Once again, James Patterson and his cohorts disappoints. Why do I keep returning for more torture? Because, I remember the great Patterson books Alex Cross series, and The Women's Murder Club books.

In THE QUICKIE, the plot sounded like a fun read......

Lauren, a Homicide Detective decides to surprise her hubby for lunch, and discovers he's fooling around with someone else. Lauren gets even by having an affair herself.

Once the story got going the plot was so far-fetched, it was laughable. The only saving grace was that the reader of this audio book, Mary Stuart Masterson, did a great job reading the ridiculous story, and I hung on until the end. Why? I'm not sure.

BORROW this one.

I always look forward to reading the next James Patterson book, and this one certainly did not dissapoint me...it was wonderful, suspense filled, and kept me turning pages! I finished it in less than a day...and it left me now to wait for his next one...Keep em coming!

Disappointed, only stuck with first half of story because author usually is so good, in my opinion. Had to push to read until second half or so, then pace, interest and prose picked up to what I expect from this author.

Almost seemed like two different authors wrote two separate sections of book!!!

This is the first book by Patterson I read. I only checked it out from the library because the book I wanted was checked out and I had seen The Quickie on one of those best murder mystery novel lists on the side of amazon pages when you're browsing. I expected to take about two weeks to read the book. I finished it in two days! For a man, he tells one hell of a story from a woman's point of view, and his chapters are so short you never want to put it down. You always feel like the conflict is done, but then something else comes up. Fabulous plot and twist after twist!

Brooklyn detective Lauren Stillwell decides to drive into Manhattan and surprise her husband for lunch, only to discover him with another woman. Proving two can play that game, she has a one night stand with a colleague, only to witness a brutal killing soon after and finds that she must lie to cover up her actions as well as those of her husband in order to keep her actions secret. But as events unravel, Lauren discovers that not everything is as it seems and isn't sure who she can trust.

I gave up on Patterson years ago after he started churning out novels as quickly as Basking Robins creates new flavors (with co-authors no less), but on recommendation of a friend, gave this one a chance. The plotting is as good as his early Alex Cross novels like "Along Came a Spider" and "Kiss the Girls." Every time I thought I knew the direction the story would take, it went off in another direction. The main problem I had with the story is the use of first person, which I think belongs in chick lit novels. Couple that with the sometimes lacking dialogue and the numerous short chapters. It's as if each time a character takes a breath, boom - next chapter; it made the story seem somewhat incomplete. For the plot, I would give it 4 stars, but the actual delivery was more like 3.

© Tracy Vest, September 2008

Brooklyn detective Lauren Stillwell decides to drive into Manhattan and surprise her husband for lunch, only to discover him with another woman. Proving two can play that game, she has a one night stand with a colleague, only to witness a brutal killing soon after and finds that she must lie to cover up her actions as well as those of her husband in order to keep her actions secret. But as events unravel, Lauren discovers that not everything is as it seems and isn't sure who she can trust.

I gave up on Patterson years ago after he started churning out novels as quickly as Basking Robins creates new flavors (with co-authors no less), but on recommendation of a friend, gave this one a chance. The plotting is as good as his early Alex Cross novels like "Along Came a Spider" and "Kiss the Girls." Every time I thought I knew the direction the story would take, it went off in another direction. The main problem I had with the story is the use of first person, which I think belongs in chick lit novels. Couple that with the sometimes lacking dialogue and the numerous short chapters. It's as if each time a character takes a breath, boom - next chapter; it made the story seem somewhat incomplete. For the plot, I would give it 4 stars, but the actual delivery was more like 3.

This book stands in stark contrast to the many Patterson books I have read, thoroughly enjoyed and even recommended to friends. The plot and much of the dialogue in "Quickie" is unrealistic to the point of being ridiculous. I'm glad I only paid .99 cents at the thrift store for this book, because it's not worth more than that. I could hardly believe this was a Patterson book.

