The story presented in this book is truly captivating.

The characters are not only deeply etched but also intricately woven into the plot, making them come alive on the pages.

While it may not be a story filled with intense suspense, what it lacks in that department is more than made up for by the beautiful prose and language used by the author.

The way the words flow and paint vivid pictures in the reader's mind is truly remarkable.

No wonder the writer has such a reputation for being prolific.

Each word seems to be carefully chosen and placed, creating a seamless and engaging reading experience.

Whether it's the description of the setting or the emotions of the characters, the author's use of language is masterful.

It's no surprise that this book has gained such popularity and acclaim.

Yes, the story moves along.

Yes, it is filled with an abundance of sex, violence, and tragedy.

Yes, some truly spectacular events and scenes are vividly depicted.

Yes, it is not a difficult read.

However, a significant portion of the storyline is so extreme and "all over the place" with highly improbable connections between events and causes. As a result, I found myself reading it more like rubbernecking at a nasty car crash rather than going to see a classic like Hamlet or Lear in the theatre.

I believe the author was attempting to explore several themes such as the consequences of domestic violence, the impact of good and bad child rearing, perhaps the idea that some people are just born bad and can't help it, and the terrible damage that poor self-esteem can inflict. But I didn't feel that my understanding of any of these was enhanced by wallowing in the nastiness that was a major part of the book's ability to keep me turning the pages until page 144.

I don't have an issue with nastiness in a book as long as there is a purpose to it. I just didn't see enough in this particular book to make the experience of enduring the nastiness worthwhile.

I had picked up this book because many years ago, I had read numerous books by Mr Patterson and enjoyed them. Maybe my tastes have evolved, or perhaps this one was an outlier. I will make an effort to find another of his books and see what my reaction is.

This is one of Patterson’s early books, a stand-alone published in 1995, but still around. It tells the story of Maggie Bradford, a well-known singer-songwriter presently in jail accused of murder.

In the chilling prologue, Maggie sits huddled with her daughter Jennie and hidden beneath the front porch of her home while her abusive husband, having beaten her, searches for them. When he finds them, he fires a shot and misses. Maggie grabs the gun she has hidden, fires and kills him.

Maggie and Jenny move to New York City where Maggie’s career gains momentum and takes off. She and Jenny move to a suburban area of the city where Maggie meets and falls in love with Patrick O’Malley, a wealthy entrepreneur. They have a child together but their idyllic life ends when Patrick dies of a heart attack.

Meanwhile, Will Shepard, an American football star raised by his aunts after his father’s suicide, is gaining success on the football field but has another violent and secret life. He harbors incredible anger which he takes out on the numerous married and unmarried women he dates. A dangerous psychopath, both small and big things set him off, resulting in violent rampages that include beatings, rape and murder. When his athletic career is cut short, Wil turns to acting and becomes a minor film star.

Will meets Maggie at a party and although she is at first turned off by his come-on, she eventually becomes attracted by his charm. They begin dating, although Wil continues to see other women and fueled by the brutality of his insanity, treats them aggressively and violently.

Maggie and Wil marry but Wil continues his secret life. The marriage begins to fail as Will continues his brutal behavior and disappears for days at a time. Maggie sees a lawyer and begins divorce proceedings, but the day she returns home to tell Will to leave, she finds him in Jennie’s bedroom. What follows next is how readers find Maggie in jail, accused of murder and telling readers her story.

Although Patterson is the sole author of this book, it is not among his best. It repeats his usual pattern, producing a text in a large font with short zippy chapters which moves the plot quickly and creates an easy read. It creates a thriller that considers childhood trauma, domestic abuse and sexual violence, with an interesting twist at the end, which some may have predicted.

It is a book that is enough to keep someone occupied on a plane trip, a long wait in the dentist office or on a rainy afternoon, but not one of Patterson’s best.

3.3 rounded down (can Goodreads give us the option to do half stars??)

Attempting to go through my TBR pile in order of how long I've owned a book, I read this soon after reading Beach Road even though this was one of Patterson's earlier works.

