Customer Reviews

The Patriots Club

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Thirty-two year old Thomas Bolden is the hero of "The Patriots Club," Christopher Reich's new thriller. As a youngster, Bolden was always in trouble. He lived in a series of foster homes, and he also spent time in reform school and prison. Somehow, he manages to straighten himself out, and he eventually graduates with honors from Princeton and the Wharton School. After graduation, he gets a job on Wall Street and works his way up to the position of director at a prestigious investment banking firm. Along with his high-paying job, Bolden has a beautiful girlfriend named Jenny whom he adores, and he also mentors high-risk teens in his spare time.

One evening, Bolden's life changes forever when he and his girlfriend are attacked on the streets of Manhattan. Bolden is kidnapped and interrogated, and when he does not answer his abductors' questions satisfactorily, he is nearly killed. Although he manages to escape, Bolden is soon framed for murder, and he is forced to go into hiding. Throughout most of the novel, Bolden survives by his wits as he tries to figure out who is after him and why.

"The Patriots Club" is about influential conspirators who work behind the scenes to manipulate politicians, the economy, and even the Pentagon. Although it starts out entertainingly enough, the story quickly loses any semblance of realism. Bolden has a superhuman ability to elude capture, even though both the criminals and the cops are on his tail. The characters are one-dimensional, and the villains are so evil that they hardly seem human. Much of the dialogue is forced and the four-hundred page book is padded with too many extraneous characters and events. In addition, "The Patriots Club" is so complicated that the reader needs a scorecard to keep track of its myriad twists and turns. A good conspiracy thriller can be fun if it is written in a crisp and clear style, with well-developed characters and an intelligent story line. Sadly, "The Patriots Club" doesn't fulfill its promise.

Just because you are paranoid, doesn't mean someone is not out to get you.

In this book a young investment banker confronts a deep and dark conspiracy, a black hand that successfully influenced events throughout American history, a self-perpetuating cabal who membership included the President of the United States. Thomas Bolden stumbles into the workings of the club in what may be the final days of the club or the republic. Bolden proves resourceful and he is aided by mysterious but determined allies. Time is of the essence as the club plots the assassination of the new President of the United States.

This book is eerily reminiscent of The Firm, but without the black humor of the control of a law firm being in the hands of the Mafia. If you believe there are no coincidences you will love this book. If you think that conspiracy theorists ought to be in the loony bin, you will still enjoy it.

If you are a reader who is intrigued by "conspiracy theory" books and enjoyed David Baldacci's The Camel Club you will most likely enjoy this offering from Christopher Reich. If, however, you found the premise of Camel Club ridiculous and the plot convoluted, no doubt you will harbor the same feelings about Patriot's Club.

As Reich's Patriot's Club opens, former troubled street kid who made good, Thomas Bolden, and his girlfriend are attacked after leaving a Man of the Year award dinner and Bolden is "kidnapped". He is taken to "Guilfoyle" and questioned about his knowledge of "crown" and his involvement with Bobby Stillman. Bolden pleads ignorance in the matter, manages to escape his captors and goes to the cops with his tale. He is promptly framed for murder......forcing him to go "on the run". And that's only the tip of this iceberg.

The book itself could have been a script for the Survivor series considering Bolden's ability to "outplay", "outwit" and "outlast" his pursuers. The "multiple" conspiracies and Bolden's transformation from Wall Street wiz to super-hero possessing seeming immortality is nearly laughable.

The author's explanation about the high-powered, driven, immoral, and greedy conspirators who have targeted the protagonist is more than a bit far-fetched. You will find no middle of the road characters in this tome, and you can choose your favorite conspiracy......corporate, political, etc. It seems thatReich has abandoned character development and in turn, has asked us to abandon logic.

I've read all of Christopher Reich's books and have enjoyed them all. He generally writes great financial thrillers and is one of my favorite authors. This latest effort is not his best and is just an average thriller. I liked the pacing but the 'conspiracy' seemed to be a little over the top and took some of the believability out of the story. Overall, though, it still held my attention and was entertaining.

Recommended

Forget the Da Vinci Code. The Patriots Club is a conspiracy that is home grown with a brotherhood holding hands through generations of Americans. Christopher Reich combines a couple winning plots and adds a few twists of his own for a winning story in The Patriots Club.

Early in the book I wanted to scan through page after page. Not because the writing was poor, rather I was anxious to find some resolution and simply settle into the meat of the plot. Having read a couple of Reich's books, I knew this to be unwise. A careful and thoughtful reader will pick up little clues along the way. Again, Reich did not disappoint.

