In POP GOES THE WEASEL, James Patterson has created a formidable villain every reader will see in the shadows when the lights are out, a tender love story, a plot powered by relentless suspense and psychological thrills kicked up to an all-time high.

''It''s all just a game, darling. I play with three other men. Their names are FAMINE, WAR and CONQUEROR. My name is DEATH. You''re a very lucky girl - I''m the best player of all.''

Geoffrey Shafter: a man who never loses, he is prepared to play the game of games for the highest stakes of all.

Alex Cross: senior Washington, DC homicide detective, he is determined, whatever the consequences, to unmask the man he has nicknamed the weasel, the prime suspect for a spate of killings that Cross has been forbidden to investigate.