by James Patterson

Little, Brown, November, 2004.
Hardcover, 391 pages.
ISBN: 0316710598

When a small Western U.S. city is firebombed, FBI agent Alex Cross is called onto the scene. Geoffrey Shafer aka the Weasel, a vicious serial killer from Alex's past has been spotted near the scene in a surveillance film. When the FBI later receives a call from the Wolf, the situation escalates into even graver danger. The Wolf threatens to firebomb large cities, including New York and Washington D.C., if the FBI won't do precisely what the Wolf wants. The Wolf, a Russian gangster and psychopath, is one of the worst enemies Cross has ever faced. To make matters worse for Alex Cross, the Wolf has somehow managed to involve the Weasel, a serial killer that Alex encountered in D.C. Alex is extremely alarmed and puzzled to see the highly intelligent and deranged Weasel working together with the Wolf. Forced to face two of his greatest villains -- Alex must work swiftly because the Wolf is not known for his patience, but is well-known for his brutality.

This is another must-read thriller from James Patterson. We last saw the Wolf, a criminal mastermind and psychopath, in Patterson's riveting thriller, The Big Bad Wolf. The Wolf is a ruthless and cunning killer who will stop at nothing to fulfill his insane schemes. However, despite his cruel pattern of destruction and intensity he often manages to appear calm. One of the Wolf's favorite tortures is called zamochit, in which he breaks the bones of his victim one by one -- sometimes starting with a little finger. Patterson is remarkably skilled at characterization and his characters, like Alex Cross who has appeared in ten of Patteron's novel, are very believable. Thriller fans and Alex Cross fans will enjoy this well-paced novel which is full of non-stop action.

London Bridges is available for purchase on Amazon.com

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This review was published in the November-December, 2004 of The Internet Writing Journal.

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