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The Spire
Both a razor-sharp thriller and a poignant love story, this twisting tale of psychological suspense is Patterson’s most compelling novel in years
Mark Darrow grew up in a small Ohio town with no real advantages beyond his intelligence and athletic ability. But thanks to the intervention of Lionel Farr—a professor at Caldwell, the local college—Darrow became an excellent student and, later, a superb trial lawyer. Now Farr asks his still-youthful protégé for a life-altering favor. An embezzlement scandal has threatened Caldwell’s very existence—would Darrow consider becoming its new president?
Darrow accepts, but returning to his alma mater opens old wounds. Sixteen years ago, on the night of his greatest triumph as Caldwell’s star quarterback, he discovered the body of a black female student named Angela Hall at the base of the Spire, the bell tower that dominates the leafy campus. His best friend, Steve Tillman, was charged with Angela’s murder and ultimately sent to prison for life. But now, even as Darrow begins the daunting task of leading Caldwell, he discovers that the case against his friend left crucial questions unanswered. Despite his new obligations—and his deepening attachment to Farr’s beautiful though troubled daughter—Darrow begins his own inquiry into the murder. Soon he becomes convinced that Angela’s killer is still at large, but only when another mysterious death occurs does he understand that his own life is at risk.
Mark Darrow grew up in a small Ohio town with no real advantages beyond his intelligence and athletic ability. But thanks to the intervention of Lionel Farr—a professor at Caldwell, the local college—Darrow became an excellent student and, later, a superb trial lawyer. Now Farr asks his still-youthful protégé for a life-altering favor. An embezzlement scandal has threatened Caldwell’s very existence—would Darrow consider becoming its new president?
Darrow accepts, but returning to his alma mater opens old wounds. Sixteen years ago, on the night of his greatest triumph as Caldwell’s star quarterback, he discovered the body of a black female student named Angela Hall at the base of the Spire, the bell tower that dominates the leafy campus. His best friend, Steve Tillman, was charged with Angela’s murder and ultimately sent to prison for life. But now, even as Darrow begins the daunting task of leading Caldwell, he discovers that the case against his friend left crucial questions unanswered. Despite his new obligations—and his deepening attachment to Farr’s beautiful though troubled daughter—Darrow begins his own inquiry into the murder. Soon he becomes convinced that Angela’s killer is still at large, but only when another mysterious death occurs does he understand that his own life is at risk.
371 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2009
136 people are currently reading
1239 people want to read
About the author
Richard North Patterson
105 books675 followersRichard North Patterson is the author of fourteen previous bestselling and critically acclaimed novels. Formerly a trial lawyer, Patterson served as the SEC’s liaison to the Watergate special prosecutor and has served on the boards of several Washington advocacy groups dealing with gun violence, political reform, and women’s rights. He lives in San Francisco and on Martha’s Vineyard.
Macmillan.com Author Profile
Awards
Edgar Award, 1980, Best First Novel for The Lasko Tangent
Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, International Award, 1995 for Degree of Guilt
http://us.macmillan.com/author/richar...
Macmillan.com Author Profile
Awards
Edgar Award, 1980, Best First Novel for The Lasko Tangent
Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, International Award, 1995 for Degree of Guilt
http://us.macmillan.com/author/richar...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 307 reviews
November 11, 2011
An okay book. It has the ingredients of a suspense-thriller novel that I really like: slow unfolding of the identity of the killer, tightly interwoven lives of characters that appear like normal people and the use of flashback at the beginning of the novel. Then while you are done or when you are reading the surprise denouement towards the end of the novel, you have the strong urge to read that flashback again to find out how Patterson was able to get away with the story.