*There are spoilers below, so please don't read on if don't want large plot points spoiled!!!*

I'm not entirely sure what it was about this novel. It felt almost as if it was overly packed with content. Maybe there was just too much going on? I typically love a novel that is fast-paced from the very beginning. However, in this case, it seemed like the author had stuffed the story with every conceivable bad act. Patterson wanted us to witness just how horrid a character could be through incest, animal abuse, domestic violence, affairs, murder, and suicide. Will Shepherd was an extremely insufferable character. He was somehow lucky enough to be ridiculously attractive and, apparently, a mastermind who could seemingly get away with almost three murders. On the other hand, Maggie Bradford was beautiful, timid, and gullible. She tried to stick to her morals but was easily influenced by men who could turn on the charm.

This wasn't my favorite work by Patterson, but it also didn't completely deter me from picking up another one of his books in the future.

Gut aber nicht sein bester Thriller

Worum geht’s?
In Notwehr hat Maggie ihren ersten Mann getötet, um sich und ihre Tochter zu retten. Als dann ihr zweiter Lebenspartner - vermutlich an einem Herzinfarkt - stirbt und sie nach dem gewaltsamen Tod ihres zweiten Ehemannes des Mordes angeklagt wird, ist die bekannte Sängerin schnell als männermordende Witwe gebrandmarkt. Doch steckt sie wirklich hinter den Morden oder will ihr jemand schaden?

Meine Meinung:
James Patterson ist ein Genie. Seine Thrillerserien sind einfach genial. Auch mit „Wer sich umdreht“ hat er einen Thriller geschrieben, der allerdings in meinen Augen nicht so ganz diesem Genre zugeordnet werden kann. Für mich war das Buch eher ein Spannungsroman. Sein Schreibstil ist eingängig und gut zu lesen und so flogen auch in diesem Buch die Zeilen nur so dahin.

Wir dürfen hier Maggie begleiten, die nach dem Tod ihres ersten Mannes gemeinsam mit ihrer Tochter Jennie in New York als Sängerin und Songwriterin durchstartet. Maggie ist zunächst noch etwas unsicher aber stark für ihre Tochter und man merkt, wie schnell sie innerlich wächst während sie berühmt wird, dabei aber auch immer bodenständig bleibt. Gut gefallen hat mir auch die private Ermittlerin Norma Breen, die wir leider nur am Ende kurz kennenlernen durften. Auch die anderen Charaktere hatten – wie wir das von Patterson kennen – alle ihre Eigenheiten und Besonderheiten und ich hatte zu allen einen Draht.

Sehr gut gefallen hat mir auch, dass wir anfangs die Geschichte aus einer Art Tagebuch von Maggie erfahren, bevor es am Ende des Buches dann in die Gegenwart geht. Und dass wir Lesenden immer mal wieder direkt angesprochen wurden, auch das gefällt mir bei dieser Art Geschichten sehr. Was – und das ist nicht gespoilert – bis zum Ende offenbleibt, ist der Wahrheitsgehalt an der Tagebuchaussage. Auch spannend, da wir gefühlt zwar alles mitbekommen aber uns nicht sicher sein können. Und am Ende erleben wir dann – zurück in der Gegenwart – den Gerichtsprozess von Maggie mit. Alles in allem ist das Buch spannend und solide, mit seinen Thrillern um Lindsay Boxer oder Alex Cross kann dieser Thriller allerdings bei weitem nicht mithalten. Was nicht an dem Erscheinungsjahr liegen kann, Alex Cross beginnt ja auch in den 1990er Jahren. Daher leider etwas Punkteabzug von mir aber eine Leseempfehlung an alle, die Spannungsromane mögen und denen Thriller zu schlafraubend sind.

