Alex Cross

Earlier this winter I was looking for new books to entertain me. I love reading long, involved novels - but there's also a time for the quick, easy read. The trouble is finding a quick, easy read that also engages my mind and pulls me into the story. Well, Kiss the Girls, happened to be on one weekend and inspired me to pick up my first James Patterson novel. I was not disappointed.

My introduction to mystery/suspense fiction is fairly recent - just last summer, really. My mother has read them for years (the little skull on the spine of library books always freaked me out a bit), but I never really got why it was interesting to read about murders. After reading Charlaine Harris' many series, however, I began to understand. Its not so much about the murder as it is solving the puzzles behind the event.

The Alex Cross series weaves complex plots and intriguing characters. I find them quite easy to read - just a few hours per book, but then again I am a fast reader. Nana Mama is hysterical, and one of the few people that can give Alex 'what for'. I'm currently on Double Cross, and in an effort to avoid spoiling anyone that might care, I won't go into many details. Suffice it to say that like the books before it, twists and turns abound. The chapters are quite short, which makes it easy to read a few over breakfast and lunch, or while riding my bike in the evenings.

Don't know what I'll do when I get caught up - waiting for the next novel in a just discovered series is not fun for me. I'm much happier to wait when its a series I discovered at its inception. Patterson seems to crank out books rather quickly (I'd love to be a fly on the wall to see his process), and currently writes several series. Once again, my friendly library provides all the books on my list - thank goodness. I'd go broke otherwise!