I really like this guys novel.Which is your favourite? Anything with Alex Cross is good.But Pop Goes the Weasel is the best!

I've only read Jester and I liked it quite a bit.

I've read several of his books. I think he's a terrible writer, but I keep going back, particularly to the Alex Cross series. I want to see how many times he can use the same twist over and over:

I gave up on Patterson on his last Cross novel that came out prior to Jester.

I really enjoyed the first few books quite a bit, but the last couple seemed like they were written by someone else trying to imitate Patterson.

I have read the Women's Murder Club Series: 1st to Die, 2nd Chance & 3rd Degre. I haven't read any of the Cross series by Patterson.

I liked "Kiss the Girls" and "Along Came A Spider" quite a bit. "Jack and Jill" just struck me as obsurd, and I haven't read any of his other titles since.

Roses are Red and Voilets are Blue are both Alex Cross novels!I love those 2

Probably my least favorite major writer. Part of the problem is the rate he is knocking out books lately. He is using ghostwriters and I think thats effecting the quality of the writing. I thought Along Came a Spider and Kiss the Girls were quite good. He has gone down hill in a hurry from there, but Roses are Red and Violets are Blue were decent and made me give him another chance.

I thought 1st to Die was horrible and never finished it or even considered any more in the series. I read Four Blind Mice, Jack and Jill, and Big Bad Wolf all the way through and felt they were three of the worst books I have ever read. Big Bad Wolf was so bad I actually felt like an ass for finishing it. Especially since he is clearly trying to redo the same formula for Roses are Red and Violets are Blue and not finish the story until the next novel.

I have tried to give him chances because I hate to dismiss a popular writer on just one or two bad books. Patterson has worn out his welcome for me however and I will probably never pick up another one of his novels again.

I have the same feeling about Mary Higgins Clark and after the last three Alphabet Mysteries Sue Grafton. They just don't seem to even be trying in any of their recent novels.

My thoughts exactly. I thought the first four in the series were pretty good and then Cat and Mouse wasn't very good. Roses Are Red and Violets Are Blue were alright and then everything I've heard about Big Bad Wolf has been terrible. I haven't read it yet and might pick up the paperback. I agree, the problem is he's releasing his novels way too fast and the quality has suffered. I didn't know he was using ghostwriters - what purpose does that serve anyway?

The only other book of his that I've read was The Beach House and it was ok, nothing special though. It's good for a quick summer-type read.

The purpose is greed. He is making a lot more money by putting out a new book every four months. Only way to get them out that fast is for someone else to write the meat of the story based on the idea and outline created by Patterson.

Here is a good article about the Ghostwriters Patterson and Tom Clancy use.

BTW, I think he writes the Cross novels all by himself. Too bad he can't share the blame on Big Bad Wolf.

http://smh.com.au/articles/2002/09/0...037088079.html

His ghostwritten books are easy to identify, since it's always by "James Patterson and Joe Blow".

Yeah I kind of figured that greed was the reason. More books released equals more money. As long as the books sell, the writer and publisher probably don't care how bad they are. I just wasn't sure if ghostwriters were actually credited on the cover or not. Peter De Jonge is credited with writing The Beach House along with Patterson and I wasn't sure if De Jonge is a ghostwriter or a co-writer but I'm guessing that they're the same thing. Patterson comes up with the outline and De Jonge filled in the details.

Thanks for the link, btw.

I haven't been as critical of Pattersons last few books like a lot of people. They were at least readable. But Big Bad Wolf is truly horrid. Don't pick that one up unless you find it for 50 cents at a garage sale. He doesn't give credit to a ghost writer on this one, but I would almost swear someone under the age of 15 wrote it.

I think the first 4 or so Cross books were really good (with Jack and Jill being my favorite) and even some of the other early non-Cross books(I think I may be the only person on earth who really liked When the Wind Blows). Now the books are just really really bad. Unlike some in this thread I didn't like "Roses are Red" or "Violets are Blue" at all, and don't even get me started on Big Bad Wolf. His most recent work that I really enjoyed was Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas. Yes, it was a little Lifetime Channel-esque, but I like a little sappy here and there.

I just finished The Beach House.Not bad but did not really enjoy it that much.

I share some of the same sentiments mentioned here on the early work. Loved Roses are Red. Violets are blue on the other hand... not so good. Actually read those back to back, then picked up Beach House. I read a few chapters, and the writing style is totally different from the other two. Kinda sad.

I have really enjoyed the Women's murder club series. Although I am waiting for a price drop on 3rd degree. With him releasing so many, there is never a need to pick them up at full price anymore.

If you like the Womens Club you will like the Alex Cross series. I enjoy books that center around 1 main character. More recently I am reading Dan Brown where he centers around Robert Langdon.

Steeler Fan,

Thanks for the suggestion. I started reading the Michael Connelly books this morning. I'm reading the first book in the Harry Bosch series. Hopefully, they will be interesting. 8 )

Anj

I have the same feelings about Patterson as a lot of you do (he's putting his name on others' work to collect a check with the ghostwriting and all / his prose is like a 6th grade english student...), but I still find myself reading his Cross series. I was about to call it quits until I read Big Bad Wolf, which I found myself enjoying, in spite of myself, for the Keyser Sozey-esque villiain. However when you distance yourself from the series, you have to ask yourself, just how many genius-level brilliant, ultra rich, super villains are out there just waiting for their shot at Alex Cross? All in all, I enjoy Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme series and John Sanford's Prey series more, but the Cross books are adequate put-your-brain-on-hold time fillers.

^^ That is exactly the way I feel about Patterson. The last sentence anyway. His books are great filler between reading other books. Good light hearted fun.