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Violets are Blue
 
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Violets are Blue [Audiobook] (Audio Cassette)

by James Patterson (Author), Peter Jay Fernandez (Reader)
3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (48 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Audio Cassette
  • Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd (4 Oct 2001)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1840324880
  • ISBN-13: 978-1840324884
  • Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 928,517 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review
Fans of James Patterson's resourceful black cop Alex Cross will be relieved to find that he's back on familiar territory with Violets Are Blue--and (more importantly) it's one of the best Alex Cross thrillers in many a moon.

The malign criminal genius of Roses Are Red is back and fixing to give Alex a hard time once again. The FBI joins Patterson's dogged cop in a particularly unsettling investigation: two San Francisco joggers have been viciously murdered and are found suspended by their feet, with all the blood drained from their bodies. And when further brutal deaths follow in California and on the east coast, Alex is forced to contemplate the bizarre possibility of modern-day vampires, although his instincts point him to one of the many sinister religious cults that flourish on the West Coast. Aided by Jamilla Hughes, a streetwise young woman detective from San Francisco, Alex finds that he has to crack not one but two impenetrable mysteries to stop further bloodletting.

Readers of Patterson expect the extremely concise, page-turning chapters (116 of them), along with a reluctance to dawdle over details of his hero's personal life, and both characteristics are firmly back in place. If you can resist reading this one in just a few sittings, you deserve some kind of a thriller-reader's medal. --Barry Forshaw --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
'James Patterson does everything but stick our finger in a light socket' New York Times; 'Ticks like a time-bomb - full of threat and terror' Los Angeles Times; 'Patterson dedicates his latest to 'the millions of Alex Cross readers who frequently ask, 'Can't you write faster?" Those readers won't be disappointed.' Publishers Weekly

Only a writer of Patterson's star-wattage could have hoodwinked his publisher into bringing out this unlovely mess, which pits forensic psychologist Alex Cross against two separate serial killers. It begins with the slaughter of still another of Cross's professional and romantic partners, FBI agent Betsey Cavalierre, by Cross's old nemesis, the Mastermind ("Roses Are Red, "2000), who instantly phones to taunt his adversary. With still another partner dead, how can Cross go on? But he has to, immediately, because another killer is on the loose-actually, a pair of killers, William and Michael Alexander, teenaged vampires whose murder of two army officers in Golden Gate Park is just a warmup for the carnage to come. As the Mastermind keeps trying to get Cross's attention by threatening his adorable kids, his grandmother, and everyone else he's ever known, Patterson, apparently eager to escape the constraints of the low body count in the soapy "Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas "(p. 694), unleashes the hounds of hell. Under the direction of their dread Sire, the exultant Alexander brothers ("We're immortal! We'll never die!"), leave a trail of gory victims in Las Vegas, Savannah, New Orleans, and Baton Rouge before returning to Santa Cruz for a climactic sequence that finally unmasks the ho-hum Sire. The moment the vampire chronicles end, Cross, without missing a beat, turns to that other serial killer, and soon, courtesy of one of his famous profiler's hunches, has the Mastermind in his sights. Can he hunt down his enemy before the Mastermind exacts a terrible vengeance against somebody else-say, beauteous Jamilla Hughes of San Francisco Homicide-whose death would reduce Cross to babbling despair? The grade-school characterizations of everyone from cops to victims to cackling psychos guarantee that you won't care a bit. A real test for Patterson's huge audience: If they buy this, they'll buy anything. (Kirkus Reviews)

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Customer Reviews

48 Reviews
5 star:
 (11)
4 star:
 (7)
3 star:
 (13)
2 star:
 (11)
1 star:
 (6)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.1 out of 5 stars (48 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Suspense Is Spoiled if You Read Roses Are Red, 2 Jul 2004
By Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)      
The last two pages of Roses Are Red, the prior Alex Cross novel, reveal the identity of one of the bad guys in Violets Are Blue. Your enjoyment of Violets Are Blue will be vastly reduced if you know who did it in advance. If you decide to read that book, stop at page 398 and cover page 399 with a sheet of paper so you don't accidentally see any material on it. Then read this book. After that, go back and read pages 399 and 400 of Roses Are Red. Also, be careful which reviews you read of both of these books. Some reviews reveal this information as an ultimate spoiler, harming your enjoyment of two books.

"You're next, Dr. Cross." The hunter becomes the hunted in this unusual novel about finding mass murderers. How would you feel if your cell phone caller told you that you were the next person to be mutilated and murdered? That's part of the suspense of this book.

The main story line in Violets Are Blue is locating and stopping a murder spree being conducted by people who kill others so that they die from loss of blood. The way they lose this blood is not for the squeamish. Variations on this grossness are developed to be sure you get the maximum shock value. I found the story contrived, unrealistic, and unappealing. On the other hand, if you like old vampire movies, you may see this as high camp and a lot of fun. Who knows?