I would not recommend this book because I did not like the lead character or the voice of the person reading it. Men are better readers because they can very easily portray male voices. On the contrary, a woman cannot and when she tries to do it, she sounds ridiculous. Also, I did not like the storyline.

Here we have still another James Patterson Thriller, this one co-authored by Michael Ledwidge, who is a thriller writer in his own right, and I have to say, despite all the criticism I've heard of these shotgun delivery James Patterson novels, I've really liked the last two I've read and I really liked this one, so much so that I'm going to have to go out and get Step on a Crack next and see if Messers Patterson and Ledwidge have the same tense suspense there as they've dripped all through this one.

NYPD Homicide Detective Lauren Stillwell plans to surprise her husband broker Paul Stillwell but when she shows up for her planned surprise lunch, she's the one who is surprised. She sees hubby dear entering a hotel with a hottie blonde. This won't do, it just won't do, so Lauren decides on getting a little revenge and has a little quickie of her own with undercover cop Scott Thayer. Just a little sex on the side, nothing more.

But it turns into more, because hubby Paul kills lover Scott and detective Lauren sees it live. What to do, what to do? She can't come forward, she'd lose her job, so she decides to cover for Paul and if you don't think that setup isn't enough to keep you burning the midnight oil, then you gotta close the book and turn on PBS, because you're not a thriller reader. There are twists I didn't see coming, turns I missed completely in this story that reminds me of Patterson of old. You won't be disappointed with this one.

James Patterson adds another to a long list of suspense/thrillers. New York Detective takes revenge on a cheating husband and ends up watching her husband kill her lover. She then uses every ruse to cover-up the crime to protect her career, her husband, and the innocent victims.
Loaded with surprises, at every turn of the short chapter pages to the gripping end without much story line in between. For all the build up it was much too predictable. A good read for a night of insomnia.
I am surprised this one wasn't labeled a "tearjerker" because the heroine sure was heavy on the water works---overdone to the point of boredom. Her detective partner is the one of the few admirable characters in THE QUICKIE .
Writing as a Small BusinessSins of the Fathers: A Brewster County Novel

Boring, no "who dunnit", too neat and put together. A problem arises, and quickly and easily fixed. I had to finish this book hoping there would be something at the end to put it all together proving I was wrong, that there really was a bigger story, but no, just a dumb book. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Waste of time.

Lauren is a character that you can't help but identify with. Through the scituations she is faced with we can only imagine how we would react. Although as usual nothing goes as expected, Patterson delivers his usual quick & quite enjoyable read. The twists and turns will keep you reading his bite size chapters late into the night.

As I love Law and Order the TV Show I somewhat liked this books because the concept goes very much the same as an episode. However, I got tired of all the "and then" moments where you find something else about the plot or the characters. Utterly unbelievable. On the plus side it does give you two stories for the price of one. It's a rapid paced book, otherwise I don't think I'd have finished it.

Look, nearly every novel presents an implausible plot point or few. But enjoying this one requires you not just to suspend disbelief--you must bludgeon it to death.

James Patterson has done it again.. Can this man write ANYTHING bad? I think not. The Quickie is a very fast read as well as it should be, because when you start a Patterson novel, you do not want to put it down.
Bare bones is what I call it and the plot could have been ripped from today's newspaper headlines. Totally engrossing and extremely well written, as are most of his books. The only bad part of the book is that it ends!

There are so many twists and turns in this story that it literally keeps you on the edge of your seat!

I was sceptic about this book since it was yet another joint venture of Pattersons w/ Ledwidge. I prefer James Patterson alone, however, the title just caught my eye and I thought it might be a fun read. OMG, I could not put this book down. It has just about every twist and turn that is thinkable and then some. You will not be dissappointed w/this book. I was actually sorry I got to the end so quickly.

