About the Author

James Patterson has had more New York Times bestsellers than any other writer, ever, according to Guinness World Records. Since his first novel won the Edgar Award in 1977 James Patterson's books have sold more than 300 million copies. He is the author of the Alex Cross novels, the most popular detective series of the past twenty-five years, including Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider. He writes full-time and lives in Florida with his family.

Reviews

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 Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.