The Spire is filled with well-drawn characters, both in the past (presented as flashback) and the present, who keep the story moving and presents enough suspects for the reader to be constantly questioning what might have happened and who is really behind it. Mark Darrow is the main protagonist. Already a lawyer, he goes back to his alma mater, Caldwell College, to save it from bankruptcy. It is also during this comeback that he accidentally unearths evidences behind the killing of a black student at the bottom of the spire that stands in the middle of the school. Those evidences will prove that his friend, who has been serving a life sentence, is innocent. To make matters even more difficult for Darrow, he finds himself falling for Taylor, the daughter of Lionel Farr, who helped him by giving him breaks as a student and in getting a law education. Taylor was only seven years old when Darrow left Caldwell College the first time. Now at age 28, Taylor is a desirable and interesting woman to whom he is instantly drawn. What makes the relationship so compelling is the fact that Taylor has been haunted by nightmares from her mother’s death, which took place shortly after the Hall murder, and she has subconsciously fought what is at the heart of these night terrors. I’ll not tell you the rest of the story because the revelation of the identity of the killer towards the end of the novel is almost unbelievable but if you go back and read the flashback, you will see that everything ties up brilliantly.
This is my first Richard North Patterson but I will definitely be reading more of his works. Definitely.
The Spire is filled with well-drawn characters, both in the past (presented as flashback) and the present, who keep the story moving and presents enough suspects for the reader to be constantly questioning what might have happened and who is really behind it. Mark Darrow is the main protagonist. Already a lawyer, he goes back to his alma mater, Caldwell College, to save it from bankruptcy. It is also during this comeback that he accidentally unearths evidences behind the killing of a black student at the bottom of the spire that stands in the middle of the school. Those evidences will prove that his friend, who has been serving a life sentence, is innocent. To make matters even more difficult for Darrow, he finds himself falling for Taylor, the daughter of Lionel Farr, who helped him by giving him breaks as a student and in getting a law education. Taylor was only seven years old when Darrow left Caldwell College the first time. Now at age 28, Taylor is a desirable and interesting woman to whom he is instantly drawn. What makes the relationship so compelling is the fact that Taylor has been haunted by nightmares from her mother’s death, which took place shortly after the Hall murder, and she has subconsciously fought what is at the heart of these night terrors. I’ll not tell you the rest of the story because the revelation of the identity of the killer towards the end of the novel is almost unbelievable but if you go back and read the flashback, you will see that everything ties up brilliantly.
This is my first Richard North Patterson but I will definitely be reading more of his works. Definitely.
May 12, 2012
I really wanted to like this book. The hero, Mark Darrow, is brought back to his old Alma Mater to become president of the college and steer them through some turbulent scandal. An old scandal, involving the murder of an African American women winds its way BACK into Darrow's life. Darrow begins to suspect that his friend was wrongly convicted of her murder and begins investigating.
While the idea was pretty cool, even before I began the book I realized who the bad guy was going to be. Oh, the author attempted to throw out a HUGE red herring early on and emphasize it, and failed to provide any clues that the bad guy was who I thought he was.. untl the very end. What a shock! NOT AT ALL.. the bad guy is indeed who I thought it was and it seems that the author's best efforts to throw the reader off track failed, at least for me.
Patterson is usually pretty good. The writing itself is quite well done. the imagery, and the characters are interesting. The college level adminstration problems are real enough. Sadly, the plotting just failed to engage me and I suffered through, waiting for the revelation I saw from the beginning.
If you want to read some decent Patteson, I recommend, "The Exile."
While the idea was pretty cool, even before I began the book I realized who the bad guy was going to be. Oh, the author attempted to throw out a HUGE red herring early on and emphasize it, and failed to provide any clues that the bad guy was who I thought he was.. untl the very end. What a shock! NOT AT ALL.. the bad guy is indeed who I thought it was and it seems that the author's best efforts to throw the reader off track failed, at least for me.
Patterson is usually pretty good. The writing itself is quite well done. the imagery, and the characters are interesting. The college level adminstration problems are real enough. Sadly, the plotting just failed to engage me and I suffered through, waiting for the revelation I saw from the beginning.
