I've finished 10 books so far this year--here's a look at those competing in the "Thriller" category.
Judge & Jury (D) was an example of James Patterson at his worst. Teamed again with Andrew Gross (their collaboration on Lifeguard (D+) was only slightly better), Patterson strings together a plot filled with stock characters and moments culled from years of watching mindless movies. Here you have the mafioso on trial, his defense ("just following orders"), and his threats against a juror. And you have the juror who is--you guessed it--a single mother and aspiring actress who is undeniably attracted to the officer who caught the mafioso. When trouble rears it's head, the juror and the officer connect to bring their own brand of (yawn) justice.
You've Been Warned (C) also comes from the James Patterson factory, but it had the advantage of being co-constructed by the far superior talent, Howard Roughan (their teaming for Honeymoon was actually a fun ride). You've Been Warned has a nice hook and the characters have more flesh and bone, but it read more like an early Stephen King novel than I would have liked. This time I cared about the young protagonist, but the setting was too much of an absurdity. Though it does leave you with a bit of a chill at the end as it forces the reader to confront death and eternity.
The Overlook (B) by Michael Connelly is the true prize of these three thrillers. I have been reading Connelly's recent works featuring L.A. Detective Harry Bosch (and his stand-alone novel The Lincoln Lawyer). These are wonderful procedural who-dunits that are very nicely drawn. The Overlook is the least impressive of the Connelly novels that I have read of late (though better than my first try at his work: The Narrows), but it's a good, satisfying read that you won't want to put down until you see your way to the end. He's very good at showing you how police operations work and it's this attention to minutae that sets him apart. Also, he does an expert job of making recurring characters palatable to a new reader.
You've finished TEN BOOKS?!!!!!
Wow - i feel like such an underchiever. And i was having a good day too until now. Thanks. Thanks for that.
...jerk.
Posted by: Lee Lassiter | February 27, 2008 at 02:47 PM