by Shelley Civkin Richmond Public Library

Suspense authors tag team on credible thriller

It seems that co-author Peter De Jonge is a good influence on James Patterson in their new book The Beach House.

While I usually like Patterson's thrillers, The Beach House is better than most. Whether it's De Jonge's influence or not, the fact is, this new book is a winner.

It's funnier, lighter, and more cleverly written than most of Patterson's solo-authored books. Also, the first person narrative is used, which is particularly effective for making the story more immediate and personal. Come to think of it, it's a bit like the writing of Robert B. Parker, but not quite as flip.

The story goes like this: Jack Mullen, a law school student, finds out that his brother Peter, drowned one night off the coast of the Hamptons.

He suspects something is fishy because his brother was a good swimmer and he knows darn well that he wouldn't have gone swimming at night in those rough waters. Jack is sure that this so-called drowning is no accident and he sets out to uncover the secret behind his brother's death.

What he doesn't count on is a string of threats, a pack of thugs, dirty officials, blackmail and brutal beatings.

Jack's family isn't like those blue-blood families that summer in the Hamptons. His family is a hardworking lower-middle class family.

In fact, his brother Peter had been working for the rich Neubauer family on the night of his death. He'd been parking cars at their fabulously opulent summer party.

So Jack's thinking if his brother was parking cars that night, how did he drown? In his search for the truth, Jack comes up against a wall of corrupt officials and dangerous lackeys that include everyone from the town police on down.

It seems that wealthy Barry Neubauer has just about everybody in his pocket. And while Jack wants justice badly, it comes with a big price tag. News flash, Jack! There really are different laws for the rich and the poor and sometimes it doesn't pay to tangle with the rich and powerful. Then again....

Jack knows that this is too big a scandal for him to handle alone, so he enlists the help of his old friends and his grandfather. The problem is, Neubauer has eyes in the back of his head and when he catches wind of this behind-the-scenes amateur investigation, he sends his `muscle' out to threaten Jack and his friends. Before too long, Jack realizes he's up against one of the richest and most powerful men around and that his mission to avenge his brother's death is looking bleaker by the moment.

The plot speeds along at a good, fast clip but right near the end, it turns a bit outlandish. Let's just say that you'd be best to check your rational thinking at the door at this point. Not that it hurts the story, but it does stretch one's believability a bit.

Never mind though, because this thriller is taut, fun and full of excitement and you can forgive it just about anything.

Shelley J. Civkin is the head of the Readers' Advisory Department at the Richmond Public Library. For other popular reading suggestions, check out Richmond Public Library's Web site at www.yourlibrary.ca/goodbooks .