Five Reasons We Can’t Wait to Read Patterson’s Truth or Die

With our world entering into an era future historians may well call Peak Patterson, it’s never been a better time to be a thriller reader. Patterson turns in first-class, reliably entertaining reads each and every time, and he’s continued the streak with his latest, Truth or Die, co-authored with Howard Roughan (The Promise of a Lie). The latest Patterson thriller is one of his best, and here’s why.
The new character
Patterson’s fans love Alex Cross and the Women’s Murder Club, of course, but sometimes it’s exciting to see the master come up with a wholly new character. A new head to get inside of, a new messy life to explore, and a new personality to watch react to dire and thrilling problems. Trevor Mann is an attorney with a messy past marked by one serious professional mistake, but as the book opens he’s found his footing again—until his journalist girlfriend is killed, and he’s pushed into a non-stop fight for the truth and survival. Mann is a fun character to follow—a normal guy with some flaws who finds himself in a frightening situation he’s not trained or prepared for, which promises to be quite a ride in the able hands of Patterson and Roughan.

The wonderful co-author
One of Patterson’s skills is choosing incredible co-authors and collaborators. Howard Roughan, an accomplished novelist himself, has worked with Patterson many times before, on great books like the Honeymoon series, Don’t Blink, and You’ve Been Warned. So even though Truth or Die is a standalone story with a new character, it’s being handled by two extremely talented writers with proven track records who have worked together brilliantly several times, which assures us that it will be much more than just a fun new universe and personality—it’ll be filled with great details, meticulous plotting, and writing that hits Patterson’s very high standards of excitement and tension.
The killer premise
Patterson has a knack for coming up with irresistible plots that lend themselves both to succinct jacket copy that lures you in while you’re standing in a bookstore and to meaty, twisting stories. Truth or Die‘s cast of characters includes Mann’s everyman attorney, a boy genius with a smart mouth, a helpful police detective who uses literary references as an ersatz secret code—and a trail of dead bodies all leading to a secret government program with the potential to change the world, and not for the better. When Owen—the Boy Genius who was working with Mann’s murdered girlfriend to expose the story—shows Mann a series of videos of terror suspects being interrogated in a very strange way, the whole book kicks up a notch in terms of tension and potential body count.
The non-stop action
This is one of those thrillers in which the action commences on page one and never lets up. In some books there are lulls, periods when the characters have some downtime and introspective moments, sections during which the reader can take a breath and collect herself. This is not one of those stories. This is one of those stories in which the protagonist hits the ground running and keeps running, moving from danger to discovery and back to danger every few pages. That means it’s going to be a fast-paced, insistent read that keeps you up at night or sees you missing your subway stop as you obsessively turn the page.
Owen
Remember the Boy Genius we mentioned earlier? He’s not your typical Patterson character, and he’s a blast. Super-smart, obsessive, snarky—but ready and able to throw down with the best as he and Mann team up to avenge Mann’s girlfriend, expose the truth, and, oh yeah, survive the whole adventure with their lives intact. Owen owns the page from the moment he’s introduced, and the pairing between him and Mann promises to be a lot of fun to watch as they solve immediate problems on their way to figuring out the whole story. In fact, we’re willing to bet when you mentally cast the film version of Truth or Die, you’re going to start with Owen, and have a lot of fun doing it.
James Patterson’s on a historic winning streak when it comes to releasing fun, fresh thrillers that don’t disappoint. Truth or Die gives us every reason to believe the streak will continue. What do you think?
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