The Big Bad Wolf by James Patterson

Book Details
The Big Bad Wolf by James Patterson
Paperback, 432 pages
2004, Grand Central Publishing
ISBN: 0446610224
Series: Book 9 of Alex Cross

Synopsis
Alex Cross finally took the plunge at the end of Four Blind Mice (2002) and joined the FBI. The training is a little beneath Cross, who has spent years working with the FBI on the toughest cases, but he dutifully attends classes until he's pulled out to consult on a case. Wealthy women have been disappearing around the country. The latest, a judge's wife, was snatched at a shopping mall. It appears these women (and soon several young men as well) are being abducted and sold to people who have "selected" them and paid a hefty sum. The man behind it all is a Russian known only as the Wolf. Cross gets a break when one of the buyers releases the woman he paid to have abducted, but when they track him down, they find he's committed suicide. Then a major bombshell in his personal life distracts Cross from the case: his ex-girlfriend Christine, the mother of his youngest son, has reappeared, and she wants custody.

Review
I always enjoy James Patterson's books, especially the Alex Cross series. I love those short chapters. I really feel as though the book is flying by. While I liked The Big Bad Wolf, I didn't love it, primarily because of the Russian underworld bits. This is more about my personal preferences than the novel itself. The re-introduction of Christine and the chapters focused on Alex's family more than made up for it. The mystery was face-paced but the ending wasn't all I had hoped. A solid, but not spectacular, Alex Cross novel.

Rating

Links

James Patterson's website