Customer Reviews

The Big Bad Wolf

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(50)
3 star:		(37)
2 star:		(28)
1 star:		(44)

 

 

I gave it as a gift to my mom and have not read it yet, I am sure it will be a nail biter as they always are. I will be glad when I get to read it

A dozer. This book is lackluster; severely lacking in both character and story development. Seems to me that Patterson has decided to rest on his laurels and churn out drivel for his fans. My advice: don't waste your money on this. If you want to read it, check it out from your local library...then you won't feel so ripped off.

For other reviewers--please resist revealing the ENTIRE plot in your reviews. Sheesh, it would be nice to have at least ONE surprise left while reading. (Although in this particular book there's not much "plot" to reveal.)

I thoroughly enjoyed the initial Alex Cross novels, but this was a resounding disappointment. Patterson seems to have evolved into an author who no longer cares about the quality of his writing. If you can accept the premise of the F.B.I. recruiting someone from a city police force and immediately jumping them over seasoned veterans to a position of dominance, then, perhaps you will be readily able to accept the many other unlikley aspects of this novel. Rather than contributing to character development, Patterson's subplots involving Cross's family and friends seem manipulative and shallow. His long distance romance is like a teenage view of love and separation. The most manipulative facet of the entire book is the ending which seems to have no motivation driving it other than an effort to get readers to buy the next epsiode when it comes out. It shouldn't be a long wait-it can't take much time for Patterson to type a book of this quality.

Definitely not one of Patterson's better Cross books. While I am finding the whole series becoming very predictable and formulaic, this novel, and the second "wolf" installment, London Bridges, are perhaps the most poorly developed of the Alex Cross stories. Not one I would recommend unless you are a huge Alex Cross and/or James Patterson fan.

First, let me praise the audio recording of this book.
Both actors were fantastic. The first-person reading of agent Alex Cross was phenomenal and the other characters were also skillful and convincing. Audiobooks have come a long way. This was full-fledged theater.

Now, the book itself. Yes, it was cheesy. Yes, it was a bit dopey. But did you expect otherwise?
It kept my interest, it was fast-paced, it was everything I expected it to be.
Was it filled with cliches? Yes. Did the descriptions of Cross's family life grow tiresome? Yes. Was the ending contrived? Sure.
But it's not like you pick up James Patterson to read great literature.

I agree with most of the reviewers that this is not the best of JP's books , but even so, this book will keep you reading, it is a very fast read and you will be interested in each page, the story about the Red Mafia could be real; anything in these days could be real.The book has some unsolved murders that I think is just to give the Wolf more power. Why didn't they use Elizabeth to know exactly who the Wolf was?
The end is kind of sad with his son and very sad about what happened to the Wolf, but remember not all the endigs are happy.

Okay, this is not the best novel Patterson ever wrote, but it's still pretty good. It has his trademarks written all over it with the same characters, violence, and plots, but then, that's why we read him, right? Would also recommend Roses are Red, 2nd Chance, McCrae's Bark of the Dogwood, and Brown's Angels & Demons.

'The Big Bad Wolf' is the 2003 edition to the Alex Cross series. It is also the best Alex Cross novel in years. 'The Big Bad Wolf' is the story of how Alex Cross joins the FBI and is thrust into a case involving the abduction and slavery of white, usually rich, suburban women. Along the way, Cross is frustrated by the politics of the FBI and faces turmoil at home when the mother of his youngest child returns to D.C. to seek custody. The reason for improvement can be traced to several sources.

First, James Patterson actually had Cross do some investigative work. In the last several novels in the series, Cross tended to stumble upon leads and just wait for the 'bad guy' to screw up. In 'The Big Bad Wolf,' Cross puts his doctorate in Psychology to work. In addition, he follows his instincts and follows leads that not every one else had thought about.

Second, Patterson seemed to put more thought and effort into this novel. In past novels, Patterson seemed to be living off the reputation of earlier novels in the series, such as 'Kiss the Girls' and 'Along Came a Spider.' More recent novels featured villains that were always one step ahead of the police without any real great tricks until Cross stumbles upon them. In 'Big Bad Wolf,' Patterson created lairs of intrigue from the beginning and lets them unfold throughout the novel instead of just springing them on the reader. In addition, a portion of the story takes place in Dallas, Texas. Since I live in the Dallas area, I was pleased to see that he did enough research to at least get most of the details of the area correct.

Third, and this is a very minor spoiler, the 'bad guy' of the novel is not some high ranking government official or someone close to Cross. This theme had gotten redundant in recent novels in the series. This is not to say that there isn't betrayal present in the novel, there is, but its not exactly what you expect. In this regard, the novel is not as 'cookie cutter' as the few previous novels.

My one complaint is that while a lot of effort seemed to have been placed in the first 3/4 of the novel, the last 1/4 of the novel seems to have been rushed. I'm afraid this is because he had written one novel, and then he decided to split it into two parts to save himself the effort of writing another Cross novel in 2004. This is only my suspicion, and I hope it is not played out with a lack luster follow up.

While good, this is not the best novel in the series. Patterson's first two installments, 'Kiss the Girls' and 'Along Came a Spider,' are still the best, and have proven to be a tough act to follow. As mentioned earlier, this novel harkens back to those in feel and the effort put into it. Not everything was tied up neatly at the end of the novel, and I expect the next installment in the series will continue the story. As with all the novels in this series, it is quickly paced (with three and four page chapters), and it is full of pop-culture references. I recommend the novel for fans of thrillers and detective fiction.

In this new episode in the life of ace detective Alex Cross, he has just joined the FBI. While still in training, he is called upon to help break up a kidnapping ring. Beautiful, rich, educated women and men across the country are being abducted. No ransom is requested, and the victims often are never heard from again. It appears that an organized crime godfather known as the Wolf is behind the scheme to buy and sell humans. Alex, a street cop at heart, loves the power and technology available via the FBI, but he is impatient with the bureaucracy. Back at home, Alex's ex-girlfriend and mother of his toddler, little Alex, reappears and starts custody proceedings. Then the kidnapping case puts Alex's family in danger. Patterson ties all the twists and turns in this plot into one interesting and plausible story, well read by Peter J. Fernandez and Denis O'Hare. Recommended.

"Big Bad Wolf" is James Patterson's latest Alex Cross novel. In it, Cross is still in training for his job at the FBI. He is taken off student status to consult on a rash of high profile kiddnappings, including a federal judges wife. He eventually figures out that the kiddnappings are being organized by a Russian mob don called the Wolf, because of his ruthlessness. But on the homefront, Cross has just as drastic problems. Christien, his former girlfriend, has returned to take custody of their son, Little Alex. I have a real soft spot for Patterson's novels. They are very fast paced (each chapter is only about three pages) with action that will leave you on the edge of your seat, and certainly this book is no exception. His villians are a mixed bag. They are usually so egomanical that they are very hard to relate too, but they are also so over the top psychotic that you don't want to, either. The Wolf is not as slick (I don't think) as some earlier villians (like Cassanova). Another problem is there are so many red hairings. You think this guy is Wolf, but he isn't; in fact at the end of the book, that isn't resolved at all. But Patterson dose that a lot; leave his books as an open cliffhanger. That gets on my nerves. I also thought the family problems were very distracting, I really could have done with out the custody case. But the kidnappings were pretty cool, and the idea of a whole network of perverts and psychos buying slaves from snatched soccer moms was truelly terrifying. It's a pretty uneven book, but I'll give it the benifit of the doubt.