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August
2002's
Author! Author! The reasons why I chose James Patterson as my Author of the Month are quite simple. My first encounter with Patterson was when my editor asked me to review "Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas." I knew when I read the back of the audio book case that I'd be in for a good ride, and when I started listening to it, I realized once again that I was right. I couldn't stop listening to it. His words sounded as though a WOMAN was speaking them. It amazed me how a man could dig so deep into a woman's psyche. That's when I knew that James Patterson was a special man indeed. Recently, my editor said she had an audio book version of "The Beach House." I was thrilled! I sat in my room cleaning, organizing, and doing whatever else I needed to, being careful not to impair my hearing the awe-striking story that was unfolding tape by tape. That, my friends, is why I picked James Patterson as my author of the month.
He has had a remarkable career as a writer. The Thomas Berryman Number, his first novel, won the Edgar Award for the best first mystery novel. He was just twenty-seven years old.
Since then, he's written many bestsellers including Along Came a Spider and Kiss the Girls, which are two books in a series of 7 (soon to be 8) that stars a detective/psychologist named Alex Cross. The other books are Jack & Jill, Cat & Mouse, Pop Goes the Weasel, Roses are Red and Violets are Blue.
Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas is one of a few books that Patterson has taken a different outlook on. It's about a woman whose lover disappears and leaves a Journal for her to read…Suzanne's Journal for Nicholas. It's a beautifully written book and definitely up to the standard that Patterson has set for himself since he started writing.
He has written TWENTY books including his newest one entitled The Beach House, which has also been reviewed by MyShelf.Com as an audio book by yours truly. Three of those bestsellers have been turned into movies. You might remember Morgan Freeman starring in Paramount's adaptation of Kiss the Girls in 1997. He came back in 2001 to star as Alex Cross again in Along Came a Spider. The Late Robert Urich got his chance to live a James Patterson novel when he starred in the Television Movie Miracle on the 17th Green. NBC's even got into the swing of things and bought the rights to 1st To Die and is planning to produce a four-hour miniseries based on it!
With all of Patterson's talent and skill as an adept and imaginative writer, it's no wonder that he's as respected as they come in the entertainment industry. He's living proof that you can live your dreams AND be able to do something with an English Degree after all.
| Website: www.jamespatterson.com |
| Email: Contacting James Patterson and Time Warner |
|
Snail Mail: James
Patterson |
| Reviews of Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas and The Beach House (Links to 1st to Die and 2nd Chance at the bottom) |
Suzanne's
Diary for Nicholas
By James Patterson
Time Warner - July 2001
ISBN: 158621-0998 - AUDIO - Unabridged
Narrator: Becky Ann Baker
Literary Fiction / Contemporary
Reviewed
by Carisa Weeaks, MyShelf.com
Buy
a Copy
Katie Wilkinson, an editor for a New York publisher, just had the worst day of her life. Matthew Harrison, the man she thought was "the one" for her, just disappeared without an explanation or even a goodbye. The only thing he left her with is a diary. It's full of entries written by a woman named Suzanne for her son Nicholas…Matthew's son. The shock and pain that hits Katie when she finds out that this is his son is painful, but she does what the note Matthew left in the front of the book for her asked her to do…she reads it. She finds out what her true love had been hiding since the day they met and wonders if their love will disappear with him.
This is the most incredible story with the most amazing and heart wrenching twists and turns that I have EVER had the pleasure of listening to. Becky Ann Baker's interpretation of Patterson's writing is amazing and makes the emotions of each character really come alive. When I first started listening, I couldn't believe that a man could be so in tune with a woman's way of thinking. Then I started reading the cassette case and found out that Patterson is also the author of thrillers like Kiss the Girls, 1st to Die, and Along Came a Spider. It's no WONDER there's so much suspense in this story. This is definitely one of James Patterson's greatest novels
The
Beach House
By James Patterson & Peter De Jonge
Time Warner Audio Books - June 2002
ISBN: 1586212869 - AUDIO - Unabridged
Fiction / Suspense
Reviewed
by: Carisa Weeaks, MyShelf.Com
Buy
A Copy
Peter Mullins is a valet at the swanky Memorial Day party always held by one of the most respected families in East Hampton. When he goes down to the beach to meet someone who had sent him a pink, heavily scented note, he runs into the men who would turn into his killers.
Jack Mullins is a law student who's landed a summer job at one of the most prominent law firms in New York. When he gets off the train and is greeted by his father, grandfather, and crying girlfriend Dana, daughter of the family who had held the party, he knows something is wrong with Peter. After all, he was the only one missing from the welcoming committee. When Dana tells him that Peter had drowned in the water and his beaten body had washed up on the shore near her home, Jack immediately knows that something is wrong. Peter hated being cold so why would he go swimming in the ocean at this time of the year? He knew he had to figure out the real story and fast. That's when he starts to find out that he didn't know his brother or their rich neighbors in the Hamptons as well as he had thought he had. The knowledge he gains from his investigation into the lives of the suspects puts him, his friends, and his family in immediate danger. Can Jack and his outspoken Irish grandfather expose the truth before it's too late?
This audio book is read by Gil Bellows. You may remember him as Billy on "Ally McBeal" and the show "The Agency". His exceptional talent as an actor explodes on the tapes as he changes his voice for every character, giving them even more distinction and life than James Patterson and Peter De Jonge have in their exceptional (and truly unique) writing…if that's even possible. It's a mind-bending, body-numbing plot with characters that will haunt my memory for the rest of my natural life. I definitely recommend this audio book.
| Click Here to read a review of 1st to Die |
| Click Here to read a review of 2nd Chance |
| Booklist |
| Here's a list of all of his books starting with the most recent and don't forget to be on the look out for his latest Alex Cross Mystery Four Blind Mice, which is set to be released in November 2002! The
Beach House Also, here's a good word of advice from his website. If you read decide to start on the Alex Cross Mysteries, be sure to read them in this order so you won't get stuck in the wrong page at the wrong time.
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