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Mark Appleton Thrillers #1
Sweet Dreams
WHAT WOULD YOU DO? YOUR FAMILY IS THREATENED AND YOUR ONLY HOPE OF SAVING THEM IS TO KILL! MARK APPLETON FACES HIS WORST NIGHTMARE AS HE HUNTS A KILLER, BUT LITTLE DOES HE KNOW THAT HE IS THE ONE BEING HUNTED. KIRK WESTON IS A DETECTIVE WITH THE DETROIT POLICE DEPARTMENT. HIS LIFE, ALTHOUGH NOT GOING AS PLANNED FINDS HIMSELF INVESTIGATING A MYSTERIOUS GROUP KNOWN ONLY AS THE WJA. JUST WHEN HE IS ABOUT TO MAKE A BREAKTHROUGH ON THE CASE SOMETHING TERRIBLE GOES WRONG…HE FINDS EXACTLY WHO HE IS LOOKING FOR! “Patterson's Appleton never ceases to amaze the reader as every turn of the page presents a new twist. Through the first two-thirds of Sweet Dreams, we follow Mark Appleton on his quest for justice in the wake of a very personal crime. While Appleton seeks vengeance, we also meet Kirk Weston and his trusty sidekick, Geoff Martin -- three men who take the reader on a high-speed journey of suspense and intrigue.” “At a time when the world needs a real hero, Patterson delivers big with the WJA's Mark Appleton -- an unlikely hero for the 21st century.” -The Joe Show
423 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 30, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews
September 30, 2014
The author warns that this book is a cross-genre book, I was excited by that but when we did the cross over itself it was not that spectacular, but yes, this book is a bit of a genre mix of crime thriller and sci-fi.
What's the book about?
Mark Appleton is living the American Dream. Beautiful wife, loving daughter, and a high paying job in New York City. But when his family are killed in a accident he must reinvent himself. A year later in the midst of putting his life back together, Mark finds out that his family was killed and it was...No accident. Mark will stop at nothing to hunt down the men responsible for the death of his family and what he finds will change his life forever.
Kirk Weston is a Detroit detective. He hates his job, his ex-wife, and his life. He is hand selected to help the FBI on a high profile case and just when he thinks things could not get any worse...
They do.
My Review:
I liked this book but did not love it, don't feel it's the next big thing or anything like that, but readable and enjoyable. The book switches POV between various characters but predominately between Mark Appleton who has lost his wife and daughter in a horrific accident that he witnessed, and is determined to find who killed them. Then we have Kirk Weston, a Detective who is a bit of a miserable sod, called in to help on a huge FBI case when things go badly wrong for him. In fact things go badly wrong for both of them.
As characters I felt Mark was much better developed, I liked his character a lot, I saw the light and shade in him and felt the author did a good job on his character. As for Kirk, I could not "get" Kirk the same way and didn't like him at all, mind you, he is written as a man who is not the happy type. But I found myself leaning towards wanting to read Mark's story and skipping Kirk's (but I didn't).
Weird things start to happen to both of them on their quest for justice. Some things start to get very unrealistic but when you get to the end of the book a lot of that stuff makes more sense so it's wise to hold off judgement until the whole story comes together.
It's impossible to write a full review without spoilers as there are a lot of them as the book weaves it's way to the reveal towards the end. It didn't surprise me or make me excited however, I was like "oh right, that's what's going on" - the book shifts in dynamics a bit too, like it merges into another genre. Be interesting to see how the next book is written.
The book has lots of action going on, different story lines that eventually come together, a few surprises and it's an easy read. I didn't find this book to be spectacularly well written but it's okay, it's readable and sometimes that's all that matters. I think some readers won't like the cross genre shift in this book, I actually wanted it to be a bit more exciting than it was. But that's just me.
I did have a good shocked moment near the end when some identities were revealed, I was having one of those "ah-hah!" moments with it, I thought that was pretty good. Mind you, I had to get my head around how it fitted in a bit, got a tiny headache.
If you like a good thriller and don't mind a touch of hi-tech, sci-fi stuff thrown in you will no doubt like this book. 3 stars from me for Sweet Dreams. I am undecided on whether I would go on to read more in this series at this point. It just didn't excite me all that much.
I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
What's the book about?
Mark Appleton is living the American Dream. Beautiful wife, loving daughter, and a high paying job in New York City. But when his family are killed in a accident he must reinvent himself. A year later in the midst of putting his life back together, Mark finds out that his family was killed and it was...No accident. Mark will stop at nothing to hunt down the men responsible for the death of his family and what he finds will change his life forever.
Kirk Weston is a Detroit detective. He hates his job, his ex-wife, and his life. He is hand selected to help the FBI on a high profile case and just when he thinks things could not get any worse...
They do.
My Review:
I liked this book but did not love it, don't feel it's the next big thing or anything like that, but readable and enjoyable. The book switches POV between various characters but predominately between Mark Appleton who has lost his wife and daughter in a horrific accident that he witnessed, and is determined to find who killed them. Then we have Kirk Weston, a Detective who is a bit of a miserable sod, called in to help on a huge FBI case when things go badly wrong for him. In fact things go badly wrong for both of them.
As characters I felt Mark was much better developed, I liked his character a lot, I saw the light and shade in him and felt the author did a good job on his character. As for Kirk, I could not "get" Kirk the same way and didn't like him at all, mind you, he is written as a man who is not the happy type. But I found myself leaning towards wanting to read Mark's story and skipping Kirk's (but I didn't).
Weird things start to happen to both of them on their quest for justice. Some things start to get very unrealistic but when you get to the end of the book a lot of that stuff makes more sense so it's wise to hold off judgement until the whole story comes together.
It's impossible to write a full review without spoilers as there are a lot of them as the book weaves it's way to the reveal towards the end. It didn't surprise me or make me excited however, I was like "oh right, that's what's going on" - the book shifts in dynamics a bit too, like it merges into another genre. Be interesting to see how the next book is written.
The book has lots of action going on, different story lines that eventually come together, a few surprises and it's an easy read. I didn't find this book to be spectacularly well written but it's okay, it's readable and sometimes that's all that matters. I think some readers won't like the cross genre shift in this book, I actually wanted it to be a bit more exciting than it was. But that's just me.
I did have a good shocked moment near the end when some identities were revealed, I was having one of those "ah-hah!" moments with it, I thought that was pretty good. Mind you, I had to get my head around how it fitted in a bit, got a tiny headache.
If you like a good thriller and don't mind a touch of hi-tech, sci-fi stuff thrown in you will no doubt like this book. 3 stars from me for Sweet Dreams. I am undecided on whether I would go on to read more in this series at this point. It just didn't excite me all that much.
I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
April 20, 2010
I won this on good reads, and I loved it.
A Novel of suspense, Mark Appleton is the "Average Joe". Then one day when he takes his family to the supermarket his life takes a drastic turn. Soon he finds himself on the hunt for a killer, and finds himself to be the hunted.
Kirk Weston is a detective with Detroit PD. His life is not what he wants it to be. He finds himself searching for a group known as the WJA. Exactly what they are, he is soon to find out.