If you want to read some decent Patteson, I recommend, "The Exile."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 22, 2011
Mark Darrow is a gifted high school athlete from a dysfunctional family is a small Ohio town, but he doesn't appear to have many prospects after high school until he is befriended by Lionel Farr, a professor from the small local college. With Farr's assistance, Mark gets his grades up and wins a scholarship to the college. There he becomes a star athlete and gets a great education that will prepare him to become a brilliant--and ultimately rich--attorney. The picture is marred only the by brutal murder of a beautiful black coed who is left dead by the towering spire that is the college's landmark just before Mark graduates.
One of Mark's best friends is convicted of the murder and sentenced to life in prison. Mark leaves Ohio for the bright lights of the big city and loses touch with his old friend. Sixteen years later, the college is in huge trouble because the president has apparently embezzled a large sum of money.
Encouraged by his old mentor, Lionel, Mark agrees to return as president of the college and clean up the mess. But once back in Ohio as a mature man and experienced attorney he begins to question some of the assumptions and evidence that sent his old friend to jail years ago. Mark begins digging into the school's financial mess and the old murder case with equal vigor, and before long he has created a boatload of enemies and perhaps placed himself in mortal danger.
This is a pretty good book, although most readers will see the "shocking" conclusion coming from miles away--or more likely from about halfway through the book. But I measure a book like this by the standards that Patterson himself set in some of his earlier books, which were great psychological suspense novels. "The Spire" isn't quite up to that level. With many of Patterson's earlier books, I literally could not go to sleep until I finished them. This one I was able to read leisurely over two or three days; it wasn't compelling enough to make me lose a good night's sleep. From a lot of other writers, this would be a really good effort, but Richard North Patterson has set his own personal bar so high that this time he slips right under it by a whisker, rather than sailing over the top.
One of Mark's best friends is convicted of the murder and sentenced to life in prison. Mark leaves Ohio for the bright lights of the big city and loses touch with his old friend. Sixteen years later, the college is in huge trouble because the president has apparently embezzled a large sum of money.
Encouraged by his old mentor, Lionel, Mark agrees to return as president of the college and clean up the mess. But once back in Ohio as a mature man and experienced attorney he begins to question some of the assumptions and evidence that sent his old friend to jail years ago. Mark begins digging into the school's financial mess and the old murder case with equal vigor, and before long he has created a boatload of enemies and perhaps placed himself in mortal danger.
This is a pretty good book, although most readers will see the "shocking" conclusion coming from miles away--or more likely from about halfway through the book. But I measure a book like this by the standards that Patterson himself set in some of his earlier books, which were great psychological suspense novels. "The Spire" isn't quite up to that level. With many of Patterson's earlier books, I literally could not go to sleep until I finished them. This one I was able to read leisurely over two or three days; it wasn't compelling enough to make me lose a good night's sleep. From a lot of other writers, this would be a really good effort, but Richard North Patterson has set his own personal bar so high that this time he slips right under it by a whisker, rather than sailing over the top.
June 18, 2013
Interesting concept with likable characters who unfortunately became way too loquacious for me. The author's focus on character development did nothing to drive the plot and the ending could be seen for miles around. Tighter editing, the deletion of all sentences that start with the word "Maybe" and 50 pages shorter in length would have helped. Other than that, it's was OK! ........Ed
October 30, 2013
good read, I like the characters, and the story is good....a bit of a twist, although I kind of had a feeling for quite some time about the end result, just didn't quite know why/how until the end.
December 10, 2019
Janie and I listened to this as an audio book. Good rags to riches story describing the ascent of a young athelete Mark Darrow who is taken under the wing of an inspirational college professor who makes it possible for Mark to attend a small private college and play football with a full scholarship. When the murder of a coed, apparently by a close friend, shocks the campus and depresses alumni contributions for years to come, our hero has the chance to save the day by returning to campus 15 years later as the new president. He falls in love with his patron’s daughter, solves the mystery of embezzlement, apparently by the former president, from the college endowment, and gets his friend out of jail by revealing a surprising killer. Another fast paced and interesting RNP novel. Well worth reading.
