Watchlist [Kindle Edition]

Watchlist [Kindle Edition]
Jeffery Deaver (Author)
 

Watchlist is a unique collaboration by twenty-one of the world’s greatest thriller writers including Lee Child, Joseph Finder, David Hewson, S.J. Rozan, Lisa Scottoline, and Jeffery Deaver, who conceived the characters and set the plot in motion; In turn, the other authors each wrote a chapter and Deaver then completed what he started, bringing each novel to its startling conclusion.

Harold Middleton, former crimes of war investigator takes the reader on a non-stop journey around the world in both story lines. The first novella he is on the hunt and then hunted for a never before seen Chopin manuscript. But is there a secret in this never before seen composition? In the second novella, once again Harold Middleton brings us to faraway lands in search of the "Scorpion" and what is the secret of "The Copper Bracelet"? A thriller with brilliant writing that takes the reader on a journey to faraway places spanning the globe, taking the reader into the world of espionage and terrorism. Incredible concept.

Fans of the TV series 24 will best appreciate this two-part serial thriller written by 22 members of International Thriller Writers. Based on an idea by Deaver (The Broken Window), who provides the opening and closing chapters of each segment, the volume recounts the adventures of middle-aged Harold Middleton, an ex-U.S. military intelligence officer. In part one, The Chopin Manuscript, the discovery of a previously unknown Chopin score leads to murders, betrayals, and frantic efforts to stop a villain code-named Faust from carrying out a terrorist outrage. Part two, The Copper Bracelet, sets Middleton and his allies on the track of a Kashmiri planning the assassination of the U.S. secretary of state. While the contributors include many of the biggest names in the genre (Lee Child, Joseph Finder, Gayle Lynds, S.J. Rozan, etc.), the constraints of the form all but assure homogenized prose, thin characters, and stock action scenes atypical of their solo work. (Jan.)

Books written by groups of writers are not new. The most famous probably remains the scandalous Naked Came the Stranger (1969), published pseudonymously by Penelope Ashe but written by a group of newspaper reporters. This one is a thriller—two short novels, really, featuring Harold Middleton, a former military intelligence officer and war-crimes investigator who gets embroiled in international intrigue and derring-do. Jeffery Deaver came up with the basic plots and wrote each story’s opening and closing chapters, while various other writers (Joseph Finder, Erica Spindler, and Lee Child, among them) contributed a chapter. The result is exciting and fast paced (Middleton foils a couple of evil plots while battling some nasty people), and the format gives readers a unique opportunity to watch a story evolving before their eyes, as each writer begins where the previous one left off and adds something new to the mix. Considering that each contributor has his or her own distinct voice, the novel flows surprisingly well, too. Not merely a literary experiment, but a very good thriller in its own right.

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 689 KB
• Print Length: 416 pages
• Publisher: CDS/Vanguard Press (January 4, 2010)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English