I have read over 20 James Patterson books and never have I sat there so dumbfounded at the end. Throughout the entire book, I was confused with the direction of this story. The end was not a true ending and left me with more questions that I had in the begining. I wouldn't waste my time on this book.

this was a strange one, cant say good, but how can i say bad if i read it in a day? Couldnt put it down, but dont know what i was waiting for because it never came!! I was waiting for the big "ohhhhhh i get it" at the end...it didnt happen. What was that???? oh well, guess he cant be great at every book.

I am one of those readers for whom James Patterson can't write fast enough. A book a month leaves me with nothing to do for the other 29 days of the month. I eagerly look forward to the next page turner. I picked this up as an airplane book. The book is not as well constructed as most of Patterson's books. The twist at the end was most bizarre and unsettling. I wouldn't recommend the book at all.

I've read most of James Patterson's books. This one was a total waste of time and eyesight. Don't waste your money.

I think some editing could've tightened up the writing and plot, but overall, what a break from Patterson's usual fare. The book was hard to put down once I got into it. And what a great ending!

I have been a long suffering James Patterson fan and have been increasingly disappointed with his hit or miss collaborations over the past few years. You've Been Warned is BY FAR HIS WORST. It feels like what I imagine a bad acid trip would be like and has the disjointed, desperate, incoherent frustration of a paranoid schizophrenic. While the concept is thought provoking, the execution is terrible and was NOT the relaxing escape I had hoped. Save yourself the pain and don't read it.

i gave this an easy 5..one reviewer , that didn't like this , said he got it at an airport..i think this pearl would make great plane reading..that's what i intended to do..by the end of my speed reading class i went from 365 words to 370 words per minute but my instructor understood giving me an 'A' anyways..i just can't, and don't want to, read any faster..i'm a slow reader..370 words, gees!!!..i feed on each word like a delicious meal savoring each nuance of the thing knowing what a mystery it is to come up with as i consider myself a writer..journal mostly, hundreds, 10's of thousands of words..i'm so 'bad' i can't read 2 pages of 'Beloved' without having my brain scorched..same with 'A Month of Sundays'..took me a year to read 'Rabbit Redux', same for 'Rabbit is Rich'..a little less time for 'Rabbit At Rest'..i haven't read many books but i love those i do..just like my movie addiction but i see tons of those..i read 'Crime and Punishment' a couple times even made a book report on it in high school..read a lot of Vonnegut..i rarely read 'fiction' even though i mention them above..i NEVER have sat down and read more than 50 pages in one 'sit'..with 'You've Been Warned' i read 210 pages at one pretty quick session for me..and, i finished it in less than 3 days..i loved it..now, i've never heard of Patterson and i don't care who he is or what he's written even though his taste of 'At The Edge of Madness' sounds tantalizing to me , especially , not being fiction..i liked this book and that's all that matters..i read some of the reviews in here and let some friends know i'm not going to read the lousy thing to force myself to enjoy on the plane and got 'Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath' and 'When You Are Engulfed in Flames' to chose one to take on a plane..this book i recommend, though, fine reading on a plane..i'm not taking it because i got taken in fast..i'm not sure but i kinda agree with a woman who gave this a '5' that maybe a lot of people didn't like it because it's a psychological thriller..the story, plot and being in her head moved so fast and interestingly nothing but fun for me even though i had a slight feeling i may know how it somewhat turns out..doesn't matter to me though.

You've Been Warned

You've Been Warned
James Patterson
Howard Roughan

Aside from all the clever marketing tactics, including the title itself (which is what drew me to the book) and the scary looking book cover with the bloody hole cut out mid-page to reveal a "Don't Look" teaser, this book was incredibly engaging and incredibly hard to put down once I started reading it.

It's a mystery, it's a thriller and it has that all-important twist toward the end of the story that catches you by surprise. In a way, I was expecting the ending, as I was reading through the story, and for a brief moment I thought it was just too unbelievable, but that soon passed and he brought it all together to the point that I really did believe something like this could happen in the real world.

