CAT & MOUSE.

by J. Patterson

1997

Status

Checked out

Publication

Warner Books (1997), 451 pages

Description

Fiction. Mystery. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:In this New York Times bestseller, two killers-one operating in America, one in Europe-believe Alex Cross is the only worthy opponent in the deadly game each has planned.Gary Soneji, a dying prison escapee, is looking for revenge on Cross, while another insane killer is pursued by Thomas Augustine Pierce-a brilliant and relentless detective who may even be better than Cross. As the bodies pile up, and Cross is nearly murdered in his own home, the game of cat and mouse leads to one final trap. . . The body count is high, the tension the highest, and the two killers on the loose are watching every move their pursuers make. Who is the cat, and who is the mouse? What and where is the final trap? And who survives?… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member bgriff
Definitely the best of the Alex Cross novels. It was so fast-paced that I was unable to put it down until I finished.
LibraryThing member Fantasma
I'm a huge fan of James Patterson and have read most of his books (this one was not in the series order ;o) ), and definitly this wasn't one of his best, despite the other opinions :)
I didn't like the 2 stories separation, it almost seemed 2 different books and I felt a lot of things were not
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cleared out.

We can't always be totally pleased...
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LibraryThing member blueeyedgoover
Great great book, definitely recommend it to everybody...paticularly Nicole, nothing like a detective novel!!!
LibraryThing member kmercer
A killer named Mr. Smith begins his murder spree in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and then starts terrorizing Europe. Bodies are found "gutted." At the same time Gary Soneji taunts Cross with murders in train stations.
LibraryThing member nm.fall07.a.allen
This book is an exciting homicide book. It takes you to the different points of almost each character. You can fell whats happening and see it happen around you. You get a visual picture in your head really quickly. It will take you on a rollercoaster of emotions with romance, horror, suspence and
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many others.
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LibraryThing member nm.spring08.a.hayes
This is a great, fast-paced novel. Its pages are filled with multiple killers, unsolved mysteries, mistaken identities, numerous characters, and more. Who is the cat and who is the mouse in this game these killers are playing? Will Alex cross die? Will the FBI figure out who is behind these
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killings? This thriller will have you asking questions throughout the whole book. If you are one that enjoys mystery and a lot of thrill, then this is the perfect book for you.
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LibraryThing member kymmayfield
What a great book!!! Definite page turner!!!
I had the killer picked out tho before it was told in the book.
However it didnt spoil it tho. Another great book in the Alex Cross series.
LibraryThing member calhorn1
Yeah, I am embarrassed that I read this but the first step to getting help.......
LibraryThing member debavp
A bit improved from Jack and Jill, but a long way to go still.
LibraryThing member meags222
This book was entertaining but as far as Patterson books go I wasn't super impressed. It is almost like reading two different short novels in one; like he ran out of things to say for the first plot line and began a whole different one half way through. I enjoyed reading the second half more than
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the first though. In the end I give this 2.5 stars out of 5.
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LibraryThing member sloepoque
More "unspeakable acts" performed by unstoppable evil serial killers. Fortunately Alex Cross is on the case. Decent page turner, but nothing outstanding.
LibraryThing member PghDragonMan
Cat and Mouse is my first foray into the world of Alex Cross, a world written by James Patterson. While much better than the Iris Johansen novel I delved into last year, slightly above average is the best I can call this work. If this is an example of his style, I find myself wondering what all the
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fuss is about over Patterson’s writing.

Let’s go with the good stuff first. While Alex Cross is an ongoing character, and I understand this book comes in late in the series, I had no trouble getting into the feel of the character. Good character development in a short time is not too common. Cross had my empathy after only a short time into the story. Cross has not one but two world-class bad guys to contend with and they were not operating as a team. A very nice plot device and it was used effectively. There is gore, this is a murder mystery after all, but no more than is needed to make the point. Good restraint on the author’s part.

With an opening like this, why did it end up being just over middle of the road? Because the big plot twist was not too much of a surprise after all. While not exactly spelled out, it became obvious too quickly. One of the killers appeared to be killing people randomly while the police and the FBI frantically tried to find the pattern. It was there if you read carefully long before it was revealed by Cross. That is not giving the plot away. Cross is the hero, that’s what he’s supposed to do: solve the pattern.

Ironically, what elevated this story from sub-mediocrity was the romantic subplot. I’m not into romance novels, but a well-done truly romantic interlude is difficult to find. One that is not over the top in detail is even more rare. Patterson does not write the erotic scenes Murakami has shown in some of his works, but for a potboiler author, Patterson is very refreshing.

All told, Cat and Mouse made an interesting diversion during my daily commute. Good travel reading and suggested for best-seller / murder mystery lovers. If you prefer more thought in your reading, this book may leave something to be desired.
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LibraryThing member SonicQuack
Patterson mixes it up again with multiple (and international) psychopaths on the rampage. One of which is his old nemesis, Gary Soneji. There are some great action scenes in Cat and Mouse and Patterson captures the the tension well. As expected, the actual profiling of the criminal mind is shallow,
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and the main characters are somewhat superficial too, although existing readers will know what to expect - action and intrigue. Patterson fans will not be disappointed since Cat and Mouse has plenty of both. Longer than usual, Cat and Mouse is two stories interwoven and together they make an entertaining read.
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LibraryThing member mazda502001
Another good book in the series. An action-packed read that is a real page-turner.

