James Patterson w/ Richard Dilallo
Alex Cross’s: Trial
Publisher: Vision
First:- Who is the author of the story? I know that Patterson helps some authors get printed by allowing them to co-author a story. Much like an apprenticeship or is it mentoring? This story “Trial” has me a bit confused. Patterson is involved in the story making with Dilallo as the co-author… but who is Alex Cross? Is he fictional or real? And the story originated with Alex’s GrandMa? And it is the story of her uncle? I feel like I have fallen into a rabbit hole and haven’t found Alice or the Wonderland.
Second:- The story itself. I liked it a lot. It is set in the early 1900’s. Starts in Washington and goes to Eudora Mississippi. Ah, the deep south where men were men, women were brainless and blacks were cattle. This was the beginning of the era of change that left our world, at the closing of that century, turned on its head. The story itself is about the beatings, torture and lynchings of black folk that “didn’t remember their place.” It is about the revolution started by one white lawyer and a community of blacks, to stand up for rights Granted in the North but Denied in the South. The focal point is the trial of three white men for taking the law into their not so clean white hands. A snapshot of history to remind us what evil can lurk in the minds of men.
Third:- The layout of the story. Like all of Patterson’s books it is a quick read. The guy loves to create chapters whenever and wherever possible. Only have one minute to read? Perfect, you can read a chapter in about a minute. There are only 140 chapters spread over 392 pages with a lot of white space… and the story seems to end too quickly.
A pleasant read and somewhat educational. You should enjoy it, unless you can’t manage second hand offenses.