11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Twist Should Be Left to Chubby Checkers!, May 25, 2006
James Patterson has teamed up once again with Peter deJonge with BEACH ROAD. Seems they should have stopped after THE BEACH HOUSE which was much better than this attempt. BEACH ROAD left me shaking my head and wondering "What's the point?"
The story focuses on Tom Dunleavy, who played professional basketball for one game and then was injured ending his basketball career. Now Tom is a disgruntled lawyer who is more interested in making baskets with wads of paper than making a living or even being a viable part of society. He spends his free time drinking or playing pick-up basketball games on a local court constructed on a multi-million dollar estate in the Hamptons. Seems the owner doesn't mind anyone and everyone using his court overlooking the ocean. Things that make ya go hmmm...
During one of these games, Dunleavy's all Caucasian team goes up against a kid, Dante Halleyville, who is the up and coming star of the basketball world and his friends, all African-American. Dante's opted to go to college for a year instead of jumping into the NBA draft (a promise he made his grandmother), so he's hanging out in the summer waiting for college to start. Tempers and egos get out of control which results in Dante and one of Tom's teammates squaring off. Next thing everyone knows, Dante's best friend, Michael, has a gun. Tom defuses the situation and it appears the situation is over and soon to be forgotten.
However, when three of Tom's teammates turn up dead that night, from an execution style killing on the basketball court, the first ones the police are looking for are Dante and Michael. Next thing we know, Michael has been killed, and Dante is running scared. Tom talks Dante into turning himself in, and when he's arrested for the four grisly murders, Tom reluctantly agrees to represent him.
Tom talks Kate Costillo, a hotshot corporate lawyer, into helping him. Seems they have a past and Kate is anything but trusting of Tom's motives but she's drawn back to her small town and the convictions that Dante needs help proving his innocence.
I'm not sure what Patterson and deJonge were trying to accomplish, but it didn't work. The book is written from various perspectives - each chapter is written from a different person's view and it gets very confusing, especially in the beginning when the cast of characters are being established. Often I had to look back at the chapter heading to see who talking. Not only are the main characters given chapters, but sub-characters such as Loco, a local drug dealer; Connie Raiborne, a detective, and others who all have little relevance to the story. Their perspectives were a bit boring and unexciting.
I could have gotten past the bouncing of narrations if the ending hadn't been such a let down. The "twist" at the end was anticlimactic and not even entertaining. For the highly educated, the streetwise, and others in this town to be so fooled by the villain was a joke. For this villain to fool everyone for many years was not believable. Instead of the ending bringing everything together, it blew it all apart.
Another complaint is the trial of Dante. Only a few pages were given to his legal team trying to prove his innocence, when racial tensions were mounting in this small town. Nothing of substance was at the end, just glossing over major issues.
I anxiously awaited the release of BEACH ROAD since I enjoyed THE BEACH HOUSE so much and was thoroughly disappointed. Maybe Patterson needs to stick with writing with Maxine Paetro (The Women's Murder Club series) - they are a much better team and produce great stories!
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Worst ending ever, May 19, 2006
The ending is the worst I've ever experienced. Don't worry, I'm not going to spoil the ending for you if you still decided to read this book.
The ending is totally implausible for many, many reasons. I mean, it's ridiculous to the point of being a satire of a mystery. I just couldn't believe James Patterson allowed this to be published.
The rest of the book is obviously hastily thrown together and definitely not up to Patterson's previous standards.
My first thought when I finished "Beach Road" was, "I want my money back."
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Beach Road, August 22, 2007
This is absolutely one of the worst "beach reads" I have ever read. His characters are pseudo-Nelson DeMille (DeMille wins). His twisted ending would have been fine if it had been part of "Atonement," where it worked so brilliantly. But this is a pathetic, name-dropping, inside-joke-attempt to a clever read that fails. A rush to a surrealistic ending that would have never even made the first draft of a Hitchock screenplay. I pity all the people that took this book on their vacation. My recommendation, skip this entirely and go to anything Nelson DeMille has ever written. Start with "Gold Coast." A truly superior look at the real and beyond the norm
authentic Beach Road of the Hamptons.
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