Mark & Kirks world will come together with the common thread, The WJA.
Suspense, thriller with a perfect ending, leaving me wanting more. I most certainly will be reading "Dream" also by Aaron Patterson.
A Novel of suspense, Mark Appleton is the "Average Joe". Then one day when he takes his family to the supermarket his life takes a drastic turn. Soon he finds himself on the hunt for a killer, and finds himself to be the hunted.
Kirk Weston is a detective with Detroit PD. His life is not what he wants it to be. He finds himself searching for a group known as the WJA. Exactly what they are, he is soon to find out.
Mark & Kirks world will come together with the common thread, The WJA.
Suspense, thriller with a perfect ending, leaving me wanting more. I most certainly will be reading "Dream" also by Aaron Patterson.
February 12, 2019
I wasn’t sure I was going to write a review about Sweet Dreams by Aaron Patterson until after I finished reading it, saw some of the mixed reviews and thought I needed to add my two cents by saying, “Hey man, it’s a fictional novel with lots of thrill, chills and surprises by some fiendish villains and loveable heroes that will keep you reading, and reading, and wanting more.”
See more at fundinmental
See more at fundinmental
November 30, 2014
Mark lost his family in a dreadful incident. When he finds that it wasn’t an accident he is desperate to find the man responsible. Kirk is a detective investigating a case with the FBI. He’s an unhappy man and things don’t get better for him! Their lives are about to become connected by the group WJA. (world Justice Association). They tell Mark that it wasn’t an accident. Strange things are happening- there is a sci fi aspect to the book.
This is a thriller and interesting, if a little hard to get into initially.
Many thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for a copy of this book.
This is a thriller and interesting, if a little hard to get into initially.
Many thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for a copy of this book.
August 24, 2014
I don't know what I just read, but holy hell!
Finished ~ Sweet Dreams (Mark Appleton 01) by Aaron Patterson
Completed 8/23/14
4 of 5 stars
423 page Kindle book
I received this book from NetGalley for my honest review.
In the description of this book at GoodReads, it says the following ~
"Warning: The WJA series is a cross genre series and may bend or break
many rules.If you are set in the traditional ways of storytelling this
may not be the series for you. Please use caution and only read if you
are of an open mind, and crave something off the map and mind-bending."
I'm here to tell you, that statement is COMPLETELY accurate. I've never read a book like this before, and just wow!
The book itself is follows Mark Appleton, a man who is trying to piece his life together after his wife and child were killed in what the police believe was an accident. Mark finds out otherwise and wants to find the people responsible.
The only negative about this book is that the first 60% of the book is just "OK", even bordering on boring. There's a little bit of action, but not a lot. It's almost like a VERY VERY long prologue, because after you hit 60%, holy shit, the book just takes off in a completely different direction and I STILL don't know exactly what it is that happened. If the first 60% was a 3 star book, the last 40% was a 10 star book. It's that much of a change!
I'm a big fan of action in my books. I read very little that doesn't have some kind of action in it. I love romantic suspense and some action adventure books, such as Matt Reilly. This book ends up delivering in spades, it just takes a while to get there. If you are patient enough to stick with half of the book, it's worth it at the end.
I would love to talk more about this book, but I'd start to ruin it. It's gotta be experienced not knowing anything about it. It's for fans of mystery, suspense, thriller, action and a few more things I don't want to mention because it'd give stuff away. Just give this book a try. I can't wait to try the next one!
Setting = B
Plot = A
Conflict = A+
Characters = A
Theme = A
Finished ~ Sweet Dreams (Mark Appleton 01) by Aaron Patterson
Completed 8/23/14
4 of 5 stars
423 page Kindle book
I received this book from NetGalley for my honest review.
In the description of this book at GoodReads, it says the following ~
"Warning: The WJA series is a cross genre series and may bend or break
many rules.If you are set in the traditional ways of storytelling this
may not be the series for you. Please use caution and only read if you
are of an open mind, and crave something off the map and mind-bending."
I'm here to tell you, that statement is COMPLETELY accurate. I've never read a book like this before, and just wow!
The book itself is follows Mark Appleton, a man who is trying to piece his life together after his wife and child were killed in what the police believe was an accident. Mark finds out otherwise and wants to find the people responsible.
The only negative about this book is that the first 60% of the book is just "OK", even bordering on boring. There's a little bit of action, but not a lot. It's almost like a VERY VERY long prologue, because after you hit 60%, holy shit, the book just takes off in a completely different direction and I STILL don't know exactly what it is that happened. If the first 60% was a 3 star book, the last 40% was a 10 star book. It's that much of a change!
I'm a big fan of action in my books. I read very little that doesn't have some kind of action in it. I love romantic suspense and some action adventure books, such as Matt Reilly. This book ends up delivering in spades, it just takes a while to get there. If you are patient enough to stick with half of the book, it's worth it at the end.
I would love to talk more about this book, but I'd start to ruin it. It's gotta be experienced not knowing anything about it. It's for fans of mystery, suspense, thriller, action and a few more things I don't want to mention because it'd give stuff away. Just give this book a try. I can't wait to try the next one!
Setting = B
Plot = A
Conflict = A+
Characters = A
Theme = A
June 20, 2015
Sweet Dreams - Review
Color me unimpressed. This book didn't keep my interest much at all. I managed to finish it but let's just say that I didn't enjoy the journey.
The story follows two different men, one a business man and one a police officer. A bombing in a market & a massacre at a prison (that kills only prisoners) manage to bring the two together, in a way, eventually. Whatever. I have to admit that by the time the truth behind everything was revealed, I wasn't that concerned with the truth.
I will admit, there was one point when I honestly went WTF?? It was completely out of the blue and totally different from everything the book seemed to be. But, I was already bored.
Recommended to:
Hmmmm... I don't really recommend this, but if you like crime stories with mysteries, give it a try.
Color me unimpressed. This book didn't keep my interest much at all. I managed to finish it but let's just say that I didn't enjoy the journey.
The story follows two different men, one a business man and one a police officer. A bombing in a market & a massacre at a prison (that kills only prisoners) manage to bring the two together, in a way, eventually. Whatever. I have to admit that by the time the truth behind everything was revealed, I wasn't that concerned with the truth.
I will admit, there was one point when I honestly went WTF?? It was completely out of the blue and totally different from everything the book seemed to be. But, I was already bored.
Recommended to:
Hmmmm... I don't really recommend this, but if you like crime stories with mysteries, give it a try.
May 22, 2016
This book might possibly appeal to readers who like authors who know nothing about technology, religions, foreign countries, firearms - but write about them all. It lacks character development, has poor grammar, plot holes, and apparently has no editing
IT IS APPALLING!
The plot is ludicrous, the character development cringe-worthy, the dialogue unrealistic, the technology implausible. This person can neither write, nor do research.
IT IS APPALLING!
The plot is ludicrous, the character development cringe-worthy, the dialogue unrealistic, the technology implausible. This person can neither write, nor do research.