October 15, 2025
I enjoyed the premise and the characters.
Read
September 28, 2009The Spire, by Richard North Patterson, A-minus, Narrated by Holter Graham, produced by Macmillan Audio, downloaded from audible.com.
Mark Darrow is just finishing highschool. He has a blazing football record but not such good grades. One night after a game, a professor from the local college, Caldwell, comes up to him. The professor says he sees promise in Mark and if he would work hard at getting his grades up, he can get him a scholarship. Mark agrees if he will also help his best friend, Steve Tillman. The professor, Lionel Farr, agrees reluctantly to do that, and both boys get into college. Mark does so well that he is able to get into Yale law school. Just before the end of the school year, however, after a fraternity party, a Black student, Angela Hall, is found strangled at the bottom of the bell tower, known as the spire. Mark finds her body. His best friend, Steve, is arrested and convicted of the crime and faces life without parole. Mark goes away to law school with no intention of ever coming back. But then, ten years after he has finished law school and established a very successful career as a trial lawyer, his professor mentor turns up. He tells Mark that the current president of the college seems to have embezzled a million dollars from the funds of the school. He asks Mark to come back as president of the college. Mark is reluctant and doesn’t feel he has the experience, but the professor says he will remain as Provost and they can work together. So Mark returns and takes on the duties of college president. But his return brings up for him again the murder which happened more than ten years ago, and his underlying feeling that his friend, Steve, was not guilty. He begins investigating, despite the fact that no one wants him to investigate, and comes up with some very surprising and horrifying conclusions. This is an excellent book, although I did figure out the murderer before the end. We are enthralled in the ongoing events, and Holter Graham is the perfect narrator for the book.
Mark Darrow is just finishing highschool. He has a blazing football record but not such good grades. One night after a game, a professor from the local college, Caldwell, comes up to him. The professor says he sees promise in Mark and if he would work hard at getting his grades up, he can get him a scholarship. Mark agrees if he will also help his best friend, Steve Tillman. The professor, Lionel Farr, agrees reluctantly to do that, and both boys get into college. Mark does so well that he is able to get into Yale law school. Just before the end of the school year, however, after a fraternity party, a Black student, Angela Hall, is found strangled at the bottom of the bell tower, known as the spire. Mark finds her body. His best friend, Steve, is arrested and convicted of the crime and faces life without parole. Mark goes away to law school with no intention of ever coming back. But then, ten years after he has finished law school and established a very successful career as a trial lawyer, his professor mentor turns up. He tells Mark that the current president of the college seems to have embezzled a million dollars from the funds of the school. He asks Mark to come back as president of the college. Mark is reluctant and doesn’t feel he has the experience, but the professor says he will remain as Provost and they can work together. So Mark returns and takes on the duties of college president. But his return brings up for him again the murder which happened more than ten years ago, and his underlying feeling that his friend, Steve, was not guilty. He begins investigating, despite the fact that no one wants him to investigate, and comes up with some very surprising and horrifying conclusions. This is an excellent book, although I did figure out the murderer before the end. We are enthralled in the ongoing events, and Holter Graham is the perfect narrator for the book.
July 11, 2016
I consider RNP one of the masters of the character-driven thriller. Here, he gets away from the politics of his last few books and takes us to a small college campus (a particularly compelling venue for me). Mark Darrow is being called back to the place where he found himself, Caldwell College. The current president is caught up in an embezzlement scandal, and Darrow, now a corporate lawyer, is being asked to take his place.
It’s not exactly a happy reunion. Darrow has had his share of personal tragedy, and returning to campus brings back the memories of an awful murder that his best friend was convicted of. He is supposed to be devoting his time to pulling the college out of its doldrums, but instead he can’t stop himself from trying to prove his friend’s innocence. And along the way, well, he just happens to fall in love with his mentor’s daughter.
