REVIEW: The Writer by James Patterson and J.D. Barker
Book #52 of 2025, done!
📖 BOOK: The Writer by James Patterson and J.D. Barker
🎧 FORMAT: Hardcover
📚 GENRE: Psychological Thriller / Crime Fiction
📅 RELEASED: 2024
⏱️ Page Count: 389
⭐ RATING: ★★☆☆½ (2.5 out of 5 stars)
👉 PURCHASE: Via this link
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🧳 SYNOPSIS:
”NYPD Detective Declan Shaw gets a call: How fast can you get to the Beresford building on Central Park West?
In the tower apartment, Shaw finds a woman waiting for him. She’s covered in blood. A body is lying dead on the floor of the luxurious living room.
Every book on the apartment’s floor-to-ceiling shelves is by the same author: bestselling true-crime writer Denise Morrow.
’This is you?’ Shaw asks the woman. ‘You’re a writer?’
Only one person knows the ending to this story. It is the victim or the killer?”
💬 THE VIBE:
Dark, twisty, and very much a crime-drama popcorn flick in book form…except this time, the popcorn may be stale.
💡 STANDOUT ELEMENTS:
High concept premise with strong potential
Short, quick chapters that kept the pace moving (standard Patteron formatting)
🧠 WHAT STUCK:
Some fun moments of doubt and paranoia
It almost worked as a pulpy, over-the-top thriller
👎 WHAT DIDN’T WORK FOR ME:
Too many wild, unbelievable plot twists
The ending? Absolutely ridiculous. Fully broke the suspension of disbelief. Like come on! I was so mad at the end
🤔 IF YOU LIKE:
Fast-paced, high-drama crime fiction
Twisty thrillers with short chapters
Stories that blur fiction and reality
🙅♀️ IF YOU DON’T LIKE:
Logic holes and over-the-top reveals
Stories that escalate past the point of believability
Endings that feel more like a joke than a payoff
📝 FINAL VERDICT:
2.5 stars.
This one had potential and moments of fun, but ultimately leaned too hard into the unbelievable. The plot twists piled up until I found myself eye-rolling more than page-turning. If you're here for a quick thrill ride and don't mind suspending all disbelief, maybe give it a go. Otherwise? Might be one to skip.
I used to be a huge Patterson fan back in the day, but he kind of fell off my radar for a few years. I picked this one up hoping for a return to formand instead got a storyline so ridiculous it was hard to take seriously. Disappointed, honestly. I think this might be my last shot at his newer stuff.
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