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Loading... Four Blind Mice (2002)by James Patterson
Favorite Series (145) Books Read in 2006 (160) Loading...
Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Crime This book was a great revisit to Alex Cross' world and into the trauma experienced by soldiers when they return home. It did not get my usual 5 star rating, though, because the book seemed to be relying on too many formulas. Still, it is a great page-turner. Alex Cross is deciding to resign from his policing job and instead go into another field. It may be psychology, it may be the FBI and he he leaning toward the FBI. Then his best friend, Sampson, urges him to help clear an old Army buddy from Death Row. As the two lifelong friends investigate what appears to be a wrongful conviction they come up against the thick grey wall of the armed forces. Seems that Sampson's buddy was accused of a brutal murder of three women, including painting and posing the bodies, and nothing either Sampson or Cross say will change the verdict. Along with this conviction are more Army men accused of similarly heinous crimes, all of whom plead innocent and all of whom are put to death by the State. All of them served in the Vietnam War. And then we begin to see the co-plot of three men, veterans of this same War, who seem to be re-enacting something from their days in Vietnam. They have a horrible blood lust and seem to revel in tracking down and killing their victims. In the personal side of this book, Nana is beginning to feel her age and it takes Alex everything he can do to get her to a doctor. In fact, the Doctor comes to visit Nana and only then does she agree to go to a hospital. And the possible interest from the previous book, Jamilla, begins a long-distance romance with Alex. By the end, the resolution was just a bit too pat and complete, and the chance to hear the stories from the bad guys didn't happen. I would have loved a confession of some sort from them. Another great page turner by Patterson. This book trails the story of Alex and Sampson trying to solve a crime that ends up killing an old friend of John's. A trail of murders committed that framed Army soldiers and sent them to death row. The three killers are professional assasins and the Army is hiding information. In the mean time, Nana is not well and Alex is having to deal with possibly losing her. Good plot twists and some surprises in this book. I would officially give this book 4.5 stars. It definitely kept my interest the whole way through (like most James Patterson novels). But like most James Patterson novels, it is pretty one dimensional which keeps me from giving it the 5 total stars it could get. I love when authors bring in historical facts (in this case about the Vietnam War) and I also have a family member serving so this story felt a little closer to home for me. I will be continuing to read on in the Cross series - they are always entertaining and I can get through them pretty quickly. no reviews | add a review
Belongs to SeriesAlex Cross (8) Distinctions
Fiction.
Mystery.
Thriller.
HTML:In this #1 New York Times bestseller, Alex Cross is ready to resign-but when his partner shows up with a case he can't refuse, he goes up against the most bone-chilling killers of his entire career. Detective Alex Cross is on his way to resign from the Washington, D.C., Police Force when his partner's oldest friend-a Vietnam veteran-is arrested for murder. He is subject to the iron hand of the United States Army, and the evidence against him is strong enough to send him to the gas chamber. Sampson is certain his friend has been framed, and Alex's investigation turns up evidence overlooked-or concealed-by the military authorities. Drawing on their years of street training and an almost telepathic mutual trust, Cross and Sampson go deep behind military lines to confront the most terrifying-and deadly-killers they have ever encountered. Behind these three highly skilled killing machines there appears to be an even more threatening controller. Discovering the identity of this lethal genius will prove to be Cross's most terrifying challenge ever. On his visits home, Alex must confront another, more harrowing mystery: what's the matter with Nana Mama? As he explores the possibility of a new relationship with a woman who offers him new hope, Alex must also confront the fact that his beloved grandmother is only human. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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