Seven stars
Back for another BookShot, I enter the world of the Jameses, Patterson and Born, as they seek to entice the readers with this interesting short piece. After being tossed to the curb by her wealthy husband, Christy Moore is looking to inject some excitement into her life. When she meets Martin Hawking, a recent divorcé, the two seem inseparable. Like young lovers, they spend as much time together as possible and become infatuated with one another. A few weeks into this courtship, Martin suggests they play a game of make-believe, taking on roles and situations normally outside their purview. From an expensive dine and dash to temporarily taking possession of an expensive vehicle, Martin and Christy are living on the edge, when they are not partying it up and receiving late night visits from the police. However, the game soon intensifies and both become even bolder with their dares, going so far as to enter the mansion of Christy’s soon-to-be ex. They scout the place out and help themselves to a few items Christy feels entitled to have, no sense of consequences. Thereafter, it is a rollercoaster of emotions that pushes things well past illegal and into highly criminal, where both Christy and Martin are unable (or unwilling?) to play by the rules. How will Christy put a stop to things before they reach the point of no return? Could Martin’s game of make-believe be one where the rules do not apply? A well-crafted piece that speeds by as the reader gets more attached to the story.
I have been a fan of BookShots since they came out and find Patterson has done some of his best work (read: put his name to work authored by others) in these short stories, as he chooses the best of the best. While this piece read like something bordering on female infatuation at times, it did pick up its pace and soon had me wondering how things would end. With a prologue that lays out some fairly significant information, there was no way I was putting this one down until I saw how things came full circle. Patterson and Born develop two interesting characters in Martin and Christy, both spurned by recent marital issues and finding one another like oppositely-charged magnets. However, it was the pace of the story that lulled me into a sense of complacency, only to shock me as I reached the last half dozen, when the story takes a real turn. The ending alone made the story worthwhile and it is this that helps earn my choice to recommend it to anyone who has a spare few hours. Everything falls into place nicely, though there is by no means a happy ending in store.
Kudos, Messrs. Patterson and Born for this piece. I hope to see your teamwork again soon, either in full novel form or another exciting BookShot.
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