Too Late To Say Goodbye
by Ann Rule
428 pages. Paperback.
Copyright 2OO7
ISBN -13: 978-O-7434-6O51-4
ISBN 1O: 978-O-7434-6O51-0
Ann's twenty-eighth true crime book is one of her best. I highly recommend it. In the middle of the story, there is an unbelievable twist that left me open-mouthed in surprise. The story is about Bart Corbin, a brilliant and charming dentist, who belonged to Mensa, whose wife died with a single gunshot wound to her head. Suicide or murder? "One of the most compelling double homicide investigations of our time." There was "one incredible irony upon which the entire case turned."
The Quickie
by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
4Q8 pages
Double Day Large Print
Copyright 2OO7
ISBN 978-O-7394-847O-8
Don's Pharmacy in Port Townsend, Washington, has a coffee shop counter to which some residents of the small town come regularly. One woman always carries a book with her. Since I knew she read a great deal, I once asked her what she thought of James Patterson - her reading tending toward this type of author. She had Nora Roberts with her that day. She answered that she had not read him for a long time, but she did recall that when his name was alone on the book, the writing was better than when he collaborated with someone else. The later book would be chopped up with too many two or three page chapters, and the writing didn't seem as good to her as when Patterson wrote by himself.
After reading only two of Patterson's books - one quite easy going, and The Quickie with 117 chapters - I tend to agree with her.
A little over mid-way, I expected the story to end. It didn't, but went on for another 15O pages. Ann Rule's book of the same number of pages limited itself to 35 chapters. I correctly guessed the murderer at the start, then learned that it had to be another person, and then finished with my first guess. The plot was tricky but the mystery was predictable. I'd give it a C-.
I bought several of James Patterson's books from a promotional of the Large Print Double Day Company. I'll let you know whether I continue to hold that Patterson by himself is superior to Patterson with someone else. Does Patterson hand the writing over to another but will allow that author to use his name to sell the book, possibly making some suggestions here and there? I suspect that possibility.