Beach House

Unabridged
Author: James Patterson , Peter de Jonge
Narrator: Gil Bellows
Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller
Publisher: Time Warner Audio Books
Date: June 2002
Length: 7 hours
Ratings:
Formats:
  • CD

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Overview

Jack Mullen is in law school in New York City when the shocking news comes that his brother Peter has drowned in the ocean off East Hampton. Jack knows his brother and knows this couldn't be an accident. Someone must have wanted his brother dead.

But the powers that be say otherwise. As Jack tries to uncover details of his brother's last night, he confronts a barricade of lawyers, police, and paid protectors who separate the multibillionaire summer residents from local workers like Peter. And he learns that his brother wasn't just parking cars at the summer parties of the rich. He was making serious money satisfying the sexual needs of the richest women and men in town.

"The Beach House" reveals the secret lives of celebrities in a breathtaking drama of revenge -- with a finale so shocking it could only have come from the mind of James Patterson.

Selected Reviews

Silly

by Anonymous
  • Book Rating: 1/5

Beach House--definitely for the beach

by Anonymous
  • Book Rating: 2/5

More...

Read All 52

Reviews (52)

Silly

Written by Anonymous on November 18th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 1/5

I like James Patterson, but this book just didn't make it. Narration was good, but the story wasn't engaging to me and the ending was just plain dumb.

Beach House--definitely for the beach

Written by Anonymous on October 30th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 2/5

The plot kept my interest. But I feel that is mostly due to the superb narration. I didn't find the writing grating. But it also was not clever. This book does move along quickly and has enough twists and turns to keep you interested. Characters are believable and one doesn't roll their eyes at the dialog. But this does not pertain to the ending. It was as disappointing as Bobby Ewing stepping out of the shower--with the "it was all a dream" ending. This is definitely light reading. I am glad I listened to it instead of reading it. It did help the miles pass quickly. Had I read it, I would've felt guilty to give any of my reading hours to this goofy book. I just wanted to try Patterson and see what all the fuss is about. I still don't see what all the fuss is about.

Beach House

Written by Anonymous on May 31st, 2008

  • Book Rating: 4/5

This was an excellent book. I had to listen to all of the discs at one stretch. It starts out interesting and gets addictive as it goes. The characters in this book are busy and completely not who you would imagine them to be.

Beach House

Written by Todd from Aurora, CO on May 18th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 3/5

This is my first James Patterson novel. I enjoyed the book, even though it was a bit far fetched. It moves quickly and the characters are interesting. My only other comment is that the author has an irritating habit of changing chapters three and four times in the middle of a scene. This book isn't that long and it contains about 115 chapters. You would think he was somehow paid by the number of chapters he cranked out.

Jack Mullen

Written by Pam Black on May 8th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 4/5

The Beach House started out a little slow but once I started listening I couldn't stop. It has amazing twist and turns that you don't expect. I would highly recommend this book.

Beach House

Written by Anonymous on April 11th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 4/5

I felt at the beginning it was somewhat hard to keep up with the characters because there was so many introduced, but as it went on I was able to keep up with them. Overall the book was really good and interesting. James Patterson is wonderful!

Beach House

Written by Charles Lehman on April 5th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 4/5

Assuming that you already enjoy the murder mystery genre, the 1st 5 discs will easily keep you sitting in your car even after you have already reached your destination wanting to listen to just a little bit more, not terribly deep just nicely written and very well narrated. Sadly the ending is a little disapointing but not terrible. I believe this particular book is probably a better listen than read and i have been reccomending it heartily.

Not my style

Written by Anonymous on March 1st, 2008

  • Book Rating: 2/5

This is my first book by James Patterson, and I can see why he has a following, but its just not my style, reminded me too much of a saucy soap opera.

Beach House

Written by Anonymous from High Point, NC on February 13th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 5/5

WOW!! The reader was awesome. A most wonderful listen. Will order more Patterson novels after this one.

Terrific, fast paced story telling.

Written by Anonymous from Canton, GA on February 11th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 4/5

This book has made me a Patterson fan. His story telling never lags. The reader was wonderful -- believable without being overly dramatic. I found myself thinking of the characters between listens, a sure sign that Patterson had created *real* people. Loved it.

Selected Reviews

Silly

by Anonymous
  • Book Rating: 1/5

Beach House--definitely for the beach

by Anonymous
  • Book Rating: 2/5

More...

Read All 52

Author Details

Author Details

Patterson, James

James Patterson is an award-winning American author. Formerly the chairman of advertising company J. W. Thompson in the early 1990s, Patterson came up with the slogan "Toys R Us Kid." Shortly after his success with Along Came A Spider, he retired from the firm and devoted his time to writing. The novels-featuring his character, Alex Cross, a black forensic psychologist formerly of the Washington, D.C. Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation, now working as a private psychologist and government consultant-are the most popular books among Patterson readers and the top selling US Detective series in the past ten years.

In 2007, one of every fifteen hardcover novels sold was a James Patterson title - totaling an estimated of 16 million books sold last year in North America alone. In total, Patterson's books have sold an estimated 150 million copies worldwide. He has won awards including the Edgar, the BCA Mystery Guild's Thriller of the Year, and the International Thriller of the Year award. James Patterson was called "the man who can't miss" in Time magazine. He is the first author to have #1 new titles simultaneously on The New York Times adult and children's bestsellers lists, and to have two books on NovelTracker's top-ten list at the same time..He holds the New York Times bestsellers list record with 39 New York Times bestselling titles overall.* He even made an appearance on the Fox TV show The Simpsons as himself.

Patterson is also well known for sharing the spotlight with different co-authors such as Maxine Paetro and Andrew Gross and has often said that collaborating with others brings new and interesting ideas to his stories.

He also founded the James Patterson PageTurner Awards, now in its third year. Patterson has personally given away over $600,000 to reward "people, companies, schools, and other institutions who find original and effective ways to spread the excitement of books and reading."

Patterson's bestselling Women's Murder Club series is now a TV show starring former Law & Order star Angie Harmon. The show premiered in the fall of 2007 on ABC television. Other movie deals are currently in the works with various Hollywood studios including a major motion picture based on his Maximum Ride series, to be produced by Avi Arad, the creator of X-Men and Spiderman. Most recently, the forthcoming Dangerous Days of Daniel X has been optioned by New Regency.

Patterson received his bachelor's degree from Manhattan College.

He lives in Palm Beach, Florida with his wife, Susan, and son, Jack.

de Jonge, Peter

Peter de Jonge has written several articles on golf for the New York Times Magazine and other international publications.