I like how RNP gives every character a secret. No one is black and white, even the most minor character. The story does turn out to be a little predictable… I realized who the bad guy was going to be almost immediately, and the final confrontation is a giant cliché that you expect as soon as the location is declared. But all of that doesn’t take away from another winning story.
It’s not exactly a happy reunion. Darrow has had his share of personal tragedy, and returning to campus brings back the memories of an awful murder that his best friend was convicted of. He is supposed to be devoting his time to pulling the college out of its doldrums, but instead he can’t stop himself from trying to prove his friend’s innocence. And along the way, well, he just happens to fall in love with his mentor’s daughter.
I like how RNP gives every character a secret. No one is black and white, even the most minor character. The story does turn out to be a little predictable… I realized who the bad guy was going to be almost immediately, and the final confrontation is a giant cliché that you expect as soon as the location is declared. But all of that doesn’t take away from another winning story.
September 10, 2010
This is typical Patterson in some ways. We have a super smart, handsome, charismatic hero out to set the world right who (eventually) falls in love with a smart, beautiful woman, with their relationship complicated by circumstances. Our hero faces (heroically & wisely) a series of difficult moral choices. Sixteen years after his best friend in college is convicted of murdering a promising African American student on the campus of the small Ohio college he attends in his home town, our hero returns to campus as president of the college (after a wildly sucessful legal career in Boston) and investigates the old murder along with a current embezzlement scandal. At times, it feels like a fairly typical murder mystery, & the resolution seems abrupt & too neat (& even I, slow as I usually am at such things, saw it coming well in advance). Nor is it clear what "issue" Patterson wants to teach us about in this one, though there's a fair amount about academic politics & the effects of drugs & alcohol on campus as well as insights about race & class issues. It's a gripping tale, as always for Patterson, but not as meaty as some of his others. The reader in the unabridged audio version is more than adequate.
September 10, 2016
As usual, Patterson creates a mystery that has you on the edge of your seat. From the beginning you realize that things are not as they seem. As the protagonist works through all the bits and pieces of what happened to Angela, he learns much about not only the crime but also about himself. I highly recommend this book!
July 2, 2010
I listened to this one. Despite the fact that I guessed "who dunnit," it did hold my interest throughout. Not a great book - but quite good for its genre. High school athlete catches the attention of professor at local college. Professor befriends him and arranges a scholarship. Student goes on to be very successful after finding the body of a murdered student on campus during his last year of college. Eventually comes back as president of the college and solves the mystery of who really committed the murder.
September 30, 2015
Patterson is a great author and when I see one of his books that I have not read, I snag it. such was the case with The Spire. It is an interesting, fast read, and easily understood story. One who is convicted of a murder he denies he committed and for which he spent years in prison...a daughter who starts as a little girl, but grows up to become a lovely woman, a legal tale intrivately woven. All these intrigued me.
February 6, 2016
Mark Darrow, raised and educated in a small Ohio town, returns as a famous attorney to become president of his alma mater. His former college and home town bear the scars of a terrible murder that occurred on campus and discovered by Darrow during his senior year. His best friend was convicted of the crime, but Darrow can't shake his belief that the real murderer was never caught.
May 6, 2018
Well written, engaging characters and story. Perhaps a little repetitive in the narrative, explaining and reexplaining the same issues over and over. That’s why my the 3 star review from me. GREAT ending, but most sophisticated readers will see who the bad guy is earlyish on. Still, a great, engaging read, and I’ll definitely be looking for more of Richard North Patterson’s next library trip.
July 13, 2016
Good psychological plot - entertaining enough. I've liked several of the authors' works. Outside of the small chapter of gratuitous sex, use fast forward if your audio-booking, it's worth the read. It is well narrated.
