Private Review

PRIVATE
by James Patterson
Product Details
ISBN: 9781846057694
Format:Trade Paperback
Imprint:Century
Published:01/06/10
Subject:Crime Fiction

http://www.randomhouse.com.au/Books/PRIVATE/9781846057694/Trade%20Paperback/

A brand new Patterson series based around an L.A. private investigator

DESCRIPTION OF BOOK

Jack Morgan is a war hero. Returning home from Afghanistan after being wounded, Jack is called into California State Prison to visit his father, Tom, who is serving a life sentence for extortion and murder. Before being incarcerated, Tom ran a private investigation firm called ‘Private’. Tom wants Jack to re-start the company, to make it great again, and gives him access to a $15 million dollar account in the Cayman Islands to do it with.

Five years later and Jack has set up offices spanning the globe. Private’s services are much sort after and Jack has clients ranging from movie stars to politicians. Jack is keen to keep the business legal and not fall into the same traps as his father. But when the mob come calling, they are not easy to refuse.

On a rare night off accompanying a client to the Golden Globe awards, Jack receives a phone call from school friend Abbie Cushman. Abbie's wife has been murdered and he desperately needs Jack’s help. The murder is brutal and with no apparent motive; fingers begin pointing towards Abbie. Jack is certain that Abbie didn’t kill his wife, but he will have to work night and day to prove it.

Meanwhile, Jack’s second-in-command at Private, Justine Smith, is helping the L.A.P.D. in a serial killer investigation. Over the past two years, twelve school girls from the same area in L.A. have been murdered. The killings are highly professional and so far the Police have no leads whatsoever. Justine has been called in to make use of her experience and Private’s resources. A breakthrough is desperately needed, because these killings show no signs of stopping.
Review
Hopefully this will be the start of a new series by Mr Patterson, I enjoyed the story and new character, Jack Morgan. Again, if you like the formula driven novels by Patterson, then you will find this one lives up the this style and pace. The team up with Maxine Paetro for this story has worked a treat, unlike some of the previous tag teams that were easy to pick which chapter was written by each author and seemed jerky because of this.

Jack Morgan is a former CIA Agent and Marine who inherited Private Investigations, a firm who does first-class investigations for the elite, the rich, and the famous. Private has top-of-the-line equipment, a plethora of staff members who will work 24/7 to get things done, and a multimillion-dollar forensics lab that is better equipped and faster than anything at the LAPD or FBI.

In this book, Jack's team of investigators and analysts are involved in several cases, but I was not confused at all while reading. I thought I might be when I started reading about one case and then the story shifted to another case, and then another case; but I wasn't. The transitions were seamless and I didn't forget what was going on and was able to pick right back up with each case as it came up in the story.

The three cases that Private is working on are: (1) the death of Jack's best friend's wife, Shelby; (2) the Schoolgirls killings; and (3) an NFL gambling fix. All cases are unique and interesting in their own right. Being a huge football fan, I was really intrigued by the NFL storyline case in this book.

Jack had a relationship with Justine in the past and is currently having fun with his receptionist at Private. Jack's personal life is like a roller coaster. He is haunted by dreams of the time he was in Afghanistan and actually died, but was brought back to life by his fellow Marine, Del Rio. He keeps having flashes of something he missed and is trying desperately to put the pieces together so he can move on with his life. It doesn't help that he receives daily phone calls telling him, "You're dead, Jack." Add to it a father who is in jail and a brother with a huge debt and hates Jack with a passion, and you have a novel ripe with a deep and emotional character.