Within a few pages I could clearly see why James Patterson has sold a ridiculous amount of books. His style of storytelling is very simple (absolutely nothing wrong with that), and the action moves fluidly. Hide and Seek is only the second book written by James Patterson that I’ve read but I can definitely get a sense of a writer sticking to a formula that works (and why the hell not?). Some of Patterson’s works have been adapted for the silver screen, and perhaps after striking gold with his Alex Cross novels he found a blueprint that works, and has consistently found a way to give his readers what they want. To me that is a skill, and if I was in the same position as a writer I’d do the same thing. For some reason authors don’t seem to have the same freedom as musicians, or film makers (screenwriters, directors) when it comes to telling stories. And by freedom I mean that there seems to be a type of snobbery in the literary world. An author seems to get criticised for writing anything with a semblance of mass appeal to it. In a way, maybe I was put off because James Patterson has sold trillions of his books. I’m not completely sure, but maybe. And this could be because I know that the statistics for reading - especially among a certain age and demographic - aren’t good. Therefore maybe leading me to be suspicious of a book that has been read so widely. This is an attitude that I’m trying to move away from, and reading Hide and Seek is one of my steps. Ultimately I think it’s important for people to read, it shouldn’t be seen as a pastime reserved for the intelligent. And people shouldn’t look down at others for reading something for the “popcorn” aisle. So what? It’s entertainment, and each to their own. Who is anybody to judge?The lead character in this story is Maggie Bradford, a world famous singer who is accused of killing two of her husbands. I found her likeable (although I don’t think I could marry her!) I felt that Patterson did a good job of presenting us with a female protagonist without it seeming contrived. I would say this for me was the most skillful thing about this story. My favourite character was Maggie’s second husband, Will Shepherd. He is a former Premiership superstar striker who becomes a Hollywood film star when his football career is cut short. We see him descend further and further into madness, and as an actor he’d be a complex character to portray. Could I have cared more for the characters? Perhaps. But it wasn’t a chore for me to get to the end, and this end had a good twist. The short chapters may put off others but this actually made me want to read on. Maybe I am biased on this point because short chapters are a trait of mine as writer. Hey, if it’s good enough for the multi-million selling Patterson...Hide and Seek was first published in 1988 but it doesn’t read as too dated to me. I’ve got one more James Patterson book on my shelf to get through, but after that I very much doubt I’ll be reading more from this writer to learn anything new. However, if a non reader came up to me and asked where they should start fiction-wise, I’d happily hand this book over to them as I don’t think they’d struggle to finish it.
Oh my goodness! I have simply no words to describe about this story. This is my first James Patterson book and I guess this will not be the last either. Loved the twists and turns and especially the climax. I have heard a lot about his Alex Cross series, I guess next book I am going to start with his 1st Alex Cross book...This was a good change for e from lot of romance books.. Well, they have their charm.. I love well developed characters. This book had that too.. Okay, I could not relate to any of the characters much. But, that doesn't stop me from liking the story. This is a page turner for sure!This book is about Maggie Bradford, who has her own fears and wants to be loved by people and family. That woman was strong willed and with lots of guts and fought hard for protecting her two children from harms way. She has been charged with two murders of her husbands!! Is she guilty or did she really murder them in cold-blood rage or vengeance!!Will Shepard, he was complete bastard!! I absolutely loathed him. I just could not sympathize with him till the end! I was actually dancing when he was shot by Maggie!! This is one character you will hate for sure. Very well written character...I wanted to read more about Patrick O'Malley and Barry Kahn!! I wanted them to have more part too.. but Kahn was simply superb character! I guess now Patterson is in my auto buy list!!!
What do You think about Hide And Seek (1997)?
This book was OK. It's main problem was that the first 2/3 of it was just a woman telling us all about her life, love life in particular, over the past 10 or so years. This was pretty boring as I don't read James Patterson to hear a woman describe how beautiful her wedding was and how each new guy in her life made her feel so special (actually I don't read Patterson at all, I only listen to him on audio books). The redeeming aspects of the book are that the premise of the story is the main character is a pop star on trial for murdering her husband. She has also killed a former husband earlier in life, but that was pretty cut and dry self defense. The end of the book is more classic Patterson with some good action, mystery, and twists. The book reads like Nicholas Sparks wrote the first half, while the woman is recapping her life, then Patterson takes over for the trial and ensuing action. Not one of his better/more exciting books all the way through, but the end will probably make you forget how boring the beginning was.
—Matt
Maybe I finished this book in a day because it's very interesting. Or maybe I finished it because I got nothing better to do. That aside, the book is interesting enough for me to keep flipping the pages. And honestly, when the book ended all I could think was I hope I wasn't as bad in love like Maggie. Ho boy, that won't be good. Jokes aside, overall the book was well executed, but not the best of the best. It could do so much better and the only time I actually got interested was near the end where there was a plot twist and I literally went DURN DURN DURNNNNN in my head. No kidding.
—Tammy
Hide and Seek is my first novel by American author, James Patterson. This novel made quite an impression to me but it isn't the type of book that hooked me till its end. I can still say that It is a page-turner because you could imagine the drama and mystery it entails the readers but it only ends at that.The novel tells the story of a famous singer Maggie Bradford who once killed her husband in order to protect herself from scurrilous attacks and at the second part of the story, being accused of murdering his second husband, Will Shepard. Due to Maggie Bradford's history of killing her first husband to get out of the abusive ways, it began to fuel speculation and accusations when she had again killed her second husband. And during those tormenting moments she had entered the world of go Hide and Seek.*Sorry for the spoiler*Although I tried to appreciate the verdict of Maggie Bradford. I don't think she deserves it. It is a good idea that the author intended to highlight domestic violence but then the victim was charged guilty because she just kept choosing the wrong type of husband? What a wisecrack sense of justice! Meeeh -___-Moreover, James Patterson focused more on the background of the characters instead of the seemingly awesome plot. It could have been better though. It could have.
—Salymar
