Lifeguard

by James Patterson and Andrew Gross

Everything is going right for lifeguard Ned Kelley. He is involved with Tess, the most beautiful woman he has ever seen and what's more, a million dollars is within touching distance; his share of the score for the robbery of some world-class art. All he has to do is trigger alarms to throw the cops off the scent. But when Tess is brutally murdered and the others involved in the robbery are massacred, Ned is the prime suspect. He has been set up!

• ISBN10: 044661761X
• ISBN13: 9780446617611
• Publish Date: 1 August 2006 (first published 1 January 2005)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Time Warner Trade Publishing
• Imprint: Warner Books Inc
• Format: Paperback (US Tall Rack)
• Pages: 432
• Language: English

Reviews

[Charli G.]

Title: Lifeguard
Author: James Patterson & Andrew Gross
# of Pages: Paperback, 487
Genre: Thriller, Mystery
Publisher: Headline (UK)
Source: Paperbackswap

Synopsis: The perfect job. Working for an easy-going boss at his sprawling luxurious mansion by the sun-kissed beach, watching beautiful women walk by.

The perfect girl. Tess - gorgeous, funny, apparently very rich and crazy for him.

The perfect score. Five million up for grabs. And to get his share, all he needs to do is trigger three house alarms to throw the cops of the scent of the real robbery.

Could things get any better for Ned Kelly?

But things don't go according to plan. And when Tess is brutally murdered and the others involved in the robbery are massacred, Ned is the prime suspect. With danger at every twist and turn, he's running for his life.

The perfect Patterson. Working with Andrew Gross, James Patterson skilfully delivers an addictive cocktail of suspense, surprise, and tension that will keep you gripped right up until the last page.

My review:

Lifeguard starts out a bit on the slow side, as do most James Patterson novels, but does not stay that way for long. The action starts within the first few chapters and doesn't stop until the very end of the book.

As always, the book is extremely well written - and I must say that I've read other books of Patterson's that were co-written with other authors, and I am amazed at the inability to tell who is writing what passage in the book. Andrew Gross and James Patterson wove their parts together flawlessly - I challenge anyone to read this book and tell where the author's change off!

While I had an idea of "whodunit" about three quarters of the way through the book, there were things that kept me second guessing myself. Even more amazing - I was wrong!

If you are a James Patterson fan, or if you're looking to start reading James Patterson, I highly recommend this book.

My rating: *****

[ibeforem]

This is one of Patterson’s better efforts of late. My only complaint is that I think the scheme is a little over complicated. Towards the end I felt like I needed a notebook to keep track of who was double-crossing who.