Want to read
March 6, 2014Opening - Sixteen years after the murder of Angela Hall had precipitated the decline of Caldwell College, Mark Darrow returns to campus, standing in the shadow of the spire.
September 2, 2017
Enjoyable, but figured the killer out about 1/2 thru book. I liked this author.
April 27, 2018
I picked up this book at the library thinking it was James Patterson, but then found out it was Richard North Patterson. The book was a mystery thriller of an old death at a small Ohio college. One of the students is now a successful lawyer in Boston and he has been asked by his mentor to return to the college as their president. The current president has been charged with embezzling money from one of the trust funds. There are actually three story lines – the old death of an African American student on a predominately white campus (Mark’s best friend has been found guilty but he always says he did not do it), the loss of money and then a budding love interest. Since the geographic area is small many of the college students are still involved in the school and town years later. It was a very good book and had me a little startled by who done it. Reminded me of a book I read years ago by Stephen L. Carter (New England White) about an old campus murder and racial ties to a school based on Yale.
October 17, 2018
This is an excellent story, which the author describes as “a psychological suspense novel intensely focused on characters, story and setting.” The characters are strong, featuring Mark Darrow, a star alumnus who returns to his alma mater to be its President in a time of crisis.
This story revolves around Mark’s need to get to the bottom of an embezzling scheme seemingly perpetrated by his predecessor. At the same time, he remains haunted by the fact that his former best friend is in jail serving a murder conviction for an event that took place when Mark and his friend were classmates. Mark is certain they nailed the wrong guy. Against the wishes of all those around him, he revisits the case against his friend.
The author makes you feel like you are there on campus. I could picture everything.
Somehow I knew that the outcome of this book would be something unexpected. I was not thrilled with the way things were resolved, but still think this is one of RNP’s best works.
This story revolves around Mark’s need to get to the bottom of an embezzling scheme seemingly perpetrated by his predecessor. At the same time, he remains haunted by the fact that his former best friend is in jail serving a murder conviction for an event that took place when Mark and his friend were classmates. Mark is certain they nailed the wrong guy. Against the wishes of all those around him, he revisits the case against his friend.
The author makes you feel like you are there on campus. I could picture everything.
Somehow I knew that the outcome of this book would be something unexpected. I was not thrilled with the way things were resolved, but still think this is one of RNP’s best works.
April 27, 2025
This is both a razor-sharp thriller, a poignant love story, a tale of an enduring friendship, and a psychological thriller. Mark Darrow grew up in a small Ohio town with no real advantages and no prospects beyond his intelligence and his athletic ability. But thanks to the intervention of Lionel Farr, a professor at Caldwell, a local college, Mark becomes an exceptional student and later a superb trial lawyer.
However, all is not idyllic, when Mark discovers the brutally murdered body of a black female student named Angela Hall beneath the bell tower that dominates the campus. Mark's best friend is accused and is sentenced to life in prison. Mark leaves Caldwell but is called back by his former professor and asked to take over the presidency of the college. And thus begins the intrigue that will lead to a conclusion the reader never sees coming.
However, all is not idyllic, when Mark discovers the brutally murdered body of a black female student named Angela Hall beneath the bell tower that dominates the campus. Mark's best friend is accused and is sentenced to life in prison. Mark leaves Caldwell but is called back by his former professor and asked to take over the presidency of the college. And thus begins the intrigue that will lead to a conclusion the reader never sees coming.
January 18, 2024
This is another of my older books (2009). Unlike most of his books, this one is a psychological suspense novel intensely focused on characters, story, and setting. Mark Darrow, a very successful Boston attorney, returns to his alma mater, Caldwell College in Ohio, to become its president after a large amount of money has been embezzled from the college. He did this at the request of his former mentor, Lionel Farr, the college's provost. While his directive is to find who embezzled the money and set the college on good footing going forward, Darrow also revisits a murder that occurred when he was a senior in which his good friend, Steve Tillman, was convicted, and Darrow wants to learn more about that. There are so many twists and turns in the story and a very surprising ending.
