Hide and Seek

'Hide and Seek' is a different type of novel than what most of Patterson's readers will be accustomed to. For instance, many readers, like myself, have read the entire Alex Cross series. In that series, the action follows a brilliant psychologist-detective. Those books are suspenseful, and usually contain a big twist.
'Hide and Seek,' on the other hand, follows the life of Maggie Bradford. The prologue introduces the reader to Maggie as she hides from her husband, who she is forced to kill in self-defense and in defense of her daughter.
From there, Maggie rises to stardom as a singer-songwriter and loses a life partner to a heart attack and another husband, an internationally famous soccer star, to a murder. The question is, who killed Will Shepherd, the soccer star?
Maggie isn't like Alex Cross. She has no training in police work and has no detective skills. In fact, she has to rely on the actions of others to solve this case. As is usual in a Patterson novel, a couple of great plot twists stand in the way of figuring out just what happened.
The majority of the novel is told from Maggie's point of view using a first person narrative style. Occassionally, actually frequently, Patterson switches to a third person narrative to tell the story of Will Shepherd. This can be confusing and disorienting at times, but then again, maybe that was the intent. It does help build the suspense.
I recommend this novel because it is a bit of a mystery, but it contains a wonderful narrative of an abused woman that has made a life for herself and overcome all obstacles. No knowledge of any of Patterson's prior work is needed. If you are looking for a good whodunit, you might be frustrated because the real mystery isn't introduced until the final fourth of the book. Its a quick read, and highly enjoyable.

First off, I LOVE JAMES PATTERSON novels...however as long as 'Hide & Seek' is mixed in, then all bets are off. Patterson has an incredible talent for writing, and one of the best things about his novels are how he can get you involved in the lives of his characters, and how you even develop a liking for the bad guys as well...however in 'Hide & Seek' I just didn't care one whit about ANY character in this novel at ALL. It wasn't because I gave up on the story, either--nope, I read this entire story thinking that beyond the next page it was going to get better like his other brilliant Alex Cross novels. Now let me say one other thing, I DO NOT judge this or ANY other novel by Patterson based upon his previous novels, other than he has written so many great books, I figured even a poor book by Patterson was better than some other author's BEST work...not so here, unfortunately.
'Hide & Seek' cannot be compared to ANYTHING else that I had read by Patterson simply because it seemed as though it was written by another person altogether. Maybe I am so much of a fan of Alex Cross that I can't read anything that DOESN'T have him in it...but I discounted that theory because I have many other favorite authors who sometimes stray from their main carry-over characters and it has never presented a problem for me in the past, so I was just stumped here. Well maybe, just MAYBE it was because 'Hide & Seek' was simply not Pattersons best work...? I would like to think otherwise, but I think that this is the ONLY explanation that seems to make any sense to me. For those who liked this novel, not only do I envy you (because I really WANTED to...) I wonder why you actually DID? But in any case, I STILL think that Patterson is one 1st rate author (despite this book).`

This is the second James Patterson book I've read and I really liked this one. I couldn't put it down right from the start! I fell in love with Maggie's story and I yearned to know the truth about her 3 dead past lovers. I cried with her every time and loved how the book was written from the character's perspective in a trial. The ending drew to a nice finish and I still respected and liked Maggie through it all. I'm hooked on Patterson, but I think I liked his Alex Cross character better.

Okay, some of the other reviewers are a bit harsh, but this book wasn't THAT bad. Then again, it wasn't that great either. It's not very original or unpredictable, but it gets three stars because yours truly wasn't bored. You can't really give a book a bad review if it wasn't boring or truly horrible. That said, I'll sum it up for those of you who haven't read it:

Maggie Bradford is, more or less, an overly dramatic version of Carly Simon--you know--the kind of singer/songwriter they'd put in a Lifetime storyline, and Will Shepherd is an English soccer playing psycho version of one of her former flames...let's pick Warren Beatty. Will's a demonic, lecherous, bad tempered creep with homocidal tendencies who thinks Maggie and her music can save him. In other words, he's so vain he probably thinks her songs are about him. Okay, joke aside, I'm surprised this wasn't turned into a Lifetime movie at some point. Pass, and give me the Women's Murder Club instead.

