Private Down Under by James Patterson & Michael White

So maybe I have read most of Mr. Patterson's books.  So maybe my favorites are the Murder Club and Michael Bennet.    This does not necessarily mean I totally embrace all of his books.

Critics of James Patterson contend that many of "his" titles are just a conveyance for other authors who are not as prolific as he is.  This may be so but I have enjoyed many of them.  However,  I would be remiss if I did not indicate that this latest title just did not move along with intensity as some of his other books have. Examples being: The Postcard Killers, Sail, Beach Road and Now You See Her to name but a few.

This story has several stories going on simultaneously.  I think it would be a great thing if one mystery could be focused on and fleshed out.  I had some difficulty with plausibility as well.

One of the "stories" involves a series of murders in an upscale neighborhood.  The neighborhood just happens to be where the Deputy Commissioner lives with his family.  The Commissioner and his wife are going to a birthday party one night and at the last minute their usual babysitter fails to show up and a stranger is there to take her place.  The Commissioner and his wife engage the total stranger to babysit for their children.  First, this is the Commissioner.  Secondly, the Commissioner's wife knows all the victims.  One would think they would not have allowed a total stranger to sit for their children.  Unknown to them of course is that the sitter is also the killer.

In another story, the son of a wealthy man is kidnapped.  Later in the same story another son is kidnapped. The wealthy man has plenty of bodyguards and was a former policeman.  One might think he would have done more to protect the second son from the same fate.

This was an "okay" read but I have come to expect much more.

Ladybookbug!