Title:	Hope to Die
	Author:	James Patterson
	Published:	2014, Little, Brown & Company
	No. of Pages:	374
	Cover Price:	$29.00 Hardcover, $16.00 Paperback, $5.99 Kindle US

---

Hope to Die is a continuation of James Patterson's Cross my Heart, which left readers hanging due to a very bad guy, Marcus Sunday, who kidnapped Alex Cross' entire family. Alex is, of course, despondent, and gets even worse when a tortured and badly beaten body is found; while the DNA isn't in yet, the corpse is identified as Alex's wife, Bree. Alex knows his house has been bugged by this madman, and also receives telephone messages from him; one message tells him to check his backyard where Alex finds another tortured and badly beaten corpse and this one is identified as Alex's oldest son, Damon. Alex is officially taken off of the investigation, but still teams up with a new Detective, Tess Aaliyah, and although they don't suspect Sunday, they pursue a psychopathic murderer they know by the name of Thierry Mulch, who is actually Sunday. Sunday's accomplice is Acadia Le Duc, a beautiful, but psychopathic murderer in her own right, who was instrumental in helping Sunday kidnap Alex's family.

Anyone who reads Cross My Heart will be not-so-patiently waiting to find out what happens to Alex and his family, and Hope to Die is the novel to tie up the loose ends. However, even though this novel is quite well-written (better than some of Patterson's novels, at least) and definitely keeps readers on the edge of their seats, there is some of the vintage Patterson sloppiness that is evident in so many of his books. One of the bad guys is badly injured near the end of the book, but the author forgot to let readers know what the final outcome is, and it leaves readers hanging. This particular bad guy did some redeeming things which had the potential to help Alex's family, but it is simply ignored at the end.

Hope to Die also contains more dead bodies and willy-nilly killing of innocents and not-so-innocents; the violence is definitely there, and the body count is, as is often the case with James Patterson, a bit too much. The suspense however, throughout the novel is palpable, and Alex Cross fans will not want to miss the end of this two-novel story. One of the things that is good about Alex Cross is his devotion to his family, and the fact that he is an honest and honorable man. This makes many readers able to relate, and makes the Alex Cross series appeal to readers who are also honest and honorable. All told, this novel should not be missed, albeit the flaws, and even though this is supposed to be the end of this particular episode in the life of Alex Cross, hopefully his next novel will soon be released and will tie up the loose ends.

This book was purchased with personal funds and no promotion of the book was solicited by the author or publisher.

This book may be purchased at Amazon:
Hope to Die, Hardcover
Hope to Die, Paperback
Hope to Die, Kindle