Reviews for Cradle and all
Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Warn the fans: this isn't a new Alex Cross psychokiller foray (Pop Goes the Weasel, 1999, etc.), but instead a rewritten and retitled version of Virgin, Patterson's apocalyptic 1980 horror novel. At the French shrine of Lourdes in 1917, three children delivered a prophecy from the Virgin Mary: At some point in the future, two girls will experience near-simultaneous immaculate conceptions; one will give birth to a new Savior; the other will bring the Antichrist into the world. Now, in an undated present, with strange new plagues and catastrophes filling the news every day, and the Pope dying of a horrible virus, private detective Anne Fitzgerald is abruptly hired by Boston's Cardinal Rooney to keep an eye on young Kathleen Beavier, a spoiled, trash-talking (but virginal) rich kid. Kathleen's attempt to get an abortion is stymied when she finds her doctor's bleeding corpse hanging from a hook in a South Boston clinic. Since then she's been hearing nasty voices and believes she's being watched by animals. An ex-cop with a Harvard psychology degree, Fitzgerald is also a former nun who left the order after falling in love with a priest. Though that love affair was never consummated, fate will reunite Fitzgerald with good-looking Father Justin O'Carroll. Meanwhile, in an Irish village, poor but pure Colleen Deirdre Galaher is getting dirty looks from the nuns at her Catholic boarding school. Sent from Rome to investigate, Father Nicholas Rosetti, the Vatican's international expert on miracles, finds himself aroused by the sight of the girl. Could this have anything to do with the inexplicable fainting spells he suffered in Rome only days ago? And what about that nasty voice that reviles him in his dreams? One can only hope that the ridiculous, cliff-hanging finale's promise of a sequel will never be fulfilled. Post'Exorcist horror clich?s, updated with a handful of contemporary references. (First printing of 1,000,000; $1,000,000 ad/promo; author tour)
Library Journal
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This is a "reimagined version" of Patterson's long out-of-print 1980 novel, Virgin--basically a fleshed-out plot with updated popular culture references. But it's still a good, spooky tale of a plague-ridden world (polio epidemics, famines, floods) where we meet two teenaged girls, Kathleen and Colleen, who are both virgins and both very pregnant. The Vatican sends Father Nicholas Rosetti to investigate the girls, as the secret prophecy at Fatima, known only to the Pope, predicted that one virgin would give birth to the son of God and the other to the son of Satan. Which girl is which? Rosetti and nearly everyone else involved suffer greatly at the hand of Evil until the truth is finally, awfully revealed. Patterson's usual clean, fast-paced prose, a creepy plot, and a twisted ending make this one hard to put down. Recommended, especially for fans of The Exorcist and Rosemary's Baby. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 1/00.]--Rebecca House Stankowski, Purdue Univ. Calumet Lib., Hammond, IN (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publishers Weekly
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This updated YA adaptation of Patterson's 2000 thriller is built on a powerful premise: two pregnant teens, Kathleen of Newport, R.I., and Colleen of Maam Cross, Ireland, are medically confirmed to be virgins. This and further otherworldly occurrences (plagues, droughts) seem to conform to a prophecy given by the Blessed Mother Mary at her 1917 apparition in Fatima, Portugal, that two virgin births would occur, one the Son of God, the other the son of Satan. The Roman Catholic Church assigns Fathers Rosetti and O'Carroll to authenticate the medical claims, while a Boston cardinal hires private detective Anne Fitzgerald. Anne, the novel's protagonist, is a former nun who gave up the calling because of feelings she had for Father O'Carroll. Her chapters, first-person accounts, are narrated by Soler, an actress who, though her Boston accent is acceptable, sounds a bit too young and too sweet for a practicing PI, even one who'd formerly carried a rosary instead of a gun. Reader Ballerini handles the objective, third-person chapters, which follow the grueling progress of Father Rosetti, whose Italian accent thickens during his many moments of extreme stress in encounters with a deep-voiced Satanic figure. Age 15-up. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Library Journal