December 20, 2014
I was disappointed because the first half of the book was exciting and intriguing and action-packed. But then the second half of the book became unbelievable and not trustworthy. Characters that had died came back to life? And then I never believed anything that I read anymore so it was not engaging. The moral of the story: Aaron Patterson is no James Patterson.
September 21, 2015
I liked the idea of this book, liked the action, the characters... Unfortunately, I didn't like the twist at the end. It's a good twist, but it threw me off the story, so the last 50 pages I just skimmed to catch sentences to see how things ended. "It's not you, it's me."
And yes, it would be a great movie.
And yes, it would be a great movie.
September 14, 2014
From the sublime to the ridiculous.
It started so well, but 'taxi' capsules, time travelling and resurrection. Beyond me!
It started so well, but 'taxi' capsules, time travelling and resurrection. Beyond me!
November 17, 2015
The plot was a total mess; nothing is ever really explained, some of the plot holes are gargantuan, and nobody really acts like a real person.
It starts with our "heroes" (the World Justice Agency) basically murderering some prison inmates for no reason. They literally poison 45 people WHO WERE ALREADY FACING JUSTICE. In PRISON. You know, the thing that Walter White did on a smaller scale just to show how far he had fallen? And this is supposed to be heroic!
Anyway, after some painful scenes of incredible tedium, Mark Appleton loses his wife and kid to a shopping centre being blown up. Now, he's left a note by some woman who works for the WJA some incredibly vague message.
Meanwhile, cop Kirk Weston is brought in to find out the cause of the deaths in the prison, and decides to interview the person who delivered the food, Gus. Now, unbeknown to us, Gus actually works for the WJA. Despite the fact that these people supposedly have amazing alibis which are foolproof, Gus tries running and nearly kills an innocent cop. Yeah, really justified.
Anyway, Kirk tries going to the WJA building and gets his face smashed in with a club, and he's left in a horribly cramped prison, suspended far above the ground. Now, while most normal people would call that a pretty heinous act, everybody seems amazed that the WJA were so nice to Kirk; even Kirk himself is n't even that bothered.
Anyway, a year passes, and something actually happens regarding Mark: he gets a DVD from the mysterious woman, showing the bombings of the shopping centre on tape, clearly showing the culprit. Now, the police won't help, because...uh...well, one man in the FBI works for the bombers. That somehow stops the entire government from doing anything.
Mark finds the guy who did it, the subtly named Pat Rotter, and makes him show the goons who did it. Now, he arrives at their cabin, holds them at gunpoint, basically just asks them who did it and never touches on their motives, and blows them all up with a bomb, while Pat is killed by some random other goon. Nice work. What's weird about this scene is that A) the three tits who set off the bomb don't even try and deny that they blew up this store, and that B) Mark takes everything they said with face value.
Kirk is released from the prison, and finds himself in the UAE. He stumbles across a town, and for some bizarre reason he thinks this random man is going to shoot him. What? Turns out he was just offering him water. By total chance, he finds a man named Geoff Martin who flies him back to the USA and becomes his partner in investigating the poison. Everybody seems to forget about him being imprisoned.
Mark finally meets up with the woman, who is called, no joke, Isis. Wonder if she's friends with Plo Koon? She shows him the WJA, and its amazing crew: some old fossil named Abel who is never mentioned again, the leader Solomon who has about ten lines, and two more goons named Big B and Jamison who are hardly worth mentioning. We then get the separate classes, and it sounds like something from a mediocre video game spawn screen: there's Avengers, a fighter whose entire family was killed, which is oddly specific and probably makes Mark the only one; Co-op class, which isn't a pair of agents who work together, no, it's someone proficient in stealth and biological weapons. No, I have no clue what the name has to do with anything.
Then there's the D-class. Because why not rip off the SCP wiki? Anyway, they're trained in explosives, which is contradicted later by there being a sniper Class-D. It makes no sense. Oh, and there's Sniper Class, which is somehow the ultimate class.
Oh, and by the way? Other than the aforementioned time the ratings are totally broken by having someone in the wrong class, these are never mentioned again.
More crap happens when investigating; he interviews a guy from the FBI called Jenkins, who is being blackmailed by the bombers. But they blackmail him into destroying files that would incriminate the WJA... which is the exact opposite of what they're trying to do. Seriously, their plan is to incriminate the WJA to the US government, and yet they stop this bloke from releasing a report that would do just that. A plot hole of the highest order.
Jenkins is found dead the next day, and another FBI agent called Goodwin turns up with his nameless partner to help. Don't worry, they never turn up after this.
Now for the most fucking insulting thing ever: Mark wakes up, and it turns out his portion of the story was all a dream.
I repeat: the "It was all a dream" cliche was played TOTALLY STRAIGHT.
This makes no sense, either, as Kirk's story is apparently real. So what was up with that scene in which a character goes from Mark's storyline to talk to Kirk? Is Kirk part of the dream or what?
And of course his wife and daughter are fine. Just when you thought there might be some emotional impact, eh? It turns out Mark dreams about the future, and if you're wanting this to ever be explained or even brought up again more than once, you're out of luck because the author clearly couldn't be arsed to.
Mark decides to hunt down the bombers-again- and finds them in the exact same place they were last time. Convenient. He then goes straight back to the WJA headquarters, and seeing that his wife and kid don't really have any impact on the plot at all, making it all a dream was really not needed. The story then zooms past the entire year of Mark getting to know the WJA. This is despite the fact his dream was actually fairly well paced for the most part.
Also, we get a POV from Isis in the dream; how does that work?
Anyway, it turns out Geoff was actually the guy behind the bombings, that he's working with the Russian Mafia, and that the investigation of the poisoning was stopped by his double agent within the FBI who previously worked for the WJA. He then captures Kirk. His goals are to stop the WJA because... yeah, I don't know either. If we had some kind of backstory in which the WJA stopped his plans or something I'd buy it.
That makes no sense for a number of reasons. Firstly, why did he tag along with Kirk? Nothing really happened that Kirk wouldn't have done anyway, and keep in mind that Kirk wanted to stop the WJA just as much as he did. Just leaving him to work on his own devices would have stopped the threat more effectively than this inane plan. They later give the excuse he was a hitman hired to kill Kirk, but why did he hand around with him for weeks before offing him? Why did Karjanski want him dead in the first place? If anything, he should have simply helped Kirk get evidence on WJA, not stopped him.
Secondly, how did he know who Kirk was and where he was so he could follow him in the first place? What, was he just hanging around the UAE and decides to randomly become friends with some guy who just so happened to be investigating the Prison Massacre? What?
How is it that, even though the bomb went off in Mark's future dream, the WJA still exist if the plan was to blame the WJA so everybody would go after them? Why doesn't he just work with the police to take down a group that, in all honesty, deserve to be taken down? Why was the FBI agent destroying files that would help incriminate the WJA, which is exactly what he wanted in the first place? What happened which caused the FBI agent to join Geoff's group in the first place? Who is this FBI agent, since he gets about two lines and is then never seen again? Why did he capture Kirk instead of straight up killing him? Why did he even want to capture him in the first place? Why did they kill Jenkins, who was doing exactly as asked? Why did they send Geoff as a hitman to kill Kirk, when Kirk was actually HELPING them by trying to bring down the WJA? Why did the WJA capture Kirk in a horrible prison for a year, when they seemingly have some kind of MIB-style memory wiper that they used on Mark? Why did they let Weston go in the first place?
