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Private Games (Private, #3)

James Patterson,

Mark T. Sullivan

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Jun 21, 2012 Kristin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I believe this is the first fiction book of Patterson's I've read, and while I enjoyed it, I suspect it was more because of the setting than anything drawing me in to the lives of the characters. This appears to be the newest in a series of books, and there was minimal introduction to the characters except for Knight, the lead investigator for the Private Company. Also, Patterson alludes to a plane crash that brings certain characters together, but for such an important event to get just a minor I believe this is the first fiction book of Patterson's I've read, and while I enjoyed it, I suspect it was more because of the setting than anything drawing me in to the lives of the characters. This appears to be the newest in a series of books, and there was minimal introduction to the characters except for Knight, the lead investigator for the Private Company. Also, Patterson alludes to a plane crash that brings certain characters together, but for such an important event to get just a minor mention, I suspect it happened in the book immediately preceding this one.
In 'Private Games', Private is among the security firms hired to keep the London Olympics safe from terrorism, but before the Games even open, one of the key figures in bringing the Games to London is murdered gruesomely, and the head of security is nearly run over by a taxi while consulting with Knight on the murder. A reporter for one of the local newspapers gets a letter signed by a person named Cronus, explaining the justification for killing the man, before it is even known that he is dead. As the Games begin, more deaths of important figures, from athletes to coaches, come at the hands of Cronus, and his 3 female assistants, the Furies.
Readers get insight into Cronus' mind and how he or she and the Furies are able to pull of what they've done. We also learn pretty quickly that Knight is a single father of 3 year-old twins who have burned out many nannies in their lives, losing another right before the Games. A godsend comes in Marta, a recent Estonian immigrant, who seems to have a way with these kids, but readers already know that Marta is one of the Furies. I wished I could jump through the pages and tell Knight about her before she killed his kids, but alas it is just a book.
Overall, Patterson kept me guessing until the end, as I thought I knew who Cronus was a few times, but then a clue would lead me down another path, or back on one I left earlier in the book. If I had any complaint, it would actually be the relative few acts of terrorism committed by someone who professes to be repulsed by the modern Olympic Games, and that most of the dirty work is left to the Furies. Again, I liked the book because it was set at the Olympics, so I'm not sure I'd read others in the series since global terrorism isn't one of my favorite reading topics. ...more

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