A Book A Week

Reading a book each week leaves little time for me to circle back and reread a book that I previously enjoyed. There have been a few humorous occasions where I've found myself accidentally reading a book that I've already read, but those cases aren't intentional. I was then hesitant to accept the new paperback edition of James Paterson's Alex Cross novel Roses Are Red from the publisher. Beyond the fact that I read this sixth installment in the series more than a decade ago, I also have the current thirtieth novel sitting on my TBR. It would make more sense for me to read that one than this reprint. But then the book arrived at my house. I read the synopsis and was reminded how much I enjoyed this old-school Patterson thriller. Despite my best intentions, I couldn't help but crack it open and give it a read. 

A bank heist is no small undertaking. Each detail has to be meticulously planned out. Failure to do so risks the entire operation. No one understands the complexities of this task like the Mastermind. They've overseen several bank robberies in the Washinton D.C. area, leaving a trail of dead bodies along the way. It is these murders that bring the involvement of Metro PD Detective Alex Cross. Cross has a knack for psychoanalysis, and the powers that be want him to stop this 'mastermind' before they strike again. Facing personal turmoil and pressures from interdepartmental jurisdiction wars, Alex will have to mentally fortify himself to face off against the most sadistic killer of his career. 

Over the course of the past thirty novels, Alex Cross has become one of my favorite crime heroes. Revisiting this early installment in the series helped to illustrate how much has changed over the years while reminding me why I fell in love with the character in the first place. There are a few elements like short chapters and driving plots that have become staples in James Patterson's writing. All of those ingredients are present here. In fact, I'd argue that this is one of Patterson's most tightly plotted books of his career. The action and suspense never let up, and there's a twist ending that completely blindsided me. Seriously, I knew how this one ended from the last time I read it, but I was still shaken! The true power of the Cross series has always been the way Alex interacts with his family. As a fan of the books, I enjoyed taking a trip back in time to see the family as they used to be. It really illustrated how complex their development has been over the course of the series. Overall, I enjoyed my time revisiting Roses Are Red. It is as thrilling and entertaining as I remembered it. I'm eager to blast back to the present day and see what Alex Cross is up to next. 

For more information visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads. 

(2023, 7)

"I don't mean to scare you, but sometimes a scare is the only lesson that works."

For nearly half a century, author Stephen King has delighted readers with his particular brand of horror. I've been enjoying his books for as long as I could stomach them. Some of his more nefarious creations (I'm looking at you, Pennywise) scared me when I read them and have frightened me ever since. His novel Later has been waiting on my shelf for nearly a year. Be it my usual procrastination or perhaps a hesitance to submit myself to the kind of terror only Stephen King can provide, I've waited until I had the perfect moment to read it. Cold weather and the seasonal sickness that comes with it meant I finally had ample time to read it over the weekend. 

Young Jaime Conklin has a secret, something only he and his single mother know about. His mother has enough struggles to worry about without Jaime's secret. She longs for him to just be normal. But Jaime is anything but ordinary. You see, Jaime can see dead people. When he first revealed this gift to his mother, she was skeptical, but Jamie knows things that he wouldn't otherwise know. Only by communicating with the dead is he able to glean such information. For better or worse, the boy has had to learn to live with this curious ability.

Jaime is pretty used to seeing dead people now. At least, he's as used to it as one could be considering the abnormality of it all. He still gets jarred a bit when he sees the battered remains of someone who met their demise in a particularly gruesome method, but he's come to accept his ability for what it is. Jaime has learned to harness his gift to do good for others. He helps a widower recover jewelry from his late wife, he helps a late author reveal the final installment in his anticipated series, and now he's about to help the NYPD try to stop a murderer from continuing his spree from beyond the grave. For all of his good intentions, however, nothing can prepare Jaime for the darkness that he's about to unleash. 

Every new novel we get from Stephen King seems like a gift to the world. Later is no exception. It is a testament to his mastery as an author that King continues to produce fiction that thrills and delights as well or even better than he did decades ago. The power of King's writing has always rested in his penchant for crafting deeply developed characters amongst the wild scenarios that he places them in. The coming-of-age elements that permeate this novel only help to ground the young main character into the more supernatural events that unfold. In that way, Later plays like a cross between The Sixth Sense and The Wonder Years. At a fairly brief couple hundred pages, the novel expertly balances between both building the character and thrilling the reader. It comes together into a novel that is as unputdownable as it is emotionally satisfying. King continues to fire on all cylinders, gifting us with the privilege to experience storytelling as only he can convey. 

For more information visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads. 

(2022, 51)