Hooked on Books discussion
Author Spotlight:James Patterson
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C's Author Spotlight: JP's Stand-Alone Novels
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The Thomas Berryman Number
Published: January 1976
We will begin with one of the classic American novels of suspense by one of the world's bestselling authors. It begins with three terrifying murders in the South. It ends with a relentless and unforgettable manhunt in the North. In between is the riveting story of a chilling assassin, the woman he loves, and the beloved leader he is hired to kill with extreme prejudice.
Complete ONE of the following:
1. Read a book set in the U.S.
2. Read a book with a person's name in the title.
3. Read a book with a nighttime scene on the cover.
4. Read any James Patterson novel.
Prompt Name / #: Thrillers #1Book: For Letter or Worse
Author: Margaret Welch
Date Read: 1/2
Pages: 208
Task: Read a book set in the U.S.
How it Fits: set in Massachusetts, USA
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Season of the Machete
Published: October 1977
From the bestselling, Edgar Award-winning author James Patterson comes a classic thriller.
Cool and glamorous, they could be a successful couple on a holiday. But Damian and Carrie Rose are psychopathic murderers for hire. Their new venue is a picture-perfect vacation island. Their adversary will be Peter Macdonald, the dashing young American who forsakes a life of leisure for a confrontation with cold-blooded terror. And risks everything only to discover that he alone suspects the hideous truth about the...Season of the Machete.
Complete ONE of the following:
1. Read a book where someone is murdered.
2. Read a book with a house/mansion on the cover.
3. Read a book with an MC you would describe as psychopathic.
4. Read any James Patterson novel.
Prompt Name / #: Thrillers #2Book: Best in Breed
Author: Libby Howard
Date Read: 1/3
Pages: 236
Task: Read a book where someone is murdered.
How it Fits: Prucilla (a dog rescuer) is murdered
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The Midnight Club
Published: January 1989
From the bestselling author of Along Came a Spider and Cat and Mouse, a mesmerising tale of non-stop action and suspense.
Nobody knows the underbelly of the city like New York cop John Stefanovitch. He's out to get Alexandre St-Germain, the most powerful member of the Midnight Club -- a secret international society of ruthless crime czars, all of whom are 'respectable' businessmen.
And Stef's the ideal man for the job -- until he's levelled by a blast from St-Germain's shotgun and left for dead. Now, Stef is back, wheelchair-bound, yet sworn to destroy St-Germain.
With the help of a beautiful journalist and a Harlem cop, Stef is determined to crack the Midnight Club. And he's up against odds that are as unknown as they are deadly!
Complete ONE of the following:
1. Read a book with a black cover.
2. Read a book where a character has a nickname.
3. Read a book where the MC is in law enforcement.
4. Read any James Patterson novel.
Prompt Name / #: Thrillers #3Book: Pearl Harbor Christmas: A World at War, December 1941
Author: Stanley Weintraub
Date Read: 1/5
Pages: 224
Task: Read a book with a black cover
How it Fits: black cover
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Hide & Seek
Published: December 1995
Maggie Bradford is on trial for murder - in the celebrity trial of the decade. As one of the world's best-loved singer-songwriters, she seems to have it all. So how could she have murdered not just one, but two of her husbands?
Will Shephard was Maggie's second husband. A magnificent athlete and film star, he was just as famous. But Will had dark, dangerous secrets that none of his fans could have imagined... that his own wife could have never dreamed of.
Complete ONE of the following:
1. Read a book with blood on the cover.
2. Read a book set in New York City.
3. Read a book where the MC is a singer, a songwriter, a film star, or an athlete.
4. Read any James Patterson novel.
Prompt Name / #: Thrillers #4Book: A Match of Wits
Author: Jen Turano
Date Read: 1/6
Pages: 348
Task: Read a book set in New York City.
How it Fits: set 73% in New York City
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See How They Run
Published: April 1979
Outside New York City, the palatial home of Dr. David Strauss's parents is attacked by gunmen during a glittering party. As he watches helplessly, his wife is murdered. In Los Angeles, Strauss's brother is killed during the Academy Award ceremonies. In Manhattan, his past sweetheart, Alix Rothchild, is running for her life. Dr. David Strauss is soon obsessed with finding the explosive secret behind the murders of his family members. His dangerous odyssey takes him across Europe, and finally to the Olympics, where one of the most shattering surprises in suspense fiction will take place.
