2008-02-11 A great book

I've been a fan of Patterson's for well over a decade now and on his day he is capable of brilliant books. However, of late he's moved from the basic legal thriller to more politically based novels. This can be somewhat of a niche market and some of the books have been hit and miss. Exile, however, is a return to form.

In Exile, Patterson defends an ex lover from law school who is charged with masterminding the assissination of the Israeli PM. The woman is now married, has a 12 year old daughter and is Palestinian, while david, the lawyer is an American Jew. As always Patterson weaves an intricate tale and develops characters that you genuinly care about. He also managed to delve into the complexities of the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Patterson presents an accurate, balanced portrayal of events in the middle east from the perspectives of both jews and arabs. However, one section of the book details David's return to Israel to build a defence for his client. I felt large chunks of this chapter were superfluous and were placed there entirely to dissect the middle eastern problems, