“Private Berlin” by James Patterson and Mark Sullivan – The Disappearance

For those of you who aren't acquainted with Patterson and Sullivan’s works, he has written Private novels in the past and they are centered around the best investigative agency on the planet called Private.

The agency has headquarters set up in numerous parts of the world, and each of the books, so far at least, has taken place in different countries.

This time around, in Private Berlin, the story takes place in (obviously) Germany, and it is centered on Chris Schneider, the man in charge of running Private in that country.

Quite recently, he has taken to try and solving very hard and possibly dangerous cases: a billionaire who may be cheating on his wife, a football player who seems to be throwing games, and a club owner who may or may not be connected to the Russian mafia (let’s not kid ourselves though, people who are suspected of being connected to the mafia generally are). Unfortunately though, Chris Schneider suddenly vanishes, and Mattie Angel, his ex and top Private agent, is tasked with finding him.

First of all, how can I even write a review about this book before it even came out? Well, it seems that Patterson and Sullivan are favoring a method of distribution called previews, allowing you to read a sizable chunk of the book before making your decision.

In my opinion, it is a great strategy as everyone wins; the readers get to actually know what they are going to be paying for while the authors are attracting more and more potential clients.

In any case, from what I have read so far in the preview (there are 23 chapters available in it), this is probably the most promising Private novel to date. To start things off, the case now follows the disappearance of a chief of Private headquarters… meaning that someone is knowingly and actively challenging the most highly-recognized detective agency in the world.

Each of the three cases is actually quite interesting to watch unfold, and it seems that every one of the suspects has a reason for wanting Chris Schneider gone.

There are a lot of characters in this novel already, and it can be a bit confusing to keep track of everything if you aren't used to German names, but the more you read, the easier and more familiar everything becomes.

I had a very hard time putting this book down as everything was unfolding at breakneck speed without any superfluous, filler content used anywhere.

All in all, if the rest of the book is anything like the first 23 chapters, it could very well end up being considered as one of the best and most enthralling novels Patterson has written.

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James B. Patterson Personal site James Patterson is an American writer who has dedicated a large part of his literary career to writing murder-related thrillers, inventing in the process two memorable character-based series in Alex Cross and Michael Bennett. His most prominent works include Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider.

Mark T. Sullivan Personal site Mark T. Sullivan is an author of American nationality who is known for writing thrillers and mysteries, both on his own and while partnering up with the acclaimed James Patterson. He has a BA in English from Hamilton College, and he even volunteered for the Peace Crops, teaching English to children in the Sahara Desert. Some of his best-known works include The Fall Line, Labyrinth and Oultaw.