Customer Reviews

Judge & Jury

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(50)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

One of the things I love about James Patterson's books is his prose. It's a no-nonsense, no frills, "I am what I am" voice that doesn't try to entice you into the story with a lot of flowery language. In Judge & Jury, the story is written from a first-person perspective: that of FBI Senior Agent Nick Pellisante. For years, Nick has been on the trail of a powerful Mafia don, named Dominic Cavello, and his efforts are about to pay off. Nick trails Cavello to the wedding of his favorite niece and successfully captures him.

The story picks up the pace after Andie is introduced as one of the jurors selected for the court case against Cavello. Andie is a single mom and an out-of-work actress who is trying to make ends meet with low-paying acting jobs that her agent can get for her. The suspense heats up when Cavello's people hires a world-renown assassin to help him get out of jail. The assassin is successful and what follows is a devastating tragedy that forever changes the lives of those involved. Cavello's ruthlessness, however, puts him squarely in the path of an enraged mother who will stop at nothing to get her revenge.

Judge & Jury is an easy read but also very entertaining. You'll not be disappointed.

I'm not sure what has happened to Mr. Patterson's writing skills, but it seems to me that a majority of his novels that he has co-wrote with someone have been real duds. I just finished reading his latest release, "The 6th Target and that was another real dud. All I can say to Mr. Patterson: "I have enjoyed many of your earlier novels, would you get serious and start creating well-written stories that you certainly have the talent to conceive."

There are numerous reviews that give a detailed account of the story, so I'll be brief. In the story "Judge and Jury", I almost got excited and began to read pages non-stop, but then the story started to fall apart again. At this point I was reading the scene where the mob leader is on trial for murder. Does he care? No. He just solves the problem by hiring an assassin to destroy the bus that the jury panel is riding on. Murder an entire jury? I just shook my head, wondering who was next: the judge, the DA?. I know this is fiction but the scenes should have some resemblance to the real world. Then we have Nick Pellisante, the FBI agent in hot pursuit of the mobster all over the world with a bank account that seems to have no bottom to it.

I was disappointed with the novel. It's not a terrible read, but I do feel that it is not a super mystery read. If you are a die hard fan of Mr. Patterson, you may find it an enjoyable read.

James Patterson takes us on another exhilirating ride. Is it a fun ride? Why sure it is. Full of twists, turns and unexpected happenings. Yet, once again, as with a lot of recent books, Judge and Jury is the same as all his other books. Fans and readers of Patterson know exactly what to expect from this novel. Another fun ride, but again, Patterson doesn't go above and beyond to where he's capable of going. The pinnacle he reached with his earlier works is almost lost.

Dominic Cavello, known as "The Electrician" is a mob boss that FBI agent Nick Pellisante has been after for years. Nick Pellisante finally catches his man. The evidence against Dominic Cavello is more than enough to convict him. Ironclad. There's sure to be a conviction. When it's time for the Jury to come to a sentence, Cavello makes a move no one could predict. He hires a hitman who makes sure the jury is never able to come to a sentence. One of the jurors, Andie DeGrasse, wants to make sure that Dominic Cavello gets just what he deserves... and so she decides to help Nick Pellisante get to the bottom of what's going on, and make sure that justice is served. It's full of lots of plot twists and turns, and is an exhilirating ride, but once again, when you get down to the nitty gritty it's just another run of the mill thriller.

The book suffers from the usual Patterson folly: an implausible plot and unbelievable characters. In Judge and Jury it's much more noticeable than in his past books. Does it all come together in the end? Yes, but again, its a little on the unbelievable side. Even for James Patterson Judge and Jury borders on being a little too implausible at times.

The characters suffer more than the plot does itself. There's nothing that really makes you feel or care for these characters at all. It seems as if Patterson was really just digging to find the twist that makes your jaw drop. As usual he's able to do it, but when you get to it... you really don't care. The characters don't bring this thrill ride to life. A lot of them are lifeless and flat. For Patterson, the characters are more flat than usual. Nothing makes us care for these characters.

Patterson still maintains his good style at least. Short snappy chapters and a fast read. You'll be through 100 pages before you know it. The book does move at an alarming pace. Sometimes it moves too fast, though. This may be why some of the plot itself doesn't always fall into place, or why his characters are not developed well enough. Patterson's novels are not very long books, despite being more than 400 pages. They are easy novels to read and you should finish this one in a sitting or two.

Judge and Jury is a great thrill ride, but it is marred by the same things Patterson is always marred on. Lackluster characters, implausible plot and moving at a pace so fast even a track star wouldn't be able to keep up. Is the thrill ride worth it? Certainly it is. However, if you want a little meat on those bones... character development, steady pace, logical happenings and findings, you won't find it and Judge and Jury. So you might as well take it for it's worth... a fun ride.

Yes it's easy and fast to read with large print and rarely more than three pages to a chapter. But the story borders on ridiculous, the characters are lame-brained and the writing hovers over the level of "Reader's Digest". I've read much, much better Patterson.

