Jan 30, 2008 Posted by Nancy Williams on Jan 30, 2008 in Books read, Crime Fiction | 1 comment

Along Came A Spider – James Patterson

I recently became the proud owner of the whole series of Patterson’s Alex Cross novels. Having never read any of them, I thought I might as well start at the beginning with Along Came A Spider, where we meet Detective/Doctor Cross and get on another of Patterson’s roller coasters. Satisfyingly, the bad guy was really bad, the good guy was pleasantly flawed and the twist was reasonably unexpected. Having read several of his Women’s Murder Club series in single sittings, Along Came A Spider didn’t quite have the same reach-out-of-the-page-and-grab-you-by-the-neck excitement, but it was still pretty good.

Cross’s first case involves a kidnapping of two celebrity children, a psychopath who allegedly suffers from a split-personality, and several gruesome murders along the way. I think where Patterson succeeds is that he invites his readers to truly empathise with Alex Cross all the way through – you share his doubts, his tenacity, his frustration and his hurt. I am always so tempted to read the last page in a crime novel (which invariably spoils the real surprise but at least it helps me get to sleep at a more reasonable hour). This one I didn’t, and I am quite glad of it. The twist was good, but not brilliant and if I had known what it was half way through it would probably have been a little harder to finish.

Although, as evidence of how much I enjoyed it, after closing the cover I immediately picked up Kiss The Girls and read for another hour or two…

Must get on to the required reading for my reading group…and the pile of books I need to get through for work…but I really want to know what happens next…

Rating: 7/10
ISBN: Book club copy – no ISBN printed
Publisher: BCA
Year: 1993
Date Finished: 29 January 2008

One Responseto “Along Came A Spider – James Patterson”

1. JK says:

   January 31, 2008 at 11:29 pm

   Don’t listen to that bitter, grumpy old lady… she probably has a blog so boring she doesn’t even like to read it…
   Your blog is cool, great reviews! keep it up…

   “TeacherDad”