Pop Goes The Weasel is the fifth book in the Alex Cross series and was originally published in 1999. James Patterson has written a fast-paced thriller that is a white-knuckle ride throughout the book all the way to the end. Once again Patterson delivers a page-turner which leaves you wanting even more.

There are more dead young black women in the southeast district of Washington DC. Cross and a number of colleagues are having to run an off the books investigation into the murders as the Police department is unwilling to fund a murder investigation. The Chief of Police wants Cross to only focus on high profile murders and not the irrelevant murder of black children, that are happening in Cross’ own back yard.

With all the internal politics going on Cross takes a vacation with his family to Bermuda. His fiancée, Christine Johnson has gone missing. The is a police search and investigation but they keep coming up with nothing. When Cross gets back to Washington, he is a broken man.

Geoffrey Shafer is an upstanding member of the international set in Washington DC, he is an intelligence officer at the British Embassy. Shafer loves playing games and loves winning even more. Shafer is playing a game of life and death which could also include Christine Johnson, he is not afraid of grandstanding even though the world is watching.

It is a race to the end, and Cross is hoping that he is somehow able to find Christine still alive. He has the full support of his family and friends. The one thing that he could do with and has been missing throughout the investigate, luck.

Just another brilliant episode in the Cross series ( )

Detective

There's not much to say about this book, except that it illustrates all the flaws of reading a book series for me. Series that feature compelling, interesting characters are a joy, giving the reader a chance to spend more time in the company of people they enjoy. Then there's this one ...

This is the fifth (of 18! So far!) Alex Cross mystery/thrillers, featuring a Washington, D.C., police detective/psychologist who catches bad guys by getting into their head. The books are already starting to blur together for me. In every book, Cross contemplates leaving the police force altogether and going back into private practice as a psychologist. In every book, there's some amazingly beautiful and intelligent woman whom he instantly falls in love with, and all the reader can think is, "Uh-oh." Because that never turns out well for Alex. He's like a cross between Job and Eeyore, this guy.

Every killer is the worst yet, the most heinous, the most clever and devious, the most dangerous to Cross and his preternaturally perfect children and wise old grandmother. Sometimes the killers get caught at the end of the book, and as a reader I enjoy that closure. Sometimes they don't, and I just know I'm going to have to sit through another book somewhere down the line featuring this same tired storyline without even the juice of new characters to liven it up. And yet I can't stop reading them, so really, who's the fool? ( )

Geoffrey Shafer works at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C. and has diplomatic immunity. He also plays a role-playing game with three other men around the world he was in the army with years earlier. His character is Death. Unfortunately, Shafer’s fantasy game is now a reality for him as he acts out murders on real people, mostly people in the poor neighbourhoods where the police tend to not spend too much time or money investigating what happened.

But Alex Cross and a few of his detective friends are working on some of these cases in their spare time. At the same time, he tries to spend time with his family and girlfriend. Unfortunately, when they all head to Bermuda on holiday, things become personal.

I really liked this one. Although it got really frustrating with the diplomatic immunity. I don’t understand the why of that… people with diplomatic immunity can just go murder people in other countries and are not able to be punished for it? I just don’t get it! Maybe (in reality) it’s not quite that simple? ( )

I really enjoyed this book. Sure wish I had read it before Roses are Red. Once again a very quick and easy read but a page turner This book introduces the Weasel and the trouble he causes in Alex's personal life.
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