now i am hooked. This was such a great, easy and creative book. i was hooked after the first page.

The characters were easy to fall in love with and follow, along with the story. the author made the mental visions so easy and vivid of the surroundings and the characters actions felt so real.

i would highly recommend this author and this book.

“THE BEACH HOUSE”
by James Patterson and Peter de Jonge (2002)

This book is over a hundred chapters long. But they're all two or three pages long. It makes for a fast read. It's also easy to set it down. Also, if a character disappears for few chapters, there's usually a brief reminder of who he or she is, such as, “Then I had lunch with Alice, my brother's next-door neighbor.”

This makes me wonder if the book was written as serious literature or a 'beach read', a book intended to amuse but one that readers could start, lay down, then pick up it up at any time without getting lost. Which is OK.

I like the clever first few chapters simply because the initial narrator ends up being the victim. The majority of the book is narrated by his brother Jack who becomes the hero. A few bits are told from an omnipotent point of view. It might sound confusing but it works.

Jack Mullen quickly realizes his brother's death was murder and he wants justice. An inquest is held. But justice is not forthcoming as the rich and powerful conspire against him. In fact, Jack might be lucky to escape with his own life after ruffling the wrong feathers.
So Jack, having been wronged, does what anyone would do. He kidnaps the billionaire responsible for his brother's death and all his lackeys and holds his own trial. He even has the whole thing broadcast on television!

OK, this is another reason I can't quite take the book serious. Even if all this were feasible, the networks would cut off the signal as soon as the first X-rated photograph was 'admitted' as evidence. But the book is not serious, it's a fun, light read for the beach or anywhere.

I really enjoyed this book. It wasn't my fav of all the Patterson books that I read but it was indeed GOOD! It kept me reading and curious to know how it was going to end. I like the whole law n order them in this book. Justice at it's best! P.S. It was nice having a friend read it the same time that I was reading it. :) It made for interesting chit chat afterwards.

This is one of those books Patterson 'wrote' with someone else- Peter De Jonge. Patterson was at a conference speaking about these collaborations and said it was an interesting arrangement. No matter how much who wrote what this thriller is a real page turner. Although it may sound like a lazy beach read it is not. This is a legal thriller that keeps increasing in stressful situations until there appears to be no way out. Jack Mullen is out for justice and revenge and he has nothing to lose. The explosive ending makes the whole book worth reading.

This was an awesome read. I enjoyed it from the beginning to the end. Really good reading. The character development was quite fascinating. You love characters you detest characters, and then there are the ones that break your heart and you feel real bad about them.

I love a good court room. They are some of my favorite reading. This is no exception, except it has a couple twists and turns that make for a very good read. Don't want to be a spoiler, cause its that good.

Трилърът на Джеймс Патерсън показва една действителност - законът, който лесно може да бъде манипулиран, чрез средства и пари.
Оценката ми е 5/5. Постоянно действие и интересни обрати.
С удоволствие бих прочел още една книга на писателя.

Oh, how I’ve missed reading James Patterson! I really enjoyed this book! It had everything I love about most of James Patterson’s books: A lot of intense crime, an interesting case, a family/group of friends you become attached to, and a little bit of romance. I had a hard time putting this book down!

3.5 Stars
this was actually SO much better than I expected it to be? It diverts from the typical mystery plot line and yeah while some parts were funky, I read it in practically one sitting

4.5 stars

One more book by James Patterson & Peter de Jonge I couldn’t put down.

Adrenaline pumping thrill ride that keeps you on the edge of your seat until the final pulse-pounding scenes are wrapped up.

Loved Jack and his grandfather and the way Jack goes about solving his brother’s murder is ingenious and interesting.

In Beach House…Murder, corruption, revenge and greed was the order of the day. Read this book if it’s your thing, it was mine and I loved it.

*Book #7 of the 2020 International male author challenge

POPSUGAR Reading Challenge 2020: #29 - A book featuring one of the seven deadly sins (Greed)

*Book #68/72 of my 2019 coffee table to-read challenge, cont. 2020

n  “As I get closer to the beach, I think for the first time about who might be waiting for me. It wouldn't have been hard to figure out whose voice was on the car phone. All I had to do was open the glove compartment and look at the registration, but that would have spoiled the surprise.”n

This book was a pleasant surprise. I didn’t like it as much as I wanted due to some strenuous plot points, but it still was a satisfying read. Thriller elements are exciting, the protagonist is likeable and it is so easy to hate antagonists. Basically, Paterson has done everything right considering the plot and the pace.

