"Jack And Jill", James Patterson, Harper Collins

Another Alex Cross Novel.

Fills in more of the back story, whilst touching on issues which will resonate with us all.

Writing from a polity where we seem to be observed all the time, there appears to be a refreshing lack of surveillance/CCTV cameras in Washington. The novel is copywrited 1996, so perhaps my comments in 2008 are unfair. However, I suspect the author would write a different novel today.

The story concerns the overlaps between two different serial killer investigations ongoing in the same city at the same time and the relationship of both to Alex Cross.

I found the story of one of the serial killers, specifically the lone serial killer, sadly more believable than the other. Outside of television or a film I have rarely heard of a serial killer working in tandem with another. Of course, Dexter turned down his brother's offer!

Although the escalation of violence in both cases was well written and well thought out. Outside of television programs I have rarely seen an example of two Serial Killers working in the same city at the same time. I'm not sure if it has ever really happened, and if it did whether they were aware of each other. In this story, one is aware of the other(s) and it is a motivational force for him. But the others are either oblivious of him or just do not care. Given the situation I would suggest the latter.

Although most of the action takes place around Washington this reader didn't really get much sense of the American capital. The action could have taken place in any American city. Maybe that is another sad fact. This reader could imagine most of it (there are some aspects which are peculiar to Washington) happening in any US city.

I would not say that there was a happy ending, although it did suffer from a slightly moralistic (and perhaps typically American - how many really good American programs have been ruined from the second or third series on by the worthy, politically correct last minute preaching at the audience) take on events. Crime cannot pay. Having said that, after the events earlier in the book, there would be a certain amount of mania.