Don't Blink: Free Preview

by James Patterson

This special free preview includes Book One of Don't Blink.The goodNew York's Lombardo's Steak House is famous for three reasons--the menu, the clientele, and now, the gruesome murder of an infamous mob lawyer. Effortlessly, the assassin slips through the police's fingers, and his absence sparks a blaze of accusations about who ordered the hit. The badSeated at a nearby table, reporter Nick Daniels is conducting a once-in-a-lifetime interview with a legendary baseball bad-boy. In the chaos, he accidentally captures a key piece of evidence that lands him in the middle of an all-out war between Italian and Russian mafia forces. NYPD captains, district attorneys, mayoral candidates, media kingpins, and one shockingly beautiful magazine editor are all pushing their own agendas--on both sides of the law.And the deadBack off--or die--is the clear message Nick receives as he investigates for a story of his own. Heedless, and perhaps in love with his beautiful editor, Nick endures humiliation, threats, violence, and worse in a thriller that overturns every expectation and finishes with the kind of flourish only James Patterson knows.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery

384 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

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

Reviews

[JoNelle Holland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an excellent read. You won't want to put it down and if you can put it down, you won't be able to wait to get back to it. Full of suspense, mystery, action and some kisses on the side. James Patterson does it again. I loved it!

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

DON'T BLINK (Pub. 2010) is co-authored by Patterson and Howard Roughan. This book surprised me, but not in a good way. It's probably just me, and my own way of absorbing a story, but this one was a disappointment. Especially after reading this writing team's book, Honeymoon, last month. I gave that one 5-stars and loved every page of it.

The story concept itself is interesting. A reporter is sitting in a restaurant with an infamous former baseball player, about to do the interview of his life. But the interview gets derailed almost immediately when the guy in the booth next to them is suddenly killed with a knife through his eye, which proceeds to roll around on a bread plate then lands on the floor for all to see.

With the intriguing opening and a fast paced story overall, I kept asking myself why I wasn't enjoying the book nearly as much as I have the other Patterson/Roughan books. I had to push myself to finish it, which was almost a shock.

As a writer, I wanted to understand why the book wasn't sucking me in and making flip pages faster than a playing card in a bike's wheel, like all of Patterson's other stories have done. So I went back and studied various portions, and I've decided it was a combination of two things.

First, as a reader, it threw me off that the story starts with a prologue written in omniscient third-person past and rolls out the scene in the restaurant that I mentioned above. That alone wasn't a problem, it held my interest, but it felt removed--kind of like reading a news article, since I didn't get to experience it through a character. It was a little disconcerting to then get a switch to first person on page-1 of the first chapter. There are other spots farther on in the story that are written in third person, due to the need to relay a scene that Nick isn't in. I've read other books that switch from first to third, some of them work, some don't.

Second, the brunt of the story is written in first-person. The main character, Nick, is an interesting-enough guy, and the authors do a good job of fleshing him out, but somehow, even though it was first-person, it still felt removed. Chapter 1 starts out in a different country, Nick and a buddy escaping jihadists, then flash foward and Nick's back home in NY. He quickly gets asked to do the interview of a lifetime, which takes us back to the restaurant scene, and we now get to see it through Nick's eyes. But it kept feeling removed, even though the authors have given Nick deep POV. Which is why I struggled to figure out how in the world it could be reading 'removed' for me.

I finally realized what it is that makes this book read 'removed' - a lot of it is written as if the scene is happening right then, but the way the authors flow out the sentences, it ends up making it read in the past, even though it's supposed to be happening in the 'now' for the MC.

Here's an example, taken from page 322 (paperback version) that helped me finally nail down why this book wasn't a 5-star for me:

(in Nick's POV) I spun around to catch Elizabeth, who was hurtling toward the ground. Not a good thing when you're wearing a bomb, I was thinking. All I'd been focused on while on that train was how to make sure Elizabeth survived this. I was the reason Elizabeth was here, and so far there was nothing I could do to help her. (end)

You see? Or maybe it's just me....

In spite of my dislike of the 'removed' feeling, it is a good story and has a great climax.

[Phoebe Lucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book. Definitely a page turner. (I was busy so I finally set aside time to just read uninterrupted).

[David Jaffe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish there were 2.5 stars. Solid book, great short, fast moving chapters. A few cool thrills. But super forgettable and empty. Which is fine- it seems to aspire to that and it does nail that goal. But overall it just feels super ‘meh’. It’s well made ‘meh’ but it just kinda sits there. Like a B cop movie you’d see on TBS some Saturday afternoon with an actor like James Woods or Michael Ironside. Does the job and that’s what you want sometimes. That is this book.