James Patterson is undoubtedly my favorite author. This thriller just makes me love his work even more! As always, he keeps you guessing. You won't want to miss out on how this story ends! S.L. Chessor author of Poodlums, Boogeymen and Booglers Poodlums, Boogeymen and Booglers: A Poetry Collection

Patterson has done it again! A terrific book that is unpredictable and has quite a few story lines going all through the book but not to the confusing point. Lauren Stillwell has a great job, a terrific marriage, and many of life's luxuries and she enjoys all of them. Lauren decides one day that she was going to surprise husband Paul at his office and both go out for a fantastic meal. As Lauren approached Paul's office building in Manhattan, she spied Paul leaving the office building with a young blond woman. Whoa!! She followed them in her car to a hotel and watched them go in. "This is not good" is what came to Laurens mind. There must be some explanation so Lauren gave Paul the benefit of a doubt when he arrived home that night until Paul told her he had lunch at his desk.

They both entered a taxi to go to the airport, each to go to fly to a different city and, Lauren hoped, give her a chance to think things out. Well, Lauren thought things out very fast and arranged a date with an old friend instead of leaving New York. She was going to get even with Paul. Old friend and former fellow cop, Scott, came to the house as arranged for their rendezvous and to Lauren her revenge. They each got cold feet and Scott took off with Lauren following him, eventually catching him as he was getting on his motorcycle to take off for parts unknown. Lauren wanted so desperately to get that revenge that she climbed on and went with Scott to his house where they had groping and fantastic sex in every part of the house.

It seems Paul also did not go out of town as planned. He was following Lauren and Scott, taking in the entire scene. Paul had every intention of giving Scott a real life lesson by killing him but while approaching Scott, Paul's cell phone went off and alerted Scott that someone was there and this turned into a bitter battle after which Lauren saw Paul throw Scott into his truck and take off with him. She did not know if Scott was alive or not but figured that Paul was taking Scott to the hospital.

Lauren was a Detective First Grade on the Bronx Homicide Task Force. How was she going to explain what occurred? She rushed to various hospitals searching for Scott to see the injuries herself while at the same time thinking how she would cover this up and proceed as if nothing had happened to her life! While searching the hospitals, she discovered a huge presence of police at a nearby park. As she approached the area her co-workers asked her why she wasn't at the conference she had supposedly gone to. She explained that away fast and jumped into the crime scene where a dead body, turning out to be Scott, had been found wrapped and dumped in the park pond.

Lauren and Paul's life had taken a sharp turn but neither would discuss what they knew the other had done or the attack on Scott. This made some things better in their lives and also opened up some crevices that they both fell into. Life went on but certainly not normal in any sense of the word. They both acted well with each other and no one that they knew of suspected anything wrong with their lives together but they each knew they were living a ticking time bomb.

As usual with Patterson's books, he has a way to keep the reader deeply involved in the story as though they were actually there playing the parts. Did you try to kill your spouse??

This is one of the best books I've read in a LONG time! I read this in less than 24 hours during the work week!!!!! This book keeps you guessing and has a few twists just when you think you've figured it all out.

Although I usually like books by Patterson, the Quickie wasn't as good as his other novels. I found it rather flat and underdeveloped, as if the author had to make a deadline and did not have time to devote more to the story and its characters. I did finish reading it but I do not recommend it as a good reading. What I do recommend instead is The Burden of Proof which I read recently. Turow's novel is just the opposite to Quickie - it is actually 'too well' developed and I would cut 100 pages of it if I could, but it is otherwise very good reading.

The last Patterson book I read was Honeymoon. It was shallow, entertaining, but a heck of a page turner. What more do you need for a summer book? The Quickie follows a similar pattern; short chapters, lots of twists and turns, and plenty of action. The Quickie is written in the first person by a woman seeking revenge after seeing her husband with another woman; mayhem ensues (how's that for a quick plot summary?). The Quickie is definitely a quickie, I finished it in two days, and two days is probably about how long I will remember it. It is definitely a fun escape, but parts of the book are so implausible I caught myself rolling my eyes, even more than during Honeymoon.

The Quickie is full of just about every cliché known to this genre, including evidence tampering, blackmail, and others I won't list because they could be spoilers; but think of any cliché, and you will probably find it in this book.

Does all this mean I don't recommend The Quickie? Not at all. Just go in with the expectation to be entertained....and not much more.

