Private is the start of a new series from James Patterson and Maxine Paetro.
I have to say, I didn't finish this book.
This will be more of a rant than a review. So if you are a fan, look away.
I have a problem with seemingly manufactured books. By that I mean, there are authors who I used to read every one of their books, even buying the hardcover so I'd have a nice set. Then their titles start coming out every 6 months, or even 3 months, and they lose their voice. It seems like they are written by someone else and then stamped with the author's name. This is not just a Robert Ludlum situation, where he has died and they hire other authors to continue the series.
James Patterson is a writer of light mysteries. He has sold millions of copies, and is in the Guinness book for having more bestsellers than anybody, ever. His Alex Cross series has been called the most popular detective series in the last 25 years, and they are now being made into movies. He started out winning the Edgar Award for his first novel, so he can write.
However, he is a brand name in an industry I would like to figure out. Along with nineteen Alex Cross novels, he also co-authors series with authors like Andrew Gross and then Maxine Paetro (1st to Die, 2nd Chance, 3rd Degree - potentially never-ending), as well as several other ongoing series with over twelve other co-authors. He has put out hundreds of books, so he's not writing them himself.
Several of these are with Andrew Gross, who is now branched off into his own name above the title with books like Don't Look Twice, which I thought, you may remember, stunk.
When there are that many books coming out under the name James Patterson ~ what is the deal? Someone suggested he sells his name out to be put onto other authors books so they become instant hits, and takes a cut of the profits. Maybe he just comes up with the idea and draft, and someone else completes it. Whatever is happening, I do think his own Alex Cross detective series are written by him, and all the other co-authored books are something apart from that.
Private is the first of a new series, followed by Private London, Private Games, Private #1 Suspect, etc. It deals with "the most successful and sexiest PI firm in the world". The cast seemed cookie cut from a rejected spec script for CSI Miami. Barest of bones, characters basically summed up in a few sentences. Think airplane movie that is too lame to pay attention to. Just turn the brightness of the screen down and try to get some sleep.
A review in the front pages state "Slick and suspenseful in the usual well received Patterson style (susinct and simple chapters) A great way to spend an afternoon!" If it's on a level to be read in an afternoon, why am I taking it seriously? I'd still like to be entertained, not feel like it's a waste of time.
He masters the short chapters, in a way that has to be seen to be believed. Most are two pages, making the book a whopping 124 chapters. For example chapter 60 is pages 176 to 178, and chapter 62 is just one page...
If you forget what happened in the last chapter, just look at the previous page and you can see the whole thing. Just like you do with Salman Rushdie.
I guess in the end, I find the books by Maxine Paetro and Andrew Gross to be unexciting and poorly written ~ the name James Patterson sells the book. It's a little trick by the publisher at the Costco book table. I have gone on to read other books by him alone and while they are speedy reads, they have a voice, a style and expand the series.
I have a lot to say about something I don't like, eh?
2011 / Paperback / 416 pages
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