Pop Goes the Weasel (A Headline feature book) - Hardcover

James Patterson

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0747220247 ISBN 13: 9780747220244

Publisher: Headline Book Publishing, 1999

Synopsis

In POP GOES THE WEASEL, James Patterson has created a formidable villain every reader will see in the shadows when the lights are out, a tender love story, a plot powered by relentless suspense and psychological thrills kicked up to an all-time high. 'It's all just a game, darling. I play with three other men. Their names are FAMINE, WAR and CONQUEROR. My name is DEATH. You're a very lucky girl - I'm the best player of all.' Geoffrey Shafter: a man who never loses, he is prepared to play the game of games for the highest stakes of all. Alex Cross: senior Washington, DC homicide detective, he is determined, whatever the consequences, to unmask the man he has nicknamed the weasel, the prime suspect for a spate of killings that Cross has been forbidden to investigate.

About this title

Review:

Likened to a "young Muhammad Ali," Alex Cross, the Porsche-driving profiler, doctor, detective, and father of two has seen his fair share of vicious killers. From a bloodthirsty butcher who came after his family (Cat and Mouse) to a devilish duo working cross-country (Kiss the Girls), Cross has managed to outmaneuver all of his enemies. Until he meets the Weasel.

A series of killings in the forgotten, crime-infested ghettos of southeast D.C. has sent Cross and his 6'9" 250-pound partner, John Sampson, in search of the "Jane Doe" killer. However, their racist, tyrannical boss George Pitman orders them to stay out of the southeast and investigate the high-profile murder of a wealthy white man. Cross already has suspicions that the murders are linked, but when Sampson's ex turns up in an abandoned southeast warehouse kicked to death, the two detectives carry on with their original investigation. Meanwhile, Cross's longtime love, Christine (Cat and Mouse), has taken prominence in his life, and it looks as if the two will finally get hitched--with one glitch: Cross puts everything he loves in jeopardy as he obsessively goes after the Weasel.

Akin to a slick Hollywood action flick, Pop Goes the Weasel doesn't have time for meaningful character development or thoughtful moral analysis. And it doesn't need to. Its winning formula is based on short scenes (chapters average about 3 pages), addictive plot progression, and mean dialogue: "Sampson sighed and said, 'I think her tongue is stapled inside the other girl. I'm pretty sure that's it, Alex. The Weasel stapled them together.' I looked at the two girls and shook my head. 'I don't think so. A staple, even a surgical one, would come apart on the tongue's surface.... Crazy glue would work." --Rebekah Warren

From the Inside Flap:

Alex Cross is back, to face his most complex and formidable villain yet, a man known as The Weasel, who threatens to destroy all Alex holds dear.

Things are looking great for Alex Cross. He is in love with a very special woman and even a series of ghastly murders he's investigating can't diminish his happiness. Cross's pursuit of the killer quickly produces a suspect- a British diplomat named Geoffrey Shaffer. However, proving that Shaffer is the murderer is a difficult challenge. The diplomat engages in a brilliant series of surprising counter moves, in court and out, and Cross and his fiancee become the targets of a deadly cabal of killers masterminded by Shaffer.

Pop!Goes the Weasel is James Patterson at the peak of his power. It's his most dynamic and powerful psychological thriller to date. Here is a villain no reader will forget, a love story of great tenderness, and a plot of relentless suspense and heart pounding pace. Booksellers and readers will soon discover why James Patterson is at the very top of his field and one of the finest suspense writers of his time.

About this edition

• Publisher: Headline Book Publishing
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0747220247
• ISBN 13: 9780747220244
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 342