Reading is FUNdamental

I love a good book, especially science fiction/fantasy and murder/mystery. Some of my best vacations recently have been getting away from responsibility and curling up with a good book or four. For the last few weeks, I have been reading James Patterson novels. James Patterson writes the Alex Cross series of books including Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider, both of which were made into movies. I just finished reading Big Bad Wolf and London Bridges, which are the ninth and tenth books in the series. Patterson's books are marked by short, easy to read chapters that are usually no more than five pages long. He also likes to use nicknames for the bad guys, so as not to give away the killers identity until the end of the book. Wolf, Weasel, Casanova and Tourist come to mind. He also likes to use slight of hand and multiple reveals. He gives you subtle clues to point you in the wrong direction, but the waters are so muddy, you think you've cracked the case. They may even arrest or kill the suspect you think is guilty, but after a short celebration the danger resumes until a final reveal. He also tells the story from several different viewpoints. You may see alot of the action from the killer's point of view without revealing the killer's identity. Usually this is to let the reader know that the killer is a sick, depraved bastard.

spacespcaespace

Enter the Wolf

Big Bad Wolf and London Bridges follow Alex Cross and the Wolf as they square off in a life or death struggle. Cross is a family man, who must balance his personal life with his new job working for the FBI. Because of his history of catching several serial killers/rapists, he is given special treatment at Quantico. This ruffles more than a few feathers. The Wolf is a pissed off MoFo that has a taste for money, sex and violence. It is made abundantly clear that he is methodical and vicious. He would just as soon kill you as smile at you. He is also brillant. He is able to exert control over people by using money or violence and then giving them small tasks to carry out in order to further his goals. Only the Wolf knows the big picture, while his pawns know just the small piece of the puzzle they are given. The Wolf even uses Cross, the FBI and the CIA as pawns because he has studied them and knows their tactics. He also goes on a misinformation campaign, providing the authorities erroneous news about his whereabouts, gender, motives and associates.
I am glad I read these two books back to back, because they flow together very well. The action is intense and the story suspenseful. Patterson has escalated everything in the novels. Prior to these books, Special Agent Cross was a Washington, D.C. police detective who tracked serial killers/rapists around the U.S. after they were connected to crime in the D.C. area. Now that he's with the FBI, he is dealing with a global terrorist. Some of the locations include London, Paris, New York, Tel Aviv and Switzerland. He also must get used to being the FNG (new guy for short) in a much bigger pond. Many of his new colleagues are not happy with the preferential treatment he gets nor his assignment to such a high-profile case before even graduating from Quantico. Patterson also steps up the technology by incorporating some Federal toys like Bell helicopters, private planes and thermal-imaging devices. I have read most of Patterson's novels and these are two of the best. It is a wild ride with plenty of twists and turns along the way.

To connect to the Lexington Public Library click http://www.lexpublib.org