I like to think of James Patterson's novels as comfort food for the brain. The incredibly short chapters makes reading a breeze and no one writes a thriller as well as he does. His Alex Cross novels are my favorite, but he has shown that he can create fresh, new characters with equal ease.

A mob boss named Dominic Cavello is going to trial for muliple murders and the jury has already been selected. One of the jurors is Andie DeGrasse, a single mother and actress. Andie doesn't want to be on the jury but her attempts to get thrown off fail and she finds her world turned upside down as a scheme to free Cavello and help him escape unfolds. I don't want to say any more and spoil all the fun.

Patterson's books are not the most cerebral reads, but they are fun and easy to get through. As a reader, you can close your eyes and envision the scenes unfolding before you as you turn the pages as a breakneck speed. If you love the typical Patterson book, this one won't disappoint.

I feel sorry for Mr. Patterson, but I've never seen such a poorly written book, full of clichee: the tough FBI agent, the attractive woman that falls in love with him, the evil mafioso.

Nothing new in this book. Nothing. So, why did Mr. Patterson write it? Please excuse me, but quantity never makes out for quality.

Nick Pellisante has made a career of taking down mafia bosses. A respected member of the FBI, he is finally seeing the worst of the worst, Dominic Cavello, brought to trial. Security is tight, and the tension, tighter. Cavello's connections will make the judicial process near impossible.

Andie DeGrasse is a single mom who has been assigned jury duty for the Cavello case. She thought she'd be able to get out of serving, but she was wrong, and now she must look over her shoulder.

When things go devastatingly wrong, Andie's life and Nick's career are blown apart. A series of disasters lead Andie and Nick to undertake extreme measures in order to deliver Cavello a plateful of justice. The question is whether they'll succeed, or die trying.

This novel encompasses the entire range of human expression: maternal love, unrelenting grief, blinding rage, vicious cruelty, crushing vengeance, and more. It is a powerful tale that will grab the reader by the collar and shake until there's nothing left to give.

Nick's perspective is told entirely in the first person, and the remaining characters are told from third person. While this doesn't necessarily soften the impact of this story, it could be jolting to the average reader.

The writing quality is superb, as usual, with short chapters typical of Patterson. Fans of both Patterson and Gross will likely enjoy this novel, although the ending casts a long shadow over the main characters, Nick and Andie.

Recommended for readers who enjoy legal suspense infused with action and romance.

Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer
6/8/2006

4½-BOOKS for WUAT; 5-STARS for AMAZON

I was very disappointed with Judge & Jury. I like James Patterson books but his writing seems to be getting worse with each book. It mainly seems to be the books that have a "Co-Author" that I find are not written well. And I know that James Patterson can write so much better than this.

So I recently visited the website of Andrew Gross (www.andrewgrossbooks.com), James Patterson's "Co-Author" on Judge & Jury to find out a little more about him. I found a couple interesting bits of information that I thought James Patterson fans might like to know before purchasing another one of his books that have been "Co-Authored". Upon meeting James Patterson, Andrew Gross said that James Patterson had several projects he wanted to write and NOT ENOUGH TIME TO DO THEM. And then Andrew Gross goes on to say that James Patterson comes up with the outline for the book and then passes it on to Andrew Gross. It sounds to me like the only part of James Patterson that is in Judge & Jury (as well as his other "Co-Authored" books, I assume) is that he came up with the story and the outline but the book was written entirely by the "Co-Author". This is definately going to make me think twice about buying another James Patterson book that has "Co-Authors" name on the cover with his. Mr. Patterson, this is a very sad way to let your fans down and lose some along the way. I hope that you go back to writing books on your own.

James Patterson is not a gifted writer. He has a poor ear for dialogue, is lazy about research, and seems oblivious to the plot holes that riddle so many of his novels.

And yet, despite this, he manages to churn out a decent thriller from time to time. Judge and Jury is one of the good ones.

The story: A mob boss on trial for murder hires an assassin to blow up the jury bus and later escapes from custody. A renegade FBI agent and the sole surviving member of the jury chase the mobster to the end of the earth in a quest for vigilante justice.

Sure, I wondered how a federal agent and under-employed actress could fund this month long mission, racing around the world, but there's little point in worrying about details like this. Minor gaps in logic and shabby research can be forgiven if the author gives the reader a rollicking ride.

I could write a whole page on how embarrassingly bad the poker scenes are (it's pretty obvious that neither Patterson nor Gross play the game). These scenes are an example of Patterson's laziness as an author but they don't detract from the novel (the errors won't even be noticed by the majority of readers who aren't poker players).

Poker inaccuracies aside, Judge and Jury is a fast paced, action packed thriller. Anyone leery of Patterson after disappointing efforts like London Bridges and Beach Road can take heart. This one is worth reading.

This book is embarrassingly bad. The characters are shallow, the dialog is absolutely laughable, and the plot is hokey in the extreme. I cringed and winced my way through the book, the whole time wondering how on earth such a novel made it past an editor and into print. Truly a disappointment.