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222 of 241 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
An actual review of the book - not the price, June 29, 2009
This review is from: Swimsuit (Hardcover)
I read this via audio book and honestly, it was NOT the best Patterson book. As a matter of fact, if that had been my first Patterson book, I wouldn't have gone back for more. The book is basically broken into 3 parts.
The first third we are treated to horrendous descriptions of rape, torture and decapitation. Much too graphic and much too disgusting for just casual reading. The killer is pretty good because he's so rutheless, but some of the people that end up killed are just so unexpected and seem like we wasted time getting to know them only to have them murdered within the first third of the book.
The second third of the book is a cat and mouse type situation between the killer and the novelist.
The final third is more cat and mouse between the killer, the novelist and an underground group. And then *POOF* its all wrapped up in a neat little bow and its done. The ending was such a cop-out I was shocked. I kept thinking that maybe I didn't have the complete audio book because as I was nearing the end so much was still going on and still unanswered. But of course, the epilogue wrapped it all up and stuffed it in a box.
So I suffered through the must vile descriptions of murder and barely anything really happened and then it was over. I was disappointed, to say the least.
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54 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
"Its to Die For" if you read it, July 24, 2009
This review is from: Swimsuit (Hardcover)
Swimsuit, James Patterson's latest piece of dreck to be published, starts off with a swimsuit model mysteriously disappearing, leaving no trace of herself behind. Shortly after she goes missing, her parents receive a chilling call late at night from someone telling them that bad things have happened to her. After receiving the call they immediately book a flight to Hawaii - were the photo shoot was taking place - and with the help of ex-cop turned writer for the LA Times Ben Hawkins, they begin to search for her, hoping that the worst wont come.
Words cannot describe how awful this book was, and using the word awful doesn't seem to be a fair word to use either. Before even finishing the description on the book jacket, you can already tell were this book is going to be heading: the daughter is obviously dead, the parents will find her, and everything from that point on will be boring. The book even saves us the trouble from this by having the daughter killed within the first three chapters of the book. Sure the book was predictable, but the fact that we already know what happens in the beginning takes away any thrill or mystery to the story that could have been there if we hadn't known before-hand.
The story itself was tiring and trite. The only thing that was going on was some guy going around, picked up women, spiked their drinks, and then making a pornographic snuff film with them so he can sell the tape to a group of rich people in Europe. Yes, you read that right, a pornographic snuff film. For those that don't know, a snuff film is were someone tapes them self killing someone else, however this killer added a twist to this by having porno in it. It wasn't exactly porno per se, but it involved him hog-tying the woman down, raping them, and then proceeding to decapitate her with a knife, ignoring the fact that someone would probably hear large amounts of screaming coming from the hotel room, but Patterson skips this by not mentioning it, ever. Nice. Being a guy, I still found it somewhat offensive to a woman's intelligence in general, because according to Patterson, a woman's IQ doesn't exist if she's on vacation. Honestly, any woman reading this right now, can you honestly say that if some random guy were to walk up to you and offer you the world, would you go with him? Let me answer for you, no, you probably wouldn't, and yet he manages to pick up well over ten women. Apparently they don't bother to read the news either about a random guy doing this to women either because apparently people don't read about news anymore either.
While the two things listed above make the book bad, what does this book in is the ending. You'll just be sitting there reading the book when all of sudden, it just comes to an abrupt halt, like Patterson himself was reaching through the pages to give you the finger and tell you that he didn't feel like finishing the book. The sheer stupidity of this jumps out from the book and sears the readers eyes. Apparently its too much effort to add a few more pages, but I guess we'll never know what happens.
To sum it up, this book sucked. The story went nowhere, the characters were stupid and you could care less about them, and the killings - while somewhat original as I have never read this before in a book - were over the top with too mucn violence and unnecessary raping. There's a fine line between just killing someone, to cutting off their freaking head. A definite skip.
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97 of 115 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Murder, She (and He) Wrote, June 30, 2009
This review is from: Swimsuit (Hardcover)
Quite possibly, you'll see this book next to a towel and sunscreen. You'll see someone on a chaise lounge with a cold drink nearby. And they'll be reading this book at poolside or on a stretch of beach.
They'll be reading about Henri Benoit, master of disguise and master of disaster, one of the most sinister characters in contemporary fiction. He murders people due to a vicious inner compulsion and for the big bucks his super-rich clients pay him. These clients enjoy watching people who are brutalized and murdered. Henri films his murders and disseminates the film via the Internet.
The book has a lot of graphically described lust. A lot of graphically described violence. There's crude language. The authors, James Patterson and Maxine Paetro, set much of the story in exclusive hotels. Fine wine, fine food; and, often, rotten people.
The plot spins off of the kidnapping of a beautiful young swimsuit model who has journeyed to Hawaii for a photo shoot. Her fate and the frantic fears of her parents launch the tale.
It's certainly a quick read. The prose flows very well, particularly the bit set in the trailer in the middle of the forbidding Joshua Tree National Park. It took me about ten hours of fairly concentrated reading to finish the novel.
Some of it is goofy. Much of it doesn't make a lot of sense: an L.A. Times reporter/failing novelist/fired cop is coerced to put together a soulless killer's autobiography. Sure....
But I don't think people will buy this book because they want a scholarly treatise on the criminal mind. People who buy this book are not looking for airtight logic. They want a little escape. Readers get to go to Hawaii, Paris, Amsterdam, and the Swiss Alps. Eat exotic food with names they can't pronounce. That sort of thing.
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