Hide & Seek [Hardcover]

James Patterson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1996

Maggie Bradford, a successful singer/songwriter and loving mother, is accused of murdering her first husband, an abusive stalker, and her second husband, an irresistible monster, and struggles to escape a nightmarish legacy of terror and violence. 200,000 first printing. $200,000 ad/promo.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

If Thomas Harris's psycho-thrillers are the creme de la creme of the genre, then Patterson's (Kiss the Girls; Along Came a Spider) are the skimmed milk?fluid, but low in substance. In his new novel, the author again lays down a narrative line so gripping?an effect achieved partly through a plethora of one-sentence paragraphs, a la Sidney Sheldon?that the reader may not notice, or care, that characterization and originality have fallen by the wayside. Patterson tells his story through two points of view: there's the the first-person voice of Maggie Bradford, who kills her abusive husband in the novel's flashback prologue and has now become a world-famous singer-songwriter ("I love your music, Maggie," Barbra Streisand tells her); and there's a third-person narration that is often filtered through the eyes of Will Shepherd, the celebrated soccer star who romances Maggie after her interim lover, an older tycoon, dies of a heart attack. The devastatingly handsome Will likes to hurt women ("there was a distinctly good part in him, but also a bad part"), however, and sometimes even to kill them. Will seems to want Maggie to save him from himself. Using his beauty and charm on her and her children, he wins her hand in marriage. That union sets up a major-league deja vu, two murder trials that aren't quite riveting and a final Big Twist that will only surprise those fresh to the thriller genre. Still, Will's descent into cartoonishness, and various loose threads, will probably not bother readers swept along by this lightweight pop fiction.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Beautiful Maggie Bradford seems to have it all: a successful career as a singer/songwriter, fame, money, and two precious children. However, she killed her first husband in self-defense and now she's in jail awaiting trial for the murder of her second husband, Will Shepherd, a charming, psychotic professional soccer player. At first, Maggie's marriage seems fine, but soon Will begins to act irrationally. The increasing tension comes to a head when Maggie comes to believe that Will has been sexually abusing her daughter; the resulting confrontation ends in Will's death and Maggie's arrest. Climaxing in Maggie's celebrity trial, this page-turner delivers a solid punch, complete with a surprise ending. Patterson (Kiss the Girls, Little, Brown, 1995) offers a vivid, emotionally revealing tale. Recommended for public libraries.
-?Stacie Browne Chandler, Whitman P.L., Mass.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 356 pages
• Publisher: Little Brown & Co (T); 1st edition (January 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316693863
• ISBN-13: 978-0316693868
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (110 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #880,945 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars James...WHAT in the WORLD HAPPENED???, December 12, 2000

By 

Jeff Edwards "RadioJeff" (Twin Falls, Idaho) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Hide and Seek (Mass Market Paperback)

First off, I LOVE JAMES PATTERSON novels...however as long as 'Hide & Seek' is mixed in, then all bets are off. Patterson has an incredible talent for writing, and one of the best things about his novels are how he can get you involved in the lives of his characters, and how you even develop a liking for the bad guys as well...however in 'Hide & Seek' I just didn't care one whit about ANY character in this novel at ALL. It wasn't because I gave up on the story, either--nope, I read this entire story thinking that beyond the next page it was going to get better like his other brilliant Alex Cross novels. Now let me say one other thing, I DO NOT judge this or ANY other novel by Patterson based upon his previous novels, other than he has written so many great books, I figured even a poor book by Patterson was better than some other author's BEST work...not so here, unfortunately.

'Hide & Seek' cannot be compared to ANYTHING else that I had read by Patterson simply because it seemed as though it was written by another person altogether. Maybe I am so much of a fan of Alex Cross that I can't read anything that DOESN'T have him in it...but I discounted that theory because I have many other favorite authors who sometimes stray from their main carry-over characters and it has never presented a problem for me in the past, so I was just stumped here. Well maybe, just MAYBE it was because 'Hide & Seek' was simply not Pattersons best work...? I would like to think otherwise, but I think that this is the ONLY explanation that seems to make any sense to me. For those who liked this novel, not only do I envy you (because I really WANTED to...) I wonder why you actually DID? But in any case, I STILL think that Patterson is one 1st rate author (despite this book).`

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Change from the Alex Cross Series, January 7, 2004

By 

DJK ver 2.0 "Reader and Movie Buff" (Richardson, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hide and Seek (Mass Market Paperback)

'Hide and Seek' is a different type of novel than what most of Patterson's readers will be accustomed to. For instance, many readers, like myself, have read the entire Alex Cross series. In that series, the action follows a brilliant psychologist-detective. Those books are suspenseful, and usually contain a big twist.

'Hide and Seek,' on the other hand, follows the life of Maggie Bradford. The prologue introduces the reader to Maggie as she hides from her husband, who she is forced to kill in self-defense and in defense of her daughter.

From there, Maggie rises to stardom as a singer-songwriter and loses a life partner to a heart attack and another husband, an internationally famous soccer star, to a murder. The question is, who killed Will Shepherd, the soccer star?

Maggie isn't like Alex Cross. She has no training in police work and has no detective skills. In fact, she has to rely on the actions of others to solve this case. As is usual in a Patterson novel, a couple of great plot twists stand in the way of figuring out just what happened.

The majority of the novel is told from Maggie's point of view using a first person narrative style. Occassionally, actually frequently, Patterson switches to a third person narrative to tell the story of Will Shepherd. This can be confusing and disorienting at times, but then again, maybe that was the intent. It does help build the suspense.

I recommend this novel because it is a bit of a mystery, but it contains a wonderful narrative of an abused woman that has made a life for herself and overcome all obstacles. No knowledge of any of Patterson's prior work is needed. If you are looking for a good whodunit, you might be frustrated because the real mystery isn't introduced until the final fourth of the book. Its a quick read, and highly enjoyable.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Patterson strikes again!, January 29, 2004

By 

Jenn Chen (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hide and Seek (Mass Market Paperback)

Maggie Bradford is a rich, beautiful, charismatic, famous songwriter and singer. She is a loving mother of two, and is accused of killing not one, but two of her husbands.
Yes. You read that right.
Maggie Bradford, adored by her fans, killed her first husband in self-defense, and, in 'Hide and Seek', is being accused of killing soccer-star Will Shepherd.
After reading 'Roses Are Red' and 'Violets Are Blue', I have to admit that I thought that James Patterson could surprise me no more. The Alex Cross mysteries have twists and suspense that only Patterson could think up, and only Patterson could surprise his readers once more with 'Hide and Seek'. I especially love how Patterson writes as Maggie Bradford in first person. The tone is carefree, and he carries Maggie's voice throughout the whole book beautifully. Maggie's voice seems to be talking to readers, the audience. Will Shepherd, however, is written about in a detached version of first person, with less emotions, feelings, and thoughts mentioned. The book, however, is still filled with emotion and romance. Ending with the trial (with an incredible twist), 'Hide and Seek' is another one of Patterson's eminent books--the kind of book that you start reading and just can't put down, the kind of book you get paper cuts from by being in a hurry to turn to the next page, the kind of book that NO ONE should miss out on.