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A pregnant 16-year-old from a wealthy Newport, RI, family and a pregnant 14-year-old head of a household in a small Irish village are about to fulfill the 1917 prophecy of the Virgin Mary, which was delivered to three small children in Fatima, Portugal, and has been kept secret by the Vatican ever since. A virgin will deliver a "savior," who will rid the world of famine, plague, drought, and other disasters occurring in epic proportions around the globe. Another virgin will produce "the Beast," who will unleash the legions of evil, increasing human suffering infinitely. But which girl is which? Which baby is which? Who will be able to tell? The Catholic church sends Father Justin O'Carroll and private investigator (and former nun) Anne Fitzgerald to figure it out. The Vatican sends Father Nicholas Rosetti, the church's chief investigator of miracles. This threesome must battle the works of the devilDillness, disaster, hallucination, and disguise notwithstanding. Patterson's story is disappointingly thin, assuming the general public has a great deal of knowledge about the Catholic Church and its theology regarding the Virgin Mary, the investigation of miracles, and the proofs of good and evil. There are inaccuracies and inconsistencies throughout. Even the unabridged version, well read by Barbara Caruso, fails to provide explanations for the bizarre actions of some characters. Ally Sheedy provides a "valley girl" inflection to her female voices, even for Fitzgerald; Len Cariou gives a shiver-producing voice to "the devil" and a passable Irish brogue to O'Carroll. The abridgments, like most, omit details, causing the tale to be flat and making it proceed in fits and starts without satisfactory explanation. The gist of the story is thereDit's just not very interesting.DJoanna Burkhardt, Univ. of Rhode Island Coll. of Continuing Education Lib., Providence (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publishers Weekly
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His Alex Cross series (Pop Goes the Weasel, etc.) has made Patterson a top-selling author, but his most interesting work lies elsewhere: in his debut mystery, The Thomas Berryman Number; in last year's SF thriller, When the Wind Blows--and in this exciting and moving religious thriller about two pregnant virgins, one of whom may carry the Son of God and the other the Son of the Devil. If that plot line sounds familiar, it should. The novel is a reworking of Virgin, Patterson's second novel, published in 1980 by McGraw-Hill and long out of print. The narrative features the first-person/third-person narrative mix that's Patterson's trademark. The "I" belongs to ex-nun Anne Fitzgerald, now a PI. Her latest case for the Church involves investigating--and guarding--Newport, R.I. (i.e., rich), teenager Kathleen Beavier, who's eight months pregnant but, by expert medical testimony, a virgin. The Church is particularly anxious about Kathleen's condition because the Third Secret of Fatima (a real-life secret guarded by the Church since the Virgin Mary allegedly revealed it in 1917) prophesied two pregnant virgins: one bearing the Savior, the other the Devil's child. Anne eventually learns that indeed there's a poor girl in Ireland who's also pregnant, yet a virgin. Which girl carries which child? For texture, Patterson throws in some romance between Anne and a priest, but the novel's considerable suspense arises from his treatment of the central question as he speeds the action from America to Ireland to the Vatican, complicates it with a media frenzy over Kathleen, sharpens it as supernatural forces come into play and spins it with a wicked twist. While not subtle, this novel tackles issues of faith with admirable gusto. It could be a massive bestseller, appealing not only to Patterson's fans but also to those of the apocalyptic thrillers of LaHaye and Jenkins. 1 million first printing; $1 million ad/promo; Literary Guild main selection; author tour. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.
Famine. Disease. Virgin pregnancies. High priests. Exorcisms. Has the best-selling Patterson gone medieval? No, he's back in contemporary Boston for another one of his nursery-rhyme thrillers ( Hide & Seek, Jack & Jill, etc.). This one spins an allegorical tale about good versus evil, but the juxtaposition of modern-day setting against ancient beliefs just doesn't work. Anne Fitzgerald, ex-nun turned detective, and Justin O'Carroll, priest turned detective, are hired by the Archbishop of Boston to help investigate apparent virgin pregnancies of two otherwise normal teenage girls. Could these be true miracles? No one seems to doubt it, which becomes a serious narrative problem. Not only is the public's lack of skepticism hard to buy, it also deprives the story of needed tension: the faith of the true believers versus the doubts of the rest of society. The tale gains a little momentum, though, when the floods, droughts, and waves of disease sweep the hemispheres, forcing even the most unbelieving reader to root for the faithful few. Patterson's legion of fans will queue up for this one, of course, but they may be disappointed. Let's hope Patterson dumps the nursery rhymes next time and brings back his Alex Cross series. --Mary Frances Wilkens
Library Journal
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Two virgins are pregnant, and prophecy has it that one will give birth to the Messiah and the other to Satan's child. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
