Roses are Red

James Patterson

ISBN 10: 0747263469 / ISBN 13: 9780747263463

Published by Headline Feature, London, England, 2000

About this Item

A series of meticulously planned bank robberies ends in murder, and Alex Cross must pit his wits against the bizarre and sadistic mastermind behind the crimes. Although torn between dedication to his job and commitment to his family, Cross cannot ignore the case, despite the risks he knows will come with hunting down a killer - and the heartbreaking cost. James Patterson's new bestseller takes us from deep inside the crazy world of a psychopath's masquerade right to the heart of fiction's most brilliant detective. Alex Cross is back in an explosive take where mind games lead to violence, and the slightest mistake will be punished with death. Very slight shelf wear to top of D/J.(We carry a wide selection of titles in The Arts, Theology, History, Politics, Social and Physical Sciences. academic and scholarly books and Modern First Editions ,and all types of Academic Literature.).

Seller Inventory # 019503

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Roses are Red
• Publisher: Headline Feature, London, England
• Publication Date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0747263469
• ISBN 13: 9780747263463
• Binding: Cloth
• Edition: First Edition
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good/fine
• Seller catalogs:
  • Modern First Editions

About this title

Synopsis

A powerful new Alex Cross thriller from number one bestseller James Patterson introduces the most vicious killer yet - a maniac who calls himself the Mastermind. The Mastermind orchestrates a series of bank robberies that are notable for their precise demands - and their explosive violence when the demands are not met exactly.

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