Private Berlin (Private, 5)

Something every reader should note before buying this book is that it is not written only by James Patterson. This can be both a good and bad thing, but it depends on the book. In some we are treated to a thrill ride, NYPD Red being one of them, and in others we are slammed with a disappointment such as Zoo. Now there is nothing wrong with writing with other authors, but if you lose the style of writing that people have come to know and love than we have a problem.

This is how I felt with Private Berlin. In and of itself it was an awesome read. The style was similar to that I found in NYPD Red; not the original Patterson, but one I enjoyed none-the-less. That being said it was a fast paced, explosive, and adrenaline filled thriller. It could have been better but in a book I expect to read in less than 2 days I got the best for my money. If James Patterson took the time to author this one by himself I think he could have easily spun out a longer, more compact, and more cohesive story. It seems that the use of double space typing and chapters that begin with more than half the page blank is just a simple way of making the story appear longer. To me that is frustrating to pay $27.99 for a hardback book when I can go and buy The Legend of Broken or The Yard for the same price and have the book last for 4 or 5 days.

Overall I think this was another job well done for James Patterson. Not the best; but certainly not the worst one. For all of you who enjoy a Patterson novel I think you would regret not reading this one; even if it is simply to say you have. I think you will find you appreciate this one and it might help you to open your eyes to the books he has coauthored with others.

I had high hopes for this one, based on the advance promotional material, but have to say that it was a disappointment. Who cares if there are two authors, as long as the presentation lives up to one's expectations? It was clear at the outset that somebody had informed the writers about well-known sites in and around Berlin. That bodes well for authenticity, if nothing esle, doesn't it? I've known the city for a very long time through visits there beginning in 1963, so perhaps that influences my opinion too much. However, I feel that I can separate the authenticity issue from the artful crafting of a novel, and this one doesn't have anything
new to offer.
Authenticity is much more than place names. Authors who have captured the nuances of German characters in their books know what I mean. Once cannot simply transpose emotional states of a character from one culture to another, without having experienced, for example, how a German
individual, be it an artist, a cop, or a politician typically responds to fear, death, betrayal,
happiness, and so on. For example,a bereaved man, woman, or child in the U.S. thinks, speaks, and behaves quite differently from the German counterparts. Herein lies the greatest weakness of this novel, in my view.

I like James Patterson books. However, his "dual authorship" mode is simply marketing ploy. When it's two authors, you don't get a Patterson book... It's a way for Patterson to churn out (X)number of books per year.

[[ASIN:0316211176 Private Berlin]]

I've managed to avoid reading anything by James Patterson. Not easy to do given how prolific he is as an author. As some others have said, he may be "too" prolific, relying on co-authors to help him get more books out there. The same thing happened with Tom Clancy when he started using co-writers...the quality suffered, big-time.

OK, to start with, the book is about things happening in Berlin. Which just happens to be in Germany. Which just happens to be in Europe. Where they use the metric system. Just how hard can it be to convert feet to meters? To convert miles per hour to kilometers per hour? Apparently either the author(s) and/or the editors either didn't catch that or didn't think it was that big a deal.

Another thing which bugged me more and more as I got further into the book, is that the characters use American terms and slang in their speech. You could have dropped this novel into rural America, or even a major American city, with absolutely no re-editing to change to American terms.

This lack of attention to detail (using American language, not using the metric system) is off-putting, to put it mildly.

So, if you're a BIG Patterson fan, you may enjoy this...if you don't mind having the plot and dialogue be "dumbed-down".

Worst James Patterson book I've ever read. Could not even complete the book. I only made it about halfway through the book and was so bogged down by German words and names that I couldn't finish the read.

I've never read a James Patterson book. This was on the NYT best seller list, and I wanted a quick, light read.
I don't know how anyone thinks the sadistic villan in this story is entertaining or thrilling. Is this what passes for literature these days?
It was campy, cheap, distasteful, and I wish I had my money and wasted time back.

My wife and I are old school readers. Both of us are retired, she was a highschool business teacher and I was a hospital administrator. We both like the feel of a book in our hands and, although we have an electronic reader, we still prefer hardback books. We are Patterson fans and the new Private Series is as good as the Murder Club and Bennett series. We enjoy the plots and the twists and turns and all the reads are fast and flow well. We both read a lot and are at the stage of our lives where we read for entertainment more than out of the need for professional information.

Patterson is a mediocre author at his best. At his worst, like his numbered novels, what I call the whiney women's detective agency, it is just painful. This one is almost as bad. The main detective in this novel spends most of her time complaining. I don't care that the murder victim was her ex-fiancee. He probably appreciated being killed because at least he didn't have to listen to her whining anymore. Her son is an annoying brat. Their interactions were just painful to deal with. The story is mediocre. The characters were painful. There is little to recommend this novel.

Easy to read. Keeps you up all night.

Well written and interesting! Recommend! Book in GREAT condition!