Sudan including the refugee camps in Darfur. While these parts of the novel are eye-opening, I'm not sure an Alex Cross novel is the best forum to expound on the political turmoil in Africa. The whole premise of Cross running off to Africa to seek the killers is a little preposterous. Cross is never in command of the situations when he gets to Africa or for that matter throughout the book. He seems to be working completely in the dark and does not really use his wits as he does in some of the earlier novels in this series. Overall a mild recommendation.
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
This is a truly unbelieveable story line. Alex Cross is (or was) not stupid enough to do what he did in this story. I promised myself I wouldn't get any more of Patterson's books, but got this one anyway. I've always been a fan of his but this one really, really disappointed. Hope others don't feel the same....
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
It's time for Alex Cross to retire!!

HEATHER P. (
forosure) wrote on 1/15/2009...
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVED THIS BOOK, I THINK IT WAS ONE OF MY FAV CROSS BOOKS, WELL THE 3RD IN LINE AFTER POP GOES THE WEASEL, AND LONDON BRIDGES OF COURSE. ONCE I GOT READING THIS BOOK I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN. I LOVED IT AND IT WAS VERY FAST PACED AND ACTION PACKED RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING. I DON'T MEAN TO YELL BUT THIS BOOK WAS OUTSTANDING AND I LOVED IT. DON'T READ REVIEWS THAT SAY A BOOK ISN'T GOOD UNTIL YOU READ IT YOURSELF. IF YOU LOVE CROSS YOU WILL TRUELY ENJOY THIS BOOK. THE END HAS A KICK TOO IT TOO, SO DON'T READ THE LAST 2 PAGES UNTIL YOU GET TO THEM. NO CHEATING! ENJOY! HAPPY READING! I'M SO GLAD THAT JAMES PATTERSON WAS ONCE AGAIN MY FIRST BOOK COMPLETED FOR THE YEAR

Debi J. (
mztrees) wrote on 1/10/2009...
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Alex Cross takes us on another adventure in which he travels to Africa searching for "The Tiger", a vicious, ubiquitous killer. He is horrified at the atrocities and is nearly killed. A fast pace thriller that kept me up all night reading!!!

Christie G. (
christie) wrote on 10/1/2009...
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
This was hard to read. Not because the subject matter was difficult to understand, but because it was poorly put together. I am a huge James Patterson fan and like many others a big fan of the Alex Cross series, but if he's running out of material I'd rather see him retire the series then do it such a disservice.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
great book, kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through. He chases this killer gang to Africa and almost gets killed himself. They follow him home and invade his house, it was really exciting!