Books Reveiw: James Patterson: Four Blind Mice

New York Times bestselling author James Patterson has long been hailed as a superb storytelling craftsman, and his latest hardcover is no exception. A gripping, action-packed thriller, it also packs an emotional wallop to match the speed and complexity of its plot twists. Detective Alex Cross is planning to resign from the Washington, D.C., police force, and he's got a lot on his mind: he's eager to be a more involved parent, worried that he's asking too much of his ailing grandmother, hoping to see where his relationship with San Francisco homicide cop Jamilla Hughes is headed, and considering a job offer from the FBI.

The last thing he needs in his life is another complication. But when his close friend and partner John Sampson asks for help, Alex can't refuse -- even though that means taking on the whole U.S. Army. A friend of Sampson's from his days in Vietnam has been arrested for a brutal multiple murder on a military base, and the evidence against him is overwhelming. Sampson believes his friend was framed -- but if he and Cross can't prove it soon, despite military obstructions, the wrong man will be sent to the gas chamber. Unfortunately, while Cross and Sampson quickly become certain that the frame they're investigating is only the tip of an iceberg of deceit and death, the hard evidence they need proves maddeningly elusive. The danger grows as they begin to draw closer to the real killers (a frighteningly skilled team of military assassins known only as the Three Blind Mice) and the shadowy, deadly mastermind who's been calling the shots.

4 out of 5 stars.