See what I mean about plot holes? The author seems to have gotten his bombing conspiracy and his poison conspiracy mixed up, despite them being done by enemies.
Anyway, Geoff(Whose real name is suddenly revealed to be Tripp Maddock, because Geoff didn't sound fucking stupid) flees to Puerto Rico. The WJA somehow know Kirk has been kidnapped an hour after it happening, because why not? We get some random goon villain called General Karjanski introduced, who literally never appears or has a single line of dialogue, he's just sequel bait. They also say they will use non-lethal weapons on the guards, but they basically just give up on this straight away.
The four goons from WJA turn up in Puerto Rico, and find Kirk, and Mark's stupid wife and kid imprisoned there. There's a mediocre fight which basically has nobody die except for Geoff. The end.
We get a pointless Q and A as well; first the author answers a question about is tube device, which I didn't mention earlier because it was mentioned once and had no bearing on the plot. Mark jumps on one just before he wakes up, meaning it probably isn't even real. It's basically a rip off of those things from Futurama, just that it's somehow connected to every major city in the world underground. I shouldn't have to point out why this is STUPID. The logistics of such a device are impossible. How could you build a tunnel stretching across the entire world without anybody noticing?
Then, another question about Maria, a girl Mark went out with after K died. You know, the DREAM. And she doesn't appear after he wakes up, meaning she literally never talked to him or met him at all, or even had a line in reality.
He also smugly gloats about the, "It was all a dream" twist, saying it was only disliked because people "didn't see it coming". Mark could have taken off a mask and revealed himself to be Benjen Stark and started dancing, and it'd be "unexpected". Doesn't make it good twist.
It also portrays Mark and the WJA as more morally ambiguous, which fails because not once did anyone actually think they weren't basically the best people ever other than Goodwin and the baddies.
In fact, let's just look at everything they've done during the novel:
*Killed a single terrorist (but this might have been a dream. I'm not sure.)
* Killed 45 prisoners despite the fact the posed no threat to society in their current state. Ignoring debates on capital punishment, wouldn't it make far more sense to spend resources to go after people free and who could kill again?
* Were directly responsible for a bombing of a store that very nearly killed 200 people by provoking another group into attacking.
* Imprisoned an innocent police officer for a year in inhumane conditions.
* Caused a massive traffic accident that may have been fatal, while attempting to kill said innocent police officer.
* Get an innocent child and women kidnapped as a direct results of their actions.
In short, the only really positive thing they do is kill Geoff and free K and Sam, and even then that situation only happened due to their existence in the first place.
Characters:
Mark Appleton: Mark actually goes through a character arc. In the dream, at least. After he wakes up, he remains the same flat, uninteresting generic hero.
Kirk Weston: unlike Mark, Kirk has a distinct personality. Unfortunately, that personality consists solely of him being a complete dick to everybody. He's arrogant and self-righteous to the point where he's a racial slur away from being a Stephen King bully. He smiles constantly at Geoff's misfortune, seriously considers shooting somebody for talking to him a bit rudely, and then sticks a gun in somebody's face all while claiming he did nothing wrong.
His cynical outlook has no extra dimension to it. There is nothing that brings out the good side in him, nor any real reason for his dickishness.
Geoff Martin: If he's the main villain being the mole, why do the POV bits on him have him talking about writing a report that he knows isn't real?
K and Sam: If there was ever a bullshit way to bring characters back from the dead, this was it.
All of the "si-fi" elements reek of "Uh, wait, I need some kind of Deus Exs Machina here... BULLSHIT INVENTION AWAY!"
Honestly, this story could have had an ending like Bioshock Infinite and still wouldn't have meant shit, simply because it used the "It was all a dream" trope. It's so outdated and cheesy, and makes the vast majority of the book UTTERLY POINTLESS. Even when I was ten, I knew that "It was all a dream" was no way to end a story; and here it is, used in a published work.
Frankly, I have to say this: it's a damn shame. This book was actually on its way to a 2 or 3 star rating before it shat its pants and went, "It was all a dream!" This book could have been great, but it ruined everything with one of the worst twists I've seen in literature. It's never explained properly, it never really does anything except bring two goons back from the dead consequence free, and it ruins the pacing completely.
Worst of all, it makes me feel like I just wasted my time reading chapters that have no actual impact on the second half of the novel.
It starts with our "heroes" (the World Justice Agency) basically murderering some prison inmates for no reason. They literally poison 45 people WHO WERE ALREADY FACING JUSTICE. In PRISON. You know, the thing that Walter White did on a smaller scale just to show how far he had fallen? And this is supposed to be heroic!
Anyway, after some painful scenes of incredible tedium, Mark Appleton loses his wife and kid to a shopping centre being blown up. Now, he's left a note by some woman who works for the WJA some incredibly vague message.
Meanwhile, cop Kirk Weston is brought in to find out the cause of the deaths in the prison, and decides to interview the person who delivered the food, Gus. Now, unbeknown to us, Gus actually works for the WJA. Despite the fact that these people supposedly have amazing alibis which are foolproof, Gus tries running and nearly kills an innocent cop. Yeah, really justified.
Anyway, Kirk tries going to the WJA building and gets his face smashed in with a club, and he's left in a horribly cramped prison, suspended far above the ground. Now, while most normal people would call that a pretty heinous act, everybody seems amazed that the WJA were so nice to Kirk; even Kirk himself is n't even that bothered.
Anyway, a year passes, and something actually happens regarding Mark: he gets a DVD from the mysterious woman, showing the bombings of the shopping centre on tape, clearly showing the culprit. Now, the police won't help, because...uh...well, one man in the FBI works for the bombers. That somehow stops the entire government from doing anything.
Mark finds the guy who did it, the subtly named Pat Rotter, and makes him show the goons who did it. Now, he arrives at their cabin, holds them at gunpoint, basically just asks them who did it and never touches on their motives, and blows them all up with a bomb, while Pat is killed by some random other goon. Nice work. What's weird about this scene is that A) the three tits who set off the bomb don't even try and deny that they blew up this store, and that B) Mark takes everything they said with face value.
Kirk is released from the prison, and finds himself in the UAE. He stumbles across a town, and for some bizarre reason he thinks this random man is going to shoot him. What? Turns out he was just offering him water. By total chance, he finds a man named Geoff Martin who flies him back to the USA and becomes his partner in investigating the poison. Everybody seems to forget about him being imprisoned.
