This book was very easy to follow. I found it to be historically accurate and highly informative. From the very beginning the author has the reader very captivated. The book gave a complete view on not just the battle but how the people of that era lived. It gave a good human side to a major event in our history. Whoever reads this book will appreciate both sides of this war. And most importantly, this book stimulates the sense of heritage, pride, and the importance of preserving our valuable history. The statistics were also helpful for me, because for the first time I saw the correct numbers of troops involved in the Battle of Fort Mercer. This book was well done.

I read through the other reviews of this book. Apparently many readers agree with me. We have given James Patterson and Alex Cross many, many chances. I was on the edge of giving up on these books after reading the last Alex Cross. But because of the fine quality of earlier books, I plunged into this last one, Roses are Red. Never again.

It's just the same old thing over and over. A weird serial killer has a personal vendetta against Alex. I could even take another good book about that. But here's the real problem that has displayed itself in so many of the past several books - there is no solution or conclusion to the story lines.

The killer from either 3 or 4 books ago is still around. Alex thought he had gotten him, but it is revealed that he has just killed someone else. So, first of all, we are told that the criminal from a previous case has never really been captured. The story of the relationship between Alex and Christine is also just left hanging. If I was not familiar with the Alex/Christine story from other books, the description of what happens between them would make no sense at all.

Then, in this current book, there are several captures made of people who are thought to be the murderer. Every time a capture is made, the person says "You have got the wrong man". Of course, this being an Alex Cross book, it always is truly the wrong man because the real perpetrator is rarely caught in these stories. He is always free to roam to become the focus of a sequel. The final few sentences of the book supposedly do finally tell who the killer is. But, in my opinion, it was such an unbelievably dumb choice after reading the entire book, it didn't satisfy my curiosity. It just made me mad. And, even this dumb choice of a serial killer is not caught.

After I have invested my time in reading a book, any book, I feel that I deserve a conclusion to most of the plot lines in the story. I do understand about sequels and that sometimes things need to be left hanging to keep the reader interested until the next installment. But these Alex Cross books go too far. The plots are never wrapped up. There is way too much left unsaid. I feel like I have been jerked around by James Patterson. If you lure me into the story, give me some satisfaction by the end of the book.

Maybe in some future book, James Patterson will take all of these loose threads and weave them into one huge and final conclusion. Even if he does, I will not be reading about it. This book was really my last Alex Cross.

I have read all the Alex Cross Novels that Patterson has wrote and I must say that I am disappointed by alot of reviewers review of this book. I for one loved it. Though some of the critics feel it delved to deeply into cross' personal life I find it refreshing that the author took time to show that Alex isn't just a workaholic-cop who eventually end up eating his gun due to the fact he can't handle the stress of some of the stuff he see's on the job. We actually get to see the heart behind the hard and cool exterior that is Alex Cross. And as for the mastermind he will be a criminal that will go down in literary history similar to Morarty. Patterson takes us back to the Patterson that wrote Kiss the Girls, and Cat and Mouse which are my two favorite books in the series. And I am sure that the continuation/ending to this book will be a certified 5 star release from patterson.

This is the latest book in Patterson's Alex Cross series, and it follows the same pattern as the other books in the series--short chapters and constant switching from Alex's first-person narrative to a third-person view inside the head of "The Mastermind", the criminal responsible for planning a series of brutal bank robberies. As the book opens, Alex Cross, along with the FBI, is investigating a series of bank robberies where the victims are killed, along with their families, if the robbers' instructions are not followed PRECISELY. The pace of the action never slows, from the first to the final pages, and the reader can't help but feel sorry for Alex Cross as he tries to track down the killers, all the while dealing with two separate personal crises. He continues to slog on through it all, chasing down one false lead after another. Patterson is in fine form, with one incredible plot twist following another. Perhaps the most thrilling moment comes when Cross and "The Mastermind" come face to face, only Cross is completely unaware of it. My biggest problem with the book is Patterson's failure to resolve the situation at the end, but that has been his style with most of his Alex Cross novels, and I guess it's his way of making sure you buy his next book! Please note: If you are one of those readers who likes to flip to the back page of a book and read it first, DON'T DO IT! It will spoil the whole book!

The author concludes that because Red Cross makes a LOT of money on blood and because a terrible thing - AIDS- happened to patients, therefore the Red Cross must have profited from these terrible things. Well, that may be true there are no facts to support the connection. There has been no investigative journalism done here. This approach will appeal to conspiracy theorists, but for a well-researched history and facts you'd be much better off with BLOOD: an epic history by Douglas Starr, ISBN 0688176496

Judith Reitman obviously put a lot of work and research into writing this book. All of the information provided is well researched and documented. I would recommend this book to anyone, because it warns us not only about the Red Cross, but it makes us aware about how other non-profit organizations can cut corners to save money as well. It also makes us realize that there are a lot of changes that need to be made to regulate organizations and businesses of any kind for the protection of all of us. I don't think people realize how much one decision can impact other people's lives. Reitman provides a lot of examples in the form of true stories which really makes this book that much more interesting.

Ms. Reitman should be commended for her courage in bringing to light an unforgiveable human tragedy. In other countries those in charge of the Red Cross blood program would have been jailed for their callous disregard of human life. With warnings and red flags galore, instead of admitting there was a terrible problem with the blood supply, the Red Cross blood program officials calculatedly chose to proceed with the status quo. Their actions cost the lives of the very people whom the Red Cross was established to help.

The results of their actions are ongoing and still affect the lives of people who trusted them. The FDA has been attempting for years to force the Red Cross blood program into compliance with safe blood practices and yet, with coffers overflowing, the Red Cross is claiming any penalties will jeopardize their very existence. How can they, in good conscience and with mounting evidence against them, still refuse to accept responsibility for the tragedy they knowingly caused.

This book is a good lesson for us all. Trusting an organization based solely on reputation and its self promotion opens the door to abuse.

My heartfelt sympathies go out to all the victims of the Red Cross blood program's deceit....the victims....those who received the tainted blood products as well as to those in the medical field who were unknowingly made accomplices as they transfused and administered those blood products in an attempt to save lives. How awful they must now feel.