This was not like the other James Patterson books I’ve read and enjoyed.

I kept waiting for some sort of action or suspense, which usually starts early in the books I’ve read of his. However, soooo much of this book was dedicated to the main character’s backstory. It became increasingly difficult to find the motivation to keep reading.

ALSO, there were several characters introduced that literally had zero purpose. They seemed to be there just for the sake of being there, adding nothing to the overall plot.

On top of that, there were too many characters with P names—Phillip, Patrick, Palmer, Peter. It got to the point where I started to have a hard time remembering who was who.

The end was also unsatisfying. It felt rushed and didn't tie up all the loose ends. I’ve loved the other James Patterson books I’ve read, but this one was just not up to his usual standard.

I was really disappointed with this book and would not recommend it to others who are fans of his work.

I'm quite certain that I've never read anything by James Patterson before. He is such a well-known author with countless books, which has always deterred me from picking up his works. However, in April, when I purchased this book at my favorite second-hand bookstore, I caved in since Goodreads gave it an overall rating of 4.02.

Hide & Seek is an older book of his from 1996. Surprisingly, it didn't seem overly outdated despite being 25 years old. It was a fast-paced story composed of really short chapters. Some people may not be fond of 2-4 page chapters, but I truly am. The only issue I had was that I wanted to keep reading continuously, even when I should have stopped because I had other obligations.

Hide & Seek is told from the perspectives of two characters. The first is Maggie Bradford, a beloved singer/songwriter who is incarcerated for the murder of her second husband. She is sharing her life story from the past to the present. Her first husband was abusive, and they have a daughter. She kills him, but she never goes to jail for it. It's been a long time since she was in another relationship, and when she is, the man has a heart attack on his yacht and dies in her arms. She doesn't seem to have much luck with men, and now she has allegedly killed her second husband. But did she really?

The second character is Will Shepherd, Maggie's second husband and the deceased. He is a world-famous football player who is not only extremely good-looking but also a lady's man and abuses the women he is in relationships with. He is also self-destructive, which is closely related to his childhood. When his football career comes to an end, he becomes a film star.

The two characters may not necessarily be a perfect match for each other, but their horrifying and tragic childhoods bind them together.

There is such a twist in the story that I couldn't help but laugh and shake my head. In fact, I thought it was rather weak and lame. I gave this story a 4, but that was only because I rounded it up from a 3.5. What saved it was the suspense, which kept me eager to continue reading. However, the twist somewhat spoiled the experience for me.

So I've nearly devoured the entire Alex Cross series (26 out of 32 books, and of course, I noticed the reference to Cat & Mouse in here), and I've thoroughly enjoyed them. However, I haven't been as keen on many of Patterson's stand-alone works. I definitely have a preference for his series. This particular book was an earlier work in his career, and I can tell that he has improved as a writer over time. This one wasn't as much of a page-turner as some of his other works.

The thing that really bugs me is the shoddy police work in investigating Will's murder. I mean, seriously, no one called it out? I know that Bailford was part of the exclusive club and was trying to make Maggie the scapegoat for killing Will (although they never really presented a convincing case as to why someone from this club would want to silence Will to the point of murdering him), but how could no one else question it? The police found her in a comatose state, and since Will had beaten her before the shot, I can't imagine she didn't have a single bruise or mark on her body. They moved her into her bed, and then when she came to, they charged her with murder? None of that makes any sense. How could a woman who was passed out shoot a man? And if she did shoot him, how did she end up in the state she was in (it was mentioned that it hurt her to breathe, so I'd imagine she'd have at least some bruises on her ribs from where he kicked her)? It just doesn't add up. Terrible detective work on the police side. Also, no one thought to do any character investigation into Will? He died, and not a single one of the numerous women he assaulted came forward to say that he had assaulted them? I don't believe any of it for a second. The whole trial against her was a complete farce. They could have completely eliminated her as a suspect by testing for gunshot residue. They've been doing that since the late 70s, so there's no reason why they wouldn't have been doing it in the 90s. They could have checked for prints on the gun. And they certainly wouldn't have moved her from the scene of the crime. Yet, none of these things were brought up as grounds for a mistrial. The trial never should have happened because they had no actual physical evidence. It was entirely circumstantial, and even that was extremely flimsy at best.

I just couldn't overlook these issues, having read so many criminal and murder case court proceedings in various novels. Again, I understand that it was supposed to enhance the fact that Bailford was part of the exclusive club, and that's what led to the original trial being declared a mistrial. But that wasn't necessary at all when it could have been declared a mistrial simply based on the lack of proper investigation and evidence. If I were on trial for murdering my husband, I would definitely be bringing up these simple points.

I also found it quite far-fetched that no one noticed Will was posing as Palmer. Sure, maybe a quick makeover could fool someone in terms of appearance, but there's no way they had the exact same voice, mannerisms, etc. How could Will pose as Palmer at work? And didn't Palmer have a wife and kids (I could be completely wrong about that)? No one could assimilate into someone else's life so seamlessly that no one would notice for months or even years. Especially if it was a brother they weren't close to, so it's not like he would know all those details. And unless Palmer trained like a world-class athlete, wouldn't the build of his body give him away?

Idk, the last 20% of the book really spoiled it for me, and the first 80% was just average.

This book was truly quite interesting.

It had a great number of twists towards the end, which really added an element of excitement and kept the reader on the edge of their seat.

The author did an outstanding job in developing the characters within the book. This gave a solid foundation to the novel and also provided retrospective viewpoints that added depth and complexity.

The novel effectively interchanges between the viewpoints of the main characters. This was done extremely well as the reader doesn't have to struggle to deduce which character's viewpoint they are reading about. Even if you are new to the back and forth of viewpoints, it will only take you a couple of sentences to quickly grasp who the writer is speaking about.

I highly recommend this book. However, if you are a sensitive reader, I would suggest going into this book with caution. The writer includes some very hard-hitting topics such as rape, paedophilia, and domestic violence.

Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy the book as much as I have. :).