Rating: 
Summary: Another Alex Cross Success
Review: I'm aboout 3/4 of the way through the book, and so far I'm not disappointed. The 2 page chapters really help the story move. If you like the other Alex Cross novels, then this one should be on your list
Rating:
Summary: Another good turn, but very open ended
Review: I too tore through this in one sitting. I was immersed in the back and forth that he was able to keep up with family and police work. I am just still wondering, how many mysteries are still left hanging there at the end. I read series novels to be able to keep up with the characters lives and careers, not to have to re-read them to figure out a clue I might have missed. Otherwise, this eagerly anticipated next installment to the Alex Cross saga was much appreicated by this reader!
Rating: 
Summary: Cheated by the "ending"...
Review: I found most of this book to be a very good, fast read. But I was terribly disappointed by the ending, where Patterson abruptly pulled not one, but *two* bad guys out of a hat. There's an art to creating a good mystery/thriller; a technique of placing clues & hints for the reader to find, and Patterson for some reason decided to cheat at the end and just pulled the bad guys pretty much out of thin air. Very unsatisfying.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: A new serial killer is loose in the Washington D.C. area, robbing banks and killing both bank employees and their families. He calls himself the Mastermind and expects his very precise instructions to be followed exactly. There's no room for even the smallest mistake without suffering dire consequences. Detective Alex Cross along with his partner, John Sampson and newcomer, FBI agent Betsey Cavalierre are on the case. But even though they seem to be getting closer and closer to their target, are always at least one step behind following false leads and hitting dead ends. This is a book with a great premise and great villain, but James Patterson just doesn't deliver. His short chapters (sometimes only two or three paragraphs) and choppy writing style detract from what should be a tense and suspenseful story line. Instead, the plot jumps around too much and you're never left on the edge of your seat. His secondary story lines, about all the problems in Alex's personal life, are distracting and add nothing to the story. The characters are all one dimensional and the plot, which should be tight and compelling, has all the depth of a movie of the week. But my biggest problem with this book is that the Mastermind has no motivation for the crimes he's committing. We never get into his head, know nothing about him and why he's become this heinous serial killer. At the end of the novel, we're left with no real conclusion or solution, just the idea that there's a sequel being written. Roses are Red is a disappointing read with an unsatisfying ending that leaves you hanging, but not wanting more. Skip this one, there are too many really good thrillers out there to read!
Rating:
Summary: Not Up To Typical Patterson Standards
Review: Like many other Patterson readers, once I begin one of his novels, I just can't stop -- it doesn't matter if the book has 200 pages or 400, I am COMPELLED to flash right through them. The same held true for Roses Are Red, but that's not a compliment in this case.I zipped through this book for several reasons. 1) I was a bit bored with all the "plot twists" 2) The detective work didn't seem to be the primary focus and 3) I had the perpetrator narrowed down to two people way back in the first 5 chapters. By the way, what's with the shorter-than-normal chapters? I understand quick reads, but this just took too much away from the story. To me, it was like in college when you would up the font to 14-pt type to make a 2-page paper stretch into 4 pages. This simply was not Patterson's piece de resistance. I value Patterson as a writer and as an imagist, but RAR just didn't do it for me. The storyline wasn't quite cohesive enough. It jumped rather often from family to detective situations, and the Christine and Jannie plots just overwhelmed the book without adding to the story. Quite honestly, I felt like I was reading about a melodramatic soap opera (Hmmm... Days of Our Lives?). Also missing was the depth of character that is so typical of Patterson. Whereas in Kiss The Girls, When the Wind Blows, and Pop Goes The Weasel we had deep analysis, insight, and description about everyone involved, in RAR all we have is loose description. One of the first rules of writing is "show, not tell", but Patterson seems to have switched to the "tell" team. I just didn't care deeply about these characters as I did with characters in his other novels. As far as the "Is it the killer? Is it not the killer? Who is the killer?" deal, it was getting to be a bit of a stretch. When the Mastermind is finally revealed (surprise, surprise), it's not a great revelation and it doesn't even really make you want to read the sequel. A disappointment by Patterson, which is a shame.
Rating: 
Summary: Who is the Mastermind?
Review: I enjoyed Roses are Red. The storyline was interesting from beginning to end but I found it lacked a lot of the action from Mr. Patterson's previous Alex Cross series. Finding out who the Mastermind really was came as quite a surprise but it really shouldn't have since the question was poised within the storyline. I believe you'll enjoy even though I found it lacking of its usual style.
Rating:
Summary: This is a book that doesn't take a lot of thinking
Review: If you enjoy books that you can just whip through in one day then this is the book for you. This was an easy read, a little to easy for my tastes. The chapters were very small and the story was missing something. If you enjoy books where you have no idea who the killer is and you just can't quiet pick out the one who did it then get another book. The ending left a lot to be desired. So if you like a quick easy book Roses Are Red is it. If you need a little more suspence and action then don't bother with this one.
Rating:
Summary: James Patterson does it again
Review: In "Rose are Red" James Patterson once again crafts a story that is fast paced and exciting. The twists are always there with Patterson and this book is no different. I found that Patterson what trying to hard to create some personal relationship story lines here that really did not fit very well with the story. Again a fast read at 4 hours, and the last few lines will have you on the edge of your seat for the Next Cross Novel! Over all well worth the short reading time.
Rating: 
Summary: Roses doesn't deliver
Review: As a huge Alex Cross fan (I've only found one other Patterson book appealing that wasn't apart of the Alex Cross serial), I was very, very disappointed with Roses Are Red, and have decided that this is the last Patterson book I will actually purchase. The plot was ill defined and underdeveloped. And, even though the latest crime spree Detective Cross undertakes to solve is as diabolical and heinous as any Patterson has created in his past works, you're left totally clueless about the true motivation of this particular psychopath. In other Cross stories, Patterson at least gave you a glimpse into the psychotic minds of the antagonists, and allowed the reader to know what was actually driving these psychopaths to commit their crimes. In this story, however, there was too much misdirection and no real finesse in the logic and climax of the story. The ending, as everyone states is a shocker, but in my mind, it seriously undermines the integrity of this serial. Patterson's disappoints in a big way, and it's too bad.
Rating:
Summary: OK but not great
Review: I am glad that Patterson is back to writing Cross novels. The last book of his I read was a re-do of an early work and it was awful. This is OK. I liked the part with Cross's daughter and the interchanges with Christine. However, unlike previous reviewers, I did not like the ending. It reminded me too much of another book he wrote.
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