Fazit:
Mit „Wer sich umdreht“ schreibt James Patterson einen Thriller, der allerdings eher mit einem Spannungsroman zu vergleichen ist. Die Charaktere sind gut gewählt und mir gefällt der Erzählstil, in dem wir anfangs das Tagebuch von Maggie, der Hauptprotagonistin, lesen dürfen und später dann in der Gegenwart in ihrem Gerichtsprozess mit dabei sind. Gerne hätte ich hier zu den Ermittlungen, die Norma Breen führte, mehr gelesen und auch den Teil mit Will intensiver mitbekommen, dann hätte das Buch in meinen Augen etwas mehr Thrill gehabt. So kann ich sagen, dass ich gut unterhalten wurde und das Buch gerne gelesen habe, es allerdings mit den Thrillern, die ich sonst von Patterson kenne, leider bei weitem nicht mithalten kann. Daher leider „nur“ 3 Sterne von mir!

The story of "Turn Around" by James Patterson is an interesting one. Maggie, the protagonist, has a tragic past. She killed her first husband in self-defense to protect herself and her daughter. Then, when her second partner dies, presumably of a heart attack, she is accused of murder. The question is, is she really the killer or is someone out to get her?

In my opinion, Patterson is a genius when it comes to writing thrillers. However, this book didn't quite fit the thriller genre for me. It was more of a suspense novel. The writing style was engaging and easy to read, which made the pages fly by.

We get to follow Maggie's journey as she starts a new life in New York as a singer and songwriter with her daughter Jennie. Maggie is initially unsure of herself but is strong for her daughter. We see her grow as a person as she becomes famous but still remains grounded. I also liked the character of Norma Breen, the private investigator, although we only got to know her briefly at the end. The other characters were also well-developed with their own unique personalities.

One thing I really liked about the book was the way the story was told. We start off reading Maggie's diary, which gives us an insight into her past. Then, at the end of the book, we are brought back to the present for the court case. The fact that we are directly addressed as readers from time to time also added to the appeal of the story. What kept me on the edge of my seat was the uncertainty of the truth behind Maggie's diary entries. We feel like we know everything that's going on but we can't be sure.

Overall, "Turn Around" is a good and solid read. It's suspenseful and engaging, but it doesn't quite measure up to Patterson's other thrillers like the Lindsay Boxer or Alex Cross series. I would still recommend it to anyone who enjoys suspense novels and doesn't mind a bit less of the "thrill" factor.

This is not a Cross book, but it is truly very good.

It's interesting to note that before he allowed others to write a book, he had the audacity to put his name on it!

This shows a certain level of confidence or perhaps even arrogance on his part.

Despite this, the book itself has managed to stand out and gain recognition.

It may have unique qualities or perspectives that make it appealing to readers.

Maybe it offers fresh insights, engaging stories, or valuable information.

Regardless of the circumstances surrounding its creation, it has found its place in the literary world.

It serves as a reminder that sometimes, even when the path to publication is a bit unconventional, a great book can still emerge and make an impact.

The worst book I've ever finished is "Hide and Seek". It is dreadfully written, and at times, it is even embarrassingly so.

The plotting of this book is simply ludicrous. It gives the impression that it is an extended game of "Consequences" that has been stretched into a novel.

Surprisingly, this very aspect of the book made me want to finish it. I was curious to see how the ridiculousness would ultimately be resolved.

I can only surmise that this book doesn't represent Patterson's usual standard. If it does, then his popularity is truly baffling to me. I have a hard time understanding how such a poorly written book could have gained any sort of following.

Perhaps there are aspects of Patterson's other works that I have not yet discovered that make them more appealing. But based on my experience with "Hide and Seek", I'm not particularly eager to explore further.

Overall, this book was a disappointment, and I would not recommend it to anyone looking for a well-written and engaging read.

This is my very first James Patterson book. It actually came into my possession a long time ago, but for some reason, I just never got around to reading it. However, as I was cleaning out my bookcases recently, I decided to give it a go. And you know what? It's...well, it's OK.

There's one odd thing about this book. On the book jacket, it claims that it's a "real page turner," and I can kind of see why. Every chapter is relatively short, ranging from a page and a half to two pages, and the chapters begin halfway down the page. So, even if you're reading at a regular cadence, you have to keep turning those pages. To be fair, though, the storyline is fairly engrossing and does manage to keep you reading.

