Book Review: Violets Are Blue - James Patterson

I've read or listened to a few of Patterson's books, Violets Are Blue being the latest. For those unfamiliar with his works, Patterson is a popular writer of action/mystery murder novels. He also authored Kiss the Girls.

Like the others I've read, this one shares the Patterson style of gruesome detailed crimes perpetrated to the point of making you want to put the book down, but never quite crossing the line. Violets Are Blue also shares Patterson's terse dialog, with a "I said", then "she said" style, which can be annoying for those readers looking for a more sophisticated writing style. As with Patterson's other Alex Cross novels, the characters are very well developed. You truly begin to "know" the primary villains and root for their capture. One thing I did like in this book was the omission of Patterson's typical mushy/sticky romance sequences, which always have seemed a bit out of place or over the top to me.

In this episode of the Alex Cross series, Alex finds himself immersed in the dark and sinister underworld of a vampire cult. He finds himself, again, working too many hours pursuing a string of incomprehensible and savage murders across the United States, from San Francisco to savanna, GA to New Orleans. In the process he meets what will become his latest love interest. Just when you think the mystery is solve, Dr. Cross is confronted with death, and the betrayal of a friend.

In all, I enjoyed the book, although I preferred The Big Bad Wolfe, Jack and Jill, Cat and Mouse, or Four Blind Mice.

I give Violets are Blue 3 out of 5 bookmarks.

Next book for me is The Cat Who Went Underground by Lillian Jackson Braun....