Silent Witness - Richard North Patterson

photo courtesy: goodreads.com

A superb thriller that kept me up at night.

After a long time, I relished a crime thriller that forced me to get to bed early, just so I could turn a few more pages before I turned in.

My previous Patterson book Escape the Night was a disappointment, Although, I had read too many Patterson books to give up on him, I was a bit sceptical when I started this one.

The Gist:

Anthony Lord, a successful lawyer is called back to his hometown when a close friend seeks his help. Returning to the hometown means confronting the ghosts of his past; the unresolved murder of his girlfriend  where he is the main suspect.
Lord is forced to come back after his friend Sam, an assistant principal is a suspect in the murder of a teenage girl Marcia Calder.
Things turn murky as Lord finds himself oscillating between his ordeal of years ago and trying to focus on helping his friend.

What works:

• Patterson has a way of getting into the skin of the character and outlaying his plot so skillfully.

• It was easy to imagine Lord's situation and relate to it, yet the pace and the suspense elements were maintained so well.

• Although it boils down to a courtroom case, Patterson takes you in to the back scenes and explains out how it pans for those concerned. 

• The courtroom scenes were a treat to read. You could imagine sitting in the courtroom and watch the drama unfold.

• The suspense is well maintained and is a killer when it is revealed in the end.

What doesn't:

• It took me a bit to get into it, but perhaps it was because of my block and less due to the writer.

A great read, cannot recommend highly enough. For a guilty pleasure reading, this is one courtroom thriller you will love to be lost in.