You've Been Warned by James Patterson, Howard Roughan
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Book Reviews of You've Been Warned
Book Review: James Patterson Books Are Like Drugs
Summary: 3 Stars
I am not sure why James Patterson has such a hold on me and fellow readers. His books are so easy to digest and seem to be getting more shallow every new book. However I still find myself compelled to be the first in line to by each and every new book? Why, I ask myself...what could it be that I find so addicting?
You've been warned is a little different than his mystery / murder books. This is more of a supernatural book and like the 6th Sense if you know the ending than the entire plot is ruined. I am not a fast reader as in able to read a book a day, however I did finish You've Been Warned in one sitting. I was not able to put it down. My first thought after finishing the book was disappointment. But than I began to think about what the book was about and what it meant and the clues that were sprinkled trhu the chapters. The more I thought the more my mind changed. I guess to me it was like reading a short story in college and than the discussion afterwards and how every one had a differnt insight to the true meaning.
All in all this book is not the worst way to spend a weekend at home.
Book Review: Warning: take the book title seriously
Summary: 2 Stars
While waiting for her chance to hit it big, aspiring photographer Kristin Burns makes ends meet by working as a nanny to two delightful children who has the misfortune of having the clichéd cold and uncaring stepmother. Kristin dreams of one day having her photographs displayed at a gallery and continues to snap photos of every day New Yorker capturing those special moment. One day, she awakens from a horrifying nightmare with scenes so vivid that they leave her bones chilled. Grateful that it was only a dream, she goes on with her daily routine and takes the same route to work. However, when she stumbles upon the same scene that she dreamt about, Kristin's life is forever altered. The pictures she's taken of people appear transparent; some of them depict the subjects in a most gruesome state - brutally murdered. When she thought life couldn't get any worse, she starts to see ghosts of people from her past. As the line between dream and reality becomes muddy, Kristin feels like she is going mad, unable to decipher the meaning of the strange things happening to her. What is the meaning of her father's warnings? Why is a mysterious stranger stalking her? Dare she heed their warnings?
YOU'VE BEEN WARNED is a creepy thriller spun out from James Patterson's writing machine. Patterson deviates from his usual crime thriller. This book has elements of paranormal, psychological and a dash of erotica. Kristin is plagued by the same chilling dreams. Her torrid affair with the man of her dreams is beginning to unravel. As we see her world spin out of control, we see this naïve aspiring photographer turn into a stalker herself as she develops an obsession over the family she's working for. However, what started off as an intriguing novel quickly became a weird and incoherent tale which, just like Kristin, left me struggling to separate dream from reality. Add the inexplicable supernatural/paranormal aspect and what we have is one messy, convoluted plot that failed to make sense. Unfortunately, Patterson's trademark short chapters fail to provide the profundity necessary for this type of plot to truly excel. In the end, what started off as an interesting premise was ruined by a tortuous plot that failed to achieve a satisfying conclusion. Two stars for those two adorable kids.
Book Review: Whaaaa....????
Summary: 2 Stars
Patterson is such an unusual writer...his work varies from excellent to downright goofy. This book falls into the downright goofy catagory with an ending that might have you saying "Whaaa???". Fortunately, I got this novel from the library so I didn't waste my money on it (I would have given it 1 star if I had!). Extremely easy to read because it's all straight forward first person story telling except there isn't much story to tell. I read the entire book while on Jury Duty in one day. If I hadn't been trapped, I might not have continued with it although I will say that it wasn't boring (that's the kiss of death for me when reading) and while the story and characters were somewhat transparant, it held my attention well enough to see what happens and how close I was to figuring it out (I was pretty close!). I'll still continue to read Patterson because his track record has been good in the past but I'll get his books from the library and not the store.Book Review: excruciatingly bad
Summary: 1 Stars
I had just read a couple of the Patterson/Roughan books which were trashy and unbelievable but kinda fun in that trashy-unbelievable way (how does Roughan figure in anyway -- does he type?), and I picked this up at the library.
Let's just say if a large cockroach (bad foreshadowing vis a vis this book) got onto a computer and typed out some words, it would be better than this astonishingly bad tripe. Page after page, I gasped aloud "This is so terrible." Virtually nothing makes sense, the few red herrings there are pay off less than nothing (or rather they aren't ever even referenced again), the only character with any substance is the "Pencil"-thin society wife, characters arrive and disppear with virtually no sense or payoff.
The good news is that it's so bad you can't stop reading it because you can't believe anything is so poorly written. The other good news is that this will take you about three hours, or less, to read. How a reputable publisher could begin to retail something like this for $27.99 is beyond belief.....The only thing you have to be warned about is reading "You've Been Warned."
Book Review: Don't Buy This Book
Summary: 1 Stars
My neighbor asked me if I wanted to look through a pile of books she was about to recycle and I grabbed several including "Don't Look Now". A few years ago I had read "Beach House" and liked it enough (although the ending was a tad far fetched)to try out another Patterson machine product. I read about 125 pages and although I like to finish any book. project etc. that I start, reading this book was just too painful. Poorly "written" and the characters just didn't interest me. I will NEVER read another Patterson factory style book. Quite frankly I felt a bit embarrassed for Patterson and the other "author" for having "written" such a piece of trash, but why should they care??? Undoubtedly Patterson is a very wealthy person...shame on the consumer for making this the case.
DO NOT BUY OR EVEN BORROW THIS BOOK! Your time will be better spent reading something that took more than a few days to produce.