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Book Review By James Craver
Kiss the Girls by James Patterson

The man knowns as "Casanova" is a killer who fancies himself a collector. Living in a mysterious house in the North Carolina woods, which seems to vanish when its "visitors" leave, and wearing stylized masks representing his moods, he collects the most extraordinary women he can find into his own personal harem, killing those who refuse to submit to his whims.

The man who calls himself "the Gentleman Caller" is a bestial serial killer terrorizing the City of Angels, raping and killing women, then cutting off body parts to keep as trophies and arranging flowers around the bodies. Later he will send the latest entry in his diary to a reporter at the L.A. Times, insisting that it be published.

What do these two monsters have in common? Detective Alex Cross, policeman, forensic psychologist, family man, and serial killer-catcher, doesn't know. But Cross will find out, because this time it's personal.

This time, Cross's niece Naomi has become the latest addition to Casanova's collection. This time, a reporter in Los Angeles has received the latest entry in the diary of a Gentleman, which tells of the abduction of a young woman named Naomi C. And this time, Alex Cross is not going to rest until he has put a pair of killers away... permanently.


Plot & Themes
Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain? - Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story:
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 60%
Misc. Murder Plotlets - cooped up in spooky house - character killed during/after sexing - Proving innocence of very obvious suspect
Kind of investigator
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
The crook is.... - stalking/killing innocents
Any non-mystery subplot?
descript. of violence and chases - 30 %
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40 %
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20 %
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10 %
Crime Thriller Yes
Is MAIN CHARACTER an EVIL criminal? Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status:
Age: - 40's-50's
Ethnicity/Race

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status:
Eccentric: Yes
Motive of antagonist - insanity
How sensitive is this character?
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Southeast
City? Yes
City: - Los Angeles
Small town? Yes
Small town people: - nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee
Misc setting - fancy mansion

Writing Style
Accounts of torture and death? - very gorey references to deaths/dead bodies and torture
Explicit sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references - descript of kissing - actual description of sex - rape (yeech!)
Unusual forms of death - eaten - diced - perforation--bullets - perforation--swords/knives - blunt clubbing (like seals)
Unusual form of death? Yes
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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