Invisible by James Patterson
Pros: twists and turns
Cons: doesn’t hold up under careful scrutiny
My first thought, after finishing James Patterson’s twisty Invisible was “Cool!”. But then I sat down and really thought about it, and realized that the turns and twists in this novel were more “gimmick” than cleverly thought surprises.
There’s a serial killer out there. One who drips pure evil. And he’s smart beyond belief. To the point where he’s been getting away with his murders because no one even knows he’s out there. He leaves the crime scenes looking like tragic accidents. No one has a clue that a crime’s been committed. So no one’s looking for our bad guy.
No one except Emmy, a research analyst with the FBI. She’s the only one who thinks something is “off” about these accidents. Getting others to believe her is near-impossible, until she finally finds proof that convinces the mucky mucks that there’s a killer out there. Of course, knowing this, and catching the guy are two entirely different matters.
So that’s the premise, and what follows is pretty typical. Slowly find clues, figure out who and what you’re dealing with, set a trap, etc.
But Invisible comes with a few twists. No, I’m not going to spoil it for you. I’ll just say that the author wanted to inject some “surprise” into the tale and he did so. And that’s always a fun thing for the reader.
But, if you then go back and examine the story with a magnifying glass, you’ll find a few inconsistencies, some plot holes, and some things that are just a bit hard to swallow. In other words, if you want to really enjoy Invisible, don’t be a detail-oriented hard-nose, like me. Because the story just won’t hold up to careful scrutiny.
Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t warn you about the level of violence depicted in this book. Granted, books about serial killers always contain murder and mayhem, but Invisible by James Patterson (and David Ellis) goes a bit beyond the norm in this regard. It is not for everyone.
Also by James Patterson:
Four Blind Mice
Judge & Jury
Kill Me If You Can
Mistress