One thing that I look for in a book is intrigue; am I hooked, does my
mind run through the suspect list as I do the
dishes, do I despise the
perpetrator yet feel sorry for his plight, will I go as far as rationalizing all
the different ways that the poor soul is simply a product of his
upbringing and shouldn't be held fully responsible? As soon as I'm
starting to feel sorry for the son of a @#*@* does he go and do
something so horrendous that my pity turns to rage, my sympathy run
into a dead end. When I was once so sure that all the sicko needed was
a good role model, someone who could
understand him, my view of him
does a 180. "Find him! Burn him! Kill him!" I gladly join in the battle cry
of the village, he must be put to a stop! But wait, who the hell is he?
Have we misjudged, is the wrong man going to be apprehended? Ah,
the emotional ups and downs of a good thriller. Murder mysteries are
by far my first choice of literature if I am bored with my everday
thoughts. How exciting to be swept up in the drama of someone elses
tragedy, so wonderful to get all riled up over something that isn't yours
to deal with.
Now, I'm beginning to wonder if anyone is getting curious as to the
particular story line that got me so tied in knots. You may have figured
out from the Title of this abstract, but just in case you didn't here it is:
Kiss the Girls, an addictive novel by James Patterson. I have a feeling
that many of you have seen the movie, if you have you may understand
some of the reason for my anger. Although, if you haven't read the
book you won't even understand the half of it. Those movie editors
know how to do their jobs, edit out the stuff that people may not be able
to stomach, a very effective method in increasing sales. Unfortunately,
the movie version won't give you all the disturbing details, the parts that
makes you sit back and wonder what kind of dreams Mr. Patterson has
night after night. Oh, the wonder of spending a day in his mind. Where
does it all come from? Where do you get the idea for a story as
horrendous as Kiss the Girls? A psychopath kidnapping talented young
women and holding them in an underground prison. A man who
tortures them, all the while proclaiming his love for them, then he looks
at his watch and realizes " well, I must go to work now" so he locks
them up and goes and joins the sane folk in the real world. He weaves a
pattern of normalcy so tightly around himself that no one notices the
devil on the inside. No one, that is, except his prisoners. Exceptional
young women, talented, educated. He dresses them up so they may
come out and perform for him. These poor women are so hopeless that
they sit there in their evening gowns and play and sing for the madman,
the one who broke them down to submission.
Now, of course, we would know nothing of this if one of the women
didn't manage to escape. A particularly
strong willed woman, Kate, who
is then able to supply the police with more information than they could
have hoped for. She works side by side with Detective Cross, a strong
ally but a terrifying enemy. As they begin to unravel the mystery, there
comes a very personal realization; the man who had Kate has Detective
Cross' niece and they don't know how much time they have before he
kills more of the women, or who will be next. And, of course, no good
story is complete without a crazy twist. Casanova ( the psycho wannabe
lover turned killer ) isn't working entirely alone. Well, I will leave you
there with a strong recommendation to read the book, find out for
yourself what really happens.