www.annemoore.net

 

 

 

 

 

Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas

Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas

by James Patterson
Reviewed by Anne Moore
People, 2001
Download as PDF

Oh-so-smart Manhattan book editor Katie Wilkinson is kicking herself for
being oh-so-blind: Matt, her out-of-town lover for nearly a year, has just dumped her, leaving her with a diary-written by his wife, Suzanne.

Best known for such cineplex-ready mysteries as Kiss the Girls, James Patterson this time has crafted a love story as suspenseful as any thriller. The diary is about Suzanne and Matt’s love affair, written for their baby Nicholas. The happy family lives on Martha’s Vineyard, where Suzanne is a country doctor and Matt is a housepainter and budding poet. Their life together is achingly romantic, with nights spent dancing on the beach and days whirling on the island’s carousel.

So how could Matt be cheating on Suzanne? And how could he be so cruel as to give his wife’s diary to his lover? Katie can’t stop reading; you won’t be able to either. Though the story is weighty with matters of birth, life and death, it’s also clever, light and as welcoming as an ocean breeze. (Little, Brown, $22.95)

Bottom Line: Winning entry

In the blog

Blockbuster shows of museum art enthrall — and exhaust. Yes, it’s astonishing to see the treasures of Tutankhamun, the Picasso retrospective, Matisse beside Picasso, Calder’s circus. But there’s a deep pleasure in being drawn to a museum to see a single work, on loan, set among its peers. There you’ll find no headsets, no clots

(...)

A thriller that’s beautifully written and carefully told is a rare thing. “Man in the Woods,” by Scott Spencer, is that impossible-to-find read that satisfies on multiples levels. “Will he get away with it?” drives this story peopled by richly drawn, complex characters. Paul Phillips is a high-priced carpenter whose expertise in restoring old homes

(...)

Summer is over, winter is upon us: reading is a constant. One I loved — every single page — is Ian McEwan’s The Children Act. Let’s review my feelings for Mr. McEwan’s work. I thoroughly enjoyed his last two efforts, the spy spoof Sweet Tooth and the environmental satire Solar. Both are wise and well

(...)

Leave a Reply