Being a writer myself, I always hesitate to give away too much in a book's review, because I don't want to spoil it for the next guy, who hasn't read the story yet. I've noticed that some folks make their reviews sound as if they're writing a high school book report and they tell you what the entire story is about, literally ruining the experience for the next reader. It's almost as if they feel they need to prove that they actually read the book. Heck, if you give away everything there is to know about the book, then all the suspense and excitement has been diminished, especially in a mystery novel.

I got hooked on Patterson's short chapter, extremely tight style of writing when I read "The Honeymoon" not too long ago. He knows how to keep you turning pages, even when your eyes are burning and stinging from reading for hours, and even though you know you must get some sleep or you won't be able to get up and go to work the next morning.

It has been said that other writers learn and mimic other writers' styles in their own books, and I have tried Patterson's tactics, while writing my own novels, but no one can pull it off like Patterson does.

Also, his character descriptions leave no doubt in your mind what the people roaming around in the story look like. I especially enjoyed the way he portrayed Penley, "the pencil", the "other woman" who stands in the way of Kris's object of affection, Michael.

Patterson and Roughan did a fabulous job writing this book and I'm sure I will be picking up and reading another one soon. Good job, guys!

Joyce Marie Taylor
Author

Like a reviewer before me, I picked this up because James Patterson's name was prominently displayed on the dust jacket and I've read and enjoyed several of his books. Boy have I learned my lesson! Always read a few pages of a book before purchasing. I couldn't get past the first few pages. My husband felt the same. Patterson should be ashamed to put his name on a piece of junk like this. We will be donating our copy to a local library simply because we can't bear to throw a book away. Don't waste your time or hard earned cash on this one!

What a fabulous book - I simply loved it. Mr. Patterson always knows how to tell a great story and keep you turning those pages on the edge of your seat. Prior to buying this book, I had read a few reviews of other customer's who said they hated the book. However I have read James Patterson books for many years and I could not believe those bad reviews. I decided to find out for myself and I am glad I did. This is true to form Patterson, well written, suspenseful with plently of twists, and at the end I think - a moral lesson for us all. Don't play with fire because you will get burned and burn innocent people too. Another winner from James Patterson.

Picked it up at the airport because the choices were so slim. There must be somekind of kickback to stock this sort of thing. There is not much to say other than to quote this portion of the book:

"It was quiet in there.
Too quiet."

That may be a word or two off and do not want to go back now but how trite can it be. Actually I know the answer to that. "It was trite. Too trite."

I've read just about all of Patterson's books and this is by far the worst! No longer will I just assume if it's James Patterson's then buy and read! If you want a clue, just read the writer's comment in the section immediately following the last page. If you then decide to waste your time and money on this book, you can then at least say that "you were warned"!
I never throw books away, but I left this on the plane in the seatback with a suitable review. And what did I find there, but another copy of this book. Apparantely, a previous passanger felt the same about the book as I did!

... Do.not.read.the.book.

Absolutely horrible. Tremendously boring. Factually inconsistent, as another Photog had mentioned. Very insipidly written.

Such drivel.

Why did James Patterson decide he needed to resort to such bizarre, out-there topics?? First the flying children, then the imaginary playmate, now this nightmare of a book. I loved his Women's Murder Club series, Sam's Letters to Jennifer, Suzanne's Diary For Nicholas, and of course,
Alex Cross. Bring back the James Patterson plots we all know and love and please get off this tangent, Mr. Patterson.

I love most of James Patterson's books and he is one of my favorite authors. Alex Cross, the Women's Murder Club, great characters and great reads for suspense and entertainment. But... he's now venturing off with other authors why, I don't know but this is the second one I've read that I was sorely disappointed. This one especially. I couldn't wait to get through it and I found myself skipping over most of it to see if there was a point to the story.
I figured the plot quite easily but was hoping for something, anything to make it worth my read. If you've seen the movie the Sixth Sense, you'll see it's a weak spin of sorts from that theory.
I love a good read but this is not one. My message to fans of James Patterson is to stick to Alex Cross and the Murder Club books and skip all of the rest and especially if he aligns himself with another author.
I wonder if Patterson's goal has moved from author to one of seeing how many books he can write and co-write?