This was one of my favorites by James Patterson. I couldn't put the book down.....the ending was awesome!

This book starts off with a bang then takes you on many twist of the story. By the end of the book you are amazed at all the truths to the story and the outcome.

I could figure out the surprises and turn of events long before they happened...plus I had no feelings at all for Lauren, the heroine, she was presented in a generic "paint by numbers" every woman manner..nothing interesting or unique......I read the first hundred pages...then zipped to the end....and sure enough I'd already figured it out..and since I didn't care about the people in it..since they were lifeless stereotypes, I forgot it....Crooked policemen..wow that's something new...the NO police chief was reputed to say....I try to catch more criminals...than I hire...(and often don't succeed)...Why don't they delve more into the main character's personality..make them seem human instead of cardboard......I forgot the novel instantly....Talk about "dumbing down" drivel..

Once again James Patterson has not disappointed me. As the cover says, right from the first page, the story had me and it continued through out the book with the plot twists and changes. I always enjoy reading a James Patterson novel.

I had a hard time putting this book down. It was well written and keeps you guessing. To think that so much could happen when a woman has seen her husband walking with a woman. I can't believe anyone wouldn't really enjoy this book.

This is the best James Patterson book I have read. I could not put it down. I reccomend this to everyone.

I thought I could predict how this book would go, but throughout the entire book I was surprised by a new twist. Very suspenseful, but also an easy read. Definitely worth your time!

As an avid fan of the Women's Murder Club, I usually love Patterson books that have a law theme. In this case, however, I was highly disappointed with the lack of moral character the cops in the book displayed. After every wrong doing of the characters, the reader is made to feel as though the victim had it coming to him, that whatever occurred was justified. For example, at the onset, the cop who is killed, after a Quickie with a married woman cop, turns out to be dirty; having conspired with drug dealers and taking payoffs from them. The lady cop who tries to cover up the murder, in an attempt to deflect blame from her husband, steals evidence then plants it on a drug dealer, innocent of this particular crime. Later she blackmails the DA after he finds evidence of her complicity. Meanwhile, her detective partner executes the drug dealer, the same one previously framed, then claims the dealer was trying to escape. Except for the short chapters, the book did not have the vintage Patterson stamp to it. I believe Michael Ledwidge may have done the majority of the writing on this one, with Mr. Patterson perhaps only contributing the editing duties. The repetitious comic one liners were also not a la Patterson. I felt myself cringing as I read the book. While I know that the police community is not perfect, I sincerely hope it is not as flawed as this book makes it seem.

ALTHOUGH NOT PARTICULARLY WELL WRITTEN, THE AUTHOR'S STYLE OF EXTREMELY SHORT CHAPTERS MAKES IT A QUICK PAGE TURNER. THE DETECTIVE HEROINE IS AN AMORAL INDIVIDUAL GOOD AT LYING, CHEATING, AND WINNING WITH HER DECEIPT THROUGHOUT THE BOOK. AS I TOO WAS ONCE IN LAW ENFORCEMENT, I WOULD NOT WISH TO WORK WITH OR SUPERVISE HER, MUCH LESS BE A FRIEND. SHE IS REPUGNANT IN EVERYTHING BUT HER PHYSICAL APPEARANCE. I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ANYONE OF HIGH MORALS.

I liked this book but I found it to be a bit far-fetched. The book does read quickly and has the feeling of a movie more than a novel. I kept getting the feeling the author was saying to himself "What else can I throw in here?". My main criticism of the book, which I found to be unbelievable is that Lauren, for having the type of job she had, seemed to be fooled an awful lot. How could all of those things been going on and she didnt know?! Puhhhh-lease!

I really enjoyed this one! It had more twists and turns than a New york pretzel. I have read several of this author's other titles (see my reviews) and I can honestly say that if you are one of his fans, that this is one of his better efforts! Enjoy! I most certainly did.

