I have been a reader of James Patterson’s for a very long time. I originally developed a love for his Alex Cross series of book and then on to his numerous collaborations with other authors.  Beach Road is one of those collaborations.  Patterson, along with Peter de Jonge.  It is a typical Patterson book, short chapters, easy to understand characters and you are IMMEDIATELY immersed into the action. But this book has teeth, and it bites, even to the very end.

In the opening chapters of Beach Road, we are introduced to a series of characters with whom Beach Road is narrated.

Tom Dunleavy is a small-time lawyer who lands a big case when three young men he plays basketball with are found shot to death execution-style at a billionaire’s basketball court. The evidence points to a rising high-school basketball star, Dante Halleyville, who scuffled with one of the other young men earlier on the day of the murder and who apparently was seen disposing of the gun used to commit the murders. Tom reluctantly takes the case, convincing his ex-girlfriend, Kate Costello, a high-powered lawyer in Manhattan, to help him prove Dante innocent. The novel races toward a conclusion so shocking that even longtime Patterson devotees won’t see it coming. - Kristine Huntley

I listened to Beach Road on audio, and as usual I enjoyed Patterson’s work, but I will tell you, I hated the ending.  It fit the book, made sense, and was an AMAZING twist.  All that being said, the ending really bothered me.  Was it a ‘happy ending’?  Sort of…as my wife, Sarah-Irene said,  “Good guy wins. Bad guy loses. Woman realizes most men stink and dog gets a good home.”

Having never read an Agatha Christie book before, I can now say that I am a fan of her writing.  What made me a fan? The Man in the Brown Suit.  It’s a great book, full of mystery and intrigue, with a VERY surprising twist ending.

In The Man in the Brown Suit, we meet Anne Beddingfeld, the daughter of Professor Beddingfeld, England’s foremost authority on Primitive man.  Anne unwittingly gets caught up in a sinister case of murder and intrigue that takes her from England, to the steamship Kilmorgan Castle to the lovely shores of South Africa.

How odd, Anne Beddingfeld thought, that the stranger caught her eye, recoiled in horror, and fell to his death on the rails of Hyde Park Underground Station. Odder still was a doctor in a brown suit who pronounced him dead and vanished into the crowd.

But what really aroused Anne’s suspicion was when she learned of the doctor’s link to the murder of a famous ballerina, a fortune in hidden diamonds, and a crime-lord embroiled in blackmail. And most frightening of all was the attempt made on Anne’s own life.

But she is unable to resist the lure of an isolated mansion that could hold the solution to the bizarre mystery–even if she becomes the next victim…

This is a great mystery book to read, or listen to in audio book form.  It is filled with adventure, intrigue, and romance.  It has also made me an Agatha Christie fan.  You would do yourself a service by reading it as well.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of twelve stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, featuring his famous detective. These are the first of the Sherlock Holmes short stories, originally published as single stories in the Strand Magazine from July 1891 to June 1892. The book was published in England on October 14, 1892 by George Newnes Ltd and in a US Edition on October 15 by Harper. The initial combined print run was 14,500 copies.

I am fascinated at the differences in how people communicated and carried themselves during this period of time.  People’s word was given much more credence than it is today.  Even in the face of criminal charges, people’s explanations were taken at face value.  Even as the United States is still in it’s infancy, yet in England, men and women are innocent until proven guilty.

Often times, in the initial examinations, Holmes potential clients converse at very deep levels even before they properly introduce themselves.  It’s fascinating.  People treated each other with grace and poise.  We could certainly lear a thing or two from reconnecting with our older heritage.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a very entertaining read.  I recommend it, the stories are quick reads and the twists are often unseen, except by Holmes himself…of course.

My reading of Sherlock Holmes’ greatest adventures continues with The Sign of Four. We find our hearty detectives fresh off of their adventure from the previous mystery from A Study in Scarlet. Holmes and Watson find themselves meeting Miss Mary Marston, who weaves a tale of missing persons, mystery, and treasure.  Watson and Holmes take the case and find themselves facing even more murder and intrigue.

Mary Marston presents Sherlock Holmes with discovering the whereabouts of her father, Captain Marston of the Indian regiment.  Capt. Marston had come home to England and upon returning, disappeared the very evening of his arrival.  Since that evening, Miss Marston had been receiving very curious presents from an anonymous sender and she recruits Holmes and Watson to help figure out the mystery.

Thus begins an adventure that is contained in another enigma that Holmes must unravel.  Sherlock Holmes is pushed to his detecting and perceptive limits with this case, and in the end, Dr. Watson even finds a wife!

It is typical Sherlock Holmes and our favorite detective is 3 steps ahead of Scotland Yard, as usual.  The story takes us up and down the Thames River and all the way to India and the Ganges River.  This is an exciting story and I would encourage anyone who is a fan of mysteries or whodunits to read The Sign of Four.