Private games by James Patterson and Mark Sullivan

Private London is poised for action, they are about to help with the security arrangements around one of the worlds biggest sporting events - the 2012 London Olympic games.  The lead up has been shaky, Peter Knight has been thrust into the lead role at Private after the rest of the senior team was killed in a plane accident, and while he is a good agent it is a stressful time.  His nearly three year old twins are chewing through nannies (sometimes literally) at an alarming rate, and when a twisted villain named Cronus makes his presence known, things go from bad to worse.

Cronus plans to bring down the Olympics one crooked and twisted individual at a time.  His targets are the corrupt, the deceivers, the cheaters who flaunt what they have done.  His allies are the Furies, three sisters that have survived a worse fate than most of us can imagine, and now they fight by his side to help him bring down the Olympics.  But Cronus may have bitten off more than he could chew when he took on Knight and Private, because Knight is determined to find the man who killed his mothers fiancee.  As he gets pulled deeper and deeper into the case, Knight must work through not only the intricacies of the case, but also the multiple collisions between the case and his personal life - and the upcoming anniversary of his wifes death.

The Private series is one of the better series from James Patterson and his co-authors.  By basing the series in different offices around the world, and by using a series of different co-authors, Patterson has allowed for a greater depth of story than your traditional agency story - he can move characters from other agencies in and out of the storyline to give it more depth and more realism.  Having now read all four of the available books in the series, I have to say that Private Games was not my favourite, but it had some delightful twists and turns that keep you guessing, while also laying out some things that make you go huh until you realise that some of it is just a ruse to keep you guessing about what comes next.

Patterson is a fantastic author who keeps the pace strong and keeps the plot moving at a fast pace.  The twists and turns are usually interesting, and he has a knack for finding other authors to work with that are strong authors in their own right.   Hopefully the Private franchise will stay alive and well for many years to come.

If you like this book then try:

• Private by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
• Private London by James Patterson and Mark Pearson
• Private # 1 suspect by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
• The postcard killers by James Patterson and Liza Marklund
• Level 26: Dark origins by Anthony E. Zuiker and Duane Swierczynski
• Level 26: Dark prophecy by Anthony E. Zuiker and Duane Swiercyznski
• The survivors club by Lisa Gardner
• The surgeon by Tess Gerritsen
• The apprentice by Tess Gerritsen

Reviewed by Brilla