Complete ONE of the following:
1. Read a book with a doctor character.
2. Read a book where the MC travels out of country.
3. Read a book with an overall dark cover. {Your interpretation.}
4. Read any James Patterson novel.
Prompt Name / #: Thrillers #5Book: The Luminous Dead
Author: Caitlin Starling
Date Read: 1/8
Pages: 415
Task: Read a book with an overall dark cover
How it Fits: dark cover
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When the Wind Blows
Published: October 1998
Frannie O'Neill is a caring young veterinarian living in the Colorado Rockies, trying to erase the memory of her beloved husband's mysterious murder. It is not long before another neighbor suddenly dies, and FBI agent Kit Harrison arrives at Frannie's doorstep. Kit is hell-bent on solving the heinous case despite resounding protests from the FBI and the thrashing of his own internal demons.
Kit secretly pursues the investigation, yet witnesses keep turning up dead. Then Frannie stumbles upon an astonishing discovery in the nearby woods, and their lives are altered in ways they could never have imagined. Simply knowing the secret of Max -- the terrified 11-year-old girl with an amazing gift -- could mean death.
As more and more diabolical details are unearthed, the murderer's bloody trail ultimately leads the trio to an underground lab network, known as "the School." Here scientists conduct shockingly incomprehensible experiments involving children and genetic alteration.
Complete ONE of the following:
1. Read a book that has a child character age 12 years old or less.
2. Read a book with an MPG of Science Fiction or Fantasy.
3. Read a book with mountains on the cover.
4. Read any James Patterson novel.
Prompt Name / #: Thrillers #6Book: Ascendance of a Bookworm (Manga) Part 1 Volume 2
Author: Suzuka and Miya Kazuki
Date Read: 1/9
Pages: 172 (adjusted by rules to 43)
Task: Read a book with an MPG of Science Fiction or Fantasy.
How it Fits: MPG Fantasy
If graphic novels aren't allowed, or just shorter ones not allowed, let me know and I'll read something else. :)
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Book: Ascendance of a Bookworm (Manga) Part 1 Volume 2
Author: Suzuka and Miya Kazuki
Date Read: 1/9
Pages: 172 (adjusted by rules to 43)
Task: Read a..."
Since this is a non-competitive, individual challenge, you don't have to worry about page count. We are more lax in this circumstance.
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Black Friday
Published: June 1986
The breathtaking suspense of Kiss the Girls and the authenticity of N.Y.P.D. Blue: Welcome to James Patterson's classic superthriller, Black Friday. A courageous federal agent, a powerful and resourceful woman lawyer - only they can possibly stop the unspeakable from happening. New York City is under siege by a secret militia group - and that's just the beginning of the relentless terror of Black Friday.
Complete ONE of the following:
1. Read a book with a color in the title.
2. Read a book with the word SECRET in the text.
3. Read a book with a vehicle of any type on the cover.
4. Read any James Patterson novel.
Prompt Name / #: Thrillers #7Book: Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear
Author: Seanan McGuire
Date Read: 1/11
Pages: 147
Task: Read a book with the word SECRET in the text
How it Fits: pg 135 "staring at her plate like it might hold the SECRETS of her life as yet to come"
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Cradle and All
Published: May 1980
In Boston, a young woman finds herself pregnant — even though she is still a virgin.
In Ireland, another young woman discovers she is in the same impossible condition.
And in cities all around the world, medical authorities are overwhelmed by epidemics, droughts, famines, floods, and worse. It all feels like a sign that something awful is coming.
Anne Fitzgerald, a former nun turned private investigator, is hired by the Archdiocese of Boston to investigate the immaculate conceptions. Even as she comes to care about and trust the young women, she realizes that both are in great danger. Terrifying forces of light and darkness are gathering. Stepping into uncharted territory where the unknown is just the beginning, Anne must discover the truth — to save the young women, to save herself, and to protect the future of all mankind.
Complete ONE of the following:
1. Read a book with a white cover. {Your discretion.}
2. Read a book with an MPG of HORROR.
3. Read a book where the author's first AND last initials are found in ARCHDIOCESE.
4. Read any James Patterson novel.
Prompt Name / #: Thrillers #8Book: Toto
Author: A.J. Hackwith
Date Read: 1/14
Pages: 352
Task: Read a book where the author's first AND last initials are found in ARCHDIOCESE.
