Kiss the Girls
James Patterson, 1979
Mystery, thriller & crime Contemporary fiction
James Patterson’s second Alex Cross thriller: short chapters, a killer’s taunting voice, and a case that keeps changing shape. Short chapters keep the pace brisk, while a taunting killer’s voice and a shifting case leave a steady sense of dread.
Feels like dread and unease. About power and ambition.
Who it’s for
You may like it if you enjoy crime procedurals with quick chapters and an antagonist who needles the detective. The taunting killer and persistent unease make it a grim read, so it may not suit you if you want lighter suspense.
Why read it
It offers a fast, tense look at a case that keeps changing shape, with Alex Cross working under pressure and a killer who stays close.
A page from the book
What if winning was just the final act of a battle you already decided in your mind?
A saying of Sun-tzu’s hammered through her head: “A victorious army wins its victories before seeking battle. James Patterson.Patterson was chairman of the ad agency J. Walter Thompson before turning to thrillers; Alex Cross has appeared in more than thirty novels.
Books that feel like this
More by James Patterson
1st to Die
James Patterson, 2001
A San Francisco homicide inspector and her three friends—a medical examiner, a reporter, an assistant DA—track a killer whose victims are newlyweds.
Where to get it
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Questions readers ask
- Is Kiss the Girls for me?
- You may like it if you enjoy crime procedurals with quick chapters and an antagonist who needles the detective. The taunting killer and persistent unease make it a grim read, so it may not suit you if you want lighter suspense.
- What is Kiss the Girls like?
- Short chapters keep the pace brisk, while a taunting killer’s voice and a shifting case leave a steady sense of dread. Feels like dread and unease. About power and ambition.
- What should I read after Kiss the Girls?
- If you liked Kiss the Girls, try Disclosure (Michael Crichton), Behind Closed Doors (B.A. Paris) and Seven Days in May (Fletcher Knebel).
A taste of the feed
The founder who can’t imagine a life after the company.
“Nobody knows,” Sanders said. “Bob built the company from nothing, fifteen years ago. When he started, he was selling knockoff modems from Korea. Back when nobody knew what a modem was. Now the company’s got three buildings downtown, and big facilities in California, Texas, Ireland, and Malaysia. He builds fax modems the size of a dime, he markets fax and E-mail software, he’s gone into CD-ROMs, and he’s developed proprietary algorithms that should make him a leading provider in education markets for the next century. Bob’s come a long way from some guy hustling three hundred baud modems. I don’t know if he can give it up.”
Disclosure · Michael Crichton
Perfect manners can be the most frightening thing about a person.
We go downstairs and in the hall, he takes my coat from the cupboard and holds it open while I slip my arms into it. In the drive outside, he holds the car door for me and waits until I’m in. As he closes it behind me, I can’t help thinking it’s a shame he’s such a sadistic bastard, because he has wonderful manners.
Behind Closed Doors · B.A. Paris
A handful of men can stop the government from falling off a monument.
All you’ve got to know is this: right now the government of the United States is sitting on top of the Washington Monument, right on the very point, tilting right and left and ready to fall off and break up on the pavement. There are just a handful of men that can prevent it. And you’re one of them.
Seven Days in May · Fletcher Knebel
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