By James Patterson
Once again I am going back to my favorite genre: mystery! Like I’ve said before, good mysteries are hard to find. A majority of them have a similar plot of the protagonist going through a long epic adventure, discovering secrets and truth behind a great unknown. In a way Private maybe considered as ordinary, but James Patterson adds some twists.
Our protagonist is Jack Morgan, the head owner of a corporation named Private that deals with confidential cases. The book from the beginning does in fact grab your attention, mainly by the fact that the whole storyline contains several cases – and you're bound to find one interesting. For starters, Jack’s best friend, Andy Cushman, is hysterical after the death of his wife, Shelby. Jack accepts Andy’s case not only because Andy is his best friend but also because Shelby was his former lover. But while he continues the case he discovers many of Shelby’s dirty secrets that are truly unbelievable and that not only does it hurt Jack but also destroys Andy to shreds.
Then his receives a visit from his uncle, and not a, “how you doing, son?” visit. His uncle, the owner of the L.A. Raiders, along with the the owners of the Forty Niners and the Vikings need Jack’s help desperately. With the notice of illegal gaming in professional football, Jack must enter deep in investigation into this multi-million NFL gambling.
Then the most horrible and the most outstretched case is the schoolgirl case. For many years now, eighteen girls (there might be more unknown) have been killed a by vicious murderer. The most difficult part of this case is that each murder had a different method, making it unknown why the killer is committing these horrendous murders – this hints that there might be more than one killer. Though the kills are different the traps are the same: the killer or killers would text the girl, using the caller ID of her friend, and ask her to meet them in a quiet and unpopulated place (there committing the crime). This type of technology—having the ability to take complete control of another phone—doesn’t exist. We are dealing with a genius here, or maybe geniuses.
But what makes this book interesting and unique is the fact that we get into Jack’s personal life. For example, we know that Jack inherited Private from his father, along with five million dollars. We later learn that he also left five million dollars for Jack’s twin brother , Tom, so they can compete to see who is better in business. Throughout the entire plot we see a strong and dangerous rivalry between Jack and Tom. We also get to see Jack’s love life; he is currently in a relationship with his secretary, but are they thinking the same thing? Jack just doesn’t want to settle down and he questions about what he feels for her. Between the lines you can clearly see that he has stronger feelings for his ex-girlfriend and current co-worker Justine. Speaking of history, Jack has his own in the military. But there is one unforgettable memory he has: the airplane he was flying home crashed, killing many of friends. But there is something missing from that memory. Something that makes him feel guilty.
To finds the answers to one or all of these questions, read the book. In my opinion I am in between loving or disregarding the book. I’ve read so many mysteries in my life that I know how the majority of them end, and while reading Private I was able to predict most of them. I guess Patterson read my mind and added some SHOCKING twists at the end. When I divided the book between the ordinary material and rare material and balanced it out, the ordinary material was heavier. I felt that though there were shockers, it wasn’t enough repair the dent of boring it already created. But I am willing to read the second book Private: #1 Suspect. Unfortunately, I haven’t found the book so there will be a delay until I review it. So until next time, read!
My Rating:
~A.BW
