Former Marine helicopter pilot Jack Morgan runs Private, a renowned investigation company with branches around the globe. It is where you go when you need maximum force and maximum discretion. The secrets of the most influential men and women on the planet come to Jack daily - and his staff of investigators uses the world's most advanced forensic tools to make and break their cases.

The press will destroy you....

Jack is already deep into the investigation of a multi-million dollar NFL gambling scandal and the unsolved slayings of 18 schoolgirls when he learns of a horrific murder close to home: his best friend's wife, Jack's former lover, has been killed. It nearly pushes him over the edge. Instead, Jack pushes back and devotes all of Private's resources to tracking down her killer.

Only one place to turn: Private....

But Jack doesn't have to play by the rules. As he closes in on the killer and chooses between revenge and justice, Morgan has to navigate a workplace love affair that threatens to blow the roof off his plans. With a plot that moves at death-defying speeds, Private is James Patterson's sleekest, most exciting thriller ever.

Listening Length

7 hours and 4 minutes
Author

James Patterson, see all
Narrator

Peter Hermann
Audible release date

June 28, 2010
Language

English
Publisher

Hachette Audio
ASIN

B003VXNCBW
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length	7 hours and 4 minutes
Author	James Patterson, Maxine Paetro
Narrator	Peter Hermann
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com Release Date	June 28, 2010
Publisher	Hachette Audio
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B003VXNCBW
Best Sellers Rank	#17,034 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #500 in Police Procedural Mysteries #742 in Crime Fiction (Audible Books & Originals) #1,640 in Suspense (Audible Books & Originals)

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5

8,107 global ratings

5 star		65%
4 star		23%
3 star		8%
2 star		2%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Mary Broadway

Patterson Book

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 31, 2022

Verified Purchase

Private is another hit in the series of Patterson books. It is filled with drama, action, and love feelings. thruout

Helpful

Greggorio!

AN INTERESTING START TO THE SERIES!!!!!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 1, 2015

Verified Purchase

Book one of the by-now very well established PRIVATE series of crime novels from The Incredible James Patterson Book Machine is the perfect example of not only how he writes his books, but also why they sell so incredibly well. Jack Morgan runs a firm of international private detectives, complete with a huge budget and the most talented and skilled of staff (in the world, no less) to keep it successful.

In this opening salvo, the reader doesn’t just have a single plot line to follow, or a single murder to solve. We have several of both running at once. Mixed up with the violence contained within the book’s covers are real life characters, with their own personal problems to solve, growing pains to get used to, heart aches to get over, and of course thugs (and killers) to beat up, or to put in jail, or simply to kill (in self defence, of course).

Book one is principally about catching the long term serial killer of school girls. The count is up to eighteen (yes, i said eighteen!) by the time the story gets started and we learn some disgusting facts about life in the far-too-accessible internet age when we are introduced to the sicko’s that are on the murdering spree. Then a major betting scandal hits the NFL, and Jack agrees to investigate. And to top it all off, the wife of Jack’s best friend is found murdered in her bedroom, leaving the husband (Jack's best friend) as the main suspect. With the open-case count at three, the firm closes it’s doors to any more, but that means making an enemy of a local mafia boss. Yikes! And they come to get their revenge at the book’s forty percent mark, but even then, the baddies get more than they bargained for.

Being book one of the series, we learn how the business got started, and we are gifted with a tiny dose of emotion with a cameo appearance from Jack Morgan’s father before he dies in prison. I think the book could have benefited with a larger (background) role for him to play, as well as more (realistic) grieving from the son when we learn what happened to his Dad.

But Mr Patterson’s books have never been big on emotional depth; they are plot driven, action based classics. And as the famous old saying goes, ’if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!’

This is clearly a solid beginning to this series. The release is not a new one; I think the book count in PRIVATE is approaching ten by now (May 2015). This one is not rushed by any means, but having just read PRIVATE VEGAS a few short weeks ago the newer books feel smoother and more sophisticated .

But this book is a great read in the James Patterson Genre, so I am happy to give it four solid stars.

BFN Greggorio!

11 people found this helpful

Helpful

BaumanBookReviews

A very enjoyable read despite other reviews

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 4, 2014

Verified Purchase

I was wary about starting this series because of all of the mixed reviews that it received. I bought the first one used at a great price, so I could not turn it down.
I am glad that I gave it a chance.
From reading this first installment, Private seems like it can be a good series.

Private was fast-paced and full of action. It was driven by a few very strong characters that I want to learn more about also.

Jack Morgan suffers from PTSD but runs one of the best private investigation agencies in the world.

Justine works for private and is a great female protagonist. I tend to think that comes from Patterson’s co-writer being Maxine Paetro on this one. She is also involved in the Women’s Murder Club series and I can see a lot of that in Justine’s character.

Del Rio is a great supporting character for Jack.

They are all very strong and lead certain parts of the story. I hope they stick around for more installments.

The story itself was jam packed with different cases and lots of action. The main case was about missing school girls that turned up murdered. The other cases took a back seat role to this one.
It is better to have one main storyline than to try to pay attention to all of them in an equal manner. The book would either be way too long or too confusing. I feel that it was done right with this one.

