Siberian Dogs don’t get sick or Good Bye James Patterson.
I have to admit I was in love with him. I met him by share accident. Along Came a Spider was lying on the car floor in my fiancé’s car. He bought the paperback but never read it. I had. I read it and I was hooked.
Every Christmas I would get more and more Patterson’s books. I devoured. Alex Cross was my favourite. I absolutely loved girls from Women’s Murder Club.
Then, it started to get bad. It started slow with expansion into one-off novels and partnerships, into mystery and science fiction. Some books I could not read at all. Every now and then Alex Cross’ novel would come out. Patterson would write it by himself. And it would make me remember why I fell in love with the author and his characters.
And here comes Target: Alex Cross. I guess this novel had to come about. I had to finish the relationship at some point. The relationship was not bringing my any joy. I was becoming a jaded reader and would not do any good for the author. This novel was just the cherry on top or the last straw, or the last fight, or the last word.
It felt like watching my ex-husband explode when I announced I was leaving. He threw everything at me. And I did not feel a thing. I stayed and watched the whole thing till the end. You can’t avoid watching a disaster or something horrible. You can’t not explore the depths of betrayal even know there is nothing and will remain nothing at the end.
This book was it. I will throw the rest of Patterson’s books out. I will not read another one ever again. I am sorry but this is me. I cut relationships off.
I am not even going to explain why…
Yes, the book is well written. Yes, there is enough suspense to make you sit on the edge of your chair. Yes, Alex Cross is brilliant and likeable as always. But, Siberian Dogs don’t get sick. Mr Patterson should not have given in to ‘cold-war-like’ hysteria about Kremlin and Bad Russians.
Yes, Patterson’s Big Bad Wolf was amazingly done. Bad Russian was as bad as they come. He was strong and enigmatic. He was fun. But all the hoo-haa about Kremlin’s attacks, Kremlin’s hand at anything that goes bad in the States. I am sorry, do grow up.
At the end of the day (or book) Bad were your own, not Russians..
I thought better of you…
Svetlana Tishchenko 