REVIEW: Cat and Mouse

Cat and Mouse
Author: James Patterson

I'm grateful to the Great American Read for enticing me to start reading the Alex Cross series. Cat and Mouse is the 4th book in the series, and I'm officially hooked. I like the characters, and the plots are suspenseful and engrossing.

Cross' nemesis, serial killer Gary Soneji, returns in Cat and Mouse. Soneji is bound and determined to kill Detective Alex Cross once and for all....but he's going to do it his way....the violent and crazy way. While Cross and his partner, John Sampson, are chasing after Soneji, another killer is playing games with the FBI. Mr. Smith is diabolical and extremely savage in his killings. He tortures people to death with the preciseness of a surgeon. The two cases come together with a violent clashing of killing styles, leaving both Cross and Sampson reeling.

This book has plenty of action, investigation and surprises. I kept thinking I had it figured out....only to have the plot take another twist, leaving me guessing again. Very enjoyable story!

This series does seem to have it out for any woman that Alex Cross shows interest in, however......that particular plot device is getting a bit old after 4 books. But, I like this series....and I'm willing to overlook a relatively small annoyance. My favorite character by far is Nana Mama. She's in her 80's and feisty, but she loves her family. And she gives some great advice. Cross' partner, John Sampson, is a great supporting character. I also enjoy Cross' kids -- Janie and Damon. They are wise and love their daddy. :)

I listened to the audio book version of Cat and Mouse. The particular audio book my library offered is narrated by Jeff Harding.   His reading is ok....he reads at a nice pace and all that. But.....I found his voice annoying and his attempts at accents to be less than stellar.   Why would a publisher hire a white actor to voice a black main character?? I much preferred the previous Alex Cross audio book I listened to, narrated by Ron Butler. Harding's attempts at the voices of Cross and Sampson were ridiculous. If the main character in a novel is black, then PLEASE hire a black actor to narrate the audio book!!! I was constantly pulled out of the story by the really bad attempts on Jeff Harding's part to sound black......just bad. I hope the next few audio books the library has are read by Ron Butler or similar actors. So much more enjoyable.

So, the book is excellent. This audio book could have been much better with a different narrator. On to the next book! The Alex Cross series has 25 books...with #26 coming in Nov 2018. I have a lot of reading and listening to do! :)