| Jack
Morgan is the owner of Private, an investigative firm with
offices around the US, Europe, India and Australia. Although
the title is Private Vegas, most of the main storyline
takes place Jack’s backyard, so to speak (Los Angeles),
Jack eventually heads to Nevada.
The prologue
is about a woman named Laurie, a mother of three, racing her
Escalade against a man in a Beamer. He drives off angry, and
she’s left wondering why she would risk her own life
to race.
The storyline
itself begins with a rape and attempted murder by visiting
diplomats. Captain Luke Warren and Jack Morgan break into
the bungalow to save the victims but the victims refuse to
press charges, so the diplomats walk away and continue to
torment the wealthy locals.
When
Jack Morgan returns to home he finds colleague Justine taking
a swim in his pool. Their relationship is void of commitment,
which works well for them. Jack was falsely accused of killing
his last girlfriend, so a relationship is not something he
wants. While they’re at the house, Jack’s Lamborghini
blows up. Poor Jack loses an expensive car, along with his
eyebrows and eyelashes. Someone wants Jack dead.
To add
more to the chaos – Jack’s friend and Private’s
main man is charged with assault. He’s accused of beating
a former girlfriend. Jack and Del Rio are former military
and Del Rio saved Jack’s life. Due to Del Rio’s
well-known temper and the court proceedings things do not
look good for Jack’s company. Enter Jack’s worse
enemy, twin brother Tommy. Tommy is older than Jack by three
minutes and named after their father. Their father is another
story in itself. Tommy has already tried to frame Jack for
murder and extort him, but this time Tommy actually walks
through the front door of Private and makes Jack a multi-million
dollar offer. Tommy wants Private back. Jack’s dismissal
of him has Tommy looking for revenge once again.
In Patterson,
fashion Private Vegas is a suspenseful narrative
that pulls the reader/listener in various directions. There
is plenty of suspense, action, violence, and language as the
good guys try to save others from the bad guys. I listened
to the audio version, and when Patterson jumped from one storyline
to another, it grabbed my attention and sometimes had me rewinding;
I wanted to see if the threads were intertwined or not. Jay
Snyder lends his voice to the audio version, and it’s
certainly an outstanding suspense-filled narration; I listened
closely in anticipation, waiting to see who was going to survive.
On a side note, Patterson is also good at Brand Name dropping;
there are quite a few expensive car brands mentioned along
with Halliburton, Chef Wolfgang Puck, and more. While listening
to the audio version, I noticed the way they were mentioned
made them sound like mini commercials.
Reviews
of other titles in this series
Jack
Morgan
Private,
#1 [Audio]
- [Book]
(US)
#1 Suspect, #2 [Audio]
(US)
Private LA, #6 [Audio]
(US)
Private Vegas #9 [Audio]
(US)
International
Private Games,
#3 [Audio]
(England)
Private London #4[Audio]
(England)
Private Berlin, #5 [Audio]
(Germany)
Private Down Under, #7 [Audio]
(Australia)
Private India: City of Fire #8 [Audio]
(India)
Private Royal #11 [Audio]
(England)
Private Missing
#12 [Audio]
(Australia)
Private
Paris #12.5 [Audio]
(Paris/US)
Count to Ten #13 [Audio]
(India) |