The Beach House

April 22, 2002
Patterson's second coauthored novel of the year (after the current bestseller 2nd Chance, written with Andrew Gross) is a relatively rare stand-alone for this immensely popular writer. Unlike some of Patterson's stand-alones, however, including the most recent, Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas, this doesn't move Patterson into new territory: it's a slick, vastly enjoyable yet far-fetched thriller—i.e., typical Patterson. Its hero is a Columbia University law student, Jack Mullen, who's out to avenge the death of his younger brother, Peter, found dead on the Amagansett, L.I., property of the immensely wealthy Neubauer family, a few miles from Jack and Peter's Montauk home. The cops say Peter drowned; a glance at the corpse tells Jack that his brother was beaten to death. The rest of the novel traces Jack's efforts, with the help of a female private eye/love interest, plus his elderly grandfather and a band of Montauk locals, to prove that Peter was murdered and that billionaire Barry Neubauer played a role in his demise. Arrayed against Jack are a tough cop, high-placed lawyers and a sadistic killer—all owned by Neubauer money. Jack's diggings lead to evidence not only of Peter's murder but of its part in a coverup involving sexual scandal and blackmail; to get the justice that's denied them, Jack and his friends take the law into their own hands, kidnapping Neubauer and his cohorts and trying them in a kangaroo court whose proceedings they broadcast on TV. Smooth as a vanilla milk shake and no more sophisticated, written in 113 short chapters that won't tax anyone's attention span, this is smart, market-savvy, populist entertainment. (On sale June 10)Forecast:Patterson might as well have called this one
The Beach Novel, because it's the hardcover people will be reading at the Hamptons and elsewhere this summer. His planned five-city author tour will only help sustain its inevitable position atop bestseller lists.

February 15, 2002
Yes, another book by Patterson; the prolific author can spin out three books a year. This one centers on law student Jack Mullen, who doesn't believe that his brother's drowning death is an accident.

Copyright 2001 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2002
Hot on the heels of "2nd Chance" [BKL Ja 1 & 15 02], Patterson's latest thriller is a stand-alone mystery about the death of a young man in the Hamptons. Jack Mullen, a law-school student, is devastated when he learns that his beloved younger brother, Peter, has drowned while working as a valet at a ritzy party in the Hamptons. Jack is also suspicious; although Peter's death is ruled a suicide by the local police, Jack can't believe that his brother would go for a swim on a chilly evening when he was supposed to be working. The bruises covering Peter's body also lead Jack to suspect foul play. Jack begins to think that Barry and Compton Neubauer, the hosts of the party, and also the parents of Jack's girlfriend, Dana, are covering up the truth about what happened to Peter. Although Jack gets help from his school friends and Pauline, an attractive investigator, he faces seemingly insurmountable odds. The police, led by Frank Volpi, continue to stonewall, and a mysterious man threatens anyone who tries to produce evidence of Peter's murder. Despite the danger and the unexpected and often unpleasant revelations about his brother along the way, Jack is tenacious, and the novel races along to a somewhat implausible climax. But if Patterson fails to completely convince, he certainly doesn't fail to thrill, and readers will be turning the pages until the end. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2002, American Library Association.)