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The Quickie by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge

Publishers:  Little, Brown,  ISBN: 0316117366 

Reviewed by Narayan Radhakrishnan, New Mystery Reader

I think it’s high time that I stop reading James Patterson. He is causing a real headache. 

Yup, you heard me right- the reason for my headache is James Patterson. He writes such page turning, captivating books such that we are glued to the pages. The chapters are short and that with each chapter I began to say (lie) to myself -“one more chapter and then I shall stop.” The result is that THE QUICKIE kept me awake till about 2:30 in the morning and I had to get up for work at morning 6:30 am.  And with hardly four hours sleep, I got a severe, burning headache. And YOU Mr. James Patterson are responsible for this. And so I have a request, from here on out don’t write anymore spine-chilling, suspense works. Make the books as dull as possible. I don’t want to lose anymore sleep.

This time round the author successfully blends two age old mystery plot formulae- ‘the scorned woman in seek of revenge’ (Hell hath less fury than a woman scorned) and the plot of ‘being in the wrong place at the wrong time.’ But in the hands of Patterson and Ledwidge, the plot line gets a dose of freshness, a unique treatment and narrative style such that we are glued to the pages. Lauren Stillwill has the perfect life, but things suddenly change when she spots her husband in some ‘compromising circumstances’, and from that day on, Stillwill is on the warpath to seek revenge.   But her idea to level the score turns deadly when she witnesses a horrible and evil crime, an event that leads her to realize something new, more than the gore, dread, and horrific-ness associated with murder- there is also an element of fun.

What follows is Patterson at his best, and mark my words- this is a thriller which every Patterson fan has been waiting for since…..well last months’ 6^th TARGET.

Restitution by Lee Vance

Publisher: Knopf  ISBN-10: 030726632X

Reviewed by Stephanie Padilla, New Mystery Reader

At first blush, it might seem that Wall Street wizard Peter Tyler has it made with his ever increasing wealth, powerful career, and beautiful wife, but after having spent the last several years achieving stunning success in the financial world, he's paid the price with a marriage that is slowly crumbling.  And so when his wife is suddenly and brutally murdered, it's the evidence of his crumbling marriage and a one night stand that make him the primary suspect. 

Dismissed from his job, shunned by his peers, and with the threat of arrest hanging over his head, Peter has no choice but to find out who really killed his wife.  And the closer he gets to the truth, the closer he comes to unraveling an act of revenge that reaches so far into the past and is so encompassing and deadly that he will begin to doubt everything and everyone he once believed in.  

It would seem much too easy in a novel such as this to sacrifice character development for the excitement of a well-devised plot but, fortunately, Vance avoids that pitfall and creates a main character that, while at first may not always be easy to like, slowly grows into someone you might like to get to know better.  Remarkably, Vance's debut thriller reads as if written by one who has been doing this for awhile; his sense of timing, his flawed but redeemable characters, his convincing detail of the financial world, and his ability to create exceedingly high levels of tension all combine flawlessly in a tale that easily place him as a writer to watch.  This debut come highly recommended and we look forward to the next.

Innocence by David Hosp

Publisher: Warner Books  ISBN 978 0 446 58014 4

Reviewed by Karen Treanor, New Mystery Reader

“Ripped from today’s headlines!” is a favourite promotional bleat of film producers.  In the case of “Innocence”, the claim is close to truth; the book can be read as a dramatized version of several recent front-page stories.

A policewoman is brutally killed in Boston, and a Salvadoran man is arrested and accused of her murder despite his solid alibi.  Fifteen years later he’s still in jail when young lawyer Mark Dobson convinces former colleague Scott Finn to reopen the case.  With the aid of policeman Tom Kozlowski, Finn investigates.

Despite his initial misgivings about getting involved, Finn soon begins to realise that the young lawyer’s claim that Vincente Salazar was framed has some substance.  Before the investigation gets very far, Dobson is murdered.  Finn realises there’s a lot more involved in the Salazar case than a couple of lazy cops looking for a quick conviction: there’s an organized crime connection that has more tentacles than an octopus.  Finn and Kozlowski soon find out that the case could be injurious to their health, and the only way out of danger is to go further into danger in search of the answers.

There’s a subplot to the book which should satisfy anyone who’s ever felt outraged by seeing someone get rich through shady practices; the reader will wonder if the Slocum divorce case has any real roots in the author’s experiences as a trial lawyer.

“Innocence” is a disquieting book.  As much as you tell yourself it’s a work of fiction, you can feel a bedrock of fact under it.  Author Hosp works with the New England Innocence project, and at the end of the book there’s a chapter about some real-life cases of wrongful convictions.  Reading these leaves you with mixed feelings: you are appalled that such miscarriages happened; you wonder how many more innocent people are in jail; and you are grateful that people like Hosp are out there working for Justice for no better reason than that it is the right thing to do.  But, most of all, you might just wonder how many of those men executed in Texas, or anywhere else, might have been innocent.

New Mystery Reader Magazine  editor@newmysteryreader.com