Customer Reviews

Private (Jack Morgan)

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(35)
2 star:		(22)
1 star:		(71)

 

 

I've been reading James Patterson's books for years (I don't think I've missed one!) and we all know that a majority of his books these days are ghost-written by a co-author, meaning that the quality isn't often anywhere near as good as some of his earlier novels (such as the Alex Cross ones). Well Private is a prime example of this - sloppy writing with forced dialogue, predictable plot twists and celebrity name-drops and product placements litter nearly each one of the short chapters; bad two dimensional characters that are all horribly unlikable; and three unrelated "mysteries" that tie up a little too easily (and are then forgotten about - I mean, what was the point of the NFL storyline exactly?!) and have none of the usual twists and shocks that I'd expect from a thriller novel.

I just wish Patterson would do himself a favour and stop putting his name on any book thrown at him as his reputation is going to be dragged through the mud even more with books like this one. This is the last time that I get excited about one of his novels and pre-order it so I get it on day of release and I'll read a few other customer reviews before purchasing in future as this was a real waste of time and money.

I have read every single novel written by Patterson.
Since ghost writers and assistant writers have written novels signed Patterson,
the quality of the story has deteriorated.
This last novel is by far the worst I have read.
The quickness of the chapters one used to feel, the incredible desire to want to read the next chapter is no longer there.

Just plain boring. I usually don't read his books with other authors and will return to that practice after this. It is not a James Patterson book.

Some books are so bad I just can't keep reading. This one almost fell into that catagory. I had to push on to finish. My title says it best. Although I finished the book it may be the worst I have ever read. Totally boring with no charactor development whatsoever. I kept saying to myself, "where is this book going". Patterson, or whoever is ghost writing for him should just hang it up. No wonder Andrew Gross moved on away from Patterson. If you must read this pathetic effort than get it from the Library and do not waste a penny on it.

This book was so bad I couldn't even finish it. That is very unusual for me. I am very disappointed as I was so excited to read another James Patterson thriller. Don't know if I will read anymore Patterson books.

I've read just about everything Patterson has written, or has lent his prestigious name to a "ghost writer". By far, PRIVATE was the least entertaining of any of his books. Random, and oft times irrelevant, dialgue and purpose. This book was a major disappointment, and I will be more selective in the future regarding his "Ghost writer's" efforts.

Where does one start? Characters have no development, no identifiable voice of their own. Plot lines are underdeveloped, unimaginative, contrived, and some downright stupid. No foundation for the "reveals" at the end. Mind you, I'm a Patterson fan, but there's no sign of him anywhere in this work. In future, if there is more than one author's name on the cover, I'm not buying it.

I usually like Patterson's books but I found this to be boring. Definitely does not live up to the hype. But I guess the TV ads calling it a thriller was the only way he could get enough people interested enough to buy it. It is NOT what I would call a thriller. Don't waste your money.

I can't believe the television ad calls this a thriller. The only thrilling part of it was that I was finished with it. I continued to read it so I could be done with it. Maybe Patterson (or his writers that do the work) should write less books and try for quality!

Even well established authors need to fulfill several check list items to have a good mystery novel. These include likeable or at least interesting characters, a suspenseful, well-developed, fast-moving plot, and good writing that holds the reader's interest. James Patterson and Maxine Paetro fulfill these requirements. This is the eighth novel that Paetro wrote wth Patterson, six of which were in the acclaimed Women's Murder Club series.

There are, as is usual in many Patterson books, three main plot lines. Jack Morgan is an Afghanistan veteran and war hero. His father, a crook and murderer is killed in prison, but before his death he gives Jack fifteen million dollars to run an investigative firm that he started and ran down. Jack restarts the firm "Private" and together with many experts in many criminological fields turns it into an extremely lucrative and respected business. The people who work for him are interesting characters.

The first plot centers on the death of a beautiful woman who Jack once dated, who is married to his best friend. She is shot in the head and chest. The police are convinced that her husband shot her. He turns to Jack for help. Although very wealthy this friend has been skimming money from people who gave him funds to invest for them.

The second plot is the freakish murder of young girls, twelve as the novel opens, each murder done differently. The mayor receives an untraceable email claiming credit for the bizarre deeds, signed "Steemcleena." The email proves knowledge of the crimes by telling the mayor where the items taken from the last victim can be found. Our authors tell us who committed the last murder, but neither the police nor Jack's firm, who the police hired to help them pro bono, know this. They also do not know that there was more than a single murderer involved.

The third major plot is a gambling fix in the NFL football league. While there is no clear evidence, quite a few games had been lost during the past two years that shouldn't have been lost. Jack's uncle and two other men, NFL owners, hire the firm to find out what is happening.

Then there are lesser plots, such as the phone calls that Jack receives threatening to kill him, the mob boss who insists that Jack take his case even though Jack refuses to work for crooks, Jack's twin brother owing $600,000 to the mob, Jack's nagging feeling that there is something about his heroic act in Afghanistan that he should be remembering, his recurrent nightmares, and, of course, the de rigueur love problems.