The Thomas Berryman Number

by James Patterson

Overview

Discover the first novel ever written by the world's #1 bestselling author, James Patterson—a story of prejudice and murder in the American South.
 
When an up-and-coming politician is murdered in a small Southern town, reporter Ochs Jones suspects that racism and prejudice had something to do with it—and when he learns about two other murders, tracking down the killer becomes more important than ever.
 
As the manhunt begins, Patterson delivers the heart-stopping action and unforgettable suspense that made him famous.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780759567627
Publisher:	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date:	06/01/2006
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	268 KB

About the Author

James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time and the creator of such unforgettable characters and series as Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride. He has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton, Dolly Parton, and Michael Crichton, as well as collaborated on #1 bestselling nonfiction, including The Idaho Four, Walk in My Combat Boots, and Filthy Rich. Patterson has told the story of his own life in the #1 bestselling autobiography James Patterson by James Patterson. He is the recipient of an Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal.  

Hometown:

Palm Beach, Florida

Date of Birth:

March 22, 1947

Place of Birth:

Newburgh, New York

Education:

B.A., Manhattan College, 1969; M.A., Vanderbilt University, 1971

Website:

http://www.jamespatterson.com

Read an Excerpt

The Thomas Berryman Number

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By James Patterson

Warner Books

Copyright © 1976 James Patterson
All right reserved.
ISBN: 0-446-60045-8

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Prologue

Down on the Farm (1962)

Claude, Texas, 1962

The year he and Ben Toy left Claude, Texas-1962-Thomas Berryman had been in the habit of wearing black cowboy boots with distinctive red stars on the ankles. He'd also been stuffing four twenty-dollar bills in each boot sole. By mid-July the money had begun to shred and smell like feet.

One otherwise unpromising afternoon there'd been a shiny Coupe de Ville out on Ranch Road #5. It was metallic blue. Throwing sun spirals and stars off the bumpers.

He and Ben Toy had watched its approach for six or eight miles of scruffy Panhandle desert. They were doing nothing. "Bored sick and dying fast on a fencerail," Berryman had said earlier. Toy had only half-smiled.

"You heard about that greaseball Raymond Cone? I suppose you did," the conversation was going now.

"I always said that was going to happen." Berryman puffed thoughtfully on a non-filter cigarette. "The way he's always talking about dry-humping Nadine in his old man's Chevrolet, it had to."

"You think he'll marry her?"

"I know he'll marry her. It's been happening for about a hundred years straight around here. Then the old man gets him with Pepsi in Amarillo. Then she has the kid. Then he splits on both of them for Reno, Nevada, or California. I hate that, I really do."

Toy took out a small, wrinkled roll of money and started counting five- and ten- and one-dollar bills. "He says he'll put a 30-30 in his mouth. Before he marries Nadine."

"Yeah, well ... He'll be haulassing soda cases pretty soon. That'll dilute his 'Frankie and Johnny' philosophies."

Thomas Berryman shaded his sunglasses so he could see the approaching car better. A finely made coil of brown dust followed it like a streamer. Buzzards crossed its path, heading east toward Wichita Falls.

When the Coupe was less than twenty-five yards away, Berryman flipped out his thumb. "Are you coming or not?" he said to Toy.

The big car, meanwhile, had clicked out of cruise control and was easing to a stop.

The driver turned out to be the Bishop of Albuquerque-. Padre Luis Gonsolo. Both young men left Claude, Texas, with him. They kept right on going until they were in New York City.

Thomas Berryman and Ben Toy rode into New York in high style too ... in the 1962 metallic blue Coupe de Ville ... without the Bishop.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from The Thomas Berryman Number by James Patterson Copyright © 1976 by James Patterson . Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Editorial Reviews

This book is a must-read for anyone who likes suspense.”

Examiner.com

Hurray! Once you read page one you will not stop until you have finished.”

author of The French Connection Robin Moore

With a steel guitar twanging blues in the background, Will Patton performs this reissue of Patterson’s 1976 debut novel...Patton uses a bluegrass drawl and the soft sound of a New York drug-world hustler, helping the listener understand the complexity of the characters. Patterson’s observations are masterfully transformed into critical insights with Patton’s skillful pacing.”

AudioFile

What a large charge it is to come upon such a good writer…The novel tells a lot about many things but most of all about America in the last quarter of the twentieth century.”

author of The Manchurian Candidate Richard Condon