The reason this book has drawn so many negative reviews, including mine, is that readers thought they were getting a Patterson novel and felt cheated. This book doesn't read like Patterson because it isn't Patterson! For whatever reason, too many good authors these days are lending their names to books written by (they call it "with") someone else, in this case Howard Roughan. Even Robert Ludlum is still "writing" novels, though he died in 2001. You've Been Warned is weird, confusing, and completely unsatisfying. It doesn't even come close to the high standards found in books Patterson actually wrote himself.

This AWFUL book doesn't even deserve one star but because I'm a long-time James Patterson fan, I'm being generous. Patterson is a masterful storyteller so this book had to have been written by the 'co-author' and maybe proofread by Patterson, because this dumb drivel could never have come from JP. From now on I will never buy any Patterson book with a co-author, this is the 2nd one I immediately tossed into the trash after reading instead of passing on to friends. Finishing this truly crappy book was an ordeal but I kept hoping that somehow the story would make sense and redeem itself, but it didn't. RUN DO NOT WALK away from this book, don't waste your money, and if a friend gives you the book, do yourself a favor, use it to burn in your fireplace or throw it quickly into a landfill where hopefully it will disintegrate quickly.

OK, I'm going to disagree with everyone here. I couldn't put this book down! I guess it's because I love anything to do with the supernatural. for christians the ending is fantastic. It's another view of hell, and life after death. I LOVED it, and I search for good books because I have such a hard time finding them!

Kristin Burns is on her person quest of the American Dream a career as a photographer of the stars a man to share love and life and children to fill a dream home. She thinks she's found the man, the children and the home and her photography career seems to be on the verge of success. Now if the wife would just fade into the shadows. Kristin experiences bad dreams, waking with screams. On her daily journey to her job as a nanny, Kristin sees her dream come to life. But as horrible as the event, there's nothing in the papers or on the news. Why not? She took pictures with her ever present camera, but there's something wrong with the pictures. The dreams don't stop and neither do the real life events. When a stranger comes up to her with a warning, Kristin is forced to take notice. Edge of your seat suspense alternates with heavy breathing and sexual tension that culminates in a stunner of an ending. I don't need to tell you how great Patterson is, so I'll recommend another great book you don't wanna miss--TIN0'S FATES--I discovered it while browsing my bookstore and it is fab! Fates (Classic)

This book is totally disappointing, I have read all of Patterson's books, this one is terrible! I agree with previous posts, maybe Mr Patterson should be more concerned with writing a quality book instead of churning out 10+ books a year. I assume he makes a good living, no need to give the public such a mediocre book.

I read the book before the horrible reviews. While it is not my favorite Patterson book, it is not terrible! I did not find it confusing and I did not need the events of Kristen's life explained to me in the end, it made sense to me. LOL

I've read in a few different places that Mr. Patterson has said he doesn't have a problem with writers' block because he has so many projects going at one time. Well, maybe this is the problem. You know what they say about a Jack of all Trades, right?

The Patterson novels are getting worse and worse with each release. Does he ever write his own books anymore? I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe it's all these "contributors" that are screwing up these books.

In the past I would pre-order all his new novels. After I read You've Been Warned I decided that I'm not paying another penny for this trash anymore. If I happen to see some of his newest books at the library I might decide to check them out. But I'm not handing over another single cent for this drivel.

I see that there are at least two new Patterson novels in my recommendations list from Amazon. Both slated to be released soon. I'll bet that both are just as ridiculous as You've Been Warned.

I miss Alex Cross. I miss the ORIGINAL Max. Forget these bird-brain books written for 12-year-olds. Give me a sequel to The Lake House!

Fortunately Karin Slaughter is becoming more prolific. If you enjoyed Patterson's earlier works, check out Slaughter. She's fantastic!

This was my first time reading a book by James Patterson and I didn't enjoy it. I was confused the whole time. Is she the devil, is she crazy? She is a weak main character, who runs around like a chicken with her head cut off. I mean c'mon you are having the same dream every night and it all starts to get really real, its unfolding right in front of you and you don't even try to figure it out or stop any of it. I just wasn't happy with it at all. If anyone can recommend a better book by him, please let me know. thanks

This story could have made a very interesting book! But, unfortunately, the title of my review is what I felt about the book---- I kept reading waiting for the book to start! It was read in one sitting not only because I was looking for the story line, but because of the 306 pages (hardcover), there are 14 Chapters which equal 2 blank pages and 111 sub-chapters which are about 2 pages long and include a 1/2 blank page announcing the start of the chapter and 1/2 blank page at the end of almost all of these chapters! If my math is correct, this would have brought the total page count to around 167 pages! Maybe Mr Patterson should be investing some more time in his work and trying to keep his readers happy with interesting story lines that actually are "story lines."

