London Bridges by James Patterson

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A maniac sadistic criminal, who goes by the alias Wolf, is on the loose, but hiding in the dark. He is set out on a personal project of blowing up some bridges and city centres in places like Washington, DC; London; Paris; and Tel Aviv. He would inform authorities in advance of the time each incident would occur and that it could be avoided if they paid a hefty ransom and released some political prisoners. Alex Cross moves from country to country chasing Wolf. The story starts with the bombing of an entire mobile-home park in Sunrise Valley, Nevada.

It is mostly a free-flowing story. Of course, it has its twists and turns, yet not that thrilling. There is an element of suspense from the beginning to the end concerning who Wolf is and many speculations and investigations to uncover his identity. However, there is hardly anything intriguing enough that tempts you to move from chapter to chapter. I couldn’t help comparing it throughout the read with some other thrillers with which you cannot help being compelled to turn the page at the end of every chapter to get the answer to something puzzling in it in the subsequent one.

The plain and straightforward language made for a fast read. The chapters have been kept short so as to span not more than two to three pages, perhaps to make it all crisp by a rapid change in situations and settings instead of dragging the reader through the same scenario for pages. So, there is a total of one hundred and twenty-four chapters. However, a considerable part is occupied by descriptions of Alex Cross’s affairs associated with his family and other connections, which is hardly interesting and an unnecessary distraction that only diluted the core theme and its suspense, fully sacrificing the prospect of a tighter plot.

Many characters and happenings look sketchy; many elements in the plot exist without proper explanation or justification. And no substantial accomplishment whatsoever is made by Alex Cross, so to speak; secrets reveal themselves and not because of his efforts. Finally, you are left wondering what the role of Alex Cross was in the entire story. With not much of a tight grip on its characters or happenings, the book looks like a bundle of objects loosely tied. Honestly, this purported thriller was not that thrilling.