A Book A Week

I'll admit it, sometimes I just feel like reading a quick, entertaining, James Patterson novel. With a really crazy schedule that barely left time for sleep, let alone reading and reviewing novels, I knew I could count on Patterson to provide a non-taxing read that I could pick up in short bursts and not be completely lost with. Unfortunately, its the entertainment factor that seems to be more hit or miss when it comes to Patterson's recent efforts. As he has grown into a novel producing brand, releasing numerous books with various co-authors, the quality of his stories seems to have suffered. With all this in mind, curiosity got the better of me, and I found myself plowing through one of Patterson's latest series novels, Private.

As any reader of any of Patterson's novels can attest, pace is rarely an issue. I easily found myself 80 pages deep into the book with no problems, but was surprised at the amount of time the authors (Maxine Paetro co-authors this narrative) spent setting up the characters and upcoming action. The novel follows former Marine pilot Jack Morgan who, after inheriting 15 million dollars from his imprisoned father, starts his own private investigation firm. Within 5 years, Jack's company, Private, quickly becomes a success with branches around the globe. Jack oversees the LA branch, and has recently become very busy with three urgent cases.

To start things off, his best friend, Andy, has called him to investigate the murder of his wife, Shelby. As is always the case, Andy is the police's prime suspect, but Jack knows Andy would never kill the wife he loved. Jack tasks Private with finding the real killer before Andy is hauled off by the LAPD. In addition, Jack's uncle Fred, a high level executive of the NFL, has hired Private to investigate the possibility of referees fixing games through bad calls. With several examples, the evidence seems to support this theory. Jacks firm has to prove this case before it reaches the public and completely destroys the integrity of the game. Finally, there is the case of the schoolgirl killer. Thirteen girls have been killed and even stranger, none of the killing were done the same way. With the rate of the killings quickly rising, Private is in a race to catch the killer before more innocent lives are lost.

This is probably one of my favorite Patterson novels in recent memory. Considering some of his other attempts, the characters were generally well thought out, and the mysteries were intriguing without ever getting completely over the top. With all the cases coming to a satisfying, if somewhat predictable, conclusion, this novel was brisk while still providing enough entertainment to make it an enjoyable read.

For more information, visit the author's website, Amazon, and GoodReads.

(2013: week 9, book 6)