I have read several James Patterson collaborations (i.e., The Quickie, Life Guard, Beach Road, Beach House, Honeymoon, etc), and would have to say that this was the absolute WORSE so far. Because of Atlanta traffic, I often select books on CD that I usually wouldn't read, but am willing to listen to. You've Been Warned fit the bill. However, that was a huge MISTAKE and I have been regretting it ever since (although it is only 3 CD's and I kept hoping that it would get better)!

What started out as a decent (although not terribly original story), soon turned into a supernatural (?) thriller where the main character starts experiencing things that she can't explain. Kristin (nanny by day, photographer by trade)is having an illicit affair with her employer (Michael), and seems to be suffering from nightmares (of events to come or that have happened). Between seeing things that she can't explain, and guilty over the affair, Kristin stumbles thru the novel, either seeing dead people (who include her father, her pediatrician who molested her, a mean cop, and countless others) or having encounters with people who "warn" her (of what, we are never sure). The novel then continues to spin out of control with a lot of conversation about her camera (that takes odd photos), mysterious men (one with a ponytail), odd events (smelling burning flesh and having rashes), numerous cockroaches and other even unexplained events, with no real explanation, and when one is finally given...it really isn't and leaves the reader more confused than ever.

After listening to several hours of the story, I am still not really sure what it is about. And because of the lack of cohesiveness in the story, I did not really have an interest in the outcome of the story or even the character, Kristin (who I never disliked, but never liked either...at times she was a bit dumb). And with that said, I would never recommend this story to anyone.

I love James Patterson and devour each book as it comes out. I am totally disappointed in this one. What a waste of time. It reminds of a time way back when 2001 A Space Odyssey came out. I kept watching it thinking something would happen. Well, I kept reading this waiting for something to happen.... nothing ever did. Don't waste your money.

I enjoyed this book. It was different from other Patterson books I've read, like Lifeguard, Honeymoom, Cross Books. I did figure it out half way through the story, but parts of ending were still surprising. I have to say I definately enjoyed it.

"You've Been Warned" is an extremely apt title since you have now "been warned" that this may
be one of the worst books ever written. I really like Patterson and have listened to many of his
books but this is truly awful. Endless stream-of-consciousness blather by the heroine --
"Is it real?? Or is it a dream?" track upon track until you keep wondering if anything will EVER actually
happen in this book. Be warned: Nothing does happen. Don't listen to this while you are driving. You will
be so bored and frustrated that you may be tempted to drive your car into a tree just to stay awake.

I am glad that I am not the only one hating this book. James Paterson is sending out books at the speed of light. He should be thinking quality not quantity. To think that this is the same man who wrote Kiss the Girls and kept me on edge throughout the book - there is just no comparison. Very disappointing. He should write on his own not with a partner. The last murder club book I read 6th Horseman was also not up to standard.

This is the first and last Patterson book I have ever read. I decided to try one of them and I was really disappointed. The story line was not all that bad but I felt like I was reading a book designed around an 8th grade reading level. The vocabulary was basic along with the redundancy of the plot. I cant really describe it any other way. I dont think the story itself was all that bad but the writing was horrible. If you are going to crank out a fast book for a fast buck.. give it some character and some substance.

This book was pretty interesting. It was a thriller with lots of suspense and a little scary for me. Maybe i am just weird, but i actually enjoyed it and i think it is much better than couple of the James Patterson books, such as Double Cross. With so much suspense, i could not put the book down. The story was simple but the twists and turns made it mysterious. I at one point thought Kristin was schizophrenic from the way she was in the book. Good read. !!

I've read a few James Patterson books, and at most would have rated them a three. In general, I found them facile, sometimes with interesting plots that unfortunately degenerated into plots for plots sake. Characters were either at most two dimensional, or pretty unsympathetic. His books left me cold; I took them out of the library when nothing else better was available.

