Beach Road

I was sometimes confused by the constant change of "voice" in the book as each chapter was from the perspective of one of the characters. Still, the plot moved forward without any event getting beaten to death by being told by different characters. The ending really was a surprise, even more than I had anticipated. But I had to wonder, how could someone that crafty be so stupid?

I couldn't put this book down! It was a quick read, told in the voice of the various main characters. What I like most about Patterson's writing in this story is that he makes the African American characters believable. I can't stand when writers have the black characters, especially young men of the hip hop generation, sound so ghetto it's unreal. The plot develops quickly, and is about a triple murder committed in the exclusive Hamptons. A young black man is framed and he gets an unlikely lawyer to defend him. The intense anger of the 'townies' is captured, a peek into the slick underworld of ritzy drugs is revealed, and a an old relationship is rekindled. When the murderer is revealed, it is a definite shock which is both satisfying show more in that I would have never guessed the person in a million years...but also, kind of unbelievable because the killer has been so careful why would he make such a stupid mistake now? Despite that minor discrepancy, assuming you chalk up the killer's stupidity to arrogance or just plain being human, this book is an AWESOME read. show less

With his other writing partners I don't see what they bring to the table, but with de Jonge, it's not hard to miss both the commonness and the crassness that he contributes. It definitely brings an aura of ugliness to an already ugly story. You can't help but feel betrayed right along with the other victims in this book, especially as your wondering who is BH, feeling a hard slap to the face when it's revealed.

James Patterson has teamed up with Peter De Jonge to write this crime novel 'Beach Road' and it was a good quick read. I used to really enjoy books by James Patterson, but over the years his writing has evolved into mass production on a grand scale, churning out books almost every month with different co-authors. It's impossible to keep up, and I believe it dilutes the quality of the author's work. But I'm sure many would disagree, and of course he's enormously successful.

This particular book has been on my TBR (to be read) pile for a long time, and it was a relatively interesting story with a twist at the end definitely worthy of a mention. I definitely didn't see it coming, and I'm of the opinion that it was the work of Peter De show more Jonge, but of course we'll never know.

This book is essentially about a man arrested for a triple homicide at a basketball court located at a mansion in East Hampton. The main character Tom is convinced the defendant Dante is innocent and agrees to represent the young man in the trial of the century. The story is narrated by different characters and is constantly switching which takes time to get used to. The narrator's name appears at the top of each chapter though, so it's easy to keep up.

I enjoyed the twist at the end and I love that in a book. This is an easy and non-complex crime novel, recommended for any James Patterson fans out there. Just don't expect too much. show less

I enjoyed this for the most part, perhaps because I've only read a couple of Pattersons in the past, and those were quite some time ago, so this was somewhat refreshing for me at least. The short chapter, alternating first person narratives worked just fine for me, making this an absorbing, quick read.

The plot, that of a high school upcoming NBA star accused of a triple homicide, assumedly innocent, & defended by a ex-basketball star, was gripping enough. Throw in a little drug involvement, and you've got yourself a decent thriller. However, the plot twist at the end, though surprising, just seemed a little too unbelievable & farfetched to me. And that was my main problem with this book. I like surprise endings. But this one reached a show more little too far. show less

This fast-paced thriller is worthy of the name James Patterson. Although, it does seem a little over the top, what with cameos by the likes of Steven Spielberg, Julia Roberts, George Clooney and Bill Clinton. The ending is as shocking as the cover blurbs indicate, but I suspect the twist would not hold up very well upon a second reading. However, I don't really have the inclination to read it again, which is maybe what the author planned.

Tom. Dante. Kate. Loco. Raiborne. Each chapter bore one of the names. If you're familiar with James' books, you know that he likes his chapters short but packed with action. The ending makes the book worth your time.

IMHO, it'd make a good movie, maybe with Ben Affleck as Tom and Jennifer Garner as Kate. It'd be a third-rate movie, entertaining but nothing deep [no Mystic River, everyone!] Accordingly, I give this 3 stars instead of 2, out of respect to Peter de Jong, the poor guy needs it.

As I've mentioned before, I love the ending; I should give it to Patterson, it's so unexpected. It's the first Patterson book I read, and I was pleasantly surprised that it's one of the better ones; I read the Alex Cross series afterward and found show more that they can get pretty boring.

Tom Dunleavy is supposed to be the hero, being a small time washed-up lawyer in East Hampton, a sleepy vacation resort for big money people. Dante, the local basketball star on his way to NBA stardom, is the one who's suspected and arrested for triple murder that happened near some big money mansion. Dante turned to Tom for help, and the story goes from there. Kate is the third wheel, Tom's ex-lover, added to the mix to stir up more action.

As for the ending, I told you it'd be worth your time to read, so go on, read it. This would be the perfect companion during a trans-Atlantic or trans-whatever flight. You can finish it in 6h flat [I'm a slow reader!] show less