Howard Roughan

If you are looking for a thrilling experience, this is it -- a wild ride. It keeps you focused, like “Mission Impossible” with a series of continuous movements. The short chapters end with a tease that makes it hard to break away.

The story begins with a recent graduate of Columbia University who starts a position at a high-end auction house in NYC. She quickly finds herself involved in the middle of an organized crime scheme where you just have to wonder if everything that happens is show more possible with such precise timing of events. I want to say yes which made me even more invested in this story.

With the love of fine art and an interest in how many master pieces are fakes, I was eager to read it. The story is cleverly written and has a way of keeping you engaged. For those who crave crime mysteries, this is one that is easy to keep track of the characters; some who are ruthless and corrupt. Yet, there were heartwarming parts thrown into the plot as well. It’s pure fun.

My thanks to Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley for a copy of this advanced book with an expected release date of October 13, 2025. As always, my opinions are my own. show less

How does James Patterson put his name on these novels? It is very clear the entire book was written by Howard Roughan, as the style, narrative and story were NOTHING remotely like James Patterson. This is one of those novels that I accidentally grabbed when I saw the James Patterson name, started reading and then had to check to see if James Patterson's name really was on the front cover.

The book is just not good. The plot is very thin at best, the dialogue and writing miss the mark at show more almost every turn and the ending is so forgettable, I've already forgotten it. Do yourself a favor, and if you are a fan of James Patterson, only read the novels with his name as the only one them (Women's Murder Club being the sole exception). show less

MURDER GAMES
JAMES PATTERSON
HOWARD ROUGHAN

MY RATING ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️▫️
PUBLISHER Little, Brown and Company/Hachette Audio
PUBLISHED June 26, 2017
NARRATED Edoardo Ballerini

Murder Games is a riveting and fast-paced crime novel that plays right into your hands.

SUMMARY
A card playing serial killer is on the loose in New York City. A crime columnist has labeled him The Dealer. His victims appear to be total strangers. What unites them is that The Dealer is leaving a playing card behind at show more each scene that points to the identity of his next victim.

Dylan Reinhardt, Phd., is an Ivy League Psychology college professor with an attitude, who has written a book on abnormal psychology. That book, which is a introduction to psychopaths has arrived in the mail, and contained the first playing card, it was a blue harlequin-pattern king of clubs. Elizabeth Needham, the NYPD detective in charge of the case, asks Reinhardt for his help getting into the mind of the killer. As the killer continues his rampage and the media frenzy over the case reaches a fevered pitch, Dylan and Elizabeth must determine what the victims have in common in order to solve the case.

REVIEW
JAMES PATTERSON and HOWARD ROUGHAN have played all the right cards in MURDER GAMES. The plot is original, robust, unpredictable, and the pacing is perfect. The character development however, is what really makes the book. Reinhardt, 45, captures your attention immediately in chapter one, swaggering into a Yale lecture hall, with a narcissistic attitude who gets off on the adoration of his mere students. Outside of the classroom, he has a completely different persona, a much more likable guy. I really liked Detective Elizabeth Needham, who is quick-witted, feisty, smart, and prepared. But nothing really prepared her for the smug, acerbic college professor. The chemistry between the two of them was charged and delightful. Their quick dialogue was simply entertaining. I would have loved for Elizabeth to play a even larger role in the book, she is a great character and I love to see women in strong roles.

“Sometime you just know the sound of trouble before she walks in the room”

I listened to the audio version of the book and believe that Edoardo Ballerini’s narration was stellar. I enjoyed listening to his voice. show less

As a major fan of action-thrillers, Truth or Die was somewhat unfulfilling. I guess after reading the Bond series, I am used to a swaggered, gentleman-paced adventure. Truth or Die seemed to embody James Patterson's uber-fast-paced, short-chaptered style with added emphasis on the "fast" and "short". The speed at which the plot advanced seemed to drown out its detail and precision, things that I always look forward to in these fiction novels (the pace of the Bond novels is perfect for show more highlighting such detail of plot). Nevertheless, I can see the virtue in such speed, and that many people can appreciate such a quality, but I simply cannot. show less