This story truly brings to mind Shakespeare's profound words: "Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive."

Lauren, a homicide detective, suspects that her husband is having an affair. In a moment of weakness and perhaps out of spite, she makes the fateful decision to sleep with another co-worker. However, what follows is a chain of events that spiral out of control. Afterward, she witnesses her husband putting the co-worker in his car. Driven by a complex mix of emotions, she decides to cover up evidence for Paul, hoping to protect him from being incriminated. But as the story progresses, things only get worse, much worse.

The characters in this tale are remarkably believable. The all-too-common occurrence of spouses cheating in marriage adds a layer of authenticity to the narrative. While the book may not have reached the level of Patterson's usual suspense, perhaps due to the involvement of the second author, it still manages to be better than most. It keeps the reader engaged and eager to discover how the web of lies and deceit will ultimately unwind.

4.5 stars rounded down.

This book was truly an interesting read. It deviated significantly from Patterson's typical crime mystery style. Although I'm aware that the author has a plethora of styles and writes almost everything, this particular collaboration impressed me far more than the other one I've read. The premise was straightforward enough. Instead of the multiple cases that are characteristic of Patterson's works, this one was all encompassed in a single storyline. However, it had an abundance of details that managed to keep me engaged throughout the 400 pages. In fact, I found that I preferred this unified approach to alternating between several cases.

I also appreciated the way Lauren's character was portrayed. She was cast as a bit of an "antihero" (albeit a relatively mild one), rather than the typical heroic detective. Instead of being solely the woman scorned, she herself was not innocent in the breakdown of her marriage. This added an interesting dynamic between her and Paul. It wasn't even evident that she was a cop until halfway through the book, which took me by surprise. It wasn't just Lauren; I didn't have the same affinity for any of the detective characters as I do for Zach and Kylie of NYPD Red. They were all written as unusually flawed characters.

The web of characters was incredibly well interwoven. I adored the amazing back-and-forth during the reveal stage, where Lauren and Paul seemed to be vying with each other to outdo the other in the intensity of the secrets they were keeping. This wasn't a traditional whodunnit, as the reader is pretty much informed throughout (as events unfold) who did what. I was anticipating some sort of "it wasn't what you were told" twist during the reveal, but that didn't occur. Nevertheless, there was so much more underlying tone that left plenty of unexpected turns for the end.

This was truly a "quickie" for me. It didn't feel anywhere near 400 pages.

There are not too many books that can truly catch me off guard. However, this particular book managed to do just that.

Not once did I anticipate the twists or turns that were coming. It was like a thrilling roller coaster ride where I had no idea what was around the next bend.

At the end of each chapter, I found myself begging for more. The anticipation was killing me as I desperately needed to know what would happen next.

Every chapter held a new tummy-twisting turn that kept me on the edge of my seat. It was impossible to put this book down.

I am confident that you will love every single minute of it. It's a captivating read that will keep you engaged from start to finish.

Lauren is a dedicated detective who works in the homicide division in the bustling city of New York. She had always believed that she was in a happy marriage, until one fateful day when she witnessed her husband walking into a hotel with another woman. This shocking discovery led her to make a decision that she would soon come to regret.

And so, the story takes a twisted turn as Lauren embarks on a journey through the chaos that her life has become. There are more unexpected twists and turns in this narrative than one could anticipate, but as always, the journey is well worth it. James Patterson has once again proven his prowess as a storyteller with this captivating tale.

I have a deep love for reading Patterson's books. They are typically quick reads that keep you on the edge of your seat, eager to turn the page. The characters are well-developed and engaging, and the plot of this particular story was truly excellent. It had me hooked from the very beginning and kept me guessing until the very end. Patterson's ability to create such thrilling and immersive stories is truly remarkable.

My housemate and I had an interesting discovery the other day.

We found a used large print edition of a certain book.

Out of curiosity, we decided to take turns reading random lines from it.

To our great amusement, the content was so laughably terrible that I simply refused to believe it wasn't some form of satire.

Seriously, there is just no way that a sentence like "you sound like a Piggy Wiggy" could be an actual thing that someone wrote with a straight face.

It was so absurd and comical that we couldn't help but burst into laughter with each line we read.

We spent quite some time enjoying the ridiculousness of this book, wondering if the author had some hidden agenda or was just having a really strange moment of creativity.

Either way, it provided us with a good source of entertainment for that evening.

I have an absolute passion for James Patterson. His works usually manage to captivate me with their unique charm and engaging plots.

However, this particular book failed to meet the high standards I have come to expect from him. I was truly hoping for a greater depth of character development and a more intricate exploration of the themes.

That being said, I still found myself entertained and thoroughly enjoyed the story. It had its moments of excitement and intrigue that kept me turning the pages.

Nevertheless, I couldn't help but feel a sense of disappointment that it didn't quite reach the level of excellence that I know Patterson is capable of achieving.

