Customer Reviews

The Outside Man

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Sex,Money, Power and racism you get it all with this Patterson novel. He does a fairly decent job of developing his characters and everyone and I mean everyone is a suspect. He developes motives for some of the characters which are inconsistent with the real story. He attempts to get you involved with what it's like living in the south but does not do a very good job. His main character (who is a lawyer) is 10% lawyer and 90% cop who is definately out of his element. His ending is great as are most of his novels, however there are other Patterson novels I would suggest (Degree of Guilt, Silent Witness), however if you are a hard core Patterson fan (as I am) you'll enjoy classic Patterson In "The Outside Man".

I liked this book, but it pales in comparison to Patterson's later works. Adam Shaw is a young lawyer employed in his father-in-law's firm who is asked to drop off a document to his friends, Lydia and Henry Cantwell. Shaw finds the murdered body of Mrs. Cantwell, and then discovers the document he was delivering was the latest edition of her last will and testament. The prime suspects in the murder are the husband whose alibi is he was out of town for the night, and their psychotic son, Jason, whose girlfriend says he was with her all night.
Nothing is as it seems from this point; there's much more than meets the eye in all of the characters' secrets and so forth. Eventually three people end up dead by the time the crime is solved. The true culprit is somewhat of a surprise, although the character's presence in the book is never really likeable. The showdown at the end is somewhat contrived, but it serves its purpose.
If you're a true Patterson fan, this book will please you but savor his later efforts.
RECOMMENDED (SLIGHTLY)

I read all of Patterson's other books prior to reading The Outside Man and I would consider this to be the weakest of the lot. If you like Patterson's books, it is certainly worth reading; however, I would recommend reading his other books first, particularly Caroline Masters (AKA The Final Judgement) and Protect and Defend. If you are unfamiliar with Richard North Patterson, he writes gripping, complex legal/political thrillers. His earlier books, of which The Outside Man is one, tend to be looser and harder to follow. I had some difficulty keeping the characters' names straight and kept having to flip back to the beginning to refresh my memory regarding who was whom.

I read "Silent Witness" and really lived it. I saw this book for sale and figured I'd give it a try. Poor move.
The book was hard to follow. There were so many flashbacks I had a hard time figuring out where I was (not the plot - the actual place the characters were). I forced myself to keep reading, hoping that it would improve. It didn't. I put the book down about 20 pages from the end.

This book is the first one that I read by Richard North Patterson and I will definately look to read more. In this book we are immediately faced with a murder and the main character Adam Shaw who finds the body. Shaw also becomes the man on the quest to find out who murdered the wife of his best friend.

This book involved many characters and many plot twists. Just as you and Adam Shaw think that you have figured out who the murderer is, you are proved wrong. This book is masterfully crafted. Towards the conclusion of the book, when you learn what exactly transpired it gets slightly confusing, but if you slow down it will make sense. I think it would be better enjoyed if you have a few long sittings to read it, rather than what I did with about 15 minutes a night since that made it tougher to have consistency.

All-in-all, this was a suspenseful thriller which I would recommend that you should read. And if you don't choose this particular book by Richard North Patterson, find another by him. I definately will keep reading his books.

EARLY WORKS BY THIS AUTHOR JUMP AROUND TOO MUCH - BUT HE ALWAYS HAS THE BEST TWISTS AND TURNS. IF YOU LIKE PATTERSON AT ALL, CONTINUE TO PICK UP HIS LATEST WORKS. THE INTELLIGENT READER'S JOHN GRISHAM!

I like most of his other books I've read but this is slow and a bit obvious as it goes along. If your have never read Patterson start with another...

Main character, Adam Shaw was only missing a cape as he took on everyone in his search for truth and justice. Yawwwn!

Originally from Ohio, Adam Shaw married socialite Kris Ann Cade straight out of law school. Seven years later finds himself employed by her father's celebrated law firm in Birmingham, Alabama. When an errand sends him to a client's home, Shaw stumbles onto the body of Lydia Cantwell. Frustrated by police suspicions of Lydia's husband Henry, Adam undertakes his own investigation--and quickly finds himself embroiled in law firm politics, police prejudice, and a host of long-hidden secrets that threaten to errupt in scandal.

Those scandals run the gamut from adulterous affairs to homosexuality to racism (the latter seemingly suggested by the infamous "Scotsboro Boys" trial of the 1930s), and before the tale ends we've been treated to several assaults, a few murders more, and plenty of southern-fried gossip. The result is entertaining enough to keep you turning the pages, but when all is said and done Patterson's plot strains at the joints and the characters are seldom more than names on a page. Enjoyable for what it is, but in the end it isn't a book to which you'll return or that you'll go out of your way to recommend to friends.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

I just finished this novel (my wife grabbed it for me at a used book sale), and I was surprised to realize I'd never read the author before. And I found more than enough to like about "The Outside Man" to gladly pursue more of his material. While earlier reviewers are correct when they say Patterson's habit of jumping around can be a bit disconcerting, I wonder how much of that is simply due to other authors in the genre feeding us a steady diet of completely linear plots. Regardless, it's Patterson's gift of descriptive language that inspires me to read more of his material, as opposed to merely the plot itself. It's certainly interesting, and has the requisite twists, but I still had the murderer pegged early on. (I'm not patting myself on the back -- he telegraphs it.) But that didn't really detract from my enjoyment of the book. Instead, I took pleasure in his style. The opening passages, in which he describes the "violence of beauty you can find only in the South," are particularly impressive, and there's plenty more inspiring prose throughout the book.

My wife also picked up "No Safe Place" at the same time, which was written 17 years later. I just started it, and it will be interesting to see how he's evolved!