Mysteries Galore.com

Reviewed by Stephanie Nordkap

Jack Morgan, a former Marine helicopter pilot, is the owner of Private Investigations, an elite investigation company with branches all over the world. He is renowned for helping wealthy men and women solve major problems and dilemmas, using one of the best team of investigators he can put together, but with maximum discretion. With money at his disposal and a crack team of investigators, he is capable of using advanced technology and forensic tools to solve his cases.

In this quick-paced, thrilling first novel starring Jack Morgan, his team is faced with some major problems. His uncle has asked to him to help solve a multi-million dollar NFL gambling scandal that could topple the entire NFL itself. Then, while on a red-carpet date, Jack receives a phone call from his best friend, and discovers that his friend’s wife has been murdered and his friend is the number one suspect. To top it all off, the D.A.’s office has asked Private to help solve a two-year investigation involving the Schoolgirl Killings. Over thirteen schoolgirls have been murdered over two years and the police are no closer to finding the killer than they were at the beginning. Jack must use all of his resources, all of his team members, and put all of them in danger in order to solve these cases.
I always look forward to a James Patterson novel and Private was an enjoyable and fun read. I was engaged right from the beginning; the chapters were short, the reading was quick, different character viewpoints were used, and the events happened quickly. While some readers may not be fans of this type of writing, I actually did not mind it as sometimes it’s nice to read a book and not get carried away by too much description; the authors tell it like it is, no holding back. Jack and his team certainly get themselves into a lot of situations, and while some of it is a little prescribed and predictable, there were some great twists and turns that made reading it very worthwhile.

I enjoyed learning about a new set of characters and while we learn much more about Jack and Justine in this novel, as it is only the start of a series, I am hoping that more attention with be paid to characters such as Cruz and Del Rio, Sci and Nora in the future. There are definitely some fun and quirky characters in this novel and it will be a treat getting to know them better. Patterson has a writing style that always makes me feel like I am right there in the action and can understand the characters, what they are thinking and feeling. And the authors also set things up for some explosive action to occur in future books towards the end. This is a wonderful beginning to a new series by an author who is considered to be a master when it comes to suspense.