Review: Kiss The Girls - James Patterson

Kiss the Girls - James Patterson

Paperback - 458 pages

Published by Warner Books - 1995

Bought at the Library Book Sale

Goodreads Review: 

In Los Angeles, a reporter investigating a series of murders is killed. In Chapel Hill, North Carolina, a beautiful medical intern suddenly disappears. Washington D.C.Us Alex Cross is back to solve the most baffling and terrifying murder case ever. Two clever pattern killers are collaborating, cooperating, competing--and they are working coast to coast.

My Review:

As a huge fan of James Patterson, I didn't expect to be as disappointed as I was.  Don't get me wrong, I was completely creeped out for majority of the book --- and I was thrown off by the ending (but only slightly!).

James Patterson has a way of coming up with the creepiest, skin-crawling things to occur.  Cassanova is the killer in this book, and he goes around trying to find "perfect" women to become his lover.  He keeps them locked up in a hidden house in the woods, and rapes/tortures them. The details are extremely gruesome, so this is not a book for the weak stomached. 

I was completely disturbed by the first couple of chapters, describing Cassanova as a child -- it was horrifying to think that there are really people out there that are so crazy.  Cassanova was an incredible character, and Patterson did a phenomenal job stringing me along.

My only complaint is that I feel like this book could have been a lot shorter.  It seemed to drag on and on, and that annoyed me.  I just wanted to know who Cassanova was, and I wanted Alex Cross to find his niece.  Granted I didn't have as much time to read these last two weeks (with my job change and what not), but I read as much as I could and just couldn't plow through this one.

Recommendation: 

I would highly recommend this book to those that love a thrilling, chilling murder-mystery, but I would be hesitant to tell a Patterson lover to pick this one up.  It was quite disturbing, and just didn't seem very "James Patterson-like".

4 out of 5 stars

Happy Reading!

The Innocent - Harlan Coben (Finished 3/5)

Okay, so of course, to typical Harlan Coben style, this book was filled with twists and turns I never expected.  You would think that after reading a few of his books, I would realize nothing is as it seems....but alas....you got me Harlan! 


So, the main character, Matt has recently been let out of jail.  When he was in college he tried to break up a fight between his friend and another college student.  He was a little stronger than he thought, and maybe a little too forceful which resulted in a broken skull, and a dead college student.  Matt has to do hard time in a maximum security prison, and like they say, when he comes out he isn't the same man he was when he went in. 


Matt decides that he wants to start fresh again, so he ends up falling in love and marrying a woman that he had met several years earlier in Vegas.  Matt and his wife have just found out that they are expecting, so they decide to get camera phones so they can always be in touch, and send each other pictures throughout the day.  Olivia, Matt's wife, has to go out of town the day after the camera phones are purchased.  Matt receives a picture message from Olivia's phone.  The picture is of a strange man that Matt doesn't recognize.  After receiving the picture message, Matt receives a video message.  The video is of Olivia (in a blonde wig) and the same man from the picture message.  The two are in a hotel room, and Matt instantly thinks that Olivia is cheating on him. (Why would she cheat on him and send him proof???) 


Matt ends up finding out that it is much worse than his wife just cheating on him.  In Olivia's "past life" she was a stripper in Las Vegas (where Matt originally met her).  She was young, and had a daughter and put her up for adoption.  After having the child, Olivia realizes that this isn't the life that she wanted for herself.  Her pimp/manager is abusive, and treats all the women poorly (not that this is surprising...).  Olivia fakes her own death, and gets out of town.  No one knows (not even her best friend, that was a stripper with her).  


With many twists and turns, Olivia finds herself back in Las Vegas in search of her daughter.  The whole thing is a set up, in order to get back some black mailing videos that her manager/pimp had created way back in the day.  Olivia almost winds up dead, to find out that she has been set up by her best friend.  


Honestly, this was a great read.  It was quick, suspenseful and kept me on my toes.  


Four out of five stars!


Happy Reading, 
Brandi

No Second Chance - Harlan Coben - Finished Feb 19

Love love me some Harlan Coben! Every book I've read by him is FANTASTIC -- I just can't get enough (PS - I just downloaded Caught on my Kindle...can't wait to start it!!).


This book was great, all of the twists and turns kept me hooked, and I couldn't put it down.


Marc, a doctor, wakes up in the hospital, and realizes he is on the wrong side of the bed.  He has no memory of anything happening to him, and he is completely confused.  12 days prior to this, Marc was shot in his own home.  His wife was found dead in the house, and their 6 month old daughter is missing.  Some investigators come to the hospital to check in with Marc and see if there is anything that he can remember that might be able to help them find Marc's daughter.  Marc's best friend, Larry, is an attorney, and he strongly advises Marc not to answer any further questions.  As it always goes, the first person that is suspected in the murder of a married woman is the husband. 


There was no ransom note, or really any sign of a struggle, so the cops believe that Marc did this for some reason.  A few weeks later, a ransom note shows up, and demands that Marc follow all of the rules, or his kid is as good as dead.  Lost and confused, Marc turns to Larry, who advises him to let the investigators in on the news.  He does, and it turns out poorly.  Once he gets to the drop location, there is a white van waiting on him.  The money is exchanged, but there is no kid, the kidnappers just run with the money.  Marc is extremely upset, and spends a lot of time trying to figure out what happened to him and his family. 


