Being a fan of Patterson’s, I made a trip to the bookstore and picked up a few of his books that I didn’t have. I decided to do this because I was beginning to get the itch to read some of his material because it has been awhile. So there I was, trying to remember which books that I had and which one’s that I didn’t. I immediately picked up Pop Goes The Weasel because I knew that I didn’t have that one, picked two more, and then made my way happily out of the bookstore. Being busy recently, I haven’t had the time until a week and a half ago to actually read this book. When I found that I had sprained my back and was put on bed rest for a day, I was able to quickly go through this book despite the pain medication.
PLOT
Gregory Shafer is the focus in this book. That is, besides Alex Cross...the D.C. homicide detective and liaison for the FBI in the area. But Shafer is the man here. Yes, the deranged, delusional, morbid, serial killer man who preys on people by using a game to decide his actions. Yes, the man is very inventive and has a wicked imagination. We are first introduced to this madman at the very beginning of the book. He is leaving is home on the way to his office and decides to drive 80 miles an hour into oncoming traffic. Can we say nutcase? A cop stops Shafer, but the truth is, nothing can be done to him because he is a member of the British Embassy claiming diplomatic immunity.
The game that Shafer has invented along with three other players is “The Four Horseman”. He meets every so often with the other players and they play their make believe game via the Internet. Make believe? Well, it sure is make believe to the other three players: Conqueror, War, and Famine. But to “Death”, which is the name Shafer has adopted, the game is nowhere near being make believe.
The first victim described here is a pre-teen colored street hooker who is stabbed to death in a small wooded park in D.C. When Alex and his partner Sampson are called to the scene, they find the young girls’ throat slit from ear to ear, her face and soles’ of her feet slashed, knife wounds in her chest and stomach. But perhaps the most disturbing site of all is the knife handle protruding from her vagina. Yes, these two detectives are dealing with a very sick individual.
And what is really sick is that this Shafer character has got a loving family at home. Yes, they love him because they have no idea what he is up to when not at home. But does he love them? Absolutely not...people that have spiraled that far down can love no one but themselves'. The only reason Shafer puts up with his family is because Lucy, his wife, has a very rich father that provides for them...allowing Shafer to keep pretending to have an influential position at the Embassy.
We continue through the book with Shafer’s murders, his pretending to love his family, pretending to go to work every day or away on business trips when he is hiding out at his secret apartment, or having an affair with his Psychiatrist just to get the drugs that he craves.
And then we have Alex’s involvement. The serial killer is dubbed “The Weasel”. Alex and a few of his buddies from the department, including Sampson form a small group to do a little investigating on there own. And the subsequent engagement between Alex and his girlfriend, Christine. Which is later in question when Christine suddenly disappears without a trace when the family heads down to Bermuda for a much needed vacation.
Will Shafer be discovered? Can he be prosecuted or will he cry diplomatic immunity again? And what will happen with the Christine situation? Will she be found or will Cross have to live with the fact that she is gone forever?
MAIN CHARACTERS Alex Cross...A witty and intelligent ex-Psychologist turned senior homicide detective. Alex is also the liaison between the D.C. police department and the FBI office in that area. Alex is able to use his previous training as a Psychologist to get into the minds of those that commit the crimes in his area, along with his police training to track them down.
Gregory Shafer...a mentally deranged and neurotic member of the British Embassy who masquerades as a serial killer in his spare time. Inventing a game, called “The Four Horsemen”, with past acquaintances...Shafer believes that he is “Death.”
John Sampson...Alex’s partner, who never fails to be there when his good friend needs him. Sampson is actually brought into this story a little more when one of the victims turns out to be an ex-girlfriend of his. He takes this death a little more personally.
Christine...Alex girlfriend and principal at his children’s school. She has recently upset him by turning down his marriage proposal, but then turns around and accepts it the next time. Christine is brought into the situation with Shafer when they are on vacation and she disappears. No indication is given on where she was taken, but it is known that Shafer had something to do with it.
MY THOUGHTS
As with most of Patterson’s books, you do not have to read the one’s published before it to completely grasp the meaning of the one you are reading. I found myself becoming quite annoyed with the short chapters in this book, as with most of Patterson’s others. It got to the point where some of the chapters were just one page long...what was the point in that. Yes, Patterson does have the tendency to jump around in his books and dividing the chapters up to make them short is probably a good idea so that the readers do not become confused. But it just annoyed me more this time because I was constantly turning pages.
I honestly did not like the Shafer character at all. He was an incredibly sick individual. This was not the reason why I did not like him, because believe it or not I am semi-used to this kind of person. I have run into some sick people in my job and training before that. The reason I did not like him was because of his attitude. It was basically the, I am king of the hill, cannot do anything wrong, or get into any trouble attitude that he carried with him. The man is obviously delusional, depressive, manic and probably bipolar, wrapped all into one personality. One thing that I found typical was Shafer’s need for coffee with loads of sugar in it. I guess everyone has a vice, including serial killers. I just thought that someone should have noticed some sign that this man was not well. Though I have found that most family members do not want to realize that anything is wrong so they ignore the possibility.
One thing that is always a part of Patterson’s Cross stories is the connection he has with his family. The tender love that he gets from his children even though he is never home, and how the snappy Nana makes him see the harsh reality at times when he looses track. Something that I did not enjoy in this story along with a few other of the Cross books’ is Alex’s relationship with Christine. She has said many times in the book and others that she does not want to be a part of the violent part of Alex’s life. So it doesn’t make sense when she agrees to marry him, thus putting herself in the place where she will be exposed. Does she think that by marrying him, she will not have to deal with it more? Patterson also needs to stick with crime/mystery writing because his romance scenes between Christine and Alex just sound too forced to be believable.
Besides not liking one of the main characters in this book, I still enjoyed this book. I really expect no less but Patterson will need to change his stories soon because they are basically getting repetitive. Is Patterson loosing his luster or is he just so acclaimed that it doesn’t matter what he writes...it will still get a good reception and be a best-seller. But I cannot admit to not being drawn into his stories. He seems to add a bit of flavor into each one that has you crawling back for more. Overall, this is another good addition to the Cross series of books. You will not be disappointed with Pop Goes The Weasel, but you will not be wowed by it either.
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