Mark finally meets up with the woman, who is called, no joke, Isis. Wonder if she's friends with Plo Koon? She shows him the WJA, and its amazing crew: some old fossil named Abel who is never mentioned again, the leader Solomon who has about ten lines, and two more goons named Big B and Jamison who are hardly worth mentioning. We then get the separate classes, and it sounds like something from a mediocre video game spawn screen: there's Avengers, a fighter whose entire family was killed, which is oddly specific and probably makes Mark the only one; Co-op class, which isn't a pair of agents who work together, no, it's someone proficient in stealth and biological weapons. No, I have no clue what the name has to do with anything.
Then there's the D-class. Because why not rip off the SCP wiki? Anyway, they're trained in explosives, which is contradicted later by there being a sniper Class-D. It makes no sense. Oh, and there's Sniper Class, which is somehow the ultimate class.
Oh, and by the way? Other than the aforementioned time the ratings are totally broken by having someone in the wrong class, these are never mentioned again.
More crap happens when investigating; he interviews a guy from the FBI called Jenkins, who is being blackmailed by the bombers. But they blackmail him into destroying files that would incriminate the WJA... which is the exact opposite of what they're trying to do. Seriously, their plan is to incriminate the WJA to the US government, and yet they stop this bloke from releasing a report that would do just that. A plot hole of the highest order.
Jenkins is found dead the next day, and another FBI agent called Goodwin turns up with his nameless partner to help. Don't worry, they never turn up after this.
Now for the most fucking insulting thing ever: Mark wakes up, and it turns out his portion of the story was all a dream.
I repeat: the "It was all a dream" cliche was played TOTALLY STRAIGHT.
This makes no sense, either, as Kirk's story is apparently real. So what was up with that scene in which a character goes from Mark's storyline to talk to Kirk? Is Kirk part of the dream or what?
And of course his wife and daughter are fine. Just when you thought there might be some emotional impact, eh? It turns out Mark dreams about the future, and if you're wanting this to ever be explained or even brought up again more than once, you're out of luck because the author clearly couldn't be arsed to.
Mark decides to hunt down the bombers-again- and finds them in the exact same place they were last time. Convenient. He then goes straight back to the WJA headquarters, and seeing that his wife and kid don't really have any impact on the plot at all, making it all a dream was really not needed. The story then zooms past the entire year of Mark getting to know the WJA. This is despite the fact his dream was actually fairly well paced for the most part.
Also, we get a POV from Isis in the dream; how does that work?
Anyway, it turns out Geoff was actually the guy behind the bombings, that he's working with the Russian Mafia, and that the investigation of the poisoning was stopped by his double agent within the FBI who previously worked for the WJA. He then captures Kirk. His goals are to stop the WJA because... yeah, I don't know either. If we had some kind of backstory in which the WJA stopped his plans or something I'd buy it.
That makes no sense for a number of reasons. Firstly, why did he tag along with Kirk? Nothing really happened that Kirk wouldn't have done anyway, and keep in mind that Kirk wanted to stop the WJA just as much as he did. Just leaving him to work on his own devices would have stopped the threat more effectively than this inane plan. They later give the excuse he was a hitman hired to kill Kirk, but why did he hand around with him for weeks before offing him? Why did Karjanski want him dead in the first place? If anything, he should have simply helped Kirk get evidence on WJA, not stopped him.
Secondly, how did he know who Kirk was and where he was so he could follow him in the first place? What, was he just hanging around the UAE and decides to randomly become friends with some guy who just so happened to be investigating the Prison Massacre? What?
How is it that, even though the bomb went off in Mark's future dream, the WJA still exist if the plan was to blame the WJA so everybody would go after them? Why doesn't he just work with the police to take down a group that, in all honesty, deserve to be taken down? Why was the FBI agent destroying files that would help incriminate the WJA, which is exactly what he wanted in the first place? What happened which caused the FBI agent to join Geoff's group in the first place? Who is this FBI agent, since he gets about two lines and is then never seen again? Why did he capture Kirk instead of straight up killing him? Why did he even want to capture him in the first place? Why did they kill Jenkins, who was doing exactly as asked? Why did they send Geoff as a hitman to kill Kirk, when Kirk was actually HELPING them by trying to bring down the WJA? Why did the WJA capture Kirk in a horrible prison for a year, when they seemingly have some kind of MIB-style memory wiper that they used on Mark? Why did they let Weston go in the first place?
See what I mean about plot holes? The author seems to have gotten his bombing conspiracy and his poison conspiracy mixed up, despite them being done by enemies.
Anyway, Geoff(Whose real name is suddenly revealed to be Tripp Maddock, because Geoff didn't sound fucking stupid) flees to Puerto Rico. The WJA somehow know Kirk has been kidnapped an hour after it happening, because why not? We get some random goon villain called General Karjanski introduced, who literally never appears or has a single line of dialogue, he's just sequel bait. They also say they will use non-lethal weapons on the guards, but they basically just give up on this straight away.
The four goons from WJA turn up in Puerto Rico, and find Kirk, and Mark's stupid wife and kid imprisoned there. There's a mediocre fight which basically has nobody die except for Geoff. The end.
We get a pointless Q and A as well; first the author answers a question about is tube device, which I didn't mention earlier because it was mentioned once and had no bearing on the plot. Mark jumps on one just before he wakes up, meaning it probably isn't even real. It's basically a rip off of those things from Futurama, just that it's somehow connected to every major city in the world underground. I shouldn't have to point out why this is STUPID. The logistics of such a device are impossible. How could you build a tunnel stretching across the entire world without anybody noticing?
Then, another question about Maria, a girl Mark went out with after K died. You know, the DREAM. And she doesn't appear after he wakes up, meaning she literally never talked to him or met him at all, or even had a line in reality.
He also smugly gloats about the, "It was all a dream" twist, saying it was only disliked because people "didn't see it coming". Mark could have taken off a mask and revealed himself to be Benjen Stark and started dancing, and it'd be "unexpected". Doesn't make it good twist.
It also portrays Mark and the WJA as more morally ambiguous, which fails because not once did anyone actually think they weren't basically the best people ever other than Goodwin and the baddies.
In fact, let's just look at everything they've done during the novel:
*Killed a single terrorist (but this might have been a dream. I'm not sure.)
* Killed 45 prisoners despite the fact the posed no threat to society in their current state. Ignoring debates on capital punishment, wouldn't it make far more sense to spend resources to go after people free and who could kill again?
* Were directly responsible for a bombing of a store that very nearly killed 200 people by provoking another group into attacking.
* Imprisoned an innocent police officer for a year in inhumane conditions.
* Caused a massive traffic accident that may have been fatal, while attempting to kill said innocent police officer.
* Get an innocent child and women kidnapped as a direct results of their actions.
In short, the only really positive thing they do is kill Geoff and free K and Sam, and even then that situation only happened due to their existence in the first place.
Characters:
Mark Appleton: Mark actually goes through a character arc. In the dream, at least. After he wakes up, he remains the same flat, uninteresting generic hero.
Kirk Weston: unlike Mark, Kirk has a distinct personality. Unfortunately, that personality consists solely of him being a complete dick to everybody. He's arrogant and self-righteous to the point where he's a racial slur away from being a Stephen King bully. He smiles constantly at Geoff's misfortune, seriously considers shooting somebody for talking to him a bit rudely, and then sticks a gun in somebody's face all while claiming he did nothing wrong.
