Kill Me If You Can [Hardcover]

James Patterson (Author), Marshall Karp (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 29, 2011

Matthew Bannon, a poor art student living in New York City, finds a duffel bag filled with diamonds during a chaotic attack at Grand Central Station. Plans for a worry-free life with his stunning girlfriend Katherine fill his thoughts--until he realizes that he is being hunted, and that whoever is after him won't stop until they have reclaimed the diamonds and exacted their revenge.

Trailing him is the Ghost, the world's greatest assassin, who has just pulled off his most high-profile hit: killing Walter Zelvas, a top member of the international Diamond Syndicate. There's only one small problem: the diamonds he was supposed to retrieve from Zelvas are missing. Now, the Ghost is on Bannon's trail--but so is a rival assassin who would like nothing more than to make the Ghost disappear forever. From "America's #1 storyteller" (Forbes) comes a high-speed, high-stakes, winner-take-all thrill ride of adrenaline-fueled suspense.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

James Patterson has had more New York Times bestsellers than any other writer, ever, according to Guinness World Records. Since his first novel won the Edgar Award in 1977 James Patterson's books have sold more than 240 million copies. He is the author of the Alex Cross novels, the most popular detective series of the past twenty-five years, including Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider. Mr. Patterson also writes the bestselling Women's Murder Club novels, set in San Francisco, and the top-selling New York detective series of all time, featuring Detective Michael Bennett. He writes full-time and lives in Florida with his family.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; First Edition edition (August 29, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316097543
• ISBN-13: 978-0316097543
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.2 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (247 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #113,068 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

83 of 89 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Thrilling Combination! September 4, 2011

By John

Format:Hardcover

KILL ME IF YOU CAN combines the usual winning formula of action, suspense and glamorous international locations predominant in Patterson's novels, but with the more off-beat influence of Karp's writing which makes for a thrilling combination. During an attack on Grand Central Station on the bread-line artist, and unlikely hero, Matt Bannon stumbles across a bag of diamonds and decides to risk taking them. A cat and mouse game ensues as Matt tries to off-load the diamonds and avoid the assassin who has been sent to track him down and retrieve them.

There is a good injection of humour as well as pace and I found myself reading this in less than a day lounging by the pool. Not a cerebral challenge, but there were enough twists and likeable characters to keep me entertained and wanting to read on to see how things turn out for Matt.

Probably more Karp than Patterson, but I enjoyed it all the same, and look forward to what is undoubtedly the start of a great new series!

31 of 37 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Kill Me Now October 10, 2011

By Alan Weiss

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

The worst Patterson book in memory of the 25 or so I've read. The characters are paper thin. There are bodies left all over the place which no one else seems to notice or take interest in. The protagonist is beaten to a pulp but comes up swinging while uttering cute observations. All the women are drop-dead beautiful. All the bad guys are sadistic. Good fiction has to be plausible, and this is fragile, thin, and preposterous. It's all formula, no content. If this were the first Patterson book you picked up, I doubt you'd buy another. This one was mailed in.

38 of 48 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Are Diamonds Forever? August 30, 2011

By C. Wallace VINE™ VOICE

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

It's the story of a young ex-Marine, Iraq and Afghanistan combat veteran, who finds a bag full of diamonds, worth several million dollars. He decides to keep the treasure, and a blood-soaked series of events ensues, for the Russian mob has a strong "proprietary" interest in those diamonds.

A pivotal event in this novel reminded me of a device that I have seen used in movies. One of the actors, at a critical juncture, turns to the viewers and points something out or offers some explanation. It just seems awkward to me, and I've never seen it done well. Similarly, a character in this book, at about the half-way point, explains that readers have been purposely misled about an important plot element! So a stunning shift in the story made no sense until we had the "inside" info. I found it all rather confusing and felt a little editing could have gone a long way.

Too much time is spent on international tourist hot spots in Paris, Venice, Amsterdam, and Nassau. These travelogues do not really keep the story moving. Also, some of the villains are almost comically over the top and stretch credulity.

However, author James Patterson (writing here with Marshall Karp) is a master craftsman of the page-turner. I have read and reviewed fourteen of his works for this site and (almost) never had trouble finishing them, even those I did not rate highly. It seems to me that Patterson's fail-safe method is to juggle three or more intriguing elements at the same time. At least one of them will keep most readers engaged.

The book weaves two taboos into the plot. A college professor has an affair with one of her students. The other taboo is far more scandalous. Many readers will find this part of the book revolting, although the authors handle it in an almost matter-of-fact manner.

There's nothing profound here. But there are stretches of high excitement, and I did keep wondering what would happen to those diamonds and the man who took them.