A page turner but ultimately not that thrilling. Am I totally desensitized to violence or was this not very scary? 

I’d read more Patterson though on a lazy day.

This was hard to enjoy after seeing the movie version. I had a difficult time separating the two, as the movie streamlined the plot much more succinctly. The book felt long and jumpy. 

In terms of the plot, I really did not love that

Alex didn't discover the villain on his own. He was told outright by someone else, which really undermines his heroic character.

Dragged a bit in the beginning but a solid murder mystery/psych thriller that has held up over time

I am a big fan of a good murder mystery book. I'm that lady who watches true crime tv shows to fall asleep. Am I crazy? I might be. But I also think everyone needs to be a little crazy to survive in this crazy world we live in.

Along Came a Spider is a first book I've read from James Patterson. I kind of want to continue with this series, just to see how or if it evolves. But that's for another day to decide.

I like to read all kinds of murder mysteries, as I said at the start. The darker, the better. But this book lacked some of that. I feel like it was too unpredictable and not very much of a mystery. Maybe not even dark enough, if this makes any sense at all.
I like to be kept on the edge of my seat, nervously biting my fingernails. But this book did not deliver on that aspect. I'd say this one works for someone who wants to read a mystery thriller but doesn't like to be spooked, you know.

I didn't really care about the characters that much. They kind of just existed to keep the book going. But I do like to see some diversity in a book that was written in the 90s.

I would have love to have more intensity in this book, to have it a little bit more on the spookier side. No, that sounds like I want to get a good halloween scare. I would have loved to have more of a mystery in this book. Gary Soneji is a mysterious man for sure but he does get very predictable as the story goes on.

All in all it was a good book to read and just out of curiosity I might keep on going with Alex Cross. But I would have hoped for more mystery, more edge of the seat kind of stuff. But it is a good start for someone who wants to get into this genre of books but doesn't like it too graphic or tense.