If you’ve been reading Alex Cross’s nursery rhymes series by James Patterson, then you already know all the necessary details. Alex Cross is a black Washington, D.C. Private investigator (and psychologist) that’s widowed and lives in a house with his grandma and two children. After solving the baffling case that was Along Came A Spider and then getting himself really deep into the Kiss The Girls case, Alex Cross is just chilling when another case comes along. In the dead of night a senator is found murdered with a rhyming letter to the police signed “Jack and Jill” saying that this murder was the beginning of many. And to make things even worse, a pretty little girl is found beaten to death in Cross’s neighborhood. So, it’s now Alex’s job to solve both murders (Are they connected?) and embrace his family after the tragic turn of events that have frightened Alex since the murder. Will his family be safe? Who’s on Jack and Jill’s death list? Are they connected cases?

This is how Jack & Jill starts and it freaking ends even more f’d up. Hi, readers. This is Jason talking and what a book we have on our hands to review. Jack & Jill was the second Patterson book I read and one of my favorites for its really frightening close-to-home storyline and dare-me glaze. It’s as if Patterson’s worst fears were unleashed in the writing of this story. Jack & Jill starts out like any of Patterson’s other books: at a brisk pace, with the pace quickening and quickening with each turn of the page until you’re going Mach 2 with your hair on fire. And then at the very end, you hit a humongous wall and fall back into your seat, saying, “That was a damn good book.” I just finished reading The Jester and am currently reading 2nd Chance and even though those books were frightfully good, Jack & Jill is one of Patterson’s finest works of literature besides Cat & Mouse and Cradle & All.

You see a new side of the Alex Cross character that really wasn’t explored enough in the last book. You see larger glimpses of Cross’s sensitive side a la when the little girl is found dead in their neighborhood. Alex Cross is a pure, freaking bad as* mofo. He is the Batman of private investigators. He’s rad. His character has been built up with the first two books, but in Jack & Jill, he’s just staying at the same level. Really not as much character development as there was in the previous books, but you see a gentler side to his character. As for John Sampson, his partner and best friend, there’s no development at all, which was sort of a disappointment since I’m quite fond of that chap. And most of all, the characters of Jack and Jill, the killers, are freaking amazingly drawn out. I could actually visualize the way they looked and could easily see where they’re coming from. I could understand them in a way and feel for them even if they are cold-blooded bastards.

James Patterson is one of the best authors of all time. The way his characters just come alive out of the pages of his stories and the way that I am thrilled when reading each of his books is incredible. With Jack & Jill he did a great job improving on the series that he has already created. This story totally makes Kiss The Girls look bad. It is a book that is far away from the series. It’s much different. It’s as if maybe Patterson worked his hardest on what would happen within the pages of Jack & Jill. The plot twists that arrive as well as the amount of surprises makes you feel overwhelmed at first, but when you finish then you will know that they were all necessary and that they were all done for a reason. There was a certain chapter in Jack & Jill where I read it and then immediately put the book down, took a breath, closed my eyes, and then picked up the book again and kept reading because I was so shocked. I know I sound stupid, but it’s true.

Lastly, let me talk about the quickness of the book. A majority of Patterson’s books have short chapters. I talking very, very short chapters. I love ‘em. They make the pace of each book quick and brisk and are just easier to read. The book has over four hundred pages, yet they go by very quickly. Why? The storyline is so good. I can’t stress this enough. I loved it. I was addicted as if the lines of the book were scattered with cocaine. I was hooked on seeing if Alex Cross would catch the evil villains. I needed to know so I kept reading and then hours would go by and I would be a third of the book through. To tell you the truth, it didn’t take me that long to finish it because I was so enthralled on reading what was going to happen. Don’t you want that in a book? Usually, books slow down primarily during the beginning couple of chapters or maybe towards the end, and usually I notice this while reading because I’m that kind of person. With Jack & Jill that didn’t happen. I have to ask you again, isn’t that what you want in a book?

If you’ve read any Patterson books or any of the other books in the Alex Cross series, definitely give Jack & Jill a try since it’s the cream of the crop. In other words, I enjoyed this book very much.

© Jason Haskins, 2004

“JiggyJay”


Warner Books Edition

432 Pages

1996


Other James Patterson Reads

The Lake House

The Beach House

Along Came A Spider (Alex Cross Book 1)

Kiss The Girls (Alex Cross Book 2)

Cradle And All

When The Wind Blows







Recommended: Yes