'Beach Road' is one of James Patterson's latest offerings (written in collaboration with Peter De Jonge) and like all of his novels it is a tense psychological thriller! Unlike many of his novels which tend to be part of a series (like the Alex Cross series and The Women's Muder Club) this ... Read review
This title starts with the rape of a young black girl: Nikki Robinson is cleaning the ... more
mansion on Beach Road owned by the Merrick family, when the owner's son assaults her. Then, three teenage boys are shot dead on the beach - one is Michael Merrick, and one of the black kids accused of the murders is Nikki's half-brother, Eli. Defending them isn't going to be easy. No witness to the murders can be found. The rich local community don't want any murky secrets revealed about life in the Hamptons. And Tom and Kate, the two lawyers working on the case, haven't exactly been on good terms since their affair broke up. (courtesy Amazon.co.uk)
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...Hamptons in an area called Beach Road. Very near the beginning three young white men are murdered, execution style, in the grounds of one of The Beach Road homes. Before long, everyone is looking for the two main suspects, both young black guys. However within a couple of weeks one of the boys is dead and the other has turned himself in declaring his innocence.
Local lawyer Tom Dunleavy is called upon to defend the accused and he soon ... ...shot lawyer, Kate Costello. The start of the novel focuses on Tom and kate's search for a defence story and towards the end of the novel it all culminates in a gripping courtroom trial. There are many seedy characters introduced and many twists and turns as the novel gallops towards a quite thrilling and unexpected conclusion! In fact I have to say that I was quite shocked by one or two things at the end - there was one twist that I never suspected ... more
'Beach Road' is one of James Patterson's latest offerings (written in collaboration with Peter De Jonge) and like all of his novels it is a tense psychological thriller! Unlike many of his novels which tend to be part of a series (like the Alex Cross series and The Women's Muder Club) this novel is a 'one off' and as a consequence introduces a whole new batch of characters! It is actually quite unusual at the beginning because, a bit like a play, it introduces all the characters in order of appearance. More about these later but before that I will give a brief outline of the plot without giving anything away!
The novel is set in a very affluent area of the Hamptons in an area called Beach Road. Very near the beginning three young white men are murdered, execution style, in the grounds of one of The Beach Road homes. Before long, everyone is looking for the two main suspects, both young black guys. However within a couple of weeks one of the boys is dead and the other has turned himself in declaring his innocence.
Local lawyer Tom Dunleavy is called upon to defend the accused and he soon join forces with his old flame and New York hot shot lawyer, Kate Costello. The start of the novel focuses on Tom and kate's search for a defence story and towards the end of the novel it all culminates in a gripping courtroom trial. There are many seedy characters introduced and many twists and turns as the novel gallops towards a quite thrilling and unexpected conclusion! In fact I have to say that I was quite shocked by one or two things at the end - there was one twist that I never suspected for a moment! I shan't say any more about that though - you will just have to read the book!
It is a great read though and I do think that James Patterson is a master of suspense writing. He always writes short pacy chapters that move the action on very quickly and almost leave you breathless. It is also quite a clever way of enabling the reader to read on. As the chapters are short (normally only about three or four pages - sometimes even less) it is very easy to think that you'll just read the next, and then the next, and so on... I am the sort of reader who does not like to put a book down mid chapter so if the chapters are overly long I won't start on the next one if I think I'm too tired to see it all the way through!
So with these short chapters, and the fact that I was drawn in and absorbed from virtually the first page, I actually read the entire book over four days - something which as a busy working mother of two small girls is virtually unheard of for me. I put this down mainly to the gripping story line - I just had to keep on reading to see what was going to happen next!
One aspect of the novel that I was not so keen on though, and which made it quite demanding on me as a reader, was the fact that the chapters kept being written from different characters' first person perspective. There might be a couple of chapters from Kate, then one or two from Tom, and these would be interspersed with about another eight characters' points of view! Even though under each chapter number there was the name of the teller, I did find this quite difficult, and had to keep reminding myself to check who was telling the story now!