The story itself is good enough. It's a bit of a romance novel, although I've never really read a true romance novel before. But it's also peppered with acts of extreme violence and disturbing behavior. The antagonist, Will, is truly an evil person, and having his second-person narrative along with the protagonist Maggie's first-person viewpoint makes for a good structure. It's definitely a fast-moving story.

However, the negative aspect is that everything just seems a little too perfect. Maggie is a huge star, the kids always say the right things, and I found myself rolling my eyes more than a few times at the dialogue. People just don't talk the way they do in this book. The twist is actually unexpected and does make sense, but there just felt like there was a lot of filler, even in a relatively short book.

I understand why Patterson is so popular. This book was a quick read and felt like a typical "beach read," even though I read it on my couch. Would I read another one of his books? Maybe as a filler between better novels, but otherwise, probably not.

I have to say that I truly loved the storyline of this book. It was engaging and kept me hooked from the very beginning. The twist at the end was also quite a pleasant surprise, adding an extra layer of excitement to the whole reading experience.

However, I really didn't see the need for the profanity and inappropriate scenes that were included in the text. These elements seemed out of place and rather unnecessary. They didn't contribute anything positive to the story and in fact, they might have a negative impact on younger readers.

For this reason, I would not recommend this book for younger audiences. In fact, I almost abandoned it after reading through the beginning where the profanity and inappropriate scenes were written in a rather blatant way. It was quite off-putting and made me question whether I wanted to continue reading.

Overall, while the storyline and the twist were great, the presence of profanity and inappropriate scenes really detracted from the book's overall quality and made it less suitable for a wider range of readers.

I am a Patterson fan, but this particular experience with "Hide and Seek" was not an enjoyable one for me.

I have always loved Patterson's books because of their fast pace and high suspense plot lines. He typically doesn't add an excessive amount of depth to his characters, which some might consider a drawback, but for me, it makes for easier reading.

However, in "Hide and Seek," the characters had significantly more depth. This could have been a great advantage if the plot hadn't suffered as a result. The book seemed to be dragged out, with very little action or suspense to keep me engaged.

I managed to finish it, but I'm not entirely sure why. It felt like it could have been half the length it is and still conveyed the same story more effectively.

Overall, while I still have a fondness for Patterson's work, "Hide and Seek" didn't quite meet my expectations.

I really liked this book, especially the mystery surrounding who actually killed “Will”.

However, I must mention this HUGE plot hole. Apparently, Will killed Palmer and planted his body at the murder site in place of his own. But how could he have done that when Norma was talking TO Palmer about Will’s murder case?

So, either Norma never really talked to him because he was already DEAD, or Will didn’t actually kill Palmer and plant him at the murder site. And if it wasn’t him, then who was it?

Also, on the night of Will’s murder, I wanted more suspense. It wasn’t just her finding him in Jennie’s room, chasing him out, and then “shooting” him.

But that plot twist where Nathan, Maggie’s own lawyer, was the cause of her downfall was truly unexpected. I never would have guessed it.

This book had its highs and lows, but overall, it kept me engaged and guessing until the very end.

This is a captivating story about a caring mother named Maggie, who is also a renowned singer.

Throughout her life, she has been continuously harassed by a cycle of misfortunes that seem to follow closely after a stroke of good luck. The central source of bad luck in this story is Will, an ex-soccer player with severe childhood issues that have transformed him into a psychopath.

The moment he meets Maggie, he begins to develop an intense obsession with her. He pursues her subtly, determined to get what he wants, as he always believes he can. With a little help from Maggie herself, he eventually wins her heart, and they both believe in his supposed change.

However, this change never truly occurs. Will soon starts to make Maggie's life a living hell once again. After this point, the story takes several well-crafted turns that can either hook you completely or leave you a bit less engaged.

Overall, the story is solid enough. It delves into the psychological traits, behaviors, and thoughts of the characters, although mainly focuses on the main ones. My rating for this story is 3.75.