In my Beach House review I said that James Patterson had never written any conspiracy plots before. Well, while looking at my shelf and deciding to review Cradle And All I sort of remembered the plot and found that I had made a mistake in saying that in my other review. Cradle And All was really the only non-Alex Cross book that Patterson received very good reviews for. In fact, a lot of people read this non-Alex Cross book unlike the other ones like The Beach House, Hide And Seek, and When The Wind Blows. Why? This book got good reviews from the press. Sure, a lot of Patterson’s books do, but this was a huge success for the aging author. Cradle And All is a very fine book probably my favorite by James Patterson. The story is just awesome even if it is a little supernatural for a thriller writer to be writing about. In Cradle And All, Patterson’s imagination really takes over to produce nice dialogue, very good wording, and a whole mess of plot twists. Cradle And All is Patterson’s first literature piece and it should be read by everyone who has eyes.

The book begins with sixteen-year-old Kathleen Beavier nervously going into an abortion clinic when she finds a dead body. Trembling after she finds the doctor, she slits her wrists. This happens in the opening chapters of the book and immediately draws you into the plot of the book. You see, Kathleen along with another young lady, Colleen Galaher, is a virgin yet she’s pregnant with a baby. This is really putting religious groups’ panties into knots since people are thinking that these two girls are saints or related to Virgin Mary Mother or something. It’s up to former nun turned private investigator (that’s a new one) Anne Fitzgerald to find out if these two girls on two separate parts of the world are pulling hoaxes or if they are in fact having babies when they have never gone through actual intercourse. Since this is a James Patterson novel you can expect a rollercoaster of thrills, twists, and turns up until the very last page, but unlike Patterson there is some supernatural events happening and the overall result is extremely fascinating.

As you can probably tell, the premise can easily offend. The subjects being discussed and contemplated inside the pages of Cradle And All is very deep religiously and emotionally so it won’t surprise me if a very religious person reading might get uptight. James Patterson is also famous for his very short chapters that are 2-3 pages each. This is a wonderful thing for the person who likes fast paced reading or if you read on the go. As for the plot, it’s one of the best ones that Patterson has pumped out. In the past, I have gotten vibes while reading his work that his outline was sloppy and that the story sort of went along as he was writing, but with Cradle And All everything was carefully planned out and satisfyingly executed. It is definitely Patterson’s best work yet.

Patterson is a remarkable writer probably one of the best writers of my generation. He has written so many good books like Cat & Mouse, When The Wind Blows, and The Thomas Berryman Number, but out of all of them Cradle And All was one that was impossible to put down. I say this a lot, but I am honest this time when I say that my eyes were glued to the pages of this book. I was hooked. I finished the book in a day and for being a book of 355 pages, it was an all new high for me. Not only is this novel extremely addictive, but this will be the most fun that you’ve had reading a book since Patricia Cornwell’s Southern Cross. Patterson developed each character magnificently and the dialogue he creates is top notch. The dialogue is appropriately witty, yet when serious things are happening the drama really is thick. The tension is so thick that you can cut it with a knife. And there is a lot of tension in Cradle And All.

There are a whole mess of characters in Cradle And All and unlike in some of other Patterson books, I liked all of them. P.I. Anne Fitzgerald was surprisingly a very well designed character. In the past and in books such as 1st To Die and When The Wind Blows Patterson really created bad examples of women characters that were cliché and very stereotypical. With Fitzgerald, he created a female character (in first person nevertheless) that was realistic as hell. Through the various dialogue and inner thoughts you read, you saw a character who was caring, a bit skeptical, but nonetheless very understanding. She is a character that is his best one since his Jack Mullen character in The Beach House and his amazing Alex Cross character. The two virgins make nice supporting characters and were developed very nicely as the book went on. You really see how scared they are and how restless they are when their parents don’t believe their stories of how they had never had intercourse. Father Nicolas Rosetti is investigating the case like Anne Fitzgerald, but he’s a Vatican. Child molesting jokes to the side, this guy is a good dude…well, most of the time at least. I liked his character because he’s pretty much mysterious until the last quarter of the book and this mysteriousness really made me keep reading because I was intrigued by his character. I needed to know where he fit in this whole mess.

Cradle And All is definitely a book that I will read again. Having read it about a year ago I can’t really remember the ending too well, but I remember that I was really surprised and I was very satisfied with it. Cradle And All is the type of book where exactly when you finish it you will give your friend a call and advise them to read it. Cradle And All is the type of book that’s perfect for cuddling with you pet on your favorite easy chair next to a warm fire. Since it’s the winter time then it is the perfect time for you to do so. The plot is deep, the twists are plentiful, the characters are unforgettable. My question to you is why you haven’t read this book yet. Get on top of it!

© Jason Haskins, 2004

“JiggyJay”


355

Year 2000

Warner Books Edition


James Patterson Reviews:

When The Wind Blows

The Beach House



Recommended: Yes