Finished: James Patterson’s ‘Cross the Line’

I’ve pretty much abandoned new James Patterson books and his host of co-authors, with one exception. I still read the Alex Cross novels. But even they are getting a little stale.

Hey, gotta give it to Patterson, he figured out a formula, stuck with it and it’s worked millions of times over for him. Short sentences, short chapters, keep it moving. But I have to think, especially after you’ve made more money than God, that you’d want to try something new. Apparently not. Dance with the girl who brung ya, I guess.

So Cross the Line is a year old, as I don’t exactly rush to the newest Pattertson stuff. And it was okay.

After shots pierce the tranquil nighttime calm of Rock Creek Park, a man is dead: what looks at first like road rage might be something much more sinister. But Alex has only just begun asking questions when he's called across town to investigate a new murder, one that hits close to home: Washington's own chief of detectives. And Alex's former boss, beloved mentor of Alex's wife, Bree. 

Now there's a killer on the loose, a long list of possible suspects, a city in panic, and nobody in charge of the besieged police force. Until Bree gets tapped for the job.

Amazonians seem to have a higher opinion of it than I do, a 4.4 out of 5, but so be it. It’s a 6 on the 10-point Haugenometer. Goodreaders a 4 of 5, and Barnes & Snobles 3.8 of 5.

Now that it’s done I can rest with the satisfaction that I can go another year or two without have to read another Patterson novel.