The message of this book is fairly simple; there’s GOOD around us and there’s EVIL. It’s always your choice what to follow. The scriptures say “as it is in Heaven – as it is on Earth”. These simple words will show us that it is our responsibility to make this world better. I always believe that earth is just a testing ground to see if we are worthy of His love and His kingdom.

This book also reminds me of the story between an old man and his grandson about good and evil, let me share their inspiring story here: An old man told his grandson, “my son, there is a battle between two wolves inside us all. One is EVIL; it is anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, inferiority, lies and ego. The other is GOOD; it is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy and truth.” The boy thought about it and asked, “grandfather, which wolf wins?”. The old man replied, “the one you feed.”

And then let’s also not forget that there’s FAITH, everything requires some faith, it always comes down to that :)

One of the earlier James Patterson novels and a different theme to those of his I usually read. This is a sort of supernatural thriller in which two virgins are pregnant, one with the son of God and one the son of Satan. This isn't the sort of book I would usually choose but I tend to stockpile Patterson's books for when I need an easy read and it was still a good, easy page turner of a read.
I found it especially interesting that this appears to have been written solely by him, although the introduction to the edition I had references help from Maxine Paetro who has written a lot of the Womens' Murder Club series in tidying the novel up for a revised publication. All of the other JP novels I have read have had co-authors too.

Sorry James, I was intrigued that "Cradle and All" had a supernatural theme, which was different from the majority of his works. Unfortunately, the book does not deliver. It is neither suspenseful, believable or written well. I heard that the basis of "Cradle and All" was an earlier story from a book Patterson wrote called "Virgin" and then expanded and improved upon it. I didn't read "Virgin", but I can guess that it has to be even worse than this disaster. If I wrote that the characters in "Cradle and All" are one dimensional then I would be giving them an extra dimension. The plot has numerous holes in it that the book becomes cringeworthy. For example (Spoiler Alert), the lead female character kills another character. However, when the police arrive she informs them that the shooting was justified and thus police leave without incident. The Police don't question her, they don't seize the firearm, they don't conduct any type of investigation. This is one of many unbelievable events in the book. It appears that Patterson just wanted to move the story on at all costs. I know that this was an early piece of writing from Patterson and all I can say that he has at least improved in regards to incorporating some police protocols in his other stories. If I could rate no stars I would.

This is the first book I read by James Patterson, but I don't think that was the right choice to begin with, it was ok but I was disappointed, from the synopsis I thought it would be more suspense I was waiting for things to get exciting and things to start happening but as the pages goes and as I'm reading more nothing happened until last 5 pages wish was a good ending by the way I like it.
I'm hoping to give other books by James Patterson a try because I really like his writing style and he have some really interesting titles.

This is the first James Patterson book I've read, and I was a little disappointed. I do understand that this was a reworking of one of his very early books, perhaps that's the problem.

Although I enjoyed the writing, generally, I found myself wondering what the point of the book was. It might have worked as a prequel or sequel. But, standing alone, it was definitely lacking.

I didn't find myself involved enough with the main characters, and thought they were a little two-dimensional.

I do, however, look forward to reading more of his work. His style of writing is enjoyable - I just think I need a more gripping story from him, and I think I may find that in his later books. (I hope!)

Having read a few of Patterson's books over the years, I was a little disappointed with this one as it felt a little underworked relying on easy stereotypes and slightly predictable story lines. There were also a few incidents that were introduced as fairly key plot hooks but then were never mentioned again, which was a little odd. It did have a few twists and turns that I didn't see coming which kept it a bit more interesting but for me this didn't really hit the spot. I think the fact that I wasn't particularly keen on the accepting religious focus and the repeated highlighting of the all encompassing importance of motherhood really affected my enjoyment of this.