How it Fits: author's initials are AH
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The Beach House
Published: June 2002
Jack Mullen is a driven student of the law. His brother Peter is a servant of the rich, parking the cars of the Hamptons' elite --- and perhaps satisfying their more intimate needs as well. Then Peter's body is found on the beach. Jack knows the drowning was no accident, but someone's unlimited power and money have bought the cops, the judges, the system. Now Jack is learning a lesson in justice he never got in law school ... and his astonishing plan to beat the billionaires will have you reeling --- and cheering --- to the very last page.
Complete ONE of the following:
1. Read a book with a title that starts with THE.
2. Read a book with more than one author.
3. Read a book with a very wealthy character.
4. Read any James Patterson novel.
Prompt Name / #: Thrillers #9Book: On Pens and Needles
Author: Sandra Orchard
Date Read: 1/15
Pages: 196
Task: Read a book with a very wealthy character
How it Fits: character Wolfe Jaxon owns the manor estate
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The Jester
Published: March 2003
Freedom - in eleventh-century France, it is a luxury enjoyed by only the King and nobility. For the serf, it is surely worth fighting for. But is it worth dying for?
Arriving home disillusioned from the Crusades, Hugh DeLuc discovers that his village has been ransacked and his wife abducted. The dark riders came in the dead of night, like devils, wearing no colors but black crosses on their chests, leaving no clue as to who they are. Knights they may be, but honor and chivalry are not part of their code. They search for a relic, one worth more than any throne in Europe, and no man can stand in their way. Until Hugh, taking on the role of a jester, is able to infiltrate the enemy's castle where he believes his wife is being held captive.
And when a man is fighting for freedom - for his wife, and for everything he holds dear - he will prove a formidable opponent.
Complete ONE of the following:
1. Read a book where the title is written in red.
2. Read a book with an MPG of HISTORICAL FICTION.
3. Read a book with a royal character.
4. Read any James Patterson novel.
Prompt Name / #: Thrillers #10Book: The Empty Birdcage
Author: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Date Read: 1/26
Pages: 336
Task: Read a book with an MPG of HISTORICAL FICTION
How it Fits: MPG Historical Fiction
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The Lake House
Published: June 2003
Frannie O'Neil, a Colorado veterinarian, knows a terrible secret that will change the history of the world. Kit Harrison, an FBI agent under suspension has seen things that no one in his right mind would believe. A twelve-year-old girl named Max and five other incredible children have powers we can only dream of. These children can fly. And the only place they will be safe is the Lake House. Or so they believe...
Complete ONE of the following:
1. Read a book with feathers on the cover.
2. Read a book set in Colorado or on a lake.
3. Read a book published in June of any year.
4. Read any James Patterson novel.
Well that took a lot longer than it should have lol...Prompt Name / #: Thrillers #11
Book: No Safe Harbor
Author: Elizabeth Ludwig
Date Read: 2/28
Pages: 352
Task: Read a book with feathers on the cover.
How it Fits: she has feathers on her hat!
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HoneymoonPublished: February 2005
How does it feel to be desired by every man and envied by every woman? Wonderful. This is the life Nora Sinclair has dreamed about, the life she's worked hard for, the life she will never give up.
She doesn't just attract men, she enthralls them. So why is FBI agent John O'Hara interested in Nora Sinclair? Mysterious things happen to people around her, especially the men. And there is something dangerous about Nora, something that lures O'Hara at the same time that it fills him with fear.
Is something dark hidden in the gaps of her past? As O'Hara spends more and more time getting to know her, is he pursuing justice? Or his own fatal obsession?