What Mr. Patterson does best is write plots, so with a weak plot here, there's not much good I can say about the book. It has the usual hard-to-differentiate characters, uninspiring dialogue, lack of any police procedure worth mentioning, and description of crime in mostly amoral terms.

Now, if Mr. Patterson were to write locked room mysteries, he would really be something. In his concept here of trying to describe being a metropolitan detective dealing with Stephen King figures, his talent just doesn't work.

If you really love Alex Cross books, go ahead and read this one. But remember that I warned you that you probably wouldn't like it! If you have read Roses Are Red, you will probably like this book much less. If you have read the last two pages of Roses Are Red, you may actually find this book annoying. I did. Be forewarned!

Where does providing too much, make something less? Certainly, eating more when you are already overstuffed is one example. Having a gruesome murder or crime occur every few pages may be another.

Seek the right balance in all that you do, so you can have the clear perspective to see the best opportunities for improvement!

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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A MASTERMIND OF A STORY!, 30 Oct 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: Violets are Blue (Hardcover)
Despite reading the bad reviews for this book, I still went out and bought it because i love the Alex Cross series and the cliffhanger at the end of Roses are Red had me wanting more.
Other people have said that waiting to the end to get back to the mastermind was stupid, but I think this would have made the story drag on too long. I thought the twist at the end was well written - I saw how it fitted in with Kiss the Girls. As for Alex's career, what will he do now? As long as there are some more Cross strories to come, I will be happy! Keep writing Mr Patterson, you do a grand jo...
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Very Disappointing, 11 Oct 2001
By Mr. Craig Milne (Edinburgh) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Violets are Blue (Hardcover)
Violets are Blue does not live up to earlier Patterson masterpieces such as Kiss the Girls, Along came a Spider, Jack & Jill and Hide & Seek. This book has move than 100 chapters and only 300 pages. I read this book in approximately three hours and can not say that I received value for money. The story line for Violets are Blue was even more disappointing than Rose are Red. The story went nowhere and Patterson seems to have run out of new ideas. This novel was almost comicstrip stuff and certainly not a thriller. Having bought and read all Patterson has published I would recommed his earlier novels and would not recommend his last three to anyone but die hard Patterson and Cross fans (2 of the last three). Don't buy this on hardback. You will feel short changed.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining... but...
James Patterson has written another entertaining, page-turning read... But it lacks strong, layered, human characters; and realism. Read more
Published 22 months ago by tiwwa

5.0 out of 5 stars AMAZING AUTHOR......
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE JAMES PATTERSON BOOKS, THE FIRST I READ WAS 'ALONG CAME A SPIDER' (WHICH I BORROWED FROM A FRIEND) AND I HAVE NEVER LOOKED BACK. Read more
Published on 26 May 2007 by emma

3.0 out of 5 stars Worth reading but not his best
It was strange to start a book knowing 'whodunnit' from the start...or at least who was responsible for the murders in Cross's previous case. Read more
Published on 13 Dec 2006 by Helen Simpson

5.0 out of 5 stars Great series back on track!
After reading Roses are Red I was a little disappointed. I wasn't sure what to expect from this attempt but was glad to discover that I had needn't worried. Read more
Published on 23 Dec 2005 by Ryan Davison

3.0 out of 5 stars Above average thriller
This is a lurid tale of vampires, sex and death. It's very entertaining and a real page turner. Personally I thought it wasn't as good as "Sat in a Corner" or "Eating Her Curds... Read more
Published on 10 Sep 2004 by Splossy

2.0 out of 5 stars Avoid the End of Roses Are Red!
Caution: This book contains much gross violence of the sort that appeals to teenage boys. If such things upset you, definitely skip this book. Read more
Published on 27 Jun 2004 by Professor Donald Mitchell

2.0 out of 5 stars Avoid the End of Roses Are Red!
Caution: This book contains much gross violence of the sort that appeals to teenage boys. If such things upset you, definitely skip this book. Read more
Published on 4 April 2004 by Professor Donald Mitchell

4.0 out of 5 stars absolute brilliance is delivered again by james patterson
i have read nearly all of mr pattersons books and i think that this is one of his best. it is everything you expect the action starts straight away and it keeps you gripped... Read more
Published on 27 Jan 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars VIOLETS ARE BLUE
This was the first book I read from James. Have seen the films created from his books.
I can honestly say I did not put this book down until I finished it 5 hours later. Read more
Published on 17 Sep 2003 by gail williams

5.0 out of 5 stars A superbly written thriller
I've never read a James Patterson novel and thus was positivly suprised about the book I just read.

The sentences and chapters might be short but the story is written well and... Read more

Published on 23 Jul 2003 by svdmade

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