Peter is found dead at the beach in the Hamptons and the officials are calling it a suicide. Nonetheless, his older brother Jack, the law student, believes it was murder. He has numerous arguments for this belief - Peter was an excellent swimmer, his corpse was covered in bruises, which were unlikely caused by the ocean waves and a competent coroner who did the autopsy confirmed that Peter didn’t drown. Unfortunately, the police doesn’t agree with Jack and still calls his brother’s death a suicide. Jack has no other option than to build up a team of people who agree with him and try to solve the crime. The question is which ruling will the general public and the court support?

This is my first book from Patterson and a great first impression is present. With an amazing start, Mr. Peterson without a doubt knows how to evoke emotion. Sadly, great first impression is ruined by insta-love. To be fair, all women in the book were bleakly portrayed. I hated Dana especially. The lighter point was the trial, that was intense and kept me on my toes. Eagerly, I wanted for Jack to have his justice. The plot keeps your interest right from the beginning and from that moment the book is a true page burner. Though, there is a simple story line consisted of showing money as an instrument of power and the ease that rich have in covering up their horrible acts, in the end, it's a straight-forward detective book for major part of the novel and a few plot twists only heightened the intensity. I love a good revenge story line, and it is present here.

“Spend your money thoughtfully & secretly, you walk free. That was the way it was in america these days. Who knows? Maybe it had always been that way”

As you read about narrator’s struggles, it’s impossible not to feel those difficulties yourself. They feel genuine and realistic, and you almost instantly fear like the similar kind of injustice can happen to you. You feel Jack’s helplessness, bitterness against the law system and you just can’t wait for him to teach the bad guys a lesson.

I'm pretty sure not even Jack understands himself. While I did like him, he kept contradicting himself to often. Not that I mind that he couldn’t gather his emotions, he had a right to be a mess, since his most important person in the world died, but I was really annoyed by some of his actions. That made me realise that I only like this book because it’s plot driven. If the characters were in the centre of story, I would probably throw this book in the trash, since they weren’t very well developed.

"Carmina was a great woman," the Mudman told me the first time I interviewed him. "One of my best friends in this miserable world. But I was never in love with her. So why would I kill her?"

Jack worked on an interesting case before his brother’s death took its toll. I really wanted to be more included in Madman’s case. It’s hard for me to admit, but in the start, I was more invested in his destiny, than finding Peter’s killer. Even subplots were remarkable, so you can see why I was so amazed from the start.

Jack forms a bond with the private eye Pauline with who helps him in his mission. While their relationship was supposed to be low-key and serve as a romantic relief from the complex plot lines, I found it extremely forced and platonic. They kept going on my nerves that much, that at some point I started skipping pages whenever they shared a scene.

“Now I appreciate that for those of you who have stayed with me this far, there's nothing too surprising about this romantic development. You probably saw it coming. But I didn't.”

On one hand, Peter had quotes like this where he’s so surprised by this relationship development, and on the other side, he often forgets about his brother, because his focus is on Pauline and that didn’t sit well with me. I’m sure it wasn’t intentional, but that relationship undermined his pain, which was outrageous.

Ripping tale, pumped out at huge speed. Loved the characters. What more do you need in a good read?

When the elite vacation homes blend with the "local working" class, there is bound to be some tensions. Jack's brother (Peter) goes missing who was very intimate with many of those elite families from a young age. Peter's body ends up washing ashore on the same property where he was valeting cars the night before. Ruled a suicide, but Jack is not convinced, and neither are his close friends. After some information comes about that Jack and his grandfather, Mack, feel is too important not to pursue, they come up with a plan to get the truth out. A trail that showed Peter committed suicide had witnesses that were plagued with corruption and intimidation, so Jack and his grandfather decide to hold their own to let the entire world know what truly happened. A shocking witness that was close with the personal affairs and action going on her own home, gets all the details out against her husband and friends.

The book had a good storyline, but I felt the way that Jack and his grandfather did the kidnapping and the trial was a bit lame. I really feel like there were other ways of going about getting the truth out from the families involved. However, the plot, the characters, and everything was really good and suspenseful up through the end of the mock trial. Good read.