This is the first non-Alex Cross book of Patterson's that I've read. While the story is good, the writing is poor -- not up to the standard I'd expect from Patterson. I suspect this is an early novel that Patterson dusted off and marketed after he got hot.
The secret of the miraculous revelations of the appearance of the Virgin Mary in Fatima in 1918 is that two virgins will conceive. One will bear the Son of God, the other will bear the Son of Satan. The premise of the book is that two teenagers show up pregnant, both claiming to be virgins. Examination by doctors confirm this. Anne Fitzgerald, Boston PI, is hired by the Catholic Church to investigate, along with Father Nicholas Rosetti, from the Vatican, and Father Justin O'Carroll from the Boston diocese, who has a history with Anne.
In my opinion, the scenes are not blended very well at all. The transitions are almost non-existent, which leaves lots of holes. For example, Father Nicholas Rosetti is flying a small commuter jet out of Ireland to make a connection for a flight to New York. The plane crashes, leaving Rosetti as the only survivor. The next time we see Rosetti, he is in New York, and no further mention is made of the crash. In another scene, Kathleen is in the hospital in Rhode Island, when Father O'Carroll gives the news that Rhode Island's first polio case, presumably as a result of Kathleen's (one of the virgins) presence. Then, no further mention of that particular incident. (The reader is told that there is an epidemic of a new polio strain spreading around the world, along with the plague, drought and sundry other disasters, all presumably related to the advent of the virgins. The only way the reader knows this is because the narrator said it. Not very kosher.)
In another scene, Kathleen is attacked by her maid and pushed down a flight of stairs. Once the scene ends, no mention is made of bumps, bruises, contusions or other fallout from the attack, other than that the baby is okay.

Worst James Patterson book ever!! I'm not even sure he actually wrote this. I am a fan of his work but this book was horrible and the subject matter ridiculous. Are we actually expected to believe this crap? I almost stopped reading it a bunch of times, but it was almost like a horrible accident that I couldn't look away from. I am so glad to be done with this one. Seriously, people like this??

Oh, my, this is a mystery unlike any other I have read by Patterson. Beware that it has dark themes and disturbing images but is a wildly inventive tale. I was engrossed and repelled at the same time. A twist at the end was quite unexpected. Read at your own risk. :)

It took my a while to get into. I almost gave up. It’s a little harder to read at the beginning (also written in 1980), but once I got into the writing, I liked it a lot! Much based off of religion, but you don’t need to understand Catholicism to get into the book. Definitely made me gasp at some points. I’m not sure how I feel about the ending though.. I would rate it 3.5 stars if I could! Not quite 4, however, since it was harder to get into.

This book started off really great, but it felt about three times longer than it had to be! it just didnt end and got quite boring after the halfway mark.

Cradle and All is about two teenage girls, both pregnant, and both virgins. One is believed to be carrying the child of God, the other of Satan. I am most definitely not a religious person myself, but i did attend a Catholic school so I have a pretty good understanding of the faith and I feel like this book cheapened it a bit, which isn't really a good thing at all. I think next time I decide it's a good idea to read some fiction with underlying religious themes, I will grab my copy of Stephen King's The Stand instead as it dealt with the faith aspect of its story in a much more realistic and genuine way I felt.

I normally appreciate short chapters, but this book was just RIDICULOUS. It is only 309 pages long and somehow had 106 chapters?!?!?! How does that even happen?!

The ending was particularly unbelievable and disappointing and literally made me roll my eyes.

Overall, Cradle and All was an okay book, but I wont reread it and I probably wouldn't recommend it.

Well, there isn't too much to say about this story other than it was a great read! The pace was perfect and the plot was masterful! This story will move to the top of my list. The way Mr. Patterson writes is unique and his use of shorter chapters is sheer brilliance. This story was a new plot line, when it came out, for the author. I was apprehensive, at first, but have since breathed a sigh of relief for taking the plunge! As with all of his stories, you can easily see the time and effort the author put into his research. As far as I know, this story marked the first time the author ventured into the Spiritual Realm of story telling. He took a great idea and made a magnificent book out of it. It was great, from the beginning to the end. I became a fan, years ago, and have a lot of respect for Mr. Patterson, his writing, and his continuing push to get kids to read. Again, for the author to step outside of his comfort zone and deliver a great story, is to be commended at the very least. I highly recommend this story to anyone who wants to be taken away into a wonderful world full of excitement. Well Done!!