This book, "The Quickie" is absolutely, the best book I've ever read! I've read a lot of great books, but this one keeps you reading and reading until you're finished. It's one of those books that, when you've finished reading, you think to yourself..." aww, I wish this book went on forever!" Every time you think the book couldn't get any better, something even more incredible and thrilling happens! There are more twists and turns in this book than you can ever believe. If you're looking for a book that you can't put down, "The Quickie" is your best bet. It'll keep you on the edge of your seat until you turn the last page!

Thank you I have enjoyed the book so much, like all Mr. Patterson's books kept me awake all night.
Maria A. Giray.

Lauren Stillwell is at the end of her rope in her marriage. She suspected something was up but she can't believe that her husband Paul would dare cheat on her. How could he after all these years? Not sure what else to do, Lauren opts to go the route of revenge. Maybe after a little dirty deed of her own, she can feign ignorance of his tawdry affair and the two can manage to work things out. But when her one-time lover finds his demise at the hands of Lauren's husband, her life and everything she's worked so hard to achieve suddenly begin to unravel at a rapid pace. She finds herself doing things she never would have believed she was capable of and discovering the harsh reality that things are not always the way they seem.


The Quickie, is an excellent high energy thriller that keeps you constantly on the edge of your seat. Playing out in your mind like an action police drama, it's hard to believe that you are not in a plush seat in a dark theater watching this on film but rather seeing its vivid imagery and crisp details in your mind. A must-read and great introduction to the ways of author James Patterson.

This book was excellent. Quite a departure from his normal books but very enjoyable. A quick read and lots of good humor.

I believe this book was a basic interesting story plot but not up to the level of other James Paterson books.

This book moves at a fast pace and is an enjoyable read. Not for the deep thinker but a fun and fast read.

This was one of my favorite books. It was full of suspense and intrigue. It's a quick read and hard to put down. If you loved his book, "Honeymoon", you should definitely order "The Quickie".

My daughter in law enjoys reading James Patterson...She said this was another great book by him

Fresh from reading The 6th Target I dove right into another James Patterson Thriller, this one co-authored by Michael Ledwidge, who is a thriller writer in his own right, and I have to say, despite all the criticism I've heard of these shotgun delivery James Patterson novels, I've really liked the last two I've read and I really liked this one, so much so that I'm going to have to go out and get Step on a Crack next and see if Messers Patterson and Ledwidge have the same tense suspense there as they've dripped all through this one.

NYPD Homicide Detective Lauren Stillwell plans to surprise her husband broker Paul Stillwell but when she shows up for her planned surprise lunch, she's the one who is surprised. She sees hubby dear entering a hotel with a hottie blonde. This won't do, it just won't do, so Lauren decides on getting a little revenge and has a little quickie of her own with undercover cop Scott Thayer. Just a little sex on the side, nothing more.

But it turns into more, because hubby Paul kills lover Scott and detective Lauren sees it live. What to do, what to do? She can't come forward, she'd lose her job, so she decides to cover for Paul and if you don't think that setup isn't enough to keep you burning the midnight oil, then you gotta close the book and turn on PBS, because you're not a thriller reader. There are twists I didn't see coming, turns I missed completely in this story that reminds me of Patterson of old. You won't be disappointed with this one.

Ken Douglas, author of Dead Ringer, Desperation Moon & Running Scared.

I have only read maybe one or two James Patterson books and given the number of books he has written, I thought this might be a good one especially since the title was catchy and the prelude was enticing.
With this said, the Quickie was one of the worst thriller novels I have ever read. The character development is lacking and the plot is totally implausible. Every aspect of the story is unbelievable from from the crime that Lauren's husband commits to the coverup by Lauren and especially the conclusion. This book is certainly not worth the money and I for one will never buy any of his books again.

The Quickie is a good read for a plane trip or to fill in a lazy day. It is hard to put down once you start, and the ending is unexpected.It has a good balance of emotion and action.I really enjoyed reading it and was inspired to read a few more of Patterson's titles while I was still on holidays, and not wanting to read anything heavy! It really is the written equivalent of a "Chic Flic"!