Complete ONE of the following:
1. Read a book with a body of water on the cover.
2. Read a book with a one-word title.
3. Read a book with an author or MC named John. {Spelling variations accepted.}
4. Read any James Patterson novel.
Prompt Name / #: Thrillers #12Book: Zoo 2
Author: James Patterson
Date Read: 3/3
Pages: 146
Task: Read any James Patterson novel
How it Fits: author is James Patterson
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Lifeguard
Published: July 2005
The wildest thriller yet from "one of America's most influential authors" (New York Times)...Working as a lifeguard at a luxurious Florida resort, Ned Kelly meets the woman of his dreams. It feels perfect in every way - except that she's used to caviar and Manolo Blahniks, and he's used to burgers and flip-flops. So when Ned's cousin offers to cut him in on a fast break-and-enter job, Ned can't turn it down. The risk is high, and the reward is even greater - $5 million. But the robbery goes devastatingly wrong. Forced to run away from his town and the woman he's fallen in love with, Ned knows that only distance and secrecy can save his life. But who is pursuing him? The FBI? Whoever sabotaged the heist? Or is it all somehow tied into his new love - and his oldest enemies?
Complete ONE of the following:
1. Read a book where a crime is committed.
2. Read a book where someone falls in love.
3. Read a book with a beach scene on the cover.
4. Read any James Patterson novel.
Prompt Name / #: Thrillers #13Book: Fatal Cajun Festival
Author: Ellen Byron
Date Read: 3/8
Pages: 292
Task: Read a book where a crime is committed
How it Fits: a character is murdered, two characters are attacked, a character is kidnapped, and a character is poisoned
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Beach Road
Published: May 2006
Tom Dunleavy has a one-man law firm in America's wealthiest resort town: legendary East Hampton. But his job barely keeps him in paper clips. His clients make a living serving the rich. The billionaires and celebrities swarming the beaches already have lawyers on their payroll.
Very Expensive
Then a friend of Tom's is arrested for a triple murder near a movie star's mansion. Tom knows in his gut that Dante Halleyville is innocent. Dante asks him to represent him in what could be the Trial of the Century.
Very Exclusive
Tom recruits Manhattan superlawyer Kate Costello to help. She's a tough hire, because Kate is his ex-girlfriend, but she agrees. In their search to find who really executed three locals, Tom orchestrates a series of revelations to expose the killer, and what emerges is staggering.
Very Explosive
The final scenes of this book unveil a truth that will leave readers gasping in shock. Written with the precision that has made James Patterson "a master of his genre" (USA Today), Beach Road is his wildest, most thrilling novel ever.
Complete ONE of the following:
1. Read a book with one person on the cover.
2. Read a book where there is an ex-girlfriend/ex-boyfriend character.
3. Read a book where the title starts with a letter in BEACH.
4. Read any James Patterson novel.
Prompt Name / #: Thrillers #14Book: Sunshine
Author: Robin McKinley
Date Read: 3/11
Pages: 406
Task: Read a book with one person on the cover
How it Fits:
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Judge & Jury
Published: July 2006
Andie DeGrasse, an aspiring actress and single mom, is not your typical juror. Hoping to get dismissed from the pool, she tells the judge that most of her legal knowledge comes from a bit part curling around the stripper's pole in The Sopranos. But she still ends up as juror number 11 in a landmark trial against a notorious mob boss.
The judge is terrified of the defendant.
The case quickly becomes the new Trial of the Century. Mafia don Dominic Cavello, known as the Electrician, is linked to hundreds of gruesome, unspeakable crimes. Senior FBI agent Nick Pellisante has been tracking him for years. He knows Cavello's power reaches far beyond the courtroom but the FBI's evidence against the ruthless killer is ironclad. Conviction is sure thing.
So is the jury.
As the jury is about to reach a verdict, the Electrician makes one devastating move that no one could have predicted. The entire nation is reeling, and Andie's world is shattered. For her, the hunt for the Electrician becomes personal, and she and Pellisante come together in an unbreakable bond: they exact justice - at any cost.
The verdict: Run for your life.
Complete ONE of the following:
1. Read a book with an alliterative title.
2. Read a book with a sky/clouds on the cover.
3. Read a book published in July of any year.
4. Read any James Patterson novel.
Prompt Name / #: Book: Ascendance of a Bookworm (Manga) Part 2 Volume 3
Author: Suzuka
Date Read: 3/17
Pages: 170
Task: Read a book with a sky/clouds on the cover
How it Fits: sky and clouds at the very top of the cover
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The Quickie
Published: July 2007
When Lauren Stillwell discovers her husband leaving a hotel room with another woman, she decides to beat him at his own game. But while she's sneaking around, her husband is hatching a plan of his own. After a torrid quickie with a co-worker, Lauren hears a struggle outside her window and looks out just in time to see her husband loading her lover's limp body into the trunk of a car. When the body shows up in a pool of shallow water, she races to the scene of the crime. But Lauren Stillwell is no regular wronged woman. She's a NYC cop — and she's just been assigned to this case. Unable to tell anyone what she saw and unwilling to turn her husband in, Lauren is paralyzed by a secret that will tear her life apart. But as she attempts to point fingers away from her husband, she uncovers something shocking: her husband didn't have an affair — what he did was far worse than she could have ever imagined.
