THE POSTCARD KILLERS by James Patterson & Liza Marklund
The United States number one best selling author James Patterson is back with another collaborative novel. In THE POSTCARD KILLERS he teams up with Europe’s number one best selling author Liza Marklund to create a tense story of serial killers blazing a trail through Europe. Once again Patterson manages to collaborate without losing the Patterson touches we all know and expect.
Jack Kanon is a New York Police Detective on a mission. That is to hunt down a pair of killers who are brutally murdering young couples in Europe. His reasons for doing this are personal as his daughter Kimmy and her boyfriend were among the killers’ first victims.
In most of the cases the killers will send postcards to the press and which show a scene from the city where the murders will take place. The latest reporter to receive such a postcard is Dessie Larsson in Stockholm. She is horrified to be the recipient of such a card and does not want to be drawn into the investigation for the killers.
Eventually Jack shows up and convinces her to help him find Kimmy’s killers. He also offers his help to the local police but they do not want or need the interference of a New York City cop. It is only after he shows them his knowledge of the killers’ methods and behavior that they reluctantly allow him to be involved.
This book is a little out of the usual for Patterson because thanks obviously to Marklund the book has a bit of a European flavor to it. The locales are all in Europe and the austerity of the climate adds sharpness to the story. Plus Dessie is bisexual which provides a new twist on the romantic elements of the plot.
The story is still written in Patterson’s short chapters motif and the different elements of the story are pared down in such away that it is all a quick read. Still this is Patterson’s most romantic novel in some time and the pairing of Jack and Dessie makes for a new avenue for future stories.
Patterson is prolific to be sure. He churns out his stories in rapid fashion, pairing with other authors who blend with his style completely. In Marklund he has found another good partner for even though her influence is felt, the collaborative product of the two writers is seamless.
THE POSTCARD KILLERS is a fast paced, intriguing mystery that races across Europe and leaps into the readers’ minds. Writing novels quickly is not a literary sin; writing bad novels is. With this book Patterson has created, with the able assistance of Marklund, a readable and enjoyable novel that will give his fans hours of reading pleasure.
THE POSTCARD KILLERS is published by Little Brown and Company. It contains 423 pages and sells for $27.99.