His cynical outlook has no extra dimension to it. There is nothing that brings out the good side in him, nor any real reason for his dickishness.
Geoff Martin: If he's the main villain being the mole, why do the POV bits on him have him talking about writing a report that he knows isn't real?
K and Sam: If there was ever a bullshit way to bring characters back from the dead, this was it.
All of the "si-fi" elements reek of "Uh, wait, I need some kind of Deus Exs Machina here... BULLSHIT INVENTION AWAY!"
Honestly, this story could have had an ending like Bioshock Infinite and still wouldn't have meant shit, simply because it used the "It was all a dream" trope. It's so outdated and cheesy, and makes the vast majority of the book UTTERLY POINTLESS. Even when I was ten, I knew that "It was all a dream" was no way to end a story; and here it is, used in a published work.
Frankly, I have to say this: it's a damn shame. This book was actually on its way to a 2 or 3 star rating before it shat its pants and went, "It was all a dream!" This book could have been great, but it ruined everything with one of the worst twists I've seen in literature. It's never explained properly, it never really does anything except bring two goons back from the dead consequence free, and it ruins the pacing completely.
Worst of all, it makes me feel like I just wasted my time reading chapters that have no actual impact on the second half of the novel.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 11, 2018
Sweet Dreams by Aaron M. Patterson
This book took me forever to read. The first 60% of the book, I was all in. Five stars all in. I loved the characters and the plot intricacies, could not put it down. Then Patterson took an abrupt, obvious political turn and completely ruined my experience. From that point on, I had to force myself to finish. I read four other books in the meantime. It lost me completely and never came back.
This book took me forever to read. The first 60% of the book, I was all in. Five stars all in. I loved the characters and the plot intricacies, could not put it down. Then Patterson took an abrupt, obvious political turn and completely ruined my experience. From that point on, I had to force myself to finish. I read four other books in the meantime. It lost me completely and never came back.
March 11, 2019
Needs some more practice writing
The story was hard to follow. It jumped from one to another. Needed more. Seemed to be going one way and then something was stuck in their ....at times without resolution. Just too hard to follow! Thanks for trying......just not my cup of tea!!
The story was hard to follow. It jumped from one to another. Needed more. Seemed to be going one way and then something was stuck in their ....at times without resolution. Just too hard to follow! Thanks for trying......just not my cup of tea!!
April 17, 2018
I'm not a sci-fi fan but I do have an open mind. This book started out very good but when the chance of genre happened it all went south for me. I could not figure out who is who and what was going on any more. I also do not like the authors writing style.
September 6, 2020
Good thriller
Loved Mark 's personality throughout the book. But when he was going on his next assignment, for some reason the author mentioned nothing about his wife I and his daughter. Also loved the character of Kirk.
Loved Mark 's personality throughout the book. But when he was going on his next assignment, for some reason the author mentioned nothing about his wife I and his daughter. Also loved the character of Kirk.
October 23, 2025
Finished Sweet Dreams (A Mark Appleton Thriller) by Aaron Patterson. Appleton is a writer of crime thriller of which this is one. I liked the book jacket more than the book. The book reminds me of Vince Flynn’s character, Mitch Rapp. It was just OK.
January 3, 2019
Definitely a thriller
I couldn't put it down! And I still don't get what happened in part of it. Maybe book two will give me some answers?!
I couldn't put it down! And I still don't get what happened in part of it. Maybe book two will give me some answers?!
April 15, 2015
I am a senior in English IV doing my last book report in high school. The book I chose for this project is called Sweet Dreams by Aaron Patterson. This book has a total of 374 pages, and is published by Wesscoat Marketing. First published November 30th 2008. The cover and name had an interesting hook. I am all for looking at the front of different books and choosing which one looks the best by what is on the cover page. Sweet Dreams earned #1 Best seller in thriller, mystery thriller, hard-boiled thriller, and barnes and noble.
Mark Appleton is the main character of this book called Sweet Dreams. He is the WJA’s newest agent. Although he may be very unexpected, he fits WJA very well. He pretty much lives the “American Dream”. He has a gorgeous wife, caring and very big hearted daughter, and a very HIGH paying job in New York City. But Mark has to reinvent himself when his family is murdered. Mark crosses every path, obstacle, and situation to find the killer. He does not stop for anything or anyone. But he is very shocked on what he finds out that changes his life for forever. Aaron Patterson did a terrific job choosing Mark for the position because every time you turn the page to read there is more and more excitement and attention grabbers. A twist. Mark Appleton is not alone in this adventure of crime. He meets his new friend Kirk Weston and a guy named Geoff Martin with side kick abilities. .Kirk Weston is a Detroit agent. He does not like his job, nor his ex wife. He pretty much hates life. He is specially picked to help the FBI on the case to find Mark Appletons’ family killer,
Sweet dreams is a thriller based novel. It is a crime filled, suspense, type of genre. This novel was written and taken place in New York City, and is a 21st century novel. This novel is a violent, fast paced exciting type. Although I used the descriptive words “fast paced” Aaron does not leave out anything. He tells his story with eager, enthusiasm, and a lot of character with detail. He makes his audience who are reading the book actually feel like they are on this high profile case with Mark and Kirk. They are on the hunt to find the crazy, physco path to find the horrible person who murdered Marks family.
My final thoughts about Sweet dreams are that it is a very overwhelming yet thrilling novel.I loved this book because family means everything to me. If I had the tragic incident happen to me like losing them, like Mark did, I would want Kirk and Geoff by my side too. The guys came together on a bigger level than just a work case. They came together as friends, a family as one. I have learned from this book that not only when something that awful happens to one, you will always have someone on your side to help you get through it. I would have to admit though that Aaron does not tell his stories in traditional storytelling ways. He bends and breaks some rules. So take this into consideration when you chose to read this book, I would advise you to not read this book if you are not into the whole open minded, but plain style of writing. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes action packed details and also a tough heart for the tragic loss that Mark Appleton had to go through.
June 22, 2010
Mark Appleton…just an ordinary guy. Or is he? Not since PJ Lawton’s PI Winston Simon have I been so intrigued and in love with a character. The world needs people like Mark and “Sweet Dreams” has got him in spades.
A regular family man who loses the woman he needs more than air, his wife K, and their daughter Samantha in senseless bombing, which he witnessed and barely walked away from himself. Mark now lives a life filled with sadness, loneliness and deep, unabated heartache, trying to make some semblance of his life without his family.
Detective Kirk Weston Detroit PD finds himself smack-dab in the middle of a whole mess of situations all joined, but unknown to him: an apparent prison poisoning, his own kidnapping—which brings him in touch with a “reporter” who apparently seems to be his saving grace—and countless “colorful” people. Together, they—Kirk and Geoff the reporter—try to connect the dots in the strange goings-on and find camaraderie with one another throughout.
