Judge & Jury

This was the best Patterson book I've read in a while. The story was interesting and suspenseful and flowed well (which is something missing from some other Patterson books I've read recently). I really enjoyed this. However, I listened to the audiobook, which I have to admit heightened my amusement. It had background music! And sound effects! When the "bow-chicka-bow-wow"-like music started during a love scene, I almost drove off the road.

This book seems like a courtroom thriller/action book. It does have a bit of both, but not enough to qualify really being within either genre. It's no great book, and makes for a nice, light read (definitely better than Maximum Ride)

I understand that everyone has their own writing style, but I found Mr. Patterson's own to be rather irritating. He often forgoes a lot of detail and some of his scenes simply feel thrown together. if Mr. Patterson would work on fleshing out scenes and thinking more about his characters and their actions, he'd be a better author. Quality over quantity, after all.

I don't read a lot of Patterson, so when I checked this out of the library, it became my experiment. The novel flowed well and the voice actor reading it added the right touch to make it believable.

The characters allowed me to latch onto them and follow their moves, though we didn't get enough Andie or Nick early on. Seeing things from Cavello's view also brought interesting viewpoints to the book. Thankfully, the change of chapter signaled the change in POV and kept it from being confusing.

The plot, a revenge plot that seems to work well with the mob style book, flowed well, though bogged down when trying to just set scene and detail to drag out the suspense.

Enjoyable for my first foot into the Patterson waters.

A bit formulaic.
A friend kindly gave me her collection of audio CDs and so I promptly trundled my car down to the auto repair shop to get my CD player fixed. The first CD I chose had such low volume that I couldn't hear it in the car, but I'm glad to say my second choice was more successful. Most of the books were abridged, but this one was a complete novel, well narrated by Joe Mantegna, and although not earth shattering, it kept me entertained through several hours of driving.

The two main characters are Nick Pellisante, the detective responsible for bringing in mafia boss, Dominic Covello, and Andie, a member of the jury chosen to try him. Nick is an FBI agent who has been on Covello's heels for a large part of his career. Andie is a show more single mother and part-time actress, who really doesn't want to be on the jury at all.
Their paths cross at various times during the case, but their joint desire to see Covello brought to justice results in a satisfying denouement.

Initially this looked like being a court case-based fiction, but I'm glad to say that it broadened out into something a bit more interesting. My main problem with it was the structure of "build-up, emergency, solution", which seemed to be on repeat throughout the book. It got a bit irritating and predictable after a while.

I'd only read one Patterson book before, 1st To Die, but this felt similarly formulaic and I won't be rushing back to read another. show less

I have read most of Patterson's books—amazed that anyone can turn out such a volume of work with so much talent. What I regret is having authors like Patterson and Cusssler perpetuate their brand by subcontracting the writing to co-authors. I have to admit that so far such works have not disappointed.

This was an interesting mystery by James Patterson and Andrew Gross.  I think the narrator (Joe Mantegna) added to my enjoyment of the story.  He did an excellent job narrating the point of view of FBI agent Nicholas Pelissante.  There were lots of twists and turns, but they weren't distracting to the story.  It actually felt like they belonged there and they made sense to the movement of the story.  Patterson/Gross created and excellent villain and I really found myself rooting for him to get his in the end.  This was a fun, quick read.

There is something about a couple who find love amidst the most extraordinary circumstances and then work together to accomplish what needs to be done. James carries off the story with his usual style and I was quite plased to read it.
I know it's necessary to paint the bad guy in a horrible light, but I felt the murder of 18 jurists was far more than necessary to make the point. I was tempted to set the book aside at that passage, but I'd already invested myself in the protagonists. Personally, I don't think I could've let it go. I would've smuggled a gun into the jail and murdered Dominic Cavello before he could contract the killing of anyone else.
It was intriguing the way James allowed the characters to deal with the bad guys, keeping show more in focus that Andie was just an actress before Cavello took her son's life and thus no super-heroine with extraordinary skills. Well done.
Overall, an entertaining read in the James Patterson style we've become accustomed to. show less