Steeplechase

by James Patterson

Somewhere in time...a killer waits.
Malfunctioning rides caused multiple deaths at Steeplechase Park in 1907...and in 2017. Katie Silver is sure she was working there--in both centuries. Could she hold the key to the darkest of secrets? Two worlds collide to reveal the astonishing truth.
BookShots
LIGHTNING-FAST STORIES BY JAMES PATTERSON

Novels you can devour in a few hours
Impossible to stop reading
All original content from James Patterson

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook, Crime, Suspense, Short Stories

144 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 3, 2017

About the author

Official US Site
Official UK Site
JIMMY Patterson Books
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James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time and the creator of such unforgettable characters and series as Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride. He has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton, Dolly Parton, and Michael Crichton, as well as collaborated on #1 bestselling nonfiction, including The Idaho Four, Walk in My Combat Boots, and Filthy Rich. Patterson has told the story of his own life in the #1 bestselling autobiography James Patterson by James Patterson. He is the recipient of an Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Returning for another collaboration, James Patterson and Scott Slaven have created this historical BookShot that will keep the reader guessing as time switches between two distinct periods. Steeplechase Park draws large crowds to Coney Island, even as far back as 1907. With the most exciting and innovative rides, crowds rush to enjoy their time and take in the atmosphere. Katie Silver has helped design much of the layout, unheard of at that time, though her reputation precedes her. Flashing forward to 2017, Silver wakes from what must be a very strange dream, as she can vividly remember herself on the grounds of Steeplechase one hundred and ten years before. As Head of Security, Silver has a lot of responsibility to keep the crowds under control and the patrons safe. However, a series of ‘accidents’ over the past few weeks has Silver wondering if she will soon have a job. As the story alternates between both times, Silver finds herself in the middle of a plot to take control of Steeplechase Park and wrestle it away from its current owners. Gangsters and low-lifes have plans that not even Silver can stop. Confused about these dreams and their meanings, Katie Silver must stop something from happening in the past so that it does not ruin things for her 2017 self. Patterson and Slaven have their work cut out for them in this piece, as they try to sell the reader on this piece of historical fiction. Some will surely enjoy it for its mysterious meandering, but I could not get a firm grasp of the story or characters depicting it.

Patterson and Slaven have taken things in an interesting direction with this piece. While I may not be the story’s largest fan, that is not to say that it was horrible by any sense of the word. I enjoy stories that transcend a single time period, but I felt I may have missed some nuances that could have helped strengthen this piece for me. Katie Silver was certain the glue that held this story together, though my missing something surely kept me from being able to enjoy either incarnation of her or the larger place she played in the story. Her dual roles surely provide both a beacon and foreshadowing for what is to come. Complemented throughout by two sets of secondary characters, Patterson and Slaven have helped to create a distinct narrative that tells of this amusement park and some of the tragic happenings that befall it over a century apart. The story seems decent and the delivery is strong, but I feel as though I missed something in receiving it, though it is entirely possible that I simply did not pay close enough attention. I have another BookShot with this duo to read and can only hope that we’re all on the same page with that one, before I pass judgement too harshly.

Kudos, Messrs. Patterson and Slaven, for an interesting premise. I hope you find many fans who adore this, as it has potential.

Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/

A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

[Lackof_shelf_control · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hated everything about this one 🫤 This plot definitely took inspiration from the real life Luna Park Fire- as it correlates with one of the theories of what happened there. None of the characters did anything for me and there was way too much jumping around. In the beginning, it starts time jumping to different park eras, but then it all kind of confusingly melds together (which I guess is explained in the end, but not enjoyable so). Felt like a big waste of time. Luckily, it was a short book - otherwise I would have been mad 🫠

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Steeplechase was a quick read but it could have been much better. I couldn't take the story seriously. I'm just not a big fan of stories that go from the past to the future and back and forth.

[Erica Paré · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am usually a really big James Patterson fan but I did not care for this book :( When I have read other of his bookshots they have been a nice quick read with a good story. This one I just could not get into. It bounced back and forth between the past and the present but then wasnt really bouncing back and forth? I guess the ending and her being in a coma kind of helped piece the weirdness together. The story is about some crimes that happened at coney island back in the early 1900s and somehow Katie solves what happened while in a coma as she is dreaming. The back and forth were her dreams while in the coma if I understood it correctly.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did not like this one at all! To me, there really was no point to the book.

[John (Just bought an Oculus 2 VR, so less time to read these days!) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the ride but not what I was expecting

Not the best bookshot ever. It was confusing at times, but just kept enough of your interest to see it through to a very anti-climatic ending.

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man this is one twisted book. Back and forth between the past and future. Trying to solve a case. Crazy

[Andi · Rating 1 out of 5]

The amusement park angle hooked me, I'm a sucker for carny life stories, old amusement parks, the nostalgia, history, lifestyle. This was soulless, lack of any charm, poorly written and disjointed. I think I know where they were trying to go with this Bookshot but the journey was bumpy and the payoff a letdown. Katie was less than one dimensional and the nicknames, tho meant to be from 100 years ago, Africa and Pizza Face jarring and simple. The whole book was excruciatingly simple.

[James Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually found this book kind of jumpy. It was an interesting idea but there were too many characters too quickly with that much jumping around. I'm not a fan of this book but I do like JP's writing so I'm on to the next book.

[Fousilly · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a painful read. Definitely not recommended from me. Had it not been a bookshot it would have made it to my not finished list. Very disappointed in this one.

[Matt. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm one of the biggest James Patterson fans that you'll ever meet. This book was the worst book that I've ever read by James Patterson.

I'm so confused by the ending. Who has a theory on this book?

[Cathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Luckily this was a short story. Felt like our authors were lazy. This is a tale that takes place in two different times, ~100 years apart. As with many bookshots, the plot must quickly accelerate and then resolve. In this case I’m not really sure how it ended or in which time. This was just bad writing. I thought I might vomit if there was one more reference to a “heartbreaking smile.” Also a man in the early 20th century who is constantly checking his profane language in front of a woman would not have sex with said woman on the beach within a day of meeting her. Interesting concept but flimsy outline with a very predictable motive for the crime in question. Surprised Mr Patterson would associate his name with this.

[January · Rating 2 out of 5]

Steeplechase by James Patterson with Scott Slaven
Bookshots
86-page Kindle Ebook

Genre: Historical Thriller

Featuring: 1907, Coney Island, New York; Amusement Park, 2017, Tricenarian MC, Deaths, Malfunctions, Dreams, Investigation

Rating as a movie: R for violence

Songs for the soundtrack: "A Bird in a Gilded Cage" by Arthur J. Lamb and Harry Von Tilzer

My rating: ⭐️½🎢🎡🎠🎪

My thoughts: I don't get it. It was a lot of jumping around and the feeling that I missed something, but I didn't want to endure the story again to find out what it was. The mystery was solved but the time-jumping has me still lost.

Recommend to others: No. It didn't make a lot of sense and the plot felt incomplete.

[Vi MacDonald · Rating 1 out of 5]

OK this book was even worse than his previous book shot called nooner
It flip-flops between centuries within six pages basically every chapter. You never know really which century you're in while you're reading this story even the ending is extremely disappointing it drops off at chapter 26 with no ending takes you to the author bio and if you're smart you'll go over to the next page and find chapter 27 as an afterthought another ending
Makes me really think twice about buying bookshop books anymore although James Patterson is a top author one has to suspect that the co-authors are out of high school. Very amateurish writing

[Ed · Rating 2 out of 5]

2017 novella from authors James Patterson and Scott Slaven. Two parallel tales of Coney Island's Steeplechase Amusement Park in 1907 and 2017. Some of the same characters appear in both tales of danger to the park. Katie Silver, a ride designer in 1907 and head of security in 2017, flips back and forth in time in a novella that has not enough time to develop either of the potentially promising story lines.

Malfunctioning rides caused multiple deaths at Steeplechase Park in 1907...and in 2017. Katie Silver is sure she was working there - in both centuries. Could she hold the key to the darkest of secrets? Two worlds collide to reveal the astonishing truth.

[Georg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm normally a great fan of James Patterson's work, and i somehow enjoyed this book as well. But: i'm afraid i didn't get the Time-Travel component right... it just didn't add up for me. Why bring it in in the first place? This would have been a perfectly fine Short Story about a female attraction designer in the 1900s who witnessed the Steeplechase Fire while she was about to uncover the plans of the Park Owner?
Still a fan of James anyway, his books are always good for a quick, satisfying read.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story was very confusing as it kept jumping back and forth from 1907 to 2017. Katie Silver was in charge of security at Steeplechase Park in 2017 but there was a Katie Silver in 1907 who also worked in the park. In 1907, Katie met and fell for Jake Corrigan who was in security for the park. Too many accidents have occurred and they learn they are not accidents but deliberate sabotage. In 2017, Katie is accosted by a criminal and cries for Jake. She is then in 1907 again. Too confusing.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed how Steeplechase took me from 2017 back to 1907 and back to 2017 seamlessly. Katie Silver dreams of events that happened back in 1907 as if she was actually there. It's 2017, and rides at the amusement park are malfunctioning just like they did in 1907 and in her dreams. Why does she feel like she was there in 1907, and the man assigned to figure out the causes in 2017 is also in her dreams of 1907. What is happening, and when you learn, it was so worth it.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable story but I was very confused as to what was happening when. I guess Katie had premonitions in her dreams?? But the coolest part was looking up the coney island steeplechase ride and the parachute ride. I urge anyone curious to check out youtube. I found the steeplechase ride utterly amazing.

[Kristen Alexander · Rating 1 out of 5]

Regardless of what the cover says, this is not a James Patterson book. It is confusing, poorly written, grammatically incorrect at times, and just stupid. I'd say it was a waste of time to read it, but it's so short, it only took an hour or two. Fortunately, it was a library book, so I didn't waste money on this crap.

[Lydia Kass · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very very convoluted time travel story of a woman who is a security adviser to a Coney Island amusement park traveling back to the early 20th century as an architect of amusement rides and trying to find out who is sabotaging the rides.

[Voracious Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pleasant read

Story jumps back and forth between present day and 1907. Interesting story that sometimes gets confusing as to when it's taking place. My copy had some placement errors. The author bios were in between last 2 chapters making you think story had ended.

[Stacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting but was confused how it ended not sure how I missed the plot of story. Could have been a great book with a little more detail and clues to help figure out what was going on.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I missed some bigger picture here and only figured it out by reading a few other reviews. I enjoyed the setting of amusement/carnival in 1907 and 2017. The execution of jumping back and forth between characters and time changes was not executed the best.

[Sonja Briscoe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Confused and Confusing 😳

That was the strangest story ever! And I was paying close attention after I realized that the story was jumping back and forth. Not one of the better reads.....

[Nancy L. Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable!

This was short and sweet. This was a cute, funny story that I couldn't put down. Not your usual Patterson but highly recommend summer read.

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Action packed, exciting and breathlessly written! One of the Best of the Book Shots!!!! Tells so much in such a short read!! Good Job Scott Slaven More!!!!

[Gail P DeDona · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got confused with the time line but all in all it was a good read

[Pam · Rating 1 out of 5]

I Don't like the books that go from past to present and back again

[Lynn K Mooney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting and strange plot

It took me a while to figure out the cast of characters and their role in the plot. It was just strange.