This Patterson/Roughan is in a class by itself, at least among the Patterson books I've read. It can be classed magical realism -- where ordinary people in ordinary reality find themselves in fantastical situations. In this case, the protagonist (and reader) have good reason to question the definition and borders of sanity. The book is an interesting read for that reason alone.

The precipitating event is not enough for fantasms to tar the heroine to the extent that they do, in my opinion, but the heroine's kalidescope of experiences is internally consistent and, to my mind, fascinating.

I would have rated this a four considering the books I've read, but a five given the Patterson books I've read. After I took a look at other readers' ratings, I decided on a five. This is a book for people willing to broaden their expectations of an author's works. It deserves a lot more than the 1 rating many people have given it.

This was a fast read, even faster than usual Patterson books. That is because there's not much to this story. Its a weird plot and there's not much 'mystery' in it. I'm coming to expect to be disappointed with Patterson's co-written books.

I am a huge fan of James Patterson, but this was awful. I kept reading thinking it would get better, but after completing it, I unfortunately felt I had truly wasted good time doing so. If you love his typical edge of your seat writing style, look elsewhere. You will not find it here. Sadly, this book was beyond disappointing.

The real story must be whatever Mr. Patterson is going through to steep so low as to let books with this poor quality bear his name. That's a mystery thriller that needs to be solved.

If you would like a book that stays on course, is a thrill, and is a real page-turner, then you've hit the spot. I loved that this book stayed true to the story, and didn't disappoint me. A good, quick pick.

James Patterson is one of my favorite writers but this book was horrible. I listen to 3-4 audio books per week and this was the first book that I couldn't bring myself to listen to the entire book. It felt like it was just droning on and on. A little more than halfway through I couldn't stand it anymore and turned it off. It was the same thing over and over. No twists or turns. I did read the last few pages to see if it ended the way I had said it was going to when the book first started, and it did. Definitely not one of his better efforts.

But I loved this book, LOL. It had a completely breakneck pace all the way through. I think someone described it as "one note..." Well, that one note for me was a giant crescendo from start to finish. I think the book does a good job of building tension page after page. Just when you think it's at the breaking point, things get even more tense. Sure this book has some problems. But hot damn, I couldn't stop reading it. Practically pulled an all-nighter so I could finish.

This is the worst book I've ever read from James Patterson. He should not do any more books with Howard Roughan if this is what they will be like. The characters were not likeable, the plot stupid.

My employer sends a gift certificate every year for staff's birthdays. I usually spend mine on my grandbabies - this year I spent it on myself and bought hardcover books for my pleasure! I thought this was going to be a treat, instead I was so disgusted with myself for wasting my money on it. My famiy likes to borrow my books and this one has been left alone. They ask me about it and I tell them to check it out but that I didn't care for it. I'll probably stick it in a secondhand store bin or send it to someone's garage/yard sale to let some other poor sucker have a go at it.

Now, this one is pretty bad. OK, many publishers utilize ghostwriters to help out the big names that sell books. I think it is cool that Patterson's little helper gets billing on the cover. This particular book should be a novella, it really does not have enough story to fill out an entire book. The font is large (not quite a large print book, though), and the chapters are many. This is really a 100 page novella masquerading as a novel, and we are being charged $27 for all this! Back to the story and characters-the main reason the public reads-and buys-books. This one is not very interesting, characters are just not believable or engaging. The twists and turns are implausible, even given the subject and genre. Hopefully, Patterson and his Ghost will be given something a little better to work with next time. This is only my opinion.

This book is a thriller with depth. I have read many so called "thrillers" with cheap plots and characters. The real plot in this book is between the lines.
I have read other Patterson books, but so far I find this very interesting for a "pop" author. It has the culture of real literature. This story with it's fast-moving thrills & chill holds a great moral sub plot. It's a great lesson to many of us, as we seem to ignore many "warnings" that are right before our eyes.
Patterson doesn't "create" a new story here. He just rewrites an age-old plot in a new light.
His simple writing style is astoundingly effective. I have read many books of this genre using this same style, that are so "amateur". I have read another Patterson book "The Quickie" of the same style but this books graces its first person narrative so well.
I can go on for ten pages about this book but, I think I'll stop here. Despite the "don't think, just shoot" title, this book is definetely one for the thinking.

