Beach Road: a novel by James Patterson and Peter De Jonge

Patterson goes from bad to worse**


James Patterson continues to churn out mindless pablum for the masses. Is America illiterate? One-page chapters , e.g.pp24-25, half of one page and half of another? Is this a joke or just a gigantic rip-off of the reading public?

This novel is set in the Hamptons among the super-rich. Steven Spieberg and George Clooney, among others, make guest appearances. Three young white men are murdered on a basketball field. Dante Halleyville, a local basketball star headed for the big leagues, is framed for the murders. To his defence come Tom Donleavy, a down-and out-
lawyer who's barely making ends meet, and Tom's one-time girlfriend, superlawyer Kate Costello. They get Dante off. But then the author(s)take the plot and turn it upside down in a manner that is simply not credible. There is no foreshadowing of the abrupt surprise ending.

How does Patterson manage to get this poorly written nonsense on the top of the bestseller lists? I long for his early Alex Cross novels. But, Hey, Patterson's the one making the big bucks and laughing all the way to the bank!