Seven stars
James Patterson and Adam Hamdy adds to the long-running Private series, taking Jack Morgan to Beijing. In a city full of mystery and suspicion, Morgan helps when the local team is decimated by an unknown killer. The authors work with many of the tools honed in past Private novels. Not as Sino-centric as I would have preferred, using past novels in the series as a comparison. Still worth a read by those who have enjoyed previous novels..
After an attack in Beijing sees a number of the local Private members killed, Jack Morgan knows that this is serious and rushes to get there from LA. While Morgan has no idea what’s happened, he knows that it must be serous. Some poking around to get a lay of the land does little to help, save find Morgan tossed in jail for a few hours after a disagreement with the local police. Once Morgan is out, he’s back on the trail to see what’s been going on.
Not long thereafter, two major events leave Morgan rushing to determine which way is up. First, The Private Beijing offices are bombed and completely destroyed, leaving fire and rubble. Second, an attack in New York sees one of the local Private members trying to piece together what has happened to his wife and all fingers point to a mysterious man of Chinese descent. Could the two attacks be linked?
Morgan can only surmise that Private as a whole is under attack and that the enterprise could be in danger. Working in China, Jack Morgan must rely on his local team to help him uncover the truth in a country where private investigation is not only unwanted, but somewhat illegal. Trying to get to the core of the matter could prove harder than it appears.
Back in New York, the local Private team looks into the kidnapping and potential destruction of the company. It appears as though a Chinese national has been sent on a mission to deliver a message that will not soon be forgotten, Jack Morgan will have to make a major decision that could impact Private in all corners of the globe. This is more than China, but an international affair worth Jack Morgan the central target. A decent addition to the series by Patterson and Hamdy, offering a little insight into Chinese policing, but more American perspectives than anything else.
Patterson’s development of the Private series has done well to highlight police work all over the world as well as bring new and exciting international authors into the fold. While this piece uses the Patterson-Hamdy collaborative effort, it still has a decent Chinese flavouring to it, making the book appear somewhat realistic. The narrative flow is decent, though I felt myself waving a hand in the air on occasion to get the momentum going. I sought something a little sharper and faster, but the book did not lag to the point of me tossing it in the corner. Decent and relevant characters pepper the pages of the book, giving the reader a sense of being in China, but the strong American angle also promotes some stereotypes that I cannot be sure are true to what actually happens. Decent plots emerge, though again there is more US than true Chinese focus on things, leaving me wishing that the authors had kept things in country or a local author cold have been used to really expand the China aspect. The series surely gains some traction and its roots are deepened here, though I am not sure what’s next or how Jack Morgan will expand his empire. Might this be close to the end of the road, or is Adam Hamdy working on something for Patterson to add his name to again soon? Time will surely tell.
Kudos, Messrs. Patterson and Hamdy, for a decent addition to all things Private.
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