The Beach House

Author: James Patterson & Peter De Jonge
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction

Summary: 

Peter Mullen works as a valet at parties. He is loved by everyone, or so he thought. His body turns up on a beach shore and it's up to his older brother, Jack, to find out what actually happened to Peter. Everyone says he committed suicide but Jack has his doubts after seeing that Peter's body had several broken bones and bruises, but others counter that the storm could have done that to him. Jack soon finds out that there are some people that will do anything to cover up the truth about Peter's death. He is led into a maze of lies and deception and finds he doesn't know who to trust. Nothing fazes Jack not when he and his friends are threatened, not when he is thrown in jail, not when he loses his job, and not even when he faces death. Just as Jack feels like he is going to lose, he finds something that could change everything but must protect it which proves to be harder than he thought. Jack goes against the entire system to find the truth but soon finds out that the truth has a painful cost.
I would add more to the summary but I feel like that would give away the element of surprise in the book. The plot twists in the story are what make the story action-packed and exciting.

            

Opinion on the Book:

This book is one of my favorites by James Patterson. It has his usual appeal to mystery but in this case it is realistic fiction. You can clearly see James Patterson's style of writing in this book, it has his slight sense of humor and is very organized. This book is definitely a page turner. It has plot twists at the end of each chapter. The beginning is interesting but once the action starts it doesn't stop until the very end.

"But Sammy stuck to his vow. Maybe out of respect for Peter, or even Jack. They barely got a sound out of him. Not when they stuck his head in the backed-up toilet. Not when they cooked his hand over the flames of the gas stove. Not even when they took him out to the shiny concrete balcony overlooking Eighteenth Street. And threw him off'" (Patterson 224)

This passage is at the end of chapter 68 and is one of my favorite passages because it demonstrates James Patterson's beautiful style of writing. The passage itself is rather dark but it's a great passage that manages to save the suspense all the way to the end of the chapter.

Who should read this book

Anyone who loves James Patterson books would enjoy this book, but the reader should know that this book has lots of adult content in it. This book is suggested to young adults ages 13 and above (anyone younger might find the contents a little disturbing.) Also people who like mystery with a mix a deception, danger, crime, and death would enjoy this book.

How This Relates to the Theme

The theme of this blog is the cruelties of society. The Beach House relates to this theme because it displays the truth about society, money can get anything done. After murdering Peter the murderers bribe people to stand false witness and help cover the crime up. The book also demonstrates the truth about how much society values a human's life. In the book Jack tries to voice himself through the press. He gets front page for a day, but after the first day it isn't important or interesting anymore. The reason for this is that the press only broadcasts things that are considered 'breaking news', but you can't only blame the press, the people don't care about things after a while.

Other Websites

These websites are about the book and James Patterson. The first website is James Patterson's website about The Beach House. The second website is an interview with James Patterson that mentions this book a little.

James Patterson Website     

James Patterson Interview