Judge and Jury

Judge and Jury
James Patterson & Andrew Gross
Little, Brown & Company
ISBN: 0-316-01393-5
Fiction, Legal Thriller
Reviewed by LuAnn Womach

In this fast-paced Patterson novel, the reader is submerged into the world filled with mafiosa and all it implies: larger-than-life mob bosses, gun-wielding capos, dedicated FBI agents, and murder. Nick Pellisante has been tracking mob boss Dominic Cavello for years. In a daring masquerade at a "family" wedding, Cavello and Pellisante come face to face. This leads to a sensational trial, but will justice be served?
The judge is petrified of the defendant, known in the underworld as "The Electrician." And then comes the jury. Enter Andie DeGrasse, a single mom and aspiring actress, who uses her acting skills to be dismissed from the pool. Unfortunately, Andie is selected for jury duty, even after announcing to the courtroom that she learned quite a bit about the mob after a stint as a stripper on The Sopranos.
Nick and his team of agents have enough evidence against Cavello to put him away for years, but Cavello's courtroom antics concern Nick. As the jury is escorted to their hotel, Andie's world is turned upside down, and Cavello escapes. Nick feels guilty for Andie's suffering, and together, they travel to the end of the world to let justice prevail.
This novel was a fast read. I like how Patterson keeps chapters to just a few pages. This pacing keeps the intensity alive. The story is told from two points of view: Nick's gut-wrenching desire to put away this brutal killer and a 3rd-person narrator who describes the action swiftly. My one concern about the novel is the formulaic love story between Nick and Andie. There is a twist to it at the end, but it still seems a bit predictable. Patterson fans will definitely enjoy this novel. The characters are believable and draw you into their world.