An easy read. Plot was a little far fetched at times but fast moving and a page turner

This book was a very quick read but lacked a decent storyline. It was pretty predictable and not well researched.

I'll start by saying: Spoilers ahead!


Yes, The Quickie was a quick read. And yes, I couldn't put it down. I was surprised and impressed when I realized what Lauren did for a living. Nice twist. Too bad it was the best one the story had.

Twists, turns, and a plot line that just kept skipping along. It was almost `too' perfect. This happens, and wham! Fixed! Moved along. This happens, and wham! Another pitfall taken care of... moving right along.

I found myself not really liking Lauren much. Paul, the hubby, was a psycho, true, but our dear Lauren was only a step away from being one herself on more than one occasion.

Oh, and I'm pretty sure there was a gag reflex when her and her hubby were having their romantic dinner and their wedding song just so happened to be playing.

This may come as a surprise, but I actually liked this book. Yes, you read that right. I liked it. It was a quick read, and sometimes that's what I want. It kept me interested. It clipped along. And there were surprises. Most of them came out of left field and too many things fell into our protagonist's lap to be even somewhat believable.

Fiction is supposed to be an escape from everyday life, but nothing works out as smoothly as everything did in this story. Way too neat and clean for my liking.

I'm giving it a three because it did keep me entertained and I couldn't put it down, but it was just `meh' overall. The `unbelievable' is what finally did me in.

I read this book in 3 hours - I could not put it down, not because it was a great book but because it was disturbing and I had to get to the end. It had me second guessing my traveling husband's whereabouts and motives too, and for no reason. Definitely got under my skin. If that's what you are into, you may enjoy it. If you're already teetering on instability, you may want to find a different book.

I have read some of James Peterson's book before and I have enjoyed them. I read the cover and thought that it was a very good thriller but I was very disapointed.
The girl's underlying humor takes away much of the excitement and I could never decide if I liked her or not.
I enjoyed some parts of the book but I would not recommend this book for anyone who is looking for a thriller to read.

The book takes only an evening to read and that was another disapointment.

The only James Patterson book I have ever read is Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas. I have never read any of his thrillers, which is what he's known for. I picked up The Quickie, co-authored by Michael Ledwidge, on a whim while I was browsing the new paperbacks section at the bookstore. Even though I wouldn't call this novel brilliant or clever, it is definitely entertaining and will probably enable me to pick up other Patterson thrillers in the future. Lauren Stillwell's world shatters when she sees her husband sneaking off during lunchtime to meet with another woman. How could he do that to her after all they've been through together? But instead of confronting him and throwing a tantrum, she does something else -- she evens the score by sleeping with a colleague she's had a crush on for a long time. Little had she known the can of worms she has opened by doing such a thing. She catches her husband killing her lover, and now she has to do the sort of unethical things she thought she would never do -- trample with evidence, lie to people -- in order to cover her husband's tracks and save her job, not to mention avoid involving the media at all cost. But things get more complicated for Lauren when twists, turns and flooring discoveries and events unfold.

This novel lives by its name. It is definitely a quickie and I wasn't bored throughout the riveting read. The chapters are very short, something I noticed in Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas, which make reading this book a breeze. The characters are all well-defined. Many reviewers complained that the characters, especially the heroine, are all flawed and have unlikable qualities. I for one appreciate reading a book whose heroine isn't a perfect, moral, Law and Order type, but a flawed and at times selfish person who is looking after herself and her loved ones. (For no matter how much she claims she is also looking after Scott's family's best interest, her motives are more selfish than that.) The things she allows to happen and the things that occur for omitting her husband's crime are awful, but I felt for Lauren and her dilemma. The somewhat ironic twist at the end is great, but the resolution is glossed over and is tied up a little too neatly for my liking. I won't go into further detail because I don't want to post any spoilers, but I'm sure that those who have read this novel will agree with me on that account. All in all, The Quickie is entertaining from beginning to end. It's nothing special, but it serves its purpose as a good thriller. This is the perfect spring/summer "quickie."