Reviewed by Douglas R. Cobb
Reporter Nick Daniels was at the wrong place at the wrong time that particular day when he had lunch at Lombardo’s Steakhouse. He was there to interview the famous, really infamous, retired pitcher for the Yankees, Dwayne Robinson. Robinson at one time had been the best pitcher around, striking out twenty people in a single game against Oakland, a Cy Young winner. But when Dwayne failed to show up to pitch in a decisive game seven in the World Series against the Dodgers, and disappeared for seventy-two hours, only then to be found lying naked on the floor of his apartment barely conscious by his super, he went from being the hero to the goat overnight. Dwayne hated to grant interviews, because he was uncomfortable around a lot of people, so Nick had jumped at the chance to interview him.
Too bad the interview was stopped before it really got started by a violent mob hit. The hired killer came behind his victim, Vincent Marcozza., the consigliere or lawyer of the Mafia don Eddie “The Prince,” Pinero, with a scalpel, and sliced his eyes out, “like a pumpkin.” Bruno Torenzi, the assassin, said he had a message from Eddie, saying into Vincent’s ear as he lay dying of blood loss the words: “Justice is blind.” And Nick was there, capturing it all on his recorder, solid evidence that Pinero had Marcozza whacked because his lawyer had uncharacteristically bombed out in court, resulting in Pinero’s conviction.
This is just the start of Don’t Blink, the latest action-packed, violent, edge-of your-seat thriller by the duo of James Patterson and Howard Roughan. I haven’t read many novels by Patterson, just the Alex Cross books I, Alex Cross and Cross Country, but I enjoyed reading those two very much. He’s one of today’s most talented and prolific authors, and I’ve often wondered how any one man can churn out as many well-written, suspenseful bestsellers as he does so consistently and frequently. I say “one man,” but some of his novels, like this one, are collaborations. This is the first Nick Daniels novel that Patterson and Roughan have written, but they also co-authored Honeymoon and Sail.
Just out in the stores this September, Don’t Blink is already being referred to as “the scariest Mafia thriller since The Godfather.” This is high praise–I haven’t read Mario Puzo’s novel, so I can’t really say how true this statement is, but the movie is one of my (and most people’s) favorites of all time. I can honestly say that the novel grabs you from its Prologue titled “In The Wink Of A Blink Of An Eye,” with the gruesome scene of Marcozza’s eyes getting sliced out, and I was hooked, not wanting to put the book down until I was finished reading it. There are twist and turns to the very end of it that kept my eyes riveted to the pages. Nick Daniels is a likeable three-dimensional character you’ll want to cheer on and root for, and his blind fourteen- year-old niece, Elizabeth, is engaging and steals almost every scene she’s in.
The plot thickens and the intrigue heightens when Nick realizes that, as bad as Pinero is, and as terrible a performance that his lawyer gave in court, Eddie is being set up to take the fall for hiring the hit man to murder Vinnie. What better way to muscle into Eddie’s territory than to frame him, unless it would be to kill him? And, when Dwayne Robinson apparently commits suicide by jumping out of his apartment window and falling to his death, Nick begins to wonder what role Dwayne had to play in it, also. Somebody very well connected, politically or criminally or both, he reasons, must be behind the killings.
That is just the start of the body count that begins to mount up. Nick’s own life is threatened, and no matter where he goes, he can’t get away from whomever it is that’s trying to kill him. Even when he’s placed under police protection, that’s not good enough–Bruno kills the two cops assigned to guard him. It doesn’t seem to matter what Nick does, it’s like he’s being watched, wherever he goes. And there are people who are willing to murder for the flash drive he has, that his friend, the DA Derrick Phalen, had given him posthumously–after having his own eyes sliced out.
Don’t Blink by James Patterson and Howard Roughan will ensure that you won’t want to shut your eyes or put the book down until it’s finished. It has everything that one could want in a great crime thriller, including violence, warring Mafia families, the Russian mob, crooked politicians, and, oh, did I say violence yet? I can’t wait to read more novels featuring reporter Nick Daniels in the future! If you are like me, and enjoy reading fast-paced, action-packed novels in the Crime and Thriller genres, then you’ll want to check out Don’t Blink today!
Hubert Schuze is a potter and mild mannered shop keeper in Albuquerque who is also known to some as “The Pot Thief.” Expelled from the University of New Mexico for digging outside the official dig site (even though –or maybe because, he found some great artifacts), Hubert has none the less, put his knowledge and talent to good use over the years. While selling legitimate pots in one shop, he also sells reproductions he makes in a neighboring shop. And what is Hubert’s side business? That’s where it gets interesting. Because Hubie has been known to “reacquire” pots from collectors and return them to their rightful owners-while making a bit for himself as well. 
