Book After Thoughts: The Writer by James Patterson, J.D. Barker

A five-out-of five star read for me!

The Writer is a well calculated novel which played all the right parts well. The novel premise begins with a suicidal Detective whose interrupted by a call. He is to report to a new crime scene. The crime contains a tampered front door, a dead body, and a witness familiar with the Detective. We then enter a journey that navigates through a lot of twists and turns. Questioning everything matters.

This novel became a non-stop page turner that brought me out of my reading funk. I was always on my toes because I didn’t know who to trust or what to do with any of the information I was learning. The three-card monte concept is brilliant. The concept is casually presented. We have to learn to understand its functionality.

As a thriller, Patterson & Barker set up the plot where it felt easy to figure out some of the dynamics at play. The tricky part was trying what to do with that information or how it piece it together. It's a novel that's well thought out and beautifully written. I’ve heard Patterson’s name before in the past, but never invested further in his writing and I regret that now. I will be reading more of his novels. Also Barker has collaborated with him for other novels, so I need to look into that.

Started: 8.19.25 Finished: 8.23.25