James Patterson – Chase [BookShot]

Ein Mann, zwei Verfolger. Er scheint die Oberhand zu behalten, doch nur kurze Zeit und er fällt vom Dach eines New Yorker Hotels und ist tot.  Mike Bennett muss den fall untersuchen, der zunächst wie ein Selbstmord aussieht. Doch die fehlende Identität, das leer Hotelzimmer und schließlich ein mysteriöser Fund in seinem Magen erhärten den Verdacht auf Mord. Nur: der Mann ist schon einmal gestorben, bei einer Geheimaktion im Irak kam er ums Leben. Mike Bennett muss wohl oder übel nach Washington und hoffen, dass die die Armee kooperiert, was natürlich nicht der Fall ist. Eine geheimnisvolle Nachricht führt ihn auf die Spur der Täter und bringt ihn in Lebensgefahr.

Der dritte BookShot von James Patterson kann leider nicht mit den anderen mithalten. Zum einen weil konstruierte Zufälle und nicht saubere Nachforschungen den Detective voranbringen. Kommissar Zufall mag ich schlichtweg nicht, da wird vieles zu beliebig. Zum anderen haben wir es hier weniger mit einem Krimi im klassischen Sinne zu tun, sondern eher mit einer Militär-Kriegs-Thematik, die mich nur sehr bedingt ansprechen kann. Denke und Verhalten der Armeeführung sind mir fremd und können mich auch in Romanen nur selten begeistern, somit war thematisch hier leider vieles verloren. Zudem befindet sich die Handlung im letzten Drittel fast nur noch im Schieß- und Draufschlagmodus, das mag im Medium Film gut und unterhaltsam sein, in Bücher ist es eher weniger spannend. Zwar wird der Fall gelöst und auch durchaus glaubwürdig motiviert, aber letztlich fällt das Fazit eher verhalten aus. 

James Patterson – The Trial

Another legendary Women’s Murder Club meeting is disturbed: drug cartel boss Kingfisher has risen from the dead and caused a shooting in a night club. Detective Lindsay Boxer rushes to the crime scene and finds the man who tormented her for months arrested.  Yet, the police have to set up the case quickly, before the FBI can take over. But the witnesses are scared, nobody has seen anything. An anonymous video brings relief. But shortly before the trial can start, the prosecutor is murdered. Kingfisher and his men will do everything to prevent the case from taking place and whoever gets in their way has to fear for his life.

Another quick read from the bookshots series. The characters from the Women’s Murder Club series are quickly introduced at the beginning and their relationship is explained. However, in my opinion, this bookshot can easily be read without knowing anything about the series, it is only loosely linked and it is mainly Lindsay starring. Due to the limited number of pages, the plot moves at a high pace and renounces any side plots.  I like the focus on just one story and a straight way from the beginning to the end.  There are some interesting twists and some surprise at the end, but not too much suspense this time. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading it and it fulfilled my expectations.

James Patterson – Cross Kill

Handing out breakfast at a church school kitchen, Alex Cross and his partner John Sampson are surprised by shots coming from behind them. When they have a look, the cook and a nun are already wounded. Just seconds later, Alex and his partner are also under fire und John is seriously hurt. Alex got to see the assailant but cannot believe his eyes: Gary Soneji is back. A murderer he saw burn to death more than 10 years ago. This is just impossible. With his partner fighting for his life, Alex has to hunt him down on his own and is soon confronted with a whole army of Soneji fans who support their idol.

“Cross Kill” is a story from the new bookshots serious starring a well-known character in a short and fast-paced novella. Just like all the long crime novels by James Patterson, we have a thrilling story with Alex Cross under fire and at the edge. However, no side stories keep you from following the main story and you can simply enjoy in one sitting. Albeit the focus is on the story here, Patterson does not forget his characters and what I liked especially about this story is the fact that Alex Cross is not the ice-cold policeman here, he gets quite emotional and makes mistakes which nearly cost him his life. He seems to be much more human under those circumstances than we know him. All in all, I like the idea of the crime novellas and look forward to reading more of them.