Perhaps my expectations were simply too high, but I believe that this book had the potential to be so much more.

Despite its shortcomings, it was still an enjoyable read, and I will continue to be a fan of James Patterson, eagerly anticipating his next masterpiece.

I initially had the impression that this book would be a rapid read simply by observing the size of the text and the number of chapters. However, I was mistaken.

Surprisingly, the characters truly endured and coped with a great deal. "The Quickie" was filled with an abundance of suspense and numerous twists, making it feel like watching an action-packed movie. It was most definitely a captivating page-turner.

I have not read anything else written by James Patterson thus far, but I will most certainly have to do so very soon.

His writing style in this book has truly intrigued me and left me eager to explore more of his works. I am looking forward to delving into other stories crafted by him and experiencing the same level of excitement and engagement.

I anticipate that his other books will also be filled with thrilling plots and well-developed characters that will keep me on the edge of my seat.

I am confident that I will not be disappointed and that my journey through James Patterson's literary world will be an enjoyable and fulfilling one.

This book is an enjoyable and quick read that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

It is filled with numerous twists and turns that will constantly surprise you.

Although some of the events may not be entirely believable, who really cares?

After all, that's why they call it fiction, right?

Fiction allows us to escape from reality and immerse ourselves in a world of imagination.

It gives us the opportunity to experience things that we may never encounter in real life.

This book does just that, providing an entertaining and engaging story that is sure to satisfy any reader looking for a good escape.

So sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride!

This is a James Patterson book. It features short chapters, a high octane atmosphere, and a fast moving plot. If this is precisely what you are seeking, then this book surely delivers.

However, the last 30 pages present a different story altogether. On one hand, I didn't anticipate what was coming, but on the other hand, in a strange way, I kind of did. It's that feeling of having a hunch but not being entirely sure. And yet, when I finally read the last few pages, I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. It was as if the build-up throughout the book didn't quite lead to the satisfying conclusion that I had hoped for.

Despite this, the overall experience of reading the book was still engaging due to its fast-paced nature and Patterson's skill in keeping the reader hooked. But that ending left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth.

A “quickie” fast read that I thoroughly enjoyed back in 2007, yet curiously, I never got around to writing a review for it. I vividly remember liking it a great deal. Right from the very onset, it managed to grab my attention and held it firmly throughout the entire reading experience.

Lauren Stillwell, a dedicated NYC cop, suspects that her husband is having an affair and may have even gone as far as killing his lover. When the body mysteriously shows up, she is assigned to handle the case. Now, she finds herself in a moral dilemma, wondering if her husband is indeed the culprit and, if so, whether she has the strength to turn him in. The story unfolds at a fast pace, filled with unexpected twists that I simply didn't see coming.

I have always been a fan of Patterson's short chapters. They have this magical quality of making you want to read just one more before shutting out the light. This book is truly the perfect summer read for all those fans of mystery thrillers out there. It keeps you on the edge of your seat, guessing and second-guessing until the very end.

“What’s good for the goose is definitely good for the desperate housewife. Even if this never happened again.” This quote from James Patterson's "The Quickie" might seem interesting at first glance. However, my experience with this book was far from positive. Sigh. When will I learn? I really should stop reading James Patterson! I did not like this book at all. It was one of the first Patterson books I ever read, and I kept going because I thought there had to be something redeeming about it. But unfortunately, that was not the case. The Murder House, to date, is the only Patterson book I've truly loved.

This was a dark and gritty piece of fiction that didn't start off badly. It was a book club selection with a former book group of mine, and at first, I was quite pleased. But as I got further into it, it just got awfully boring. The short chapters, which he seems to do frequently (but I didn't know that then), really irritated me. I finished the book quickly, but I did not enjoy it one bit. I just felt that this could have been any mass-marketed paperback mystery. There was nothing that truly pulled me in, and despite the short chapters, they somehow dragged. For whatever it's worth, I seem to be in the minority as my fellow book club members all loved it.

This was one of my least favorite books by James Patterson.

I had the distinct impression that he rushed through the writing process of this book. Instead of painstakingly developing the plot in a seamless and engaging manner, he simply threw in one crisis after another.

Rather than skillfully creating a sense of suspense and action that would keep the reader on the edge of their seats, the story felt choppy and exhausting.

The heroine in this book was a major source of annoyance for me. She was perpetually in a state of panic, and Patterson's overuse of italics to emphasize her emotions quickly became tiresome.

I was not at all impressed with the main character's thought patterns as she clumsily navigated her way through each crisis. The dialog also seemed forced and artificial, lacking the natural flow that makes for a truly immersive reading experience.

In the end, I only managed to finish this book because I felt an obligation to do so, not because I had any real desire to continue.

It was a disappointment, especially considering Patterson's reputation as a talented author.