I am a huge fan of James Patterson...I am now trying to read some of his earlier books. I picked up Hide and Seek expecting great things - after all, his Alex Cross series is great; I loved 1st to Die; and thought Suzanne's Diary for Nicolas was a brave move into general fiction. Well, I was disappointed!
The book is about Maggie Bradford and her past loves. Within several chapters you find out she has 'murdered' several past husbands and lovers. The book flips between her in jail, her past husbands and their background, her past, and what has happened to get her arrested for murder.
This book is not written well. It jumps back and forth so much between current day and past as well as various characters that it is hard to keep up with what's going on. The characters are not well developed - they are one dimensional and flat. The story is predictable and boring. I only stuck with the book hoping it would get better - it didn't. Since this is an early James Patterson, perhaps we can chalk this book up to inexperience. Luckily he has learned from his mistakes and is now producing great books....
Bottom line, I wouldn't recommend this book to others...unless you want to compare his earlier work to his current masterpieces of mystery/suspense.

Peekaboo! I killed you...or did I? This was the question in James Patterson�s novel, Hide and Seek. Did Maggie Bradford kill her second husband, Will Shepherd? Even the suspect herself doesn�t know. The answer isn�t revealed until the end of the story, which makes for a suspense-filled page-turner. Similar to Patterson�s other novels, he keeps the audience guessing until the end with surprise twists all throughout that throw off any conclusions the reader may have made.
The story starts out with the heroine hiding with her young daughter from her crazed husband, Phillip. As it turns out, Maggie Bradford does kill her first husband, but in self-defense. Then the novel jumps to the present time where Maggie is being held in a prison cell for the supposed murder of her second husband. She wonders, �Am I a murderer? Did I kill not one, but two of my husbands?�
Suddenly, the reader is taken back to the past. Maggie has becomes an in-demand songwriter for popular singers, and a singer herself. Will Shepherd, an ex-soccer star turned actor, insinuates himself in her life, and soon, they are married. As Maggie narrates from the present about her life with Will, the reader is slowly exposed to the other side of Will. The side not shown to the rest of the world: �the werewolf.� Gradually, her story of the past merges with the present time, her trial for the murder of Will Shepherd.
Hide and Seek is a skillfully written novel with an exciting plot. Patterson�s style of excerpts from Maggie in the present-day commenting on the past allows for a unique perspective of the story. His vivid descriptions and colorful vocabulary bring the characters to life. The reader is pulled into the story as if you are watching the action happen. Once you start reading, you won�t want to put the book down until you are finished. Anyone with a taste for an action-filled thriller will enjoy this novel immensely.

I read this book only because of the circunstances. And it's just wonderful that the circunstances exist.
The story is: I was reading some book summaries, you know, the plot of the book briefly told on the back of the book. And I found this book to have an interesting plot. I started reading it and loved how the author developed the scenarios, the characters and the plot itself. It was like reading a book by Sidney Sheldon. In fact, I've came to the conclusion that some of James Patterson's books are quite similar to Sheldon's. Both of them know how to keep the reader's attention and how to develop an interesting story. Nowadays Patterson is one of my favorite authors, and I think that, after reading that one, he'll become one of your favorites too.
Marco Aurelio

There is always a surprise element in most James Paterson books. If an author like Patterson can entertain and add shock value to this genre of murder-mystery/suspenese he will always be the man in my eyes. I feel James Patterson has a formula of at least getting you interested then "BOOM!!!" shocks the heck out of you. This is the second novel I read to where the main character isn't a detective, I always thought that Mr Patterson had to have a detective as a main charcter, I guess, this is the second book that proved me wrong. This is a story about the victim Maggie then was twisted to accused killer Maggie, you were like what!! I wasn't sure what the heck she was. At times, I really thought she was the killer, then I kept changing my mind to that was a the victim the whole time. I feel most people that read Patterson's books and give a bad review simple just doesn't get his writing. I feel that James Patterson isn't writing for the greatness of great literature but for the entertainment of suspense.

This book was my first introduction to the author. Unfortunately, I never want to be in the same room as one of his books ever again. The first chapter, err, several chapters since the be oh so tiny, try to focus the reader on Maggie's penchant for murdering her husbands. Our fine heroine, Maggie, beaten and hiding under the porch, shoots her husband while he is in the midst of a murderous, drug induced rampage. The police almost charged her with murder since the poor husband obviously left no tell-tail sign of violence other than the house interior smashed and trashed and Maggie having served hospital time due to her injuries. Yes, I can see where the police would initially think "Hmm, murder". The setup for the second husband is equally poorly conceived.
The book was plodding, nonsensical, trite and predictable. It became landfill. The paper deserved to come back as something worthwhile.

This has to be one of the most exciting thrillers I have ever read. Just when you think you have it all figured out, James Patterson comes out of left field with another twist.

I was mentally exhausted by the end of the book!