October 26, 2019
Mark Darrow was a high school athlete with promise. Lionel Farr, a professor at Caldwell College coaxes Mark to go to Caldwell on a scholarship. He agrees and tragedy strikes in his senior year as a woman is murdered and Mark's best friend is convicted of the murder. Sixteen years later Mark is a successful lawyer but his wife has died two years ago. Lionel approaches Mark to become the new President of Caldwell as the current one was fired for embezzlement. Mark takes the job but still has strong doubts about his friends conviction. Although I enjoyed reading it, there are a couple of plot flaws and I guessed the outcome long before the resolution. Patterson has done better.
March 19, 2024
A complex page turner from Richard North Patterson
I liked the way Patterson keeps you guessing which of 6 characters is the real villain until almost the final moments: is it one of 4 high school and college friends and teammates, their mentor, or a corrupt petty criminal who suddenly seems to prosper following a terrible murder. There wasn’t much I didn’t like in this novel. If you liked some of the books and tv series from England, like Line of duty and Foyle’s War, you should enjoy this story too, where some similar themes and styles are transposed from police and WW II serials to the educational institution arena.
I liked the way Patterson keeps you guessing which of 6 characters is the real villain until almost the final moments: is it one of 4 high school and college friends and teammates, their mentor, or a corrupt petty criminal who suddenly seems to prosper following a terrible murder. There wasn’t much I didn’t like in this novel. If you liked some of the books and tv series from England, like Line of duty and Foyle’s War, you should enjoy this story too, where some similar themes and styles are transposed from police and WW II serials to the educational institution arena.
March 27, 2021
Mark Darrow grew up in a small Ohio town. He went to this local college Caldwell, and was an excellent student and a superb Trial lawyer. His friend asks him to comeback Caldwell and become the new President of the college? He accepts on the basis that it would be limited and once had the college on solid ground would go back to his law firm.
16 years ago he discovered the body of a student at the base of the Spire, the bell tower that was the icon of the college. He is now reliving those days and has to find out who killed her.
16 years ago he discovered the body of a student at the base of the Spire, the bell tower that was the icon of the college. He is now reliving those days and has to find out who killed her.
June 1, 2017
Enjoyed this book more than the last 2 Richard North Patterson books I read. I have been reading my books on the bus, but I ended up reading this one at home and on lunch breaks. I was suspicious of the real "bad guy" before the main character figured it out but, I still found the book pretty suspenseful since I kept wondering when the main character was going to find himself. This book was harder for me to put down than the other books.
April 15, 2020
Bouncing btwn then and now it was fascinating to watch how the characters few or languished in their roles. Mark went far but was not happy, Taylor grew up but didn’t, and Joe became an entirely different person. Steve was unable to change. All because of Angela’s murder. A great story about secrets, motives, and delving into how well you can really ever know someone. I also love books set in Ohio. It has 4 distinct quadrants with so much to offer authors.
January 16, 2023
I found this story interesting, a genuine thriller of the highest acclaim. I can't recommend this strongly enough to readers who love mystery, suspense and compelling narrative.
Centred around a college campus readers find much to interest and indeed thrill in this story but you will have to read it yourself to experience this novel.
I don't want to spoil it for you. Enjoy.
Centred around a college campus readers find much to interest and indeed thrill in this story but you will have to read it yourself to experience this novel.
I don't want to spoil it for you. Enjoy.
August 19, 2022
I have not read a book from this author for quite a few years and was completely satisfied with this one. I read most of his books probably at least 15 or 20 years ago and put him down as one of my top authors.
November 17, 2023
As you'd expect from Patterson, the writing was superb, and excellent character development. But the plot was slow moving and there's way too much about college academia that wasn't relevant or interesting.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 307 reviews