Marc is visited by a young woman he used to go to school with.  He is actually currently living in the house she grew up in.  He had always heard rumors growing up about how the girl was physically/mentally/sexually abused by her father, but didn't know if it was true or not.  She has been lurking around his house, and when he is finally able to catch up to her, he questions her.  She tells him that the house still haunts her, and she's been visiting for quite some time.  He asks her about his wife, and she says that she had met with her previously.  She is unable to give a lot of information on the matter, but does lead him to a hidden day planner in the basement, where he finds a disc that contains information that will help him figure out what is going on.  The disc is password protected, but he finds out that it is from a private investigators firm.  When he gets there, he is unable to get any information from them, as they claim that there is a confidentiality agreement that they cannot break.  So dead end...he thinks.


Another ransom note comes out, and the outcome is just as bad.  No money, no kid.  Through more investigating Marc is able to find out what happened the day his wife was murdered.  She had thought that Marc was cheating on her, so that is why she got pregnant in the first place -- to keep him (what a bitch...).  She then hired a private investigator to follow him and figure out what was going on.  The private investigator got some photos, but they were misleading, and incorrect.  Marc was not cheating on his wife, but he was being contacted by an ex girlfriend.  Marc's wife had decided to kill him, but everything went wrong.  Marc's sister ended up showing up, and a lot more damage was done.  


Larry had walked in on the crime scene and thought both Marc and his wife were dead.  His only thought at that point was what to do with Marc's daughter.  He had heard of a "doctor" that basically sold children, and thought that would be the best option.  He took Marc's daughter to the agency, and cleaned up the crime scene as best as he could to make it look like it had been a robbery gone wrong.  Marc finds all this out, and also finds out that Larry had been behind all of the ransom notes as well.  Larry had wanted to make some money off the deal, and knew that Marc's wife came from a lot of money.  He didn't see any harm in it, but Marc is unable to forgive Larry. 


Marc is able to locate his daughter, and when they are reunited, he notices how happy she is with her new family.  He knows that he will not be able to provide for his daughter as well as this new family is, so he decides to have a sort of joint custody with the other family.  This works out well, and life goes on happily for all.


5 out of 5 stars


Happy Reading!


Brandi

Beach House - James Patterson - Jan 2010

Again, being a huge fan of James Pattersons, I was expecting a lot!  In all honesty, I was pretty unhappy with this book.  It was still a quick read, but it just didn't grab me the way most of Patterson's books do.  The main character's name is Jack, and in the beginning of the book, his brother is found dead.  There is a heavy suspicion that his death was a suicide.  Jack's brother, Peter, is found dead on the beach after a huge beach house party.  His body is badly bruised, and the police hold strong that it was a suicide, and that Peter went for a swim during the night, when the tide was extremely rough.  Peter had been hired as a valet for the beach house party, which was hosted by Barry Neubauer.  Barry is a highly influential man, and also happens to be Jack's girlfriends father.  Many of Peter's friends join in to help figure out what actually happened that night.  Slowly, they are being killed off, and Peter is becoming more and more suspicious.  It is later found out that Peter was more than just a valet.  He was also a high-end prostitute.  He had been hired by the Neubauer's as well as other highly influential couples since he was a young boy (I think 15?).  There are pictures that serve as proof, and Jack decides to hold his own version of a trial, since the police won't give in.  He basically kidnaps all of the "guilty" parties, and holds his own impromptu trial at an empty beach house.  His grandfather, Macklin, is a private investigator, and he gets in on the action, acting as the judge for the trial.  Macklin and Jack decide to video the trial, and run it live on television.  


There were a ton of twists and turns that I wasn't expecting throughout the book, but I still wasn't thrilled with the book.  I would give this book 3 out of 5 stars.


Happy Reading!
Brandi

I, Alex Cross - James Patterson - Jan 2010

Okay, so let me start by telling you -- I might be the biggest James Patterson fan...EVER.   Okay, probably not, but honestly...LOVE HIM! :)


So of course, it goes without saying, I enjoyed this book! I find that James Patterson's books are written in a way that makes them easy to read, and quite quick.  I think that is mostly due to the way the chapters are cut up.  There are a ton of chapters, but each chapter only has one or two pages. 


Alex Cross is a detective, with 3 small children.  His grandmother (Nana Mama) stays with the children, while he is out solving crazy crimes!  Nana Mama falls ill, and has 2 heart attacks, and Alex promises to better balance his work and his home life.  while Alex is celebrating with his family, he receives a phone call that his niece has been killed.  The killer has put his niece through a wood chipper and stuffed her remains into a garbage bag, and then threw it into the back of a car. Of course, Alex has to take on the case.  He ends up finding out that his niece (that he wasn't close with) was a high-end prostitute.  There is a large farm, which is used for the high end prostitution.  The man that runs the farm has cameras set up in his largest rooms, in hopes of using the footage for blackmail.  Zues (the killer), has requested two girls, however, once they go in, they don't come back.  The video reveals that one of the girls that went in was Alex's niece, and the other one was later found.  Finally, the second girl reveals that the killer, Zues, is actually the President of the United States' husband. ((EEW/EEK)). When Alex and the police go to arrest the President's husband, his aide ends up shooting him to make sure to somewhat control the scandal.  Nana Mama is feeling better, and has been taken care of by Alex's new love -- Brianna.  During the epilogue, Alex is contacted by Kyle Craig (basically an old colleauge that is now in prison because he's totally whacked out), warning him to be careful of Brianna....


Five out of Five Stars!


Happy Reading!
Brandi