Rating: 
Summary: As a beach book, "Beach House" succeeds...
Review: This isn't one of James Patterson's best, but it's a fun romp of good-vs-evil, havenots-vs-haves in the Hamptons. The plot is thin and sometimes far-fetched, and there's more promise behind the characters than actual development, but the thrill-ride maintains its speed (with only one minor distration in Manhattan's East Village and Chelsea), and the ride is fun, especially if you like to root for the underdog going against the rich.The chapters are short and,while the story kept my interest and made me want to keep reading, it's not impossible to put the book down, which makes it a great book for the beach or vacation. The settings are well-described, so if you've spent time in the Hamptons or Manhattan, you'll get a kick out of that. There are enough interesting characters that you'll find someone you like... hopefully it will be someone who makes more than a cameo in the story! Worth a read, for sure... but you'll probably leave it in your own beach house for the next summer vacationer to peruse.
Rating:
Summary: The Pages Turn.....
Review: But 'The Beach House' is a novel that could of have good potential, but some of the things that made me look at this novel when I was finished that, in the end, it didnt make any sense. James Patterson and Peter De Jonge try to make a good legal thriller, (leave that job to John Grisham guys.) but they fail, they kind of crash and burn, but I did wish that this novel had a good ending.
The story revolves around the murder of Peter, and so his brother try to finds out how he died, the police say that he drowned in the ocean, AT NIGHT! Oh come on. What person in their right mind would swin in the ocean at night, and the cops stick to this story? So as the pages turn, it turns out that his brother was a male prostitute with the rich locals.
The novel just did not grab me in the end, it started out good, but I felt it was unrealistic in many ways; one of them being kidnapping the men and women involved in his brothers murder, and setting up a fake court and have them stand before a FAKE TRIAL while they film it and get access to a local independent station in the area!
Does that make any sense? Hell no! The book tries to be so many things, but James Patterson and Peter De Jonge should of done their homework first before they wrote this novel. Ignore this novel, and read a good legal thriller like The Firm.
Rating: 
Summary: A page turner!
Review: I loved the characters and the storyline gripped me from page one. The suspense was subtle and encouraged you to read on. First person point of view is very difficult to write and the author does it very well bringing you into the mind of the protagonist and rooting for him all the way. I finished the book over the weekend and wanted to read more. Bravo, Mr. Patterson!
Rating: 
Summary: Loved it!
Review: As a former Long Islander I loved reading about the places that I spent time. I could actually visualize the settings and loved every minute of it. It was a great story! Thanks James!
Rating:
Summary: Worth Reading
Review: BEACH HOUSE is an easy read, fast paced with snappy dialogue, and a couple interesting characters, especially "grandpa". The plot's not really that original - rich guy with powerful lawyer and corrupt cop cover up the murder of the hero's brother. Hero sets out to avenge brother's death. The cast of characters is curiously homogenized with something for everyone. A gay guy that is, of all things, a hair stylist, a contract killer (who happens to get killed himself), a strong, smart female investigator, a corrupt cop, a whimpy, forlorn father, but a tough-as-nails grandpa, and a brother you didn't REALLY know all that well, among others. There's straight sex, gay sex, incest, pedophilia...you name it. Somehow it all seems to work pretty well in this easy to read novel. I didn't care that much for the "solution"...seemed a little far fetched. Some, however, will call it justice, and that's what this book is all about.
Rating:
Summary: PROBABLY THE BEST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ
Review: The Beach House was the most interesting book I think I have ever read. Very fast paced, with twists around every corner. Describes the Hamptons on Long Island very well. I read this book to the end without putting it down.
This is the first James Patterson I have read and because of it, I just bought 3 more of his books. I hope the rest of them are as good. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a great suspense novel.
Rating:
Summary: Move over Jaws, there's a meaner beast on the beach...
Review: He's young, lean, muscular and the easiest thing to look at any human being could ever lay eyes on. He lives dangerously, women beg for his attention and he's the quintessential perfect young stud East Hampton locals would love to bed. ...And he's dead. A grieving father and brother convinced that this beautiful young man did not meet with the fate that medical examiners conclude are confounded by the suspicious investigators who all-too-quickly conclude this death was accidental. Murder is a tough thing to prove in a town where money and power have so much influence on the investigation. This is one of those thrillers that dear reader will come across only once in a great while. Just when we think we have the answers and recognize the good guys from the bad ones, the story only gets more and more entangled in an even greater convolution of conspiracy and lies. It is as though James Patterson and Peter De Jonge sat down and said, "Let's outline the perfect textbook conspiracy that has all the elements of excitement and trickery... and then tangle the mystery even more." It's a quick, easy read with the trademark short chapters for which Patterson is well known.
Rating:
Summary: Careless work
Review: The basic premise is that too often our legal stystem is manipulated by those with the most money. The plot to demonstrate this well-known supposition is just too contrived, too diluted with gratuitous rutting and pointless violence, and too error-filled on minor points of fact. The novel opens on May 29 at a fancy Long Island beach house. A young man is about to be brutally murdered. The noise of the crime will be absorbed by the pounding surf. Then this remarkable line on Page 11: "The sloppy remains of Hurricane Gwyneth, which battered Cape Hatteras for a week, just hit the Hamptons this morning." Imagine that. The hurricane season as described on the Weather Channel has not yet opened, and there is already a hurricane well over a week old, one that lasted for seven days in North Carolina. Not only that but there have been six (count them) six other hurricanes or tropical storms before this for the season, since such events are named alphabetically. It is difficult to take anything too seriously after this sort of error. And there are others. I had not read a James Patterson novel before this. Perhaps I did not begin with a good one. Or perhaps he just cranks them out without paying much attention to the facts.
Rating: 
Summary: Let Down
Review: I will preface my review by saying this is the first James Patterson book I have read. As I started the book, I found myself wondering why I would care about the fate of the victim, not because I'm cold, but because there was such little substance. Along the way, I started to care simply because murder is not pretty but mostly because I'd bought the book and started it. The characters were slowly built up with lots of fluff thrown in, as well as choppy new chapters that didn't seem like they had to be new chapters at all, and seemed like they occurred almost every other page. I found myself gawking at how the book could go from page 123 to page 127, with exactly ONE page of actual text between the pages. There was no gripping pace, or 'need to read 'til you drop' feeling until VERY close to the end. Even then, I walked away wondering why I'd bothered finishing the book. I also wondered how this book could be a New York Times Bestseller...but then again, I bought it too! I much prefer the rapid pace of John Grisham and Greg Iles.
Rating:
Summary: Great!
Review: This novel has the distinction of being the best James Patterson novel since ALONG CAME A SPIDER. I have read about five other Patterson books and they were not very impressive. However, THE BEACH HOUSE was fast-paced and entertaining. I really liked the main character and most of the characters were interesting. This is the ultimate BEACH book.
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