Pop Goes the Weasel

James Patterson

My first James Patterson book and probably my last. It took me a long time to get beyond the first few chapters but once I did it became an easy read. One of the book's saving graces is that its chapters are short: there are 491 pages and 124 chapters: do the arithmetic!
I think the story is a good one and the book moves along; but once I got half way through it I found myself writing comments and criticisms all over the page.
I don't want to ruin any of the story; because it would be easy to do that; but there is a kidnapping and the person being suspected of the kidnapping is an Englishman … but when the calls come through, Patterson fails to mention the accent of the caller … at no stage in the book: I think this would be a pretty significant clue.
A couple of one liners worthy or report: page 311 "England isn't worth shit any more."; page 321 "Lawyers were such fabulous bullshitters."
I felt a number of times that the reaction of the average reader would be 'Oh, ohhhhhh!" in true melodramatic fashion: many parts of the story were either too contrived or paraded needlessly before our eyes as if we were all too thick to understand what was happening.
On page 387 I made a note that Patterson had commented on the OJ Simpson trial and here he was using OJ Simpson trial evidence errors: contrived or corny! On page 397 he says "For the first time, I allowed myself to actually think the unthinkable … " in fact it wasn't the first time he'd had this thought! On page 429 he has a character booting on to a computer: one doesn't boot on anything, one boots UP or simply boots! By page 440 I was heartily sick of the device Patterson was using of posing questions like " … Or theirs? Who knew for sure?" Again, the average reader didn't need these questions: the impact of what preceded the question was sufficient for us to work out the implications of what was happening.
So, I didn't really like the style of the book. However, as I have said, the story was fine. The characters were fine. I did like the game some of the characters were playing and overall, I think that was treated pretty well. The endgame, though, was not set up very well and I think most readers will wonder why it went the way it did.
The ending lends itself to a sequel but I won't be in a hurry to read it.

25 August 2001