The Family Man

Rating:
Summary: Don't Judge This Book by the Cover; The Story's Excellent!!
Review: I picked the book up on a Thursday and finished it by the weekend. I would have finished it sooner, but I was savoring every word. Seriously! I don't generally like suspense thrillers, but I was bowled over by how well Patterson crafted the plot lines. Incredible attention to detail. His real places and settings really draws the reader in... as if the author had visited every site in the book. His own knowledge as a trial lawyer adds even more realism to the plot.

A definite contender to become a feature film.

The only flaw is the cover. It does nothing to capture the passion and intrigue in the book. It definitely pays to read the inside pages.

It's a very satisfying, unpredictable ending.
Can't wait to see the next book from this author!!

Rating:
Summary: Great Find.
Review: I was surfing through Amazon and ordered this book, almost by accident. I read it in 2 sittings. Intense and fun, a quick read and a must for fans of action-packed susupense novels.

Rating:
Summary: Great Find.
Review: Michael Patterson's "The Family Man" starts out with a very interesting premise. Ellen and Eric Sommers are a young professional couple who have finally managed to conceive a child. Even as they are receiving these tidings, Frank Mallory is preparing to put into action a scheme to create a family by kidnapping a pregnant woman and taking her up to his cabin in the Canadian wilderness. Frank's planning is superb. Not only does he abduct Ellen; he also leaves manufactured evidence that points to Eric as Ellen's murderer. As the demonic Mallory makes good his escape to Canada, Eric is accused and brought to trial for a crime that did not happen.

The remainder of the novel actually is three connected stories. Ellen and Frank act out a serial killer suspense story, while Eric tale becomes a courtroom drama. Connecting these two stories is the efforts of Cheryl, Ellen's sister, Ralph Bartlett, a private investigator and David Dreizler, one of Eric's attorneys to track down Ellen's whereabouts. Ellen finds herself trapped in the wilderness with a man who is never more than seconds from fearsome violence. Eric, confronted with a hostile legal system finds he is standing trial for his life. Mallory has left only the scantiest of clues, and Ellen has little luck in her efforts to get help.

Despite the unusual plot, "The Family Man" left me somewhat unsatisfied. One of the reasons is an excessive number of context shifts. There are 88 chapters in a 341 page book, and many of these chapters switch from one narrative to another. I believe this is a narrative style that is intended to give the impression of a flurry of action, but I found it distracting. It took much longer than usual for me to get the plot straight in my mind and begin to be absorbed into the story. This style also leaves little time for the niceties of narrative description that help to make a book believable.

Characterization also suffers. I felt very little connection with either of the protagonists. Indeed, the most vivid characters are Cheryl and the sheriff of the Canadian town nearest to Mallory's cabin - Roger Peck. One could argue that the minor characters in the book received too much attention and the main characters to little. It is half way through the book before what lies behind Frank's fantasy of family life is revealed. Even knowing that, Frank is monochromatic and predictable, lacking in the depth that could have made him a compelling character.

Eventually, the plot begins to gel and pique the reader's interest. The last half of the novel moves with some pace, and gradually picks up as the end approaches. So "The Family Man" is not a bad novel, just one that fails to meet its ambitions. It is almost as if an editor decided to cut what was once a 700 page novel down to just a minimalist plot. This would be a perfect book for readers who are often interrupted. For those who prefer long silences filled with imagination, Michael Patterson would need to add more flesh to its bare bones.

Marc Ruby - for The Mystery Reader

Rating:
Summary: What a Page Turner!
Review: This book kept me on the edge of my seat! I couldn't put it down and had to stay up all night to finish! The really scary thing about this story is that everything is so ordinary, so normal and average! Our own lives are very similar, so ordinary and normal, but when you add just one twist to the ordinary you get the terror that runs through this novel to the very last. You will never look at courtrooms, investigations, "evidence" and justice the same way. Beware the next time you hear someone call himself "a family man"! And most of all, always be aware of your surroundings!

Rating:
Summary: This Could Happen To You!
Review: This is a review of "The Family Man" by Michael S. Patterson. I read a short synopsis of the book, the author's first novel, so as someone who likes suspense and mystery novels, I knew I would enjoy it. This book grabs you from the first line and holds onto you until the last word! It's the story of a couple excited about expecting their first baby, when a madman kidnaps the expectant mother with plans to make her and her baby his new family. Her husband is then accused and convicted of killing her because of purely circumstantial evidence - even though there has been no trace of her or her dead body. Through the kindness and resourcefulness of a little girl, proof begins to arrive that not only tells authorities that the woman is alive, but where she might be held. The suspense-filled story takes you chapter-by-chapter between events occurring simultaneously to the woman and her husband. You feel that time is running out for both of them. You worry the rescuers won't arrive in time or understand the urgency for rescuing the woman from her captor, who is becoming even more dangerous as he senses his plan for the future is unraveling. The situation feels real and as though it could happen to your own family! Really scary! I'm glad I found this author and hope he plans to write many more books.