Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner
![[5 stars]](../images/spots/1_splat_50.gif)
Violets Are Blue
Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
James Patterson
Class/Genre: Mystery Thriller Police Procedural
Series: Alex Cross # 7
Little, Brown; Nov 2001; $27.95; 393 pp.
The case is difficult enough for Washington DC police detective Alex Cross because the alleged victim was a good friend. The case turns frightening for Alex when the brilliant but amoral criminal the Mastermind threatens Alex’s children. Alex immediately leaves the crime scene to return home, but the Mastermind reminds the cop you can run, but you can’t hide.
Even while he panics over the safety of his children, FBI Agent Kyle Craig calls Alex while he dines with a special date. Someone killed two military joggers in Golden Gate Park in which bite marks are all over the victims, much of their blood was drained, and they were left hanging upside down from a tree. The case reads identical to one that they failed to solve in DC fourteen months ago so Alex immediately flies to San Francisco. Joined by SFPD Jamilla Hughes, Alex begins to find clues that take the duo into a deadly role-playing underground. However, his children are irate that his work comes first especially with the Mastermind stalking them like a tiger after its quarry.
The "vampire" slayings make for a clever police procedural that takes the audience on a unique tour of the Bay area as well as other areas of the country. The Mastermind subplot seems to interfere with the other tale though it enables the audience to observe a depressed and panicked Alex using work to escape his plight. In his latest Cross thriller, VIOLETS ARE BLUE, James Patterson keenly blends his hero’s personal and professional lives as each aspect clash leaving the audience with another complete tale.
Harriet Klausner
Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner
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