Silent Witness

I can usually figure out whodunit halfway through a book. This had me guessing up the climatic chapter - and then I kept saying, "no, no, no way". It's so nice to have a book catch me by surprise. It was well written and the characters were well drawn, enough so that I cared about what happened to them. If you like mysteries, and good trial dramas, add this one to your list.

If you’re a fan of character development and lengthy and intense dialog between the players this may be of interest to you. I judged this as a good book, falling just short of great for two reasons: 1) I prefer books that have a little faster pace and 2) the descriptions of the victim’s murders were just a little too graphic and drawn out for my sensibilities. This book is still better than many I’ve heard and I have no hesitation in recommending it to others.

Excellent story line. Narrator was great. I was interested through the entire book. It had me wondering right up to the end. I highly recommend this title. I hope this authors other works are as good as this.

I listen to Richard North Patterson every few months. Each time I do, I remember how much I like his stories and put another of his books into my wish list. This book is full of the interesting, intellectual dialog and plot twists that keeps the book interesting until the very end - even for a long book. I highly recommend this book.

An excellent listen. This is my favorite audiobook. It is well written and keeps you hooked. The ending is totally unexpected and the storyline keeps you interested up to the conclusion. The author is competely in touch with the politics and prejudices of small toen America. I liked it so much that I listened to it twice. Do not judge this author on other works, listen to this one and experience his best. This book is better than any criminal/lawyer book that I have read or listened to since The Firm. Give Silent Witness a listen, you'll be glad you did.

Fascinating! Patterson is a wonderful storyteller and this book was no exception. Although it dragged in a few places (most notably during his play-by-play accounts of various sporting events), for the most part, this book kept me thoroughly involved. It was easy to imagine the characters and their locale. The character development was exceptional--the inner conflict experienced by one character had me loving him one minute and hating him the next. The true sign of a good audiobook is whether I look for excuses to drive somewhere just to listen. I couldn't wait to get in the car these last few weeks!

This is the 2nd book from Patterson I've done and it is a solid mystery. The court room portions are equally compelling as the other I've read. The ending will catch you by surprise, but it is worth the time to listen, so don't rush to the end.

This is a wonderful book with fleshed out characters and an intriguing, twisting plot. I plan to read all of Richard North Patterson that I can get my hands on!

The good: the narrator - not the best, but good. The bad: the plot! If you have read at least a couple of legal thrillers before, you will not be the least surprised when the real killer is unmasked. In fact, categorizing this book as a legal thriller is only 50% accurate. The first-person narrator of the book (not the narrator of the audio recording) becomes ever more unlikeable and pathetic as the snail's-pace plot grinds on. This is partly intentional on the part of the author - a successful criminal defense lawyer sometimes relies on morally repugnant (or at least amoral) tactics. But it is also the result of an inexplicably fierce loyalty between the protagonist and his boyhood friend cum accused murderer - even the lengthy flashback that consumes most of the first half of the book failed to provide an adequate basis for the purportedly inextricable link between the two.

This is a very good (but not great) book by RN Patterson. I thoroughly enjoyed it, though if you're a realist, some of the coincidences may be a problem for you. It definitely gives the listener a lot to reflect on regarding life purposes, worthwhile goals, and the nature of friendship.