Complete ONE of the following:
1. Read a book where someone cheats on a spouse/partner.
2. Read a book with a Q in the title.
3. Read a book with 2 people on the cover.
4. Read any James Patterson novel.
Prompt Name / #: Thrillers #16Book: Mountain of Dragons and Sacrifice
Author: Tara Grayce
Date Read: 3/21
Pages: 224
Task: Read a book with 2 people on the cover.
How it Fits:
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You've Been Warned
Published: September 2007
Kristin Burns has lived her life by the philosophy "Don't think, just shoot" -- pictures, that is. Struggling to make ends meet, she works full-time as the nanny for the fabulously wealthy Turnbull family, looking after their two wonderful children and waiting for her glamorous life as a New York photographer to begin. When her photographs are considered by an elite Manhattan art gallery, it seems she might finally get the chance that will start her career.
But Kristin has a major distraction: forbidden love. The man of her dreams is almost hers for keeps. Breathless with an inexhaustible passion and the excitement of being within reach of her goals, Kristen ignores all signs of catastrophe brewing.
Fear exists for a reason. And Kristin can only dismiss the warnings for so long. Searching desperately for the truth through the lens of her camera, she can only hope that it's not too late. This novel of psychological suspense is a stunning achievement for thriller master James Patterson, "one of the bestselling writers in history" (New York Sun).
Complete ONE of the following:
1. Read a book with an apostrophe in the title.
2. Read a book where the MC's name starts with a letter in PHOTOGRAPHER.
3. Read a book with the word CAMERA found in the text.
4. Read any James Patterson novel.
Prompt Name / #: Thrillers #17Book: Ghosts of Honolulu: A Japanese Spy, A Japanese American Spy Hunter, and the Untold Story of Pearl Harbor
Author: Mark Harmon
Date Read: 3/28
Pages: 272
Task: Read a book with the word CAMERA found in the text
How it Fits: pg 92 "touring the island with a camera"
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Sail
Published: June 2008
Since the death of her husband, Anne Dunne and her three children have struggled in every way. In a last-ditch effort to save the family, Anne plans an elaborate sailing vacation to bring everyone together once again. But only an hour out of port, everything is going wrong. The teenage daughter, Carrie, is planning to drown herself. The teenage son, Mark, is high on drugs, and ten-year-old Ernie is nearly catatonic. This is the worst vacation ever.
Anne manages to pull things together bit by bit, but just as they begin feeling like a family again, something catastrophic happens. Survival may be the least of their concerns.
Written with the blistering pace and shocking twists that only James Patterson can master, Sail takes "Lost" and "Survivor" to a new level of terror.
Complete ONE of the following:
1. Read a book with a title that starts with a letter in SAIL or BOAT.
2. Read a depicting a sunset on the cover.
3. Read a book where the MC is a mother.
4. Read any James Patterson novel.
Prompt Name / #: Thrillers #18Book: Loserthink: How Untrained Brains Are Ruining America
Author: Scott Adams
Date Read: 4/1
Pages: 256
Task: Read a book with a title that starts with a letter in SAIL or BOAT.
How it Fits: title starts with L
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Swimsuit
Published: June 2009
THE BEACH...
A breathtakingly beautiful supermodel disappears from a swimsuit photo shoot at the most glamorous hotel in Hawaii. Only hours after she goes missing, Kim McDaniels's parents receive a terrifying phone call. Fearing the worst, they board the first flight to Maui and begin the hunt for their daughter.
...WILL NEVER BE...
Ex-cop Ben Hawkins, now a reporter for the L.A. Times, gets the McDaniels assignment. The ineptitude of the local police force defies belief -- Ben has to start his own investigation for Kim McDaniels to have a prayer. And for Ben to have the story of his life.
...THE SAME FOR YOU AGAIN.
