Type of bind: Hardcover
Format: Bargain Price
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 400
Printing Date: November 19, 2001
Sale Popularity Level: 171369
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Amazon.com:
Fans of James Patterson's resourceful cop Alex Cross will be relieved to find that he's back on familiar territory with Violets Are Blue--and, more importantly, that this is one of the best Alex Cross thrillers yet.
The malign criminal genius of Roses Are Red is 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 corpses. 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.
Patterson fans expect the extremely concise, page-turning chapters (116 of them here!), 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, Amazon.co.uk
Product Description:
Fans of James Patterson's resourceful cop Alex Cross will be relievedto find that he's back on familiar territory with Violets Are Blue--and,more importantly, that this is one of the best Alex Cross thrillers yet.The malign criminal genius of Roses Are Red is fixing to giveAlex a hard time once again. The FBI joins Patterson's dogged cop in aparticularly unsettling investigation: two San Francisco joggers have beenviciously murdered and are found suspended by their feet, with all the blooddrained from their corpses. And when further brutal deaths follow in Californiaand on the East Coast, Alex is forced to contemplate the bizarre possibility ofmodern-day vampires, although his instincts point him to one of the manysinister religious cults that flourish on the West Coast. Aided by JamillaHughes, a streetwise young woman detective from San Francisco, Alex finds thathe has to crack not one but two impenetrable mysteries to stop furtherbloodletting.Patterson fans expect the extremely concise, page-turning chapters (116 of themhere!), along with a reluctance to dawdle over details of his hero's personallife, and both characteristics are firmly back in place. If you can resistreading this one in just a few sittings, you deserve some kind of a thrillerreader's medal. --Barry Forshaw, Amazon.co.uk
Download Description:
Alex Cross has never believed in vampires. But when two joggers are found slain in a manner that suggests a macabre ritual, he has to reconsider. Someone believes in vampires enough to have committed a series of bizarre murders that appear to be the work of one. Local police are horrified, and even the FBI is baffled.
Cross takes on the case and plunges into a netherworld of secret clubs and role-players, a world full of poseurs and playactors--and someone demented enough to have crossed the line from dark ritual to real blood. At the same time, a lethal supercriminal from Cross's past known as the Mastermind is stalking him, taunting him, and threatening everything he holds dear. Cross has never been closer to defeat, or in greater danger. In a shocking conclusion, Alex Cross must survive a deadly confrontation--only to discover at last the awful secret of the Mastermind.
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Rated by buyers 
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Truly Wonderful!
This is no exception to Patterson's great list of novels. He is outstanding, and this book is excellent. Couldn't put it down!! S.L. Chessor author of My Tongue Fell Out & Poodlums Boogeymen and Booglers.
Poodlums, Boogeymen and Booglers: A Poetry CollectionMy Tongue Fell Out
Rated by buyers -
I usually try to make it my business not to read any books relating to either werewolfs or vampires. As a matter of fact, I stopped reading Patricia Cornwall's Kay Scarpetta series for this exact reason....the werewolfs had invaded the pages. Since I like to read all of my series "in order", Violets Are Blue was the subsequent one up at bat in the Alex Cross series. Little did I know that it would have the "dreaded" vampires as the main characters.
This book had two stories going on at the same time....the vampire invasion and the return of "The Mastermind". One thing Patterson is definitely good at is bringing you up-to-date with what's happened in his past books so you're not totally lost when you're reading his current offering. I appreciated all of his reminders of how much The Mastermind had taken over Alex Cross' life with all of his threats and purported killings of people close to Alex. Another thing Patterson is great at is writing short chapters. I read this book while on the beach in Mexico and it's just the type of book to bring on vacation because it goes quickly. I finished it in two days and was able to give it to a friend who was with me who also finished it on that same trip.
Now, getting back to the vampires. As much as I dislike reading about them, I did find it quite fascinating but scary at the same time. Just to think that something like this could possibly exist (please tell me it doesn't) is enough to keep me from reading another vampire book in my lifetime. But in usual Alex Cross fashion, the vampires didn't stand a chance against our hero. The Mastermind, however, was another story. I do have a problem with how this part of the story panned out and it's something many authors do that really bothers me. I can't elaborate because I'd give it away but it's a cop out I don't appreciate. Wow, did I just use a pun there? I actually didn't mean to but if the shoe fits, wear it.
Next up....Four Blind Mice. I know there's really only three blind mice. I can just imagine who this fourth mouse is going to be.
Rated by buyers -
Vampires are not my cup of tea, however it didn't keep me from reading the book. I cannot believe that I kept turning the pages. There are two horrible murders in Washington. The bodies' blood was drained. California had some similar murders. Fearless Alex must look into secret clubs and the like. If this is not enough Mastermind a killer from the past is stalking Alex. What secret does he unfold? I would not read this one again. By Ruth Thompson author of "The Bluegrass Dream" and "Natchez Above The River"
Writing as a Small BusinessQualifying Laps: A Brewster County NovelSins of the Fathers: A Brewster County NovelTravelersThe Bluegrass Dream: A Wilderness Adventure of Early SettlersNatchez Above The River: A Family's Survival In The Civil War
Rated by buyers -
I love Paterson! This whole series is great! Keeps you hooked from start to finnish. I have not been disappointed yet with Paterson...
Rated by buyers 
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I used to think the Alex Cross series had a lot going for it. I used to be very impressed with it when I very first discovered it about 10 years ago. I don't know if my tasts have improved or if the series has declined but this is definitely not as good as I remember them being (and frankly, I'm scared about going back and re-reading one of them and ruining my only strong memories of the series).
There are two concurrent plots in "Violets are Blue". One involves an investigation into the "Goth" underworld and vampires (are they real or are they just people who are REALLY into vampires and like to act like they are real vampires..?)
The other story involves the recurring criminal mastermind character conveniently named "the Mastermind". I won't tell you what happens, but let me say that Patterson probably owes Michel Connelly an apology. Michael Connelly basically wrote the same thing several years earlier in the thriller "The Poet" (and he did it better, too!)
I keep thinking I'm going to really like a Patterson book again, but this is about the 5th in a row that I have not liked. I'm tired of searching in the Patterson haystack.
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