Back Cover Blurb:
Psychopath Gary Soneji is back - filled with hatred and obsessed with gaining revenge of detective Alex Cross. Soneji seems determined to go down in a blaze of glory and he wants Alex Cross to be
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there. Will this be the final showdown?
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LibraryThing member JoAnnSmithAinsworth
Confused during the first half or so of the novel about two serial killer stories. I thought they should have been separate books and fleshed out. Later I saw how the story lines merged.
LibraryThing member TinyDancer11
Not nearly as impressive as most of the Alex Cross books...It seemed a bit jumbled with the two serial killers stories going back and forth.
LibraryThing member literarytiger
As you would expect from Patterson, this is a page turner, with incredibly short chapters and pacy sentences. Alex Cross is once again faced with his nemesis, Gary Soneji, as well as an even more gruesome murderer, Mr Smith. There is the usual love interest, and the usual sweet (sometimes in quite
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a saccharine manner) interludes with his family. This is Gary Soneji's last outing, but he makes it a difficult one for Cross as one would expect.

I found the love scenes uncomfortable and completely out of place - I know Cross has found a new woman, but I don't really want to hear about their bedroom antics. For that I would read a romance, not a particularly gory crime fiction novel. Also, the identity of Mr Smith just didn't hold together for me. The idea was good but I found the execution poor and unconvincing. It was almost too difficult to suspend your disbelief and so I was pretty disappointed.
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LibraryThing member jbemrose
Alex was hunting Gary Sonjei that threaten Alex and his family. Thomas Pierce asked Alex to help to look for the killer name Mr. Smith. No one can seem to catch Mr. Smith. I love the suspence and the thrill of it.
LibraryThing member sarah_imsande
If you want suspenseful book, this is it! Any of the James Patterson books are good, but this is one of my favorites. This is a part of a series collection, which features a detective named Alex Cross. This book is intense and will put you on the edge of your seat. I am almost surprised that they
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haven't made any of these books into movies yet.
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LibraryThing member SSbooks
A good read and a page turner. This will hold your interest and if you begin to feel bored keep reading and it will snag you back in no time at all. I liked the way the two story lines merged together in this one. Good work by Mr. Patterson
LibraryThing member ladyofunicorns
I enjoyed reading this novel but I really like James Patterson and his Alex Cross books.

Soneji, the ultimate bad guy. I really enjoyed reading about him again. I had missed him in the books between.
LibraryThing member jlsimon7
I started this book thinking it was going to be the tie breaker on if I was going to continue the series. I had 1 I loved, 1 I was bored of, and one that was middle of the road. So I figured book four would get a decision.

The beginning was exciting, but then it got boring. Then in the middle when
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Cross meets up with Soneji again the book got exciting again. At this point I'm thinking... Wait, we're only half way through the book. If the antagonist is dead, what's the rest of the book about? So with eager anticipation I started the second half of the book when Alex is dealing with Mr. Smith, the new antagonist on the scene. Problem is this guy is sick, but once again it's impossible with all the jumping around to follow any logical process as to how Cross finds Smith.

In the mean time, Cross, has fallen in love with yet another woman. I tell you if men actually fell in love as often as this guys seems to there wouldn't be so many single women out there... Any way, I can't for the life of me see where his family life adds to the story at all. It's like Patterson is using the Cross family as page filler.

Who would I recommend this book to? Teenage audience that enjoys thrillers. The teen mind is far more likely to enjoy all the jumping from one thing to another. It's part of their multitasking world. Also they are far less likely to find all the back and fill with the romance and family life annoying.

For me personally, I am abandoning the Alex Cross series at this time. I will try a few other Patterson books, but if they are written like these I'll just dump the whole set and start from scratch. I bought this set of books as a collection. There are 70 or so Patterson books in this collection. I'm pretty disappointed so far.
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LibraryThing member BingeReader87
the best Alex Cross so far. Can't wait to read the next one
LibraryThing member Andrew-theQM
An enjoyable read with a twist, but felt a bit of a weak ending. 3.5 stars
LibraryThing member HenriMoreaux
Cat & Mouse is a welcome return to the quality of narrative present in the first two books that I felt was missing in the third. That's not to say it's without issues as there are a couple, but for the most part Cat & Mouse is an excellent gripping read.

The issues? Alex tells us that he hasn't felt
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this way about a woman since his wife died, except he felt that way for Jezzie in the first book and Kate in the second. The other major issue? Mr Smith is killing people all over the world yet an epic logical plot hole is revealed towards the end of the novel that makes absolutely no sense, whilst the FBI knows who it is they let him roam free killing to instead implement an overly complicated plan to capture him red handed, which ultimately fails, resulting in a larger body count both before the plans implementation and after its failure.

Asides for those two niggling points, largely it's a good tale that keeps you rooted to your seat ploughing through the pages.
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Language

Original publication date

1997-11-05

Physical description

451 p.; 6.8 inches

ISBN

0446606189 / 9780446606189

Barcode

1600425
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