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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Read this because it centered around the 2012 summer Olympics, but it wasn't worth it. Very by-the-numbers murder mystery. Fortunately, it only took two hours to read.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Horrible. I will give it one star for the British kids in the book who used the phrase "fanny powder" for baby powder. Fanny in Brit-speak absolutely DOES NOT mean bottom! At least that part sent me into a fit of giggles at the lack of research and the resulting inappropriate choice of the word fanny. Oy. I may never recover.
This is so far the best of the Private novels I've read/listened to.
I liked this because it is a more straightforward style of mystery than the previous novels. It doesn't have two interspersed mysteries, the only mystery is the central idea of The 2012 Olympics are being targeted by a terrorist calling himself Kronos.
I listened to the Audiobook of this and it was VERY frustrating that half of the chapters were told from the point of view of Kronos, and he whispered EVERYTHING which meant that I had to turn up the volume on his chapters and then when a non-Kronos chapter started the volume would be way louder, so I had to turn it down, and then turn it up the next time Kronos had more to say.
Very annoying, very distracting.
There were a few other weird things in this too.
Just before I started this I had read "Private: London" and NONE of the characters crossed over. NONE! There is a reason given, but it really feels like a cop out that was written just so that the author of this book didn't have to use the characters from Private: London. There was no mention in Private: London about the preparations of security for the Games, so the fact that people reference Private being part of the security for the Games just feels weird.
OK, I've gone back and tried to compare names between Private: London and Private Games and I think they might have been mentioned after all, but that still doesn't explain things very well. The explanation of what happened to those characters is so hamfisted it might as well have been written by someone who had pigs on the ends of her arms.
But, like I said, I liked this more than the other Private books.
It's more of a thriller and it's more of a mystery, but I don't understand how NO ONE knew before the final scene what Kronos(or Cronus according to how other people are spelling it in their reviews(They never spell it in the audibook)) is planning as his Final Act. I knew what it had to involve right from the start, I mean it's obvious.
It's also a little weird to read this after the Olympics because I know that's not how things went down.
Also: There is a Red Herring who is never a believable suspect. I knew from the moment that they mentioned this Red Herring as a suspect that they had nothing to do with the killer. Too much was told to the reader in that instance and it totally spoiled the mystery if you'd payed any attention at all.
So: Overall 3 stars. The ending was exciting enough and the Olympic Spirit stuff was well written enough that I was willing to give that extra star, but just barely.
Oh, I forgot: This book assumes that you've never heard of the tabloid The Sun, and don't know that it has topless girls on Page 3 of every issue. And then later there's a scene in a lesbian bar where a reporter is trying to get some information and says she works for The Sun and the woman she's talking to says "OH, I love page 3" and the reporter says "I don't really" and it was really stupid and it was kind of my favorite part of the book.
I liked this because it is a more straightforward style of mystery than the previous novels. It doesn't have two interspersed mysteries, the only mystery is the central idea of The 2012 Olympics are being targeted by a terrorist calling himself Kronos.
I listened to the Audiobook of this and it was VERY frustrating that half of the chapters were told from the point of view of Kronos, and he whispered EVERYTHING which meant that I had to turn up the volume on his chapters and then when a non-Kronos chapter started the volume would be way louder, so I had to turn it down, and then turn it up the next time Kronos had more to say.
Very annoying, very distracting.
There were a few other weird things in this too.
Just before I started this I had read "Private: London" and NONE of the characters crossed over. NONE! There is a reason given, but it really feels like a cop out that was written just so that the author of this book didn't have to use the characters from Private: London. There was no mention in Private: London about the preparations of security for the Games, so the fact that people reference Private being part of the security for the Games just feels weird.
OK, I've gone back and tried to compare names between Private: London and Private Games and I think they might have been mentioned after all, but that still doesn't explain things very well. The explanation of what happened to those characters is so hamfisted it might as well have been written by someone who had pigs on the ends of her arms.
But, like I said, I liked this more than the other Private books.
It's more of a thriller and it's more of a mystery, but I don't understand how NO ONE knew before the final scene what Kronos(or Cronus according to how other people are spelling it in their reviews(They never spell it in the audibook)) is planning as his Final Act. I knew what it had to involve right from the start, I mean it's obvious.
It's also a little weird to read this after the Olympics because I know that's not how things went down.
Also: There is a Red Herring who is never a believable suspect. I knew from the moment that they mentioned this Red Herring as a suspect that they had nothing to do with the killer. Too much was told to the reader in that instance and it totally spoiled the mystery if you'd payed any attention at all.
So: Overall 3 stars. The ending was exciting enough and the Olympic Spirit stuff was well written enough that I was willing to give that extra star, but just barely.
Oh, I forgot: This book assumes that you've never heard of the tabloid The Sun, and don't know that it has topless girls on Page 3 of every issue. And then later there's a scene in a lesbian bar where a reporter is trying to get some information and says she works for The Sun and the woman she's talking to says "OH, I love page 3" and the reporter says "I don't really" and it was really stupid and it was kind of my favorite part of the book.
First Patterson I've read. It was a good action-based read.
ok book
Fast paced and entertaining bit of fluff. The dark and diabolical evil genius is thwarted at the end but his dastardly plans wreck havoc in the meantime!
Bet that's a new plot twist for you.
Fast paced and entertaining bit of fluff. The dark and diabolical evil genius is thwarted at the end but his dastardly plans wreck havoc in the meantime!
Bet that's a new plot twist for you.
Private Games
Another great installation in the "Private" series by James Patterson and his cowriter. Tense drama, intrigue and fast paced action abounds as we read a story about the London office of Private and the Olympics
Another great installation in the "Private" series by James Patterson and his cowriter. Tense drama, intrigue and fast paced action abounds as we read a story about the London office of Private and the Olympics