All the while, the killer sets the stage for his next production. His audience expects the best -- and they won't be disappointed. Swimsuit is a heart-pounding story of fear and desire, transporting you to a place where beauty and murder collide and unspeakable horrors are hidden within paradise.
Complete ONE of the following:
1. Read a book with a compound word in the title.
2. Read a book set on an island.
3. Read a book where NO head is seen on the cover.
4. Read any James Patterson novel.
Prompt Name / #: Thrillers #19Book: Stolen Midsummer Bride
Author: Tara Grayce
Date Read: 4/2
Pages: 202
Task: Read a book with a compound word in the title.
How it Fits: word is midsummer (mid and summer)
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The Postcard Killers
Published: August 2010
NYPD detective Jacob Kanon is on a tour of Europe's most gorgeous cities. But the sights aren't what draw him -- he sees each museum, each cathedral, and each cafe through the eyes of his daughter's killer.
Kanon's daughter, Kimmy, and her boyfriend were murdered while on vacation in Rome. Since then, young couples in Paris, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, and Stockholm have been found dead. Little connects the murders, other than a postcard to the local newspaper that precedes each new victim... Wish you were here.
Now Kanon teams up with the Swedish reporter, Dessie Larsson, who has just received a postcard in Stockholm -- and they think they know where the next victims will be.
Complete ONE of the following:
1. Read a book set in Europe.
2. Read a book where a character sends or receives a piece of mail.
3. Read a book published in August of any year.
4. Read any James Patterson novel.
Prompt Name / #: Thrillers #20Book: The Man in Black: Stories
Author: Elly Griffiths
Date Read: 4/8
Pages: 320
Task: Read a book set in Europe
How it Fits: the majority of the book is set in England
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Don't Blink
Published: September 2010
New York's Lombardo's Steak House is famous for three reasons - the menu, the clientele, and now, the gruesome murder of an infamous mob lawyer. Effortlessly, the assassin slips through the police's fingers, and his absence sparks a blaze of accusations about who ordered the hit.
Seated at a nearby table, reporter Nick Daniels is conducting a once-in-a-lifetime interview with a legendary baseball bad-boy. In the chaos, he accidentally captures a key piece of evidence that lands him in the middle of an all-out war between Italian and Russian mafia forces. NYPD captains, district attorneys, mayoral candidates, media kingpins, and one shockingly beautiful magazine editor are all pushing their own agendas - on both sides of the law.
Back off - or die - is the clear message Nick receives as he investigates for a story of his own. Heedless, and perhaps in love with his beautiful editor, Nick endures humiliation, threats, violence, and worse in a thriller that overturns every expectation and finishes with the kind of flourish only James Patterson knows.
Complete ONE of the following:
1. Read a book with a cityscape on the cover.
2. Read a book published in September of any year.
3. Read a book where the author has double letters in their name.
4. Read any James Patterson novel.
Prompt Name / #: Thrillers #21Book: Mrs. Bridge
Author: Evan S. Connell
Date Read: 4/10
Pages: 246
Task: Read a book where the author has double letters in their name
How it Fits: double N and double L
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Toys
Published: March 2011
Hays Baker and his wife Lizbeth possess super-human strength, extraordinary intelligence, stunning looks, a sex life to die for, and two beautiful children. Of course, they do -- they're Elites, endowed at birth with the very best that the world can offer. The only problem in their perfect world: humans and their toys!
The one with the most toys -- dies.
The top operative for the Agency of Change, Hays has just won the fiercest battle of his career. He has been praised by the President, and is a national hero. But before he can savor his triumph, he receives an unbelievable shock that overturns everything he thought was true. Suddenly Hays is on the other side of the gun, forced to leave his perfect family and fight for his life.
Now a hunted fugitive, Hays is thrown into a life he never dreamed possible--fighting to save humans everywhere from extinction. He enlists all of his training to uncover the truth that will save millions of lives--maybe even his own.
Complete ONE of the following:
1. Read a book with an MPG of DYSTOPIA.
2. Read a book with something yellow on the cover.
3. Read a book with a plural word in the title.
4. Read any James Patterson novel.
Prompt Name / #: Thrillers #22Book: Life Hacks for a Little Alien
Author: Alice Franklin
Date Read: 4/12
Pages: 304
Task: Read a book with a plural word in the title
How it Fits: HACKS
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Now You See Her
Published: June 2011
The perfect life
A successful lawyer and loving mother, Nina Bloom would do anything to protect the life she's built in New York -- including lying to everyone, even her daughter, about her past. But when an innocent man is framed for murder, she knows that she can't let him pay for the real killer's crimes.