Much of the plotline is guessable. However, there is enough variation and simply good writing to carry the reader to the end for a satisfying conclusion.

Four stars - not five because I guessed the end a bit too early.

I picked up The Patriots Club after learning it had won the inaugural "Thriller" Award for Best Novel of the year bestowed by the International Thriller Writers Association. I have read all of Reich's books and enjoyed them, so I am a fan to begin with. His first novel "Numbered Account" stands among my favorite thrillers of the past decade. There is no dobut he is a talent to be reckoned with!

I'm happy to say that "The Patriots Club" was every bit as exciting and interesting as "Numbered Account." Reich does write a different kind of thriller. Namely, his stories are smart and extremely well researched, a quality I've found in writers like Frederick Forsyth and Tom Clancy. What Reich does better is create three dimensional characters that stick with the reader.

Enough said...I'm happy to give the Patriots Club my highest award of five stars. A thoroughly entertaining, suspenseful, and thought provoking read. Highly recommended!

Christopher Reich is one of a crop of new thriller writers who began to be published in the late 1990s. He started out strong with the memorable NUMBERED ACCOUNT and has continued on an ever-upward trajectory. But what has gone before will not prepare anyone for his latest work, THE PATRIOTS CLUB.

Reich takes familiar elements that might be stale in less talented hands and uses them in unexpected ways. You have the rich guy who grew up hard on the streets; lives turned upside down, for no apparent reason; and the shadowy extra-governmental group that manipulates everything behind the scenes.

Thomas Bolden is the rich guy with the Oliver Twist childhood, the kid who was in and out of foster homes and reform schools but who brought his street smarts to Wall Street and made a killing. Bolden is an up-and-comer with the acquisitions department of a major bank, maintaining an edge in matters financial while never forgetting the kids on the street and the life he left behind. What begins as a late-night mugging, however, turns into something far more, as Bolden comes to realize that he is being pursued --- and that his pursuers have so many resources that they seem to be omnipresent. The worst part is that it appears they have made a mistake, and that Bolden isn't the target at all.

Within the space of twelve hours, Bolden is on the run, his life in ruins as he is sought by the police for a murder he did not commit and by a group of fanatics who will stop at nothing to eliminate him, believing that he is a threat to their operation --- one that will affect the most powerful office in the world.

Bolden finds an ally in a mysterious woman, a 1960s student radical who has been wanted for murder for decades. Bolden doesn't know her, but she knows him --- and she is part of the reason why he finds himself running for his life. Bolden's only hope for survival lies with her, an aging cop whose heart is a beating time bomb, and Bolden's own street smarts, even as his pursuers close in upon the greatest prize of all in Washington, D.C.

Reich kicks out all the stops in THE PATRIOTS CLUB, a meticulously plotted, exquisitely told story that will keep you up past your bedtime. There is a pivotal scene near the beginning of the novel --- when Bolden's life is turned upside down --- that is worthy of Hitchcock. And the rest of the book is its equal. There were times when I thought I should be reading it with a bottle of beta-blockers in one hand and a bronchodilator in the other. Don't miss THE PATRIOTS CLUB --- it's one of the best thrillers of the year.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

I have read both of Reich's excellent "Rules Of" books and, having enjoyed both immensely, I decided to give one of his earlier efforts a try. But this one is a massive let down, and I really struggled to finish it. With a plot that is way too cliched to be in the least part believable, far too many characters (none of who I could find any empathy for), and so many different scenes and locations that it's easy to forget where you are, what's going on and why, it's not worth the effort. Don't bother.

I bought this book as a last minute effort to quickly read something from an author I don't know as I left for a trip on an airplane.

My overall thought was that this novel had promise, but the story was way too over the top. The hero is brought into the mess for an outlandish reason, and escapes situations in unbelievable ways. There are too many different conspiracies" that are all tied in together too neatly. The "twist" at the end was almost laughable. In fact, I found myself thinking, "you're kidding me, right?" I realize this is a work of fiction, but in the end the storyline should be somewhat believable. This one wasn't even close.

I have read other comments about this author that indicate his other novels are better. Sorry, but after spending too much time reading this one, I'm not willing to take the chance on any others. I'll stick to known commodities.

Christopher has entwined the characters very skillfully making The Patriot's Club suspenseful all the way to the end! What transpires in this story could easily happen in real life. Excellent read!