There is an interesting set of characters in the book. The main two are the lawyers Kate and Tom, but there is also the accused young man, his very proud grandmother, a couple of cops and also a drug dealer. As you are reading you start to think that you have got the measure on all these characters, but as with any self respecting James Patterson novel, not everybody is who or what they seem. As with many suspense novels the character are more two dimensional because it is the action which is more important. However, the characters of Tom and Kate are quite well developed, and there is a nice little sideline as their old romance is rekindled!
Overall, if you like a bit of suspense, coupled with some gruesome murders and a good old fashioned cortroom drama thrown in for good measure, then this is probably just the book for you! It is a gripping, absorbing read and if you are anything like me you will be hooked from page one!
It is published by Hodder Headline, and my paperback copy, with just over four hundred pages, has a RRP of £6.99. Having said that though, I bought mine from Tesco for £3.73!
Advantages: Becoming each character Disadvantages: Short chapters
Having only started to read James Patterson books, this is my 4th book of his. Thoroughly enjoyable. Enjoyed the fact that the chapters were from each individual character. You became that character throughout the book. So we have Tom Dunleavy the lawyer, Kate Costello his lost love (also a lawyer) and then the suspect Dante Halleyville who is charged with the murder of three of Tom's friends. Although starting with the rape of a young black cleaner, ...
lovedup 15.07.2008
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Advantages: It's by James Patterson Disadvantages: You'll be expecting typical James Patterson quality
I am an avid JamesPatterson fan and there are very few of his boks that I haven't read. It is true that his novels are fast paced, gritty and keep you engrossed so that you don't want to put the book down. This one, however, is a bit of an exception to that rule, in good ways and bad. I'll give you the bad reason first.
This novel is based on an event that acrtually happened, in the Hamptons, New York (It says so in the foreword) and if you have ever read a novel like this you'll know that it can be quite difficult for an author to keep you gripped whilst sticking true to the facts instead of delving deep into their imagination. That said I think that JP does manage to keep the story real as well as keeping you entertained.
The plot is this. Tom Dunleavy, Lawyer to the lower classes who serve the billionaires in the Hamptons, is ...
Advantages: major twist in plot, good all round summer read Disadvantages: possibly predictable, not as good as Cross
Beachroad is a stand alone legal thriller by JamesPatterson. It revolves around a lawyer, tom Dunleavey, and a man he is trying to get off a triple murder charge, Dante Halleyville.
This book is an ideal summer read; it is only short and took just a day and a bit to complete for me. It is told chapter by chapter from one of the characters? perspectives.
Background of author:
JamesPatterson is one of the biggest selling authors alive today, repeatedly hitting the bestsellers lists with every new book released. His other credentials include coming up with a slogan for Toys R? Us.
He has collaborated with a number of co authors on his books, including Maxine Paetro, Andrew Gross and in this book, Michael Ledwidge. Andrew gross has now gone on from co authoring to release his own book, \'the blue zone\', which largely follows ...
Advantages: Another book to add to your James Patterson collection Disadvantages: Nowhere near as good as his other books
For those of you who have read my other reviews you will know that I have a great love of reading and in particular of novels by the great JamesPatterson. So much so, that when a new book of his comes out, I will instantly buy it without even reading the back cover as I know that I will love it. However, it pains me to say that I was disappointed with BeachRoad. It didn't have the fast paced, page turning abilities that is so apparent in many of his books and I actually found it hard, at times, to concentrate on the story and stay interested.
Plot
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Tom Dunleavy owns a law firm in East Hampton but his clients are usually those serving the rich as opposed to the billionaires and celebrity types that swarm the beaches. He mainly deals with real estate property and doesn't make much money to keep going. Then a friend ...
Product Information for "Beach Road - James Patterson" »
Product details
Type
Fiction
Genre
Thriller
Title
Beach Road
Author
James Patterson
ISBN
0755323122; 0755323130
Manufacturer's product description
This story starts with the rape of a young black girl: Nikki Robinson is cleaning the mansion on Beach Road owned by the Merrick family, when the owner's son assaults her. Then three teenage boys are shot dead on the beach - one is Michael Merrick, and one of the black kids accused of the murders is Nikki's half-brother, Eli. Defending them isn't going to be easy. No witness to the murders can be found. The rich local community don't want any murky secrets revealed about life in the Hamptons. And Tom and Kate, the two lawyers working on the case, haven't exactly been on good terms since their affair broke up.
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