Four Blind Mice (alkuperäinen julkaisuvuosi 2002; vuoden 2002 painos)

Each book in the Alex Cross series is getting better and this one is no different. However I felt a few of the situations that Alex and Sampson put themselves into were unnecessary, that seasoned detectives like the 2 of them would have known better which therefore made the story less believable. Still I liked the angle discussing the Vietnam War and the atrocities committed and what can happen to men trained to kill during war time and peace time. The underlying mystery was sad, solid and good. The action and plot were well driven. This book came out in 2002 post the first in the series post 9/11 and I think the author was using the book to discuss war from the perspective of those who fought it in foreign lands and natives who lived through it in those foreign lands. All in all well done. ( )

I previously read this 6 years ago and am now reading the series from the beginning as I'd only read a handful of the books out of order previously.

I can say with the context of the earlier books the story does have a bit more depth too it, and certainly more than some of the other Patterson books I've read. I did find the idea of revenge crimes being committed in the present day based on circumstances that occurred during the Vietnam War a particularly intriguing idea and the way it was presented was novel interesting and had you guessing as to whom was behind the crimes and why.

I also noted that in this book the age of Alex Cross's 'old black porsche' is revealed to be 14 years, which means when it was first referred to as his 'old black porsche' it was a mere 8 years of age if I have the series chronology correct in my memory. An 8 year old car isn't quite what I'd refer to as old, not even a 14 year old car, rather I personally would refer to it as a porsche. An old porsche to me brings mental images of a 1950s, 1960s, even 1970s car.

Overall, another good installment and we see Cross's career development now progress further. ( )

A really good mystery/thriller. The murderers are definitely insane and revel in the killing. They seem unstoppable and Cross and Sampson have their work cut out for them. There were many tense moments for me. As this is the 8th book in the series, there is also progression in Alex's relationship with his new girlfriend, and Sampson also finding a love interest. Sampson's relationship felt a bit cliche, but I still thought this was a good continuation of the series. ( )

This entry in the Alex Cross series featured a military conspiracy dating back to Vietnam and some pretty great side steps. Recommended . ( )

Not as good as the other Alex Cross books, however better than the previous one. It held my interest and was a great quick read. ( )