The perfect lie
Nina's secret life began 18 years ago. She had looks to die for, a handsome police-officer husband, and a carefree life in Key West. When she learned she was pregnant with their first child, her happiness was almost overwhelming. But Nina's world is shattered when she unearths a terrible secret that causes her to run for her life and change her identity.
The perfect way to die
Now, years later, Nina risks everything she's earned to return to Florida and confront the murderous evil she fled. In a story of wrenching suspense, James Patterson gives us his most head-spinning, action-filled story yet -- a Hitchcock-like blend of unquenchable drama and pleasure.
Complete ONE of the following:
1. Read a book with a blonde cover model.
2. Read a book that has been nominated for a ÀÏ»¢»úÎÈÓ®·½·¨ Choice Award.
3. Read a book with a pronoun in the title.
4. Read any James Patterson novel.
Prompt Name / #: Thrillers #23Book: What You Are Looking For Is in the Library
Author: Michiko Aoyama
Date Read: 4/24
Pages: 304
Task: Read a book with a pronoun in the title
How it Fits: pronoun YOU
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Kill Me If You Can
Published: August 2011
Matthew Bannon, a poor art student living in New York City, finds a duffel bag filled with diamonds during a chaotic attack at Grand Central Station. Plans for a worry-free life with his stunning girlfriend Katherine fill his thoughts -- until he realizes that he is being hunted, and that whoever is after him won't stop until they have reclaimed the diamonds and exacted their revenge.
Trailing him is the Ghost, the world's greatest assassin, who has just pulled off his most high-profile hit: killing Walter Zelvas, a top member of the international Diamond Syndicate. There's only one small problem: the diamonds he was supposed to retrieve from Zelvas are missing. Now, the Ghost is on Bannon's trail -- but so is a rival assassin who would like nothing more than to make the Ghost disappear forever. From "America's #1 storyteller" (Forbes) comes a high-speed, high-stakes, winner-take-all thrill ride of adrenaline-fueled suspense.
Complete ONE of the following:
1. Read a book where something is stolen.
2. Read a book with an MPG of THRILLER.
3. Read a book where the title does NOT start with a letter in GHOST.
4. Read any James Patterson novel.
Prompt Name / #: Thrillers #24Book: Animal Farm
Author: George Orwell
Date Read: 4/25
Pages: 141
Task: Read a book where the title does NOT start with a letter in GHOST.
How it Fits: title starts with A, which is not a letter in GHOST
Hooked on Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Mask of Deception and Sacrifice (other topics)Forest of Scarlet (other topics)
A Matter of Honor (other topics)
A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them (other topics)
Animal Farm (other topics)
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Author Spotlight: James Patterson - Stand-Alone Novels
Individual, Self-Paced Challenge
January 1, 2025 - December 31, 2026
Calling all James Patterson fans...and those who would like to learn more about his books!
This super-sized, individual Author Spotlight Challenge focuses on James Patterson's stand-alone novels. You will complete tasks based on those novels. You do NOT have to read James Patterson novels to satisfy the tasks; however, there will be an option to do so for each prompt. There will be six skips along the way to help you if you get stuck.
NOTE: I am going in order of how these novels are listed by category on James Patterson's official website. They do not necessarily follow a true publication date order and there is some overlap between categories. Just go with the flow!
Each time you satisfy a task, make a post here IN YOUR OWN THREAD. Please use the following example for your Completion Post.
Prompt Name / #: {For example: Thrillers #1}
Book:
Author:
Date Read:
Pages:
Task:
How it Fits:
If you have any questions about this challenge, please post them in the Ask the Librarian: Q&A Thread.
Challenge Rules:
📘 Standard Rules Apply
📘 I will create an individual thread for you prior to the start date.
📘 Your first prompt will be posted on January 1, 2025.
📘 Books must be completed after the task has been posted. For example, if your task is posted on 1-15, you can't use a book you completed on 1-14.
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In order to use a SKIP, read any book that meets the Standard Book Qualifications for Hooked on Books. The link is in the Challenge Rules above.