Add to all this a beautiful, mysterious and deadly woman who follows Mark around in a black Lexus leaving him various notes and little gifts in order to hopefully jog his memory. Weapons that have more than interesting ways of mutilating the human body—very futuristic…I think—and a few other nasty characters as well as a few of the best “spies” in the business and you have the makings of a top-notch, blow your mind, leave you cheering for the good guys and screaming for more book!
I can’t wait to read the next installment titled, “Dream On”. I’m willing to bet I’ll be on the edge of my seat the entire time just like I was with “Sweet Dreams”. Fantastic job Patterson. You made reading the most incredibly enjoyable experience I’ve had this week! Bravo!
Reviewed by Terri Ann Armstrong for Suspense Magazine, author of “Morning Menace”
www.suspensemagazine.com
A regular family man who loses the woman he needs more than air, his wife K, and their daughter Samantha in senseless bombing, which he witnessed and barely walked away from himself. Mark now lives a life filled with sadness, loneliness and deep, unabated heartache, trying to make some semblance of his life without his family.
Detective Kirk Weston Detroit PD finds himself smack-dab in the middle of a whole mess of situations all joined, but unknown to him: an apparent prison poisoning, his own kidnapping—which brings him in touch with a “reporter” who apparently seems to be his saving grace—and countless “colorful” people. Together, they—Kirk and Geoff the reporter—try to connect the dots in the strange goings-on and find camaraderie with one another throughout.
Add to all this a beautiful, mysterious and deadly woman who follows Mark around in a black Lexus leaving him various notes and little gifts in order to hopefully jog his memory. Weapons that have more than interesting ways of mutilating the human body—very futuristic…I think—and a few other nasty characters as well as a few of the best “spies” in the business and you have the makings of a top-notch, blow your mind, leave you cheering for the good guys and screaming for more book!
I can’t wait to read the next installment titled, “Dream On”. I’m willing to bet I’ll be on the edge of my seat the entire time just like I was with “Sweet Dreams”. Fantastic job Patterson. You made reading the most incredibly enjoyable experience I’ve had this week! Bravo!
Reviewed by Terri Ann Armstrong for Suspense Magazine, author of “Morning Menace”
www.suspensemagazine.com
November 5, 2013
Full review on my blog
Sweet Dreams by Aaron Patterson is a book I read earlier this year while on holiday visiting my parents abroad. It’s been a few months since I actually read it, but I do remember it making a strong impression on me.
The first book in the Mark Appleton Thriller series, follows Mark, a regular guy with a good job in the true American style, who loses his wife and kid in a senseless bombing that happens just the time they enter the supermarket. Mark is also injured, but he does escape his family’s fate. In a single freak moment Mark’s life literally crumbles to dust.
After about a year, when it seems that Mark is starting to pull his life together again, a company called WJA (The World Justice Association) contacts him with the news that his family’s death was no accident and turns his life upside down once again.
Kirk Watson, a Detroid PD detective, is smack in the middle of all this, without even realizing. He is dealing with several seemingly different issues, including a prison inmates poisoning which leads to their deaths, his own abduction and a series of threads all leading to the same WJA company that Mark is also dealing with. For all intents and purposes WJA is not the good company that Mark is lead to believe – afterall they did abduct Kirk and kept him hidden for literally one year.
The more I read, the more interesting the story became. It was a bit confusing though, at least until about the half of the book, however in a good way, especially if you like twists and turns that you simply don’t expect. Every time you think you have it all figured out, there is something else that puts a damper to your own beliefs – and keeps you on your toes at the same time.
Sweet Dreams by Aaron Patterson is a book I read earlier this year while on holiday visiting my parents abroad. It’s been a few months since I actually read it, but I do remember it making a strong impression on me.
The first book in the Mark Appleton Thriller series, follows Mark, a regular guy with a good job in the true American style, who loses his wife and kid in a senseless bombing that happens just the time they enter the supermarket. Mark is also injured, but he does escape his family’s fate. In a single freak moment Mark’s life literally crumbles to dust.
After about a year, when it seems that Mark is starting to pull his life together again, a company called WJA (The World Justice Association) contacts him with the news that his family’s death was no accident and turns his life upside down once again.
Kirk Watson, a Detroid PD detective, is smack in the middle of all this, without even realizing. He is dealing with several seemingly different issues, including a prison inmates poisoning which leads to their deaths, his own abduction and a series of threads all leading to the same WJA company that Mark is also dealing with. For all intents and purposes WJA is not the good company that Mark is lead to believe – afterall they did abduct Kirk and kept him hidden for literally one year.
The more I read, the more interesting the story became. It was a bit confusing though, at least until about the half of the book, however in a good way, especially if you like twists and turns that you simply don’t expect. Every time you think you have it all figured out, there is something else that puts a damper to your own beliefs – and keeps you on your toes at the same time.
June 14, 2016
I started this book with an open mind having read that it was cross-genre and not a run of the mill work of fiction. The opening scene really grabbed my attention but what grabbed it more was the style of writing; Seriously? my 10 year old son could have written this book... Allow me to provide some examples:
"They met at City Baptist one Sunday, which is where Mark was going every Sunday"
"would be home soon and he could almost see K and thought about the smile. He knew he would see it tonight and might even get her to flash it at him more then once"
"Picking her up and hugging her, he threw his arms around her waist "
"Food was everywhere, and trays were still sitting on the tables, some overturned on the floor spilling gravy and corn in a splash on the cold concrete floor."
The sentences are breaking one of the basic rules of writing! Repeatedly using the same word in a single sentence. I have also seen incorrect use of there their and they're! and this is all in just the first two chapters!!
The main character, Mark, initially appears very methodical and hints that he is a man without much interest in life outside of work. Of course as we are told in the blurb, the man has lost his wife and child so it's understandable that his convivial manner may have diminished but I found the rapid jump from present to past, a little hard to connect with. The introduction of the character of Kirk, was also a little confusing as if the chapters were in the wrong order. I'm going to persevere for as long as I am able to contend with the poor writing. I will edit my review accordingly!
Edit: I was unable to read much further. I couldn't handle the appalling writing any longer. Having read some other reviews I am concerned by those that gave it a rating higher than one star. What are these folk reading?!
"They met at City Baptist one Sunday, which is where Mark was going every Sunday"
"would be home soon and he could almost see K and thought about the smile. He knew he would see it tonight and might even get her to flash it at him more then once"
"Picking her up and hugging her, he threw his arms around her waist "
"Food was everywhere, and trays were still sitting on the tables, some overturned on the floor spilling gravy and corn in a splash on the cold concrete floor."
The sentences are breaking one of the basic rules of writing! Repeatedly using the same word in a single sentence. I have also seen incorrect use of there their and they're! and this is all in just the first two chapters!!
The main character, Mark, initially appears very methodical and hints that he is a man without much interest in life outside of work. Of course as we are told in the blurb, the man has lost his wife and child so it's understandable that his convivial manner may have diminished but I found the rapid jump from present to past, a little hard to connect with. The introduction of the character of Kirk, was also a little confusing as if the chapters were in the wrong order. I'm going to persevere for as long as I am able to contend with the poor writing. I will edit my review accordingly!
