A Book A Week

There's no denying the mixed quality of James Patterson's massive output. I've always maintained that his best books continue to be those that he authors on his own. The Alex Cross series, in particular, has been his most consistent in terms of both quality and originality. But now Patterson has found a way to get even more work published in the novellas that he calls BookShots.

I'm of the opinion that this constant flow of content, often created with a co-author, only dilutes Patterson's brand. When I learned that he had a BookShot featuring Alex Cross, I almost lost my cool. How could he mess with the only thing that has continued to be quality?! Because the novella Cross Kill has a plot that rolls into the next Cross novel, I begrudgingly picked up a copy to read for myself.

Cross Kill reads like the opening portion of a fully formed novel. The opening starts with a bang as Alex and his partner are ambushed by a shooter while serving meals at a local shelter. In the chaos, his partner takes a bullet and is left fighting for his life. Alex thinks he knows the identity of the shooter, but can't see how the identity could be correct. How could a man who Alex watched die come back to shoot at him?

Like most Patterson novels, Cross Kill burns through plot at a rapid pace that makes for an extremely quick read. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy reading one of my favorite characters again. My only complaint is that the novella feels like a first go at the opening of a fully formed novel. It would almost work as the first act of a story but fails when presented as a complete novella. Luckily, the short work took little time to read, so I don't feel like I wasted my time. I probably won't be reading another one of these BookShots any time soon, but you can bet I'll be reading the next Alex Cross novel when I get a chance.

For more information, visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads.

(2018, 25)