by Charles Asbury

Created on: January 14, 2009

"SAIL", is another great thriller churned out by James Patterson and Howard Roughman. The previous two being, "Honeymoon" and "You've Been Warned". I've read most of Patterson's books, but was reluctant to dive into this book because I haven't been to impressed with his work when it includes co-authors. Nothing seems to recapture the magic of his early Alex Cross detective series, but we're talking Patterson here, so I gave it a shot anyway. What an outstanding choice it turned out to be.

The Dunne family is on the brink of breakup. Three years after her husband dies, Katherine Dunne finds herself in a mess. She has achieved tremendous success as a surgeon, but on the home front it's a big time disaster. With a suicidal teenage daughter(Carrie) and a pot smoking son(Mark), Katherine is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The only saving grace is her youngest son Ernie. The one thing Katherine thinks can bring her dysfunctional family back together is a trip in their luxury yacht, "The Family Dune."

They are joined by Katherine's brother-in-law Jake, and together the five set sail across the Caribbean. Disaster strikes on day one and it's not a natural disaster either. Someone wants to kill Katherine and her children. The initial attempts fail due to the,"never say die", fighting spirit of Jake. But when the whole family is shipwrecked following an explosion, Katherine finds herself knowing more about her children. Finally, in the midst of disaster, the family starts pulling together as one team. They have no choice. In order to survive they must stop bickering and start pulling together. Stop complaining and start contributing. Above all else, "never say die".

But who is behind the blast? Who wants Katherine and her children dead? Is it her cheating lawyer husband Peter Carlyle, the second husband who will inherit everything if something nasty happened to the kids and his wife...or is there more than meets the eye? What follows is a relentless suspense filled ending that will please all Patterson readers.

Overall, "SAIL" was a good book, great characters and filled with tons of suspense! On a scale of one to five, Ii gets a four. The only reason I don't give it a five is because of it's predictability. Not Patterson's best, but I still had a hard time putting it down and finished it in less than six hours. As always I look forward to Patterson's next big thriller.

Learn more about this author, Charles Asbury.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.