Edit: I was unable to read much further. I couldn't handle the appalling writing any longer. Having read some other reviews I am concerned by those that gave it a rating higher than one star. What are these folk reading?!
February 11, 2017
From the description I thought that this book would be engaging and entertaining. It had some good ideas within it, such as the entire correctional facility that was killed off at the beginning of the book. However, instead of developing the plot and characters the author seemed to just throw anything he felt like into the chapters. It didn't seem like any of his ideas were thought through and when it didn't work out he just made it out to be a dream. I did make it through the entire book hoping that it would get better, unfortunately it did not. There were also several editing errors, which leads me to believe that he didn't read it through again after writing it. I don't like to leave negative reviews but with the tight schedules of the world today it is only fair to let people know what they are getting themselves into.
April 15, 2015
(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)
Mark Appleton is living the American Dream. Beautiful wife, loving daughter, and a high paying job in New York City. But when his family are killed in a accident he must reinvent himself. A year later in the midst of putting his life back together, Mark finds out that his family was killed and it was...No accident. Mark will stop at nothing to hunt down the men responsible for the death of his family and what he finds will change his life forever.
Kirk Weston is a Detroit detective. He hates his job, his ex-wife, and his life. He is hand selected to help the FBI on a high profile case and just when he thinks things could not get any worse...
They do.
Have to say...this was not my story. It sounded great. I thought it would be a great read...
I think the author just tried to get a little bit clever in trying to cross-genre - and missed the mark. There were some cool action sequences throughout the story but the plot was just too much for me.
Paul
ARH
Mark Appleton is living the American Dream. Beautiful wife, loving daughter, and a high paying job in New York City. But when his family are killed in a accident he must reinvent himself. A year later in the midst of putting his life back together, Mark finds out that his family was killed and it was...No accident. Mark will stop at nothing to hunt down the men responsible for the death of his family and what he finds will change his life forever.
Kirk Weston is a Detroit detective. He hates his job, his ex-wife, and his life. He is hand selected to help the FBI on a high profile case and just when he thinks things could not get any worse...
They do.
Have to say...this was not my story. It sounded great. I thought it would be a great read...
I think the author just tried to get a little bit clever in trying to cross-genre - and missed the mark. There were some cool action sequences throughout the story but the plot was just too much for me.
Paul
ARH
January 10, 2011
This was an excellent action packed book. Ordinary Mark Appleton sees his wife and child get blown up in a bombing of a grocery store and finds out that it was no accident. The World Justice Association (WJA) contacts Mark informing him of this fact. He then finds out he was brought up to be this assassin.
Kirk Weston, Detroit cop is investigating a prison crime where all of the inmates were killed. It seems that the perpetrators were the WJA. While investigating he gets kidnapped by the association and kept for a year then they just let him go. He meets a reporter Geoff and continues to investigate the WJA.
Then everything changes and the action begins. This is a real page turner. I enjoyed the book. Found it to not be realistic at times but overall good read.
Kirk Weston, Detroit cop is investigating a prison crime where all of the inmates were killed. It seems that the perpetrators were the WJA. While investigating he gets kidnapped by the association and kept for a year then they just let him go. He meets a reporter Geoff and continues to investigate the WJA.
Then everything changes and the action begins. This is a real page turner. I enjoyed the book. Found it to not be realistic at times but overall good read.
March 1, 2011
Wow, what a great book. I was enjoying the story, thinking to myself that it was a good espionage novel when bam, right out of no where, a twist. A twist worthy of a soap opera, never saw it coming at all. The writing is great, definitely keeps the reader intrigued and wanting to turn the pages. Although the setting is the current time there is new technology introduced in such a way that one wonders if it could really be in the development stage on someone's experimental computer drawings somewhere in the world where money is no object. Both Mark and Dirk's characters are developed to the point of believability and definitely left me anxious to continue on with the second book in the series. Way to go Aaron!
August 12, 2012
Aaron Patterson has created a fun story in "Sweet Dreams", the first in the Mark Appleton series. The main story line does not reveal itself until well into the book, which kept me wondering "where is this guy going with this?" as I read. The action and suspense kept the story moving along at a good pace, and the twists and mysteries kept me engaged. The plot struck my imagination, but didn't go too cerebral or too crazy (although there is a subtle flaw in the plot...). It is a fun and exciting novel, that kept me entertained through out the book. Definitely a good casual read for the price. You have to ignore the grammar and formatting issues, as there are many.
November 19, 2014
Sweet Dreams
By Aaron Patterson
The book is a mixture of crime thriller and Sci-Fi. I am still debating how well this worked.
Mark Appleton is the central of the book. His family was killed a year ago, and he is hunting down the men responsible for their death. The character is well developed, however the same can not be said for any supporting characters.
While the story starts out reasonably, strange things start occurring, that just make the whole book weird. The end does pull some, not all of it together.
A good triller for those who like sci-fiction. It was too complicated for me though.
By Aaron Patterson
The book is a mixture of crime thriller and Sci-Fi. I am still debating how well this worked.
Mark Appleton is the central of the book. His family was killed a year ago, and he is hunting down the men responsible for their death. The character is well developed, however the same can not be said for any supporting characters.
While the story starts out reasonably, strange things start occurring, that just make the whole book weird. The end does pull some, not all of it together.
A good triller for those who like sci-fiction. It was too complicated for me though.
December 17, 2010
Mark Appleton is an ordinary guy. A regular family man who loses the woman he loves more than air. His wife K and their daughter Samantha are killed in a senseless bombing which he witnessed and barely survived himself. He soon finds himself on the hunt for the killer. Kirk Weston is a Det whose life is not what he wants it to be. He finds himself searching for a group known as the WJA Mark and Kirks worlds come together with a common thread. This is a suspense thiller left me waiting for more. Can,t wait to read Dream.
September 16, 2014
OMG, WOW, what a read. This is one heck of a thrill ride from start to finish. My only problem was I couldn't finish it in one night. Mark is one great hero. His life is so perfect until tragic event kills his wife and daughter. Or did it? In his search for the terrorists he discovers his past.
At the same time police Det. Kirk Weston is searching for the people responsible for the deaths of dozens of prison convicts. Two different paths that will cross at the end.
I am going to read this book again. It's that good..
At the same time police Det. Kirk Weston is searching for the people responsible for the deaths of dozens of prison convicts. Two different paths that will cross at the end.
I am going to read this book again. It's that good..
February 6, 2015
I was enjoying this book but then the big twist happened and half of what I had just read was a dream. WTF? This ruined the book for me as the main character could change his future as he had already dreamed what was going to happen. Which he does.
The ending of this was just so rushed and confusing that it took away from the book and the introduction of new characters near the end was only done to continue the story in another book.
This is just a badly constructed novel and jumped about too much. I dislike books like this.
The ending of this was just so rushed and confusing that it took away from the book and the introduction of new characters near the end was only done to continue the story in another book.
This is just a badly constructed novel and jumped about too much. I dislike books like this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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