You've Been Warned
by James Patterson, Howard Roughan
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Book Summary Information
Author: Howard Roughan, James PattersonEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-09-10
ISBN: 0316014508
Number of pages: 376
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Book Reviews of You've Been Warned
Book Review: "Don't think, just run!"
Summary: 2 Stars
When your book budget is low and your local library (though delightful) has a limited stock of new books, what to do? Lately I've been falling back on formula thrillers to lull me to sleep at night, and that's why I checked out this James Patterson offering -- a regrettable choice, I'm sorry to say.
I know James Patterson can put out a highly readable book, which makes it all the more unfortunate that he's squandering his reputation with something as unfocused as "You've Been Warned." He and co-author Howard Roughan have given us a superficial story that starts with a bad dream and never really gets off the ground.
The story is told in the first person by an aspiring Manhattan photographer, Kristin Burns (her catch phrase: "Don't think, just shoot!") Kristin is tormented by bad dreams that seem to come true, warned darkly by dead people, and freaked out by creepy effects on her photographs. She thinks she may be going mad.
The authors' choice of the first person, present tense for this tale is not effective. Kristin has no idea what's going on and there isn't enough information for the reader to guess -- or care. There are very few clues given; is it a horror tale? or did Kristin capture something on film that she shouldn't have? or is it a psychological thriller with madness or evil at its core? The book doesn't quite settle on a theme.
Several major events from Kristin's past are thrown into the mix near the end, a frenzied deus ex machina. There was the feeling that the book was approaching its target word count before the author thought to check the outline -- OOPS! Here, have this ... and this ... and this.
With all the poor pacing and stream-of-consciousness narration, you may wonder where the two stars are coming from. There are two delightful children in the story and they deserve one each even though their roles are small. Also, the New York setting is vivid and the photography theme, though not well enough developed, is somewhat interesting.
It's heartbreaking, really. If the elements of "You've Been Warned" were to be Mixmastered and served up fresh with some loving care, we COULD have a book we deserve.
Linda Bulger, 2008
Horror Books
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