What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
Getting Morgan Freeman to narrate would have made this so much better. This is a very biased opinion, but ever since I saw him play Cross in the two movies made from these novels so far, I can't get past anyone else performing the story.The story was also uninteresting. The only saving grace was the climax between Cross and the Mastermind. The other central story was just not as intriguing.I know this is a Patterson thing, but I don't like how he tells the story from the killers' perspective at times. It takes away from the mystery and lowers the bar for me. If the killers remained unknown and a mystery, it would deepen the thrill of the novel.
Has Violets are Blue turned you off from other books in this genre?
Probably not. But I know that Patterson writes all his novels in the same manner, and this may turn me off his books.
What didn’t you like about Paul Birchard’s performance?
He portrayed Cross with a kind of Boston accent for most of the book. This makes no sense whatsoever, as Cross has never had anything to do with Boston. Hearing him pronounce "airport" as "eh-ya-paht" was just annoying.
What character would you cut from Violets are Blue?
Nana Mama. I know she is a staple of the series and Alex's conscience. But I find her annoying and any scenes where Cross is talking to her slow down the pace of an already slow novel.