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This was my first James Patterson novel and right away, I sensed I had made
a mistake. Violets Are Blue is the latest in the Alex Cross series of
detective thrillers. I should have known better than to pick up the latest,
rather than the first in a series. There were several questions stemming from
previous books in the series that kept plaguing me. Who was this “Mastermind”
guy? What was his connection to Alex Cross? Why was he stalking Alex across
the country? What about Alex' love life? What happened to his family?
On its own merits, Violets Are Blue is an intriguing story. Ace detective
Alex Cross is confronted with a heinous double murder, suggestive of a macabre
ritual of vampirism. Bodies start popping up all over the country as Alex tries
to track the killer or killers. Meanwhile, Mastermind, a brilliant homicidal
maniac, once again begins to plague Cross with threatening phone calls and taunting
messages. The murders lead Alex to San Francisco where he partners up with the
beautiful SFPD inspector, Jamilla Hughes. She gladly joins him on his cross-country
hunt for the vampire killers. At the same time, the Mastermind is closing in
on Cross, who has to try to figure out Mastermind's next move in order to save
himself. The discovery of the true identity of Mastermind leads to a deadly
confrontation.
The split narrative of James Patterson's Violets Are Blue was disquieting
to me. The vampire thread of the plot is thrilling and tense, filled with the
intrigue and suspense one would expect from a vampire story. The Mastermind
thread seems somewhat contrived to tie up loose ends, leaving me with more questions
than answers. I'm sure that those who had read the previous Alex Cross stories
would know the answers to these questions and flow along with the story.
Overall, the book is well worth reading. Patterson's style of writing, his
sharp, active sentences and short chapters, (116 in this book!) make reading
his novels an enjoyable experience.
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