Private Gold by James PattersonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Jacket Blurb: Hired to protect a visiting American woman, Private Johannesburg's Joey Montague is hoping for a routine job looking after a nervous tourist. After the apparent suicide of his business partner, he can't handle much more. But this case is not what it seems--and neither is his partner's death.
Read as an audio book. Short story.
Premise of the book is Joey is still reeling after the death of his partner and is watching their hopes in the form of Private: Johannesburg wash away with the monsoon rains. Joey is clearing out their former offices when he receives a panicked call from Isobel Collins, who is in desperate need of a body guard after hers didn't show up at the airport. Isobel and Joey find themselves on the run from someone intent on killing them, and as they begin to dig deeper into the 'why', uncover a plot that stuns them both.
Short stories are hard to write, having to distill down description and emotions but not so much so that the reader becomes disengaged from the overall plot. Private: Gold did that and actually had me wishing for a bit more. In some ways, this was a more interesting read than some of the full length Private books I've read.
I liked that our heroine was able to stand on her own two feet. Too often in mysteries I hear the ubiquitous "I don't understand!". Not in Isobel - she was engaged and took responsibility and even more so, Joey took her seriously. That alone made for a much appreciated read.
I will note, and this is where I would have liked a slightly longer book, I really didn't get a feel for the setting. Yes, it was Johannesburg, but honestly, mentally I could have plunked this in any large city.
And idle speculation - would Jack Morgan have allowed a new branch office to fail so quickly? Somehow I doubt it...
Overall, a solid short story with strong characters and a engaging plot. Recommended if you've been reading the Private series.
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