[Bluma Schneider · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed very much the plot. Something a little different. Not quite so scary as the others. Fast reading with short chapters. A little different than past books by Mr. Patterson

[Divyesh Sheth · Rating 3 out of 5]

good teaser

This is the preview of the font blink book. The preview is ok if a bit cliche. A new your mob story mixed with a journalist’s quest for a big story.

[Cathi Snyder]

Very good and easy to read. Chapters are short so it is easy to make sense of a short break.

[Jordyn Blevins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the book "Don't Blink" by James Patterson and it was definitely one of the most enthralling captivating books I have ever laid eyes on. I've never been too keen on reading with no purpose, especially a book that I've never even heard about but after the first 5 pages of this book I was hooked. I managed to read it all in a day and I remember being strongly upset when I did have to put the book down in order to do things like eat or shower or do basic human functions that are difficult with a book in hand. This book is about a New York journalist named Nick who was getting an interview from a fallen baseball star in a popular Manhattan restaurant where Nick witnesses a mob hit. Unfortunately for Nick however, just by being there, he got himself into a lot more trouble then he ever intended. With a plot twist on every page, it's hard to explain this book in a limited space. One of the reasons I enjoyed this book so much is because of the writing style in this book. The way it is written pulls you into the book and you start to feel scared for Nick, angry at the characters, and you start developing dialogue of what you would say if you were in that situation. The next reason that this book is A+ is because of all the plot twist and cliff hangers at the end of every chapter. How everything correlates to everything; it makes you realize that the author must have thought far in advance in order for this novel to make sense. All in all this book really lived up to it's name, since I legitimately never blinked while reading it.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent enough "airport read" -- picked it up at an airport, in fact, while flying back home from California. An engaging book and a quick read, fast-paced story, but it wasn't quite as fast-paced as the title ("Don't Blink") and the jacket copy indicated it would be.

Entertaining but not remarkable, I hate to say "forgettable" but looking back now, I can't quite recall the upshot of the story, so take that as you will.

You'll be entertained, and the story is solid overall, but don't expect this to be life-changing or anything like that.

[EDITED TO ADD: Interesting -- didn't notice I was reviewing the "Free Preview" . . . read the entire book in paperback, find it odd that Goodreads lists this AND the full version of the book for review.]

[Manjish Naik · Rating 2 out of 5]

It started out as an interesting and gripping novel, but was a total let down in the second half. It seemed a typical hollywoodish book, where a seemingly ordinary person, the protagonist does extra ordinary things when his life is in danger. Despite life threats he still gets to the bottom of the mystery and seems truth to whatever end. Typically just as he's about to be killed he gets lucky.
The car bombs, lucky escapes from death all just seemed unrealistically movie like. It was an OK read in the end. I don't think I will read another book from this author. His works don't seem something to seek after.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nick Daniels is a reporter. He has been given a chance to interview a notorious Recuse Ex-baseball player. This could be the coo of his life. But things do not go as planned. The player does not show up, but does the next day with no explanation. Then the puzzle begins to unravel. Some writers just have a way of drawing you in, that is James Patterson. Feel free to take this book for a test drive.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an easy and exiting read. Each chapter is no longer than 4.5 pages. You will fly through this book because the last sentence of each chapter makes you want to learn one more thing about a crime. Fun easy reading. I have always likes Patterson writing style between my heavy duty classic reads. Enjoy it for what it is worth - suspense!

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a little more gruesome than his usual fare but it really build the suspense and kept you reading long into the night. You just had to keep reading to see what would happen next. I love a good page-turner.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was only a free preview of the first 23 chapters but so far it has made me want to get the entire book to read!

Read the whole book finally!! It was great!

Started Oct 22, 2010 and finished Oct 24, 2010.

[Roberta · Rating 5 out of 5]

A real page-turner. Couldn't put it down. Twists and turns to mesmerize & captivate the reader well into the wee hours of the night, forgetting all else. Unusual & masterful plot was extremely well written by an author who produces only the best.

[Todd Orlowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn't one of the best I've read from James Patterson. But, still in the end it wasn't bad the only complaint I had about the book wasn't that Elizabeth his blind niece he did not do to much research on blind people as some of his perceptions were a bit inaccurate.

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Patterson never fails to unravel a great suspence!!

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first person narrative and the main character's humor. This was a quick read; glad I had the day off work because I couldn't put it down!

[Shirley · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was an excellent story, another page turner which I enjoyed

[Yowa · Rating 5 out of 5]

first few chapters, is slow for me. but the story gets intense later on and I literally couldn't stop reading. What a good read.

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING!

[Yolene Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

amazing book, a good page turner.

[Cassy Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a great suspense. I used this as a dowtime book and it still didn't take me long to read because I think I read faster because it was so suspensful.

[Arthur · Rating 4 out of 5]

great book loads of twist and turns

[Tabitha Walker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Predictable characters

[Lisa Spicer]

really good book and a quick read. Loved the twist! Was the perfect read for the airplane ride home from vacation!