I love mysteries, although I’m not a lover of blood-thirsty psychotic thrillers. Several years ago while visiting my brother, my sister-in-law loaned 5 books to me written by James Patterson and I was hooked. All 5 centered on his Alex Cross character, a forensics psychologist who worked for the Washington, D.C. police and later the FBI.
Born in Newburgh, NY in 1947, James Patterson worked as an advertising executive after graduating from Manhattan College and Vanderbilt University. His first book was “The Thomas Berryman Number” in 1976 and he retired from advertising in 1985 to write fulltime. Patterson has written 86 novels, with 18 Alex Cross novels, 7 Maximum Ride (teens) novels, 4 in the Michael Bennett detective series, 1 Jack Morgan novel, 4 Daniel X (children’s) books, 3 Witch and Wizard novels for young adults, 10 Women’s Murder Club books, 10 graphic novels, and 29 stand-alone novels. He has 19 consecutive #1 New York Times bestsellers and holds the Guinness World Record for most bestselling hardcover fiction titles. Patterson has co-authored some of these books with authors such as Peter De Jonge and Howard Roughan. His awards include the Edgar Award, the BCA Mystery Guild’s Thriller of the Year, International Thriller of the Year and Children’s Choice Book Award for Author of the Year.
Most of his books are written on the premise that “everything is not as it seems”. One of my favorite novels by Patterson is “Sail”, a stand-alone book about the wealthy Dunne family embarking on a yacht trip to bring their family (heart surgeon Katharine, second husband Peter, and her 3 children) closer together. The book starts when a tuna caught in the Bahamas is cut open, revealing a bottle with a note reading “The Dunne family is alive”. The book flashes back to the beginning when urgent business keeps Peter from joining his family and they set off with Katharine’s brother-in-law instead. Soon after a storm hits their boat, it explodes with all traces of the boat vanishing and the brother-in-law dying. The family is assumed dead until the coca cola bottle appears. It turns out Peter hired a contract killer to kill his family so he could inherit $100 million from Katharine’s estate. Once the family is rescued, Peter is acquitted in a murder trial and sues Katharine for defamation. She settles out of court, but after Peter receives the settlement, he’s killed by the contract killer.
James Patterson’s books draw the reader in from the very first page. He focuses on the thought processes of the killer(s) and those who pursue them, and rarely uses unnecessary descriptive prose. Patterson’s books are quick, easy reads that make you want to continue to the end, even if it means staying up late to finish. I’ve never been disappointed by any of his books and highly recommend him.
