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Private  By  cover art

Private

By: James Patterson,Maxine Paetro
Narrated by: Peter Hermann
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Publisher's summary

The police can't help you....

Former Marine helicopter pilot Jack Morgan runs Private, a renowned investigation company with branches around the globe. It is where you go when you need maximum force and maximum discretion. The secrets of the most influential men and women on the planet come to Jack daily - and his staff of investigators uses the world's most advanced forensic tools to make and break their cases.

The press will destroy you....

Jack is already deep into the investigation of a multi-million dollar NFL gambling scandal and the unsolved slayings of 18 schoolgirls when he learns of a horrific murder close to home: his best friend's wife, Jack's former lover, has been killed. It nearly pushes him over the edge. Instead, Jack pushes back and devotes all of Private's resources to tracking down her killer.

Only one place to turn: Private....

But Jack doesn't have to play by the rules. As he closes in on the killer and chooses between revenge and justice, Morgan has to navigate a workplace love affair that threatens to blow the roof off his plans. With a plot that moves at death-defying speeds, Private is James Patterson's sleekest, most exciting thriller ever.

©2010 James Patterson (P)2010 Hachette

Critic reviews

"James Patterson knows how to sell thrills and suspense in clean, unwavering prose." ( People)
"Patterson's novels are sleek entertainment machines, the Porsches of commercial fiction, expertly engineered and lightning fast." ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about Private

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    11,262
  • 4 Stars
    9,053
  • 3 Stars
    4,715
  • 2 Stars
    1,462
  • 1 Stars
    1,026
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    12,969
  • 4 Stars
    7,311
  • 3 Stars
    2,916
  • 2 Stars
    718
  • 1 Stars
    503
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    9,797
  • 4 Stars
    7,554
  • 3 Stars
    4,448
  • 2 Stars
    1,488
  • 1 Stars
    1,095

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

private

I'm a big James Patterson fan so of course I buy almost every book he has put out. What I like about his books is they're fast-paced and they keep my attention. This book, Private, is no exception.
I do recognize that some may not like this book. I call James Patterson's books, especially these, the womens murder club, the Binnett series, etc. "Pop Cop" books. If you are looking for a book that has lots of mystery and you really have to think hard to figure out who killed who, this may not be the book for you. However, if you are like me and enjoy a fast-paced and very suspenseful read, I think you will like this book.
I want to make one final comment about the narator. He was good. I felt that he did the voices very well.
In short, I liked this book, but I do recognize that some will not. I think it's worth the five stars and the one credit.

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152 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Tedious

Any additional comments?

I've listened to 10-12 audio books now, and this was the most difficult to get through without giving up on it. Very standard story, cliched throughout, full of eye-rolling machismo. Not very suspenseful. Narrator did a decent job except for the leprechaun voice (which was intended to be an Irish female love interest). Some books really do a good job of drawing you in. This one failed miserably at that.

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83 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Lazy.

After setting up 3 intertwining plots - which could have made a fun & interesting thriller- the authors chose to jump right to the end and wrap up each one immediately. I guess with a name like James Patterson, there's no need to bother with the middle of the story - where the plot and characters are developed, where mystery and suspense can be artfully built on a good setup. Not here. The conclusion is arrived at quickly, followed by an epilogue that is - I assume - meant to pull readers into the series of hastily written underdeveloped novellas that follow this one.

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55 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Fragmented

OK I guess. The book jumps between too many cases, as if the author had a bunch of ideas and couldn't decide which to write about.

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48 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Private by James Patterson..........

I am convinced that listeners are influenced GREATLY by a authors past works when purchasing a book......this author's works are becoming more disappointing as he continues to churn out words......
PRIVATE was/is very disappointing......too fragmented....flight of ideas, jumping from one thread to another...loosely connected......don't waste your time or money !!!!!!

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47 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

The music was distracting and annoying.

The music was distracting and annoying. There was no reason to have it there and it took away from the story.

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45 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Not really for me

Not really for me. I like the Jack Reacher and Harry Bosch series a lot better.I might give James Patterson another try on a different series.

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45 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Thanks to Audible and Hachette Audio for...

...making this audio book available at no cost to Audible members.

My near heroic efforts to complete Private were successful. Narration is stellar, but the novel is pathetically bad. The subplots get in the way of the main story which is not very good itself. There are 10 James Patterson novels/novellas in my Audible library only three of which do not have a coauthor. I have read several other of his Alex Cross and Women's Murder Club paperbacks which Patterson wrote without a coauthor. While none earned 5 stars they did earn 4. Every novel I have read with Patterson listed as co-author has earned no better than 3 stars.

I congratulate Mr. Patterson on building his brand into hundreds of novels and novellas most of which were written by others. His success is made even more impressive by the fact that most of those books are second rate.

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43 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Twists at every corner.

Patterson ends almost every chapter with a hook making you want to listen just a little bit more. Fast paced. Awesome. I usually do not care for joint author efforts, but I am a huge James Patterson fan. This was the first one of his co-written books I have read. He and Maxine Paetro make a good writing team. I will definitely read another by the two of them.

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36 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Not up to the Hype

I like Patterson and (think) I have read all his books. This was a good time passer and was enjoyable but don't think it is up to all the hype. I'm sure I'll continue to read the other books he comes out with in this new series. If you like very light, fast paced, I know what's going to happen next, books you'll like this and is worth the download and credit. I wish Audible let us give 1/2 stars as I would have given it 3 1/2, not 4 stars.

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36 people found this helpful