An Excellent Book (Kiss the Girls - James Patterson)

Name: jpegington

Hello doyoo user, You have to be logged in to use these functions... Login or register Close window

Send message to member

Product:	Kiss the Girls - James Patterson
Date:	06.03.06 (86 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent Book, Continues the Story of Alex Cross, Gripping

Disadvantages: None

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

James Patterson was born in 1947. He grew up in Newburgh, New York and graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in English from Manhattan College and summa cum laude with an M.A. in English from Vanderbilt University. He began his advertising career as a junior copywriter with J. Walter Thompson, North America in 1971 and went on to become the executive creative director and chief executive office. Patterson currently lives in Palm Beach County, Florida, with his wife and their young son.

A number of James Patterson books have been made into films (Along Came a Spider & Kiss the Girls have already been filmed and I think that they are about to release Jack and Jill on film. The film 'Kiss the Girls' stares Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd.

BOOK DETAILS: KISS THE GIRLS:

Paperback: 480 pages (2004 Edition) 466 Pages (1995 Edition)
Publisher: HarperCollins
2004 Edition ISBN: 0006493157
1995 Edition ISBN: 0446601241
Catagories: Fiction, Crime, Murder Mystery, Thriller
First Published: 1994

ORDER OF ALEX CROSS BOOKS:

Along came a Spider (1992)
Kiss the Girls (1994)
Jack and Jill (1996)
Cat and Mouse (1997)
Pop goes the Weasal (1999)
Roses are Red (2000)
Violets are Blue (2001)
Four Blind Mice (2002)
The Big Bad Wolf (2003)
London Bridges (2004)

MAIN CHARACTERS OF KISS THE GIRLS:

Dr Alex Cross
Dr Kate McTiernan
Detective Nick Ruskin
Dr William (Will) Rudolph
FBI Agent Kyle Craig
Detective John Sampson
Naomi Cross

ABOUT MYSELF (READING HABITS):

I am a very keen reader and love nothing better except to sit and read a great book. As such I have read quite a number of Authors and Books, but must admit that in regards to Crime / Thriller Books James Patterson is one of my favourites. Since I first discovered his books (I think my Mum actually first introduced me to them) I have read all of his books published as they have come out in paperback, although still not read London Bridges for some reason!

ABOUT THE BOOK:

This is the second book from James Patterson from the Alex Cross Novels.

Lets start with some background again (please note that this is similar to the previous review of Along came a Spider, but the main characters are the same and for completion sake I am including them within this review) to help you understand the book:

Alex Cross is a Washington DC cop with a doctorate in psychology. Alex Cross is officially a Deputy Chief of Detectives but is still very much on the frontline of detective work. Due to his background in Psychology he is very good in getting into the mind of killers to work out what they are doing so he can catch them. He is very much your typical hero, widowed father of 2 children, whose wife was killed, living with his Grandmother (who is an excellent character in the books) and working hard.

Detective Sampson is another Washington DC Detective and Alex Cross's partner and best friend.

Dr Will Rudolph is one of the killers in this book, called Casanova.

Naomi Cross is Alex Cross's niece who is kidnapped by Casanova.

CHAPTER EXCERPT:
CASANOVA
Boca Raton, Florida, June 1975
FOR THREE weeks, the young killer actually lived inside the walls of an extraordinary fifteen-room beach house.
He could hear the whispery Atlantic surf outside, but he was never tempted to look out at the ocean or the private white-sand beach that stretched to three hundred feet or more along the shore. There was too much to explore, to study, to accomplish, from his hiding place inside the dazzling Mediterranean-revival-style house in Boca. His pulse hadn't stopped hammering for days.

OPINION ON BOOK:

I find that James Patterson books are simply irresistible and this book is excellent. The Authors style is very much one for short chapters (sometimes only 2 or 3 pages) as he finds this makes the books easier to read. I must admit that sometimes I like this and other times it can really irritate me, really depends on my mood. It can be good as you can finish a chapter and reflect for a moment other times I just wish he would get on with it and get a little more in depth in a chapter. You will have to make your own mind up whether you like this or not.

James Patterson really builds up the characters in his book and I definitely recommend him for this.

I really like this book, as I do indeed all of James Patterson books. The way the story here unfolds with following the story about Naomi Cross's kidnapping and the Casanova case and then continuing into the details of the Gentleman Caller is excellent.

I love his writing style and found that this book really gripped me. The first time I read it I could not put it down (I just had to finish it and find out what happened), and I have read it many times since. Each time it still grips me and this is definitely a book to keep and read.

RECOMMENDATION:

If you like Crime &Thriller books then this is definitely for you. James Patterson is absolutely excellent and I completely recommend his books. If you are only now starting out with James Patterson books or have not read any of the Alex Cross books, then I would suggest that you start with 'Along came a Spider' as this is the first of the series. Each book is independent of each other, and you can understand the story and plot of each, regardless of whether you have read the previous book. However the books do run along a timeline, and they do reflect back on previous books. Therefore read 'Along came a Spider' first if this is your first time.


WHAT HAPPENS (Do not read if you do not want to spoil the book):

So what is this book about, basically Naomi Cross( who is Alex's Cross niece, which you should know if you read the above part) goes missing. Alex goes to investigate and finds that this is not the first beautiful and intelligent girl to go missing. Some have turned up dead and some have never been seen again.

He investigates and while he is there another girl is kidnapped, Dr Kate McTiernan. Kate is very impressive and manages to escape from Casanova which gives the police some interesting leads.

It turns out that Casanova is competing with another killer called The Gentleman Caller (turns out they are on separate sides of America, East Coast and West Coast) and they both kidnap girls at similar times.

Turns out that Alex Cross chasing down the Gentleman Caller and he leads him in the end to Casanova.

There is a nice little twist in this story if I remember correctly which I will not go into but I completely recommend this book

Summary: Excellent Book