For my third James Patterson book of the holiday, I read Lifeguard by James Patterson and Andrew Gross.
The lifeguard of the title Ned Kelly, named like the outlaw. He works at a posh Florida resort, for an easy-going boss. There he meets the girl of his dreams on the beach. But that’s as far as the Baywatch/Hawaii-5-0-esque part of the story goes.
The girl is Tess. Gorgeous, funny, rich and crazy for him. Or is she? Tess doesn’t appear in the book for long as she has a secret and is about to be brutally murdered.
Meanwhile Ned’s friends have a plan to make five million dollars. A lucrative art heist where all Ned needs to do is trigger three house alarms to throw the cops off the scent of the real robbery. But things go wrong. The gang are double-crossed and massacred, leaving Ned as the prime suspect.
Ned finds himself on the run from the police, the FBI and the real killers as he struggles to avenge the murders and clear his own name. His quest sees him breaking the law and travelling the East Coast looking for answers on who killed his friends. Along the way he is pursued by an FBI Art Investigator, who is trying to prove she is good as a field agent not just and art expert.
And, like the murder club book, although the murders may not appear to be linked, except by Ned, you know they must be.
A thrilling read. Lots of twists and double crossing. Recommended.
The plot
The perfect job. Working for an easy-going boss at his luxurious mansion by the sun-kissed beach, watching beautiful women walk by.
The perfect girl. Tess — gorgeous, funny, apparently very rich and crazy for him.
The perfect score. Five million up for grabs. And to get his share, all he needs to do is trigger three house alarms to throw the cops off the scent of the real robbery.
Could things get any better for Ned Kelly?
But things don’t go according to plan.
And when Tess is brutally murdered and the others involved in the robbery are massacred, Ned is the prime suspect. With danger at every twist and turn, he’s running for his life.
Available from Amazon
