SWIMSUIT
James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
Little, Brown and Company
Thriller
ISBN: 9780316018777
Those who are part of the legion of fans of the Women’s Murder Club series by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro will no doubt rejoice over the publication of SWIMSUIT. Although the novel takes place outside of that universe, readers of the series (and everyone else for that matter) will not mind one bit. This is a riveting tale that you’ll want to read from cover to cover.
SWIMSUIT is a book within a book. The inside book is written by Ben Hawkins, an ex-cop who is a reporter for the L.A. Times. Hawkins is assigned to a hot story concerning a model named Kim McDaniels, who disappears while doing a photo shoot in Hawaii. Hawkins’s book is based on his investigation into Kim’s disappearance --- the reason behind it and what occurs thereafter. The reader learns almost immediately what happens to Kim. She is kidnapped and brutally murdered, which is carefully videotaped and broadcast to a very select audience of individuals around the world, known collectively as The Peepers, who pay for the privilege of watching the terrifying beginning and violent end of each victim’s final moments.
Henri Benoit is the mysterious, enigmatic conductor of these horrific tableaus, and though he is paid handsomely for what he does, he truly takes delight and joy in his work, a quality that makes SWIMSUIT all the more terrifying. Benoit is more than a director and an actor in his own films; he also has the ability to blend into settings and to assume different identities with such skill and superior ability that his potential victims do not recognize him as he slowly circles them. This is also true of Hawkins, who is determined not only to investigate the increasing number of cold-blooded murders that include and follow Kim McDaniels, but also to see that the murderer is brought to justice.
When Hawkins attracts Benoit’s attention, Benoit’s reaction is anything but predictable. Instead of murdering Hawkins, he hires him to write the story of his life as a kind of twisted tribute to ensure that he gets proper credit for what he has accomplished. Hawkins has no choice but to accept the assignment, at least initially, given that Benoit has established that he can attack Hawkins or his girlfriend, Amanda, anytime and anywhere he chooses. But Hawkins uncovers one of the secrets of Benoit’s seeming omnipresence and employs a brilliant deduction to determine his whereabouts. Hawkins uses his knowledge to turn the tables on his nemesis, even as Benoit goes on a murderous feeding frenzy of revenge against all those who he feels have wronged him.
Patterson and Paetro have created a frightening scenario and a brilliantly deranged villain who will not soon be forgotten. At the same time, there are some erotic vignettes that will have at least some struggling to read through the condensation forming on the inside of their eyeballs. While previous collaborations by this author team have been marked by twists and turns, as well as characters who easily define the dark side, SWIMSUIT sets a new standard for their joint efforts, one that by turns will heat up and chill the beach this year.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
Click here now to buy this book from Amazon.com.
© Copyright 1996-2009, Bookreporter.com. All rights reserved.
