Author: James Patterson

Title: Now You See Her

Publisher: Little, Brown

According to Guinness World Records, James Patterson has had more New York Times bestsellers than any other writer, ever.

If you've never read a Patterson novel, you won't be more than three pages in to this one before you see why. Now You See Her is sure to keep Patterson's winning streak alive.

In Nina Bloom's world, nothing is as it seems—and it hasn't been for a long, long time. On the surface, she's a successful New York attorney, a single mom of a teen daughter.

Scratch that surface and she's not even "Nina Bloom." Her whole world is a carefully constructed tower of lies dating from a long-ago Spring Break afternoon that started with Jello shots and ended in tragedy.

Now that tower is beginning to crumble. "Be sure your sins will find you out," the Bible warns and Nina learns the truth of that when she realizes an innocent man is about to be executed for a murder he didn't commit. She knows he didn't do it—and she alone can prove it. But to save him, Nina will have to come clean about her past, bring a load of seriously dirty laundry out into the light, and find herself face to face with her recurring nightmare. It's a tale she may not live to tell. So does she put her life (and her daughter) in harm's way or keep quiet and let an innocent man die?

What do you think? This is suspense at its finest, where things calm down only long enough to catch a quick breath before the plot twists and the tension ramps up again. Patterson and co-author Michael Ledwidge have crafted a fast-paced, action-packed story that reads like a Hitchcock film. The nonstop action plays out on the beach, at the ballpark, and inside the mind of a cunning, cold-blooded killer.

Nina is a compelling character, a good kid who makes a dumb mistake and pays the price for it. She grows into a remarkable woman, one you'll be rooting for every step of the way.

Peter, the knight-errant cop who saves her (or does he?) is also a fascinating study. In fact, all the characters are realistic people you might meet most anywhere, any day—which, considering the secret life of some of those characters, is not the most comforting of thoughts.

Set mostly in Key West, Now You See Her is perfect beach reading but readers will be sucked into the story even when it's twenty below outside. Patterson newbies and longtime fans alike should plan to settle in with a cold drink in a comfy chair and start smiling as they turn to page one. The only problem with Now You See Her is it'll be over before you know it. 

*This article first published 7/5/2011