I read most of the book in one sitting. I did not want to put it down.

I am looking forward to reading the next installment in the Private series.

5/5 Stars

12 people found this helpful

Helpful

Bandit

Another great effort

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 27, 2022

Verified Purchase

Enjoyed every minute, especially locations in West L.A. area since that's where I live and work. Also like stories around London, my former residence.

Helpful

Peter Claxton

Private - 1

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 20, 2022

Verified Purchase

Another very good James Patterson book - so easy to pick another good one. What consistency !
Now onto the next one.

Helpful

Multiple Plot Lines ...

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 1, 2021

Verified Purchase

wrapped up together. I'm looking forward to the character development although some of the reviews I've read make me wonder. I enjoyed the book. A fast read.

Helpful

Kat

Pretty good.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 20, 2010

Verified Purchase

I don't know, I guess there is something wrong with me because I thought "Private" by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro was pretty good. Was it an edge of the seat, can't put down sort of book - no. It was a good story line centering on the business of a private investigation company. It had multiple story lines which makes sense since it is an investigation firm and would normally deal with more than one client. I didn't have a hard time keeping the stories straight and could follow them easily. I don't get hung up on the fact that Mr. Patterson wrote with another author. Does anyone really know what his relationship is with the other co-authors. I don't. I make my decision on the storyline. Does it hold my attention? Do I want to continue reading it? Is it well written? To me that is what matters most. I liked the book and look forward to my next Patterson book with or without a co-author.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Scott Baker

Greatbook

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 14, 2022

Verified Purchase

Great story line and fast moving plot.

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Tad lad

Buyer beware: not what I was expecting.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 1, 2018

Verified Purchase

I apologise if I am doing the author a disservice but he was unknown to me until I was offered 'Private' as a Kindle offer. I tried it on the strength of the many positive reviews it and its author have received. I can only assume that other books he has written are considerably than this. It is very rare that I do not finish a book, but, in spite of several attempts I could not persevere with this.
It was hampered by ridiculous plot jumps - how credible is it to find the protagonist summoned to his estranged father in prison to be informed by him that he is to receive an enormous inheritance to turn his failed detective agency into the finest in the world; which of course, leaping several years into the future, he has achieved? The narrative 'tell don't show' style and crude attempt at characterisation put me in mind of a creative writing GCSE essay of a slightly brighter than average Year 11 boy.

7 people found this helpful

JoeB

Absolute drivel

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on June 1, 2016

Verified Purchase

I usually enjoy this style of book and was tempted by the £1.99 kindle price tag along with the high review marking on this site. Average reviews 4.5 stars - you must be kidding! Plot - Guy given $15m by his dad to run an PI agency, turns up in his Lamborghini for jobs, dates the rich and famous, agency has so much resources that the police use it all the time, then multiple investigations occurring at the same time handled by his top of the line fantastic employees. Groan - give me strength. What a load of tosh! Don't waste your time like I did.

14 people found this helpful

Kathie

Not bad

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 1, 2013

Verified Purchase

Book Review: Private by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro 3/5

I have mixed feelings about this book. I'm a James Patterson fan as his books are usually fast paced and I struggle to put them down. This one didn't grab me quite as much. Jack is an ex army guy who still struggles with memories of the war. His dad is in prison but leaves Jack money to continue with his Private investigation agency. They have the best staff and equipment and work for high profile people who trust them to keep their business quiet.

It is a good idea for a book; the problem is that they deal with so many cases all at once. School girls are being murdered, this should have been enough for the plot, but Jack's evil brother also comes into it generally making things difficult for Jack. They also deal with a case for his uncle where referees are fixing football matches (to be honest I had no interest in this particular plot line whatsoever) and a murder case where the wife of Jack's best friend is murdered and his friend is in the frame. Each time one of the cases became interesting the chapter ended and we were with other investigators dealing with one of the other cases. There were so many characters and plot lines I kept stopping to think `who's he? Which case is this one?'

By the end I had warmed up to the book but it still wasn't as exciting as other James Patterson books I have read, the tension didn't really up very much towards the end and there was just too much pushed into the book and not enough depth with any of the cases.

Yes, I will read the next one as it is worth a second look; I just hope it is better than the first.

Gail Jones
author of Family Secrets

8 people found this helpful

Tracey

Private

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 10, 2020

Verified Purchase

Former Marine Jack Morgan owns Private Investigations and he has his hands full. His best friends wife has been murdered and has asked for his help in tracking down the killer. Added to that someone has been murdering school.girls for two years and they are no closer to finding the killer.
This is a great fast paced book with many different storylines. The characters are well created and the story gripping.
Highly recommended.

NRichards

Bubblegum thriller

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 22, 2018

Verified Purchase

Everything is too easy in this book, so there's little suspense. All the Private people are too good at what they do (they're supposed to be) and so even despite their character flaws, the story never gets 'stuck' they the way it might in something more meaningful.

It wasn't a bad read, but neither was it a great one. Like a generic action flick in that regard.

I did think the plot itself, at a high level, was very interesting,and coughs have made for a much better book. The Steamcleana bit especially.

2 people found this helpful

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