Rating: 
Summary: Ho Hum
Review: I agree with "don't bother." I've read many of the Alex Cross novels and enjoy the page turning pace of these novels. I couldn't keep track of what was going on and after 100 pages was totally lost. Maybe my psyche was lost in it's thoughts about ..."is this really Patterson?"
Rating: 
Summary: rather uninspiring...
Review: i can't understand why it won the Edgar. I simply cannot see the reason. It is almost incomprehensible to me that a table of judges could sit down and decide that this was the best book of the year. Really? Were there NO other crime books published in that year?It's a pageturner, and the plot is relatively exciting. The writing is simplistic but better, in terms of quality, than some of his recent books. However, the characters are thing, we never learn much about them at all, the plot is not awfully well explained, the time period keeps jolting about, so the book doesn't flow at all. it all just seems like a lot os misjointed thoughts and ideas put together in random order. The ending is abrupt and somewhat anticlimatic. As a debut, this is not all that good. It's not near the quality of his later novels, and i would only reccomend it to longstanding fans who wish to read every single thing he's written, just so they can say they have. Who knows, you might even like it. It's possible, i suppose.
Rating:
Summary: a disappointment
Review: I enjoy the excitement of the Alex Cross stories. This book, on the other hand, was slow paced and hard to follow. The only reason I finished the book, was that I was waiting for that James Patterson twist at the end, which did not come. I do not recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: This is Patterson's first and best book.
Review: I found reading the other readers' reviews (almost universally bad) of The Thomas Berryman Number a real education. It might interest you all to know that when this, Patterson's first novel, came out in 1977 it won the Edgar for the best first crime novel of that year. Yes, this book is very different from his Alex Cross series: The plot is subtle and provocative, the characters are complex and compelling, and Patterson's writing here makes it a pleasure to deal with every page. The Cross books, on the other hand, feature a one-dimensional cardboard hero, comic-book villains, and simplistic writing in very short chapters. No, Patterson's writing has not improved with the years. He's just lowered his standards and is aiming at a larger, dimmer audience.
Rating:
Summary: Thank God James Patterson's writing abilities have improved.
Review: I rate this a 2. I have read almost all of his other books, all rate 6 to 10(Kiss the Girls). This book really was horrible, I forced myself to read it to the end, hoping for a miracle. Alas it did not happen. This book was written in the 70's and well the 70's sucked and so did this book.
Rating:
Summary: Is it possible to give it ZERO stars?
Review: I read this to see how Patterson got his start. I'm still wondering. This book is choppy, boring, undeveloped....need I say more? Save your money. My conclusion was that it was a brave editor who decided to publish this book. Clearly, Patterson must have had friends on the review board to win an award for this work.
Rating:
Summary: Ho Hum
Review: I thought this was a good book, but not at all what I was expecting. The characters were developed very well, but everything I read said that it was very suspenseful, but I did not find it to be suspensful. It was engrossing, and I was interested in finding out the ending, but not one of those books I could not put down. Well worth the time to read, but just don't expect to be totally wrapped up in it.
Rating:
Summary: A So-So Read
Review: I thought this was a good book, but not at all what I was expecting. The characters were developed very well, but everything I read said that it was very suspenseful, but I did not find it to be suspensful. It was engrossing, and I was interested in finding out the ending, but not one of those books I could not put down. Well worth the time to read, but just don't expect to be totally wrapped up in it.
Rating:
Summary: A fast read.
Review: I was drawn to this one because it won an Edgar for Best First Novel. As a James Patterson fan I went in ready to be bowled over. While not my favorite from Mr. Patterson, this is a satisfying read. Certainly worthwhile just to get the history of his writings. Like everything I have read from Mr. Patterson, this one read extremely fast. It took me a little while to put faces on the main characters, and I am not certain that I was 100% successful in that task. I got to know them pretty well, and found the plot set up most engaging...it kept me on my toes. Somehow "The Thomas Berryman Number" had a feel somewhat like "The Anderson Tapes"---at least to me. It certainly had me turning pages. I have to recommend reading this one if you are a James Patterson fan. It takes little time due to his flowing writing style, and give you a sense of where he started. Surely I plan to get a hold of more of his earlier works. Mr. Patterson gets your attention and moves the story at a good pace.
Rating:
Summary: A fast read.
Review: I was drawn to this one because it won an Edgar for Best First Novel. As a James Patterson fan I went in ready to be bowled over. While not my favorite from Mr. Patterson, this is a satisfying read. Certainly worthwhile just to get the history of his writings. Like everything I have read from Mr. Patterson, this one read extremely fast. It took me a little while to put faces on the main characters, and I am not certain that I was 100% successful in that task. I got to know them pretty well, and found the plot set up most engaging...it kept me on my toes. Somehow "The Thomas Berryman Number" had a feel somewhat like "The Anderson Tapes"---at least to me. It certainly had me turning pages. I have to recommend reading this one if you are a James Patterson fan. It takes little time due to his flowing writing style, and give you a sense of where he started. Surely I plan to get a hold of more of his earlier works. Mr. Patterson gets your attention and moves the story at a good pace.
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