Don't Blink by James Patterson
Picked this one up at random - audio version - and I knew James Patterson was "a name" so I thought I'd give it a try.
Genre: Murder Mystery/thriller
Blurb: (Amazon) The good
New York's Lombardo's Steak House is famous for three reasons--the menu, the clientele, and now, the gruesome murder of an infamous mob lawyer. Effortlessly, the assassin slips through the police's fingers, and his absence sparks a blaze of accusations about who ordered the hit.
The bad
Seated at a nearby table, reporter Nick Daniels is conducting a once-in-a-lifetime interview with a legendary baseball bad-boy. In the chaos, he accidentally captures a key piece of evidence that lands him in the middle of an all-out war between Italian and Russian mafia forces. NYPD captains, district attorneys, mayoral candidates, media kingpins, and one shockingly beautiful magazine editor are all pushing their own agendas--on both sides of the law.
And the dead
Back off--or die--is the clear message Nick receives as he investigates for a story of his own. Heedless, and perhaps in love with his beautiful editor, Nick endures humiliation, threats, violence, and worse in a thriller that overturns every expectation and finishes with the kind of flourish only James Patterson knows.
What I liked: There were lots of plot twists that kept you on your toes. It's seemed a bit too coincidental that the main protagonist, Nick, is able to get out of all the scraps he gets in, especially with people dropping around him like flies, but for whatever reason, it's not too hard to suspend disbelief and go with the unlikeliness of that. Patterson does well with characterizing the bad guys - the main hit man is really a nasty one. I have never read James Patterson before but this was good enough that I would read another of his books. David Patrick Kelly read the audio version of this book that I listened to and a mostly good job.
What I didn't like: Maybe too many plot twists - it seemed a bit unreal at times, but not so much so that it spoiled the story. Kelly's narration faltered only in his attempt to voice an Italian mob hit man - he hardly sounded Italian and he sounded like he had marbles in his mouth - it was hard to understand his words at times.
I read a few other review on this book and apparently die-hard Patterson fans don't think this was one of his better books. If that is the case, I am looking forward to reading some of his other stuff, maybe earlier versions (those are usually best for long winded writers).
Rating: 3.5/5
Genre: Murder Mystery/thriller
Blurb: (Amazon) The good
New York's Lombardo's Steak House is famous for three reasons--the menu, the clientele, and now, the gruesome murder of an infamous mob lawyer. Effortlessly, the assassin slips through the police's fingers, and his absence sparks a blaze of accusations about who ordered the hit.
The bad
Seated at a nearby table, reporter Nick Daniels is conducting a once-in-a-lifetime interview with a legendary baseball bad-boy. In the chaos, he accidentally captures a key piece of evidence that lands him in the middle of an all-out war between Italian and Russian mafia forces. NYPD captains, district attorneys, mayoral candidates, media kingpins, and one shockingly beautiful magazine editor are all pushing their own agendas--on both sides of the law.
And the dead
Back off--or die--is the clear message Nick receives as he investigates for a story of his own. Heedless, and perhaps in love with his beautiful editor, Nick endures humiliation, threats, violence, and worse in a thriller that overturns every expectation and finishes with the kind of flourish only James Patterson knows.
What I liked: There were lots of plot twists that kept you on your toes. It's seemed a bit too coincidental that the main protagonist, Nick, is able to get out of all the scraps he gets in, especially with people dropping around him like flies, but for whatever reason, it's not too hard to suspend disbelief and go with the unlikeliness of that. Patterson does well with characterizing the bad guys - the main hit man is really a nasty one. I have never read James Patterson before but this was good enough that I would read another of his books. David Patrick Kelly read the audio version of this book that I listened to and a mostly good job.
What I didn't like: Maybe too many plot twists - it seemed a bit unreal at times, but not so much so that it spoiled the story. Kelly's narration faltered only in his attempt to voice an Italian mob hit man - he hardly sounded Italian and he sounded like he had marbles in his mouth - it was hard to understand his words at times.
I read a few other review on this book and apparently die-hard Patterson fans don't think this was one of his better books. If that is the case, I am looking forward to reading some of his other stuff, maybe earlier versions (those are usually best for long winded writers).
Rating: 3.5/5
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