One
TO THE BEST OF my understandably shaky recollection,
the first time I died it went something like this.
Mortar rounds were thumping all around me, releasing
what sounded like a shower of razor blades. I was carrying
Marine Corporal Danny Young over my shoulder, and I loved
this guy. He was the toughest soldier I’d ever fought beside,
funny as hell, and best of all, he was hopeful - his wife back
in West Texas was pregnant with their fourth kid.
Now his blood bubbled down my flight suit, splashing on
my boots like water from a drainpipe. I ran across rocky ground in the dark, and I choked out to Danny, “I’ve got you; I’ve got you. Just stay with me, you hear me?”
I lowered him to the ground a few yards away from the
helicopter, and suddenly there was a concussive explosion, as though the ground had blown up around me. I felt a stunning hammer strike to my chest, and that was the end.
I died. I passed to the other side. I don’t even know how
long I was gone.
Del Rio told me later that my heart had stopped.
I just remember swimming up to the light, and the pain,
and the awful reek of aviation fuel.
My eyes flashed open and there was Del Rio in my face,
his hands pressing down on my chest. He laughed when my
eyes opened - and at the same time tears ran down his
cheeks. He said, “Jack, you son of a bitch, you’re back.”
A dense curtain of oily black smoke rolled over us. Danny
Young lay right there beside me, his legs splayed at weird
angles, and behind Del Rio was the helicopter, burning bright
white, getting ready to blow.
My buddies were still in there. My friends. Guys who had
risked their lives for me.
I choked out a few words. “We’ve got to get them out of
there.”
Excerpt from PRIVATE with permission from Little,Brown and Company, New York, NY Copyright ©
Private
James Patterson’s new thriller, Private, reaffirms the mega-hit author as “the man who can’t miss” (TIME).
Although it’s been a number of years since Jack Morgan’s failed attempt to save a fellow Marine in Afghanistan, the nightmares haven’t stopped—perhaps because Jack, who was injured in the copter crash, is convinced there’s a piece of the story still missing. In the meantime, he’s devoted his energies to returning his family’s investigative agency, Private, to its former glory. And lately, business has been too good….
First off, the Mob, riled up about an NFL gambling scandal, has “asked” Jack to check it out; a serial killer targeting schoolgirls has the LAPD stumped and they, too, want his input—all this just as the wife of Jack’s best friend is brutally murdered! And the cases could be the least of Jack’s problems. A scandalous office situation has the potential to become explosive since the love affair involves him.
As the tension mounts, Jack’s gorgeous partner, Justine, tries to shoulder some of the burden. But she can’t ease the pressure when everything comes to a head at once…and the truth about Jack’s past comes roaring back with a vengeance.
Hardcover Book : 400 pages
Publisher: Hachette Book Group Usa ( June 28, 2010 )
Item #: 13-111828
ISBN: 9780316096157
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.25 x 0.9inches
Product Weight: 14.0 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Has This Book Been Released?? 
June 19, 2010
I See Reviews About This Book,But It Says It Won't Be Released Until June 28!!??
Reviewer: Laurenelyse
worst case
June 12, 2010
another 1 of patterson's excellant reads. a real page turner, a must read. keep them coming!
Reviewer: linda p
ALEX CROSS AND WOMEN'S MURDER CLUB SERIES 
June 09, 2010
THESE TWO SERIES ARE THE BEST THAT I HAVE EVER READ. NEED MORE ALEX CROSS. VERY GOOD
Reviewer: Joyce K
lov Patterson
May 22, 2010
I have read everything this man has written--and I have loved every minute!
Reviewer: Monte C
lov Patterson
May 22, 2010
I have read everything this man has written--and I have loved every minute!
Reviewer: Monte C
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