Another James Patterson collaboration with J D Barker – Pacy but slightly Disappointing at the same time!
My Rating – 3 out of 5
Plot Summary – Book Review
As the name of the book suggests, the story spans from LA to New York, tracking a seemingly deranged killer who’s being hunted for more than 18 murders and since the crimes are all across the states, the FBI is investigating it.
It all starts off rather innocuously, when long-haul Truck driver Michael Fitzgerald comes home in LA and discovers a dead girl in his bathtub and calls the police. Detective Garrett Hobbs is allotted the case and through his investigation, he has his suspect in custody within hours. Slam-Dunk, isn’t it?
FBI Special Agent Jessica Gimble is chasing a deranged killer across state lines who’s particularly elusive. Leaves no trace, except a sparrow feather…. The victims are seemingly unconnected and picked at random, and their mode of death, gruesome but each different from the other. The mystery deepens and Agent Gimble is determined to get to the bottom of it.
Michael, and his sister Megan, are adopted children of Dr. Barton Fitzgerald and Dr. Rose Fitzgerald, clinical psychologist and psychiatrist of immense social standing in LA. They adopted Michael and Megan from an adoption center, but brought them up as part of an experiment. It was terrifying, cold, heartless and calculating and left Michael a emotional wreck.
Michael and Megan explicitly trusted each other, as they had no one else to turn to while growing up. How that damaged their young impressionable minds could be the subject of intense research. But here, they cling to each other, hoping to find the terrifying truth behind the incidents happening around them, not knowing that the secrets they hold deep within themselves, may actually hold the answer to their predicament.
In a devious twist, mind games start playing upon all the central characters and the good and the bad continuously blur into each other. What seems to be, is not what it seems! The characters change colour with every chapter and belief in them is dexterously led around by the authors. While Megan seems to be the voice of sanity in Michael’s chaotic mental landscape, Michael, in his own way, hurtles towards uncovering the secrets behind his past.
While the mental frailties of Michael, seem a little stretched and dramatised, it cannot be denied that the impressionable minds of children are like sponges. If one pours evil onto it, some of it will stick. Personality disorders are more common than one would care to acknowledge, and a twisted human mind can do incalculable damage if not controlled and cured in time.
Conclusion – Book Review
In typical James Patterson fashion, the book takes off at a feverish pace and never lets down. While some passages do seem a bit incredible, one does tend to swallow that disbelief and carry on as the pace of the novel is frenetic! Students of Psychology and Psychiatry, particularly the Criminal branches, will find it more interesting.
The premise of the novel (as mentioned at the beginning of the book review) is a crime thriller with a psychological twist, but the horrors of mind-bending experiments are not entirely fictional. They might read to be overly dramatic at times, but the deviousness of humans are not entirely fictional.
J D Barker 
James Patterson
After reading this Book Review, I hope you are tempted to read the book itself. It is fun, though dark, but overall a breathtaking ride.
*I hope you enjoyed reading this Book Review, as much as I enjoyed writing it! Keep watching this space for more such interesting offerings!!*
Read the Goodreads Review here