I'm not a huge fan of James Patterson, but his novels are easy to read and he can sometimes produce a genuinely entertaining story (THE QUICKIE and JUDGE AND JURY are examples of enjoyable Patterson books). But for every solid effort, he seems to produce at least two disappointments.

YOU'VE BEEN WARNED falls in the "disappointment" category. This novel is a bit of a depature for Patterson, since it involves a strong element of the supernatural. Imagine Patterson writing an episode of THE TWILIGHT ZONE, and that is this novel in a nutshell.

Unfortunately, YOU'VE BEEN WARNED has no momentum whatsoever. The plot can be summarized as follows: a random series of strange events happen to a lead character who is not particularly sympathetic or interesting. This is perhaps the most sluggish Patterson novel I've ever read, and easily the least engaging. The ending is somewhat original, but not particularly satisfying.

In short, avoid this novel unless you're a hardcore Patterson fan. It's a shame that this novel will sell over a million copies when many superior books go unnoticed.

I have read most of James Patterson's books and this one takes the cake as being the most ridiculous, stupid book I've read in a long time, possibly ever. I'm so glad I found it used and cheap and I'm sorry for the people who paid full price for this junk. The writing in the dustjacket is so misleading; it actually makes you think this book will be interesting and suspenseful. Save the money and if you feel you must give it a chance, go to the library.

I thank you very much for this item, I was done reading this book before I was supposed to receive it!! Excellent vendor, excellent service, keep up the good work!

I have read many of James Patterson's books but this one was awful. The plot, if you could call it that, had no substance, purpose, or direction. It seemed like Mr. Patterson just read a paper on schizophrenia and decided to create a character based on these traits. Nothing made sense and it was never explained. In fact, I probably would have respected this book a smidge if he did explain that she had this very real, and sad, disease rather than just trying to make a buck off of it.

I am a big fan of James Patterson and have always eagerly awaited his newest book. I can't wait for them to come out in paperback and buy the hard cover. This was absolutely worse book I have ever read by him and if you are reading this Mr. Patterson please feel free to send me my money back.

I couldn't understand the plot. The story was all over the place. I can only hope that his next book is better than this one and I might just wait for that to come out in paperback so I won't waste my money again

I have read all of Mr. Patterson's books and this one is a real "STINKER". The worst book I read in 2007 and I average 2 a week. Maybe Mr. Patterson should write his own stories and not collaborate with so many other authors.

I don't write a lot of reviews for [...], but I felt I had to write this one. When I first started reading this book, I had not yet looked at the Amazon reviews. I was already enjoying the book when I decided to read some of the Amazon reviews. I was so surprised by the "2 star" general rating that I was convinced that the ending of the book had to be horrific. But I kept reading.

When I got to the end of the book I thought, I kind of liked this! Is there something wrong with me? :)

I found the book to be entertaining - surprises at the end of every chapter, practically - and lots of fun. The ending, too, wasn't bad. It was a heck of a lot better than a lot of the endings that I have read (for example, Stephen King's "Cell")! Did it answer all questions (like, why did she have a closet full of cockroaches?) - no. Did it make some kind of wacky sense? Yes. I especially liked the very evocative definition of "eternity."

I have never been a reader of James Patterson. I took the book out of the library because I loved Howard Roughan's "The Up and Comer," and thought I would try this one. I can't say I was disappointed.

I ordinarily would have given this book 4 stars, not 5. But I felt I had to counteract all of these overly harsh reviews!

My advice is, give it a shot and see what you think!

This book is all the more painful due to the fact that I truly admire Patterson's effort to get out of his strict mold. To start with, the book is spooky enough and odd enough to grab ones attention. Your not sure if you are walking into the Twilight Zone or a Kafka story. However, the protagonist, a stupid young woman who is being sexualy manipulated by her wealthy married boss told in the first person, really starts getting on the readers nerves. This lady is beyond a typical dumb blond. Imagine Susane Summers from 'Threes Company'.

At the end, it becomes apparent that this story relies heavily upon an old Roman Polanski film, 'The Apartment' (a great movie in his Rosemary's Baby style'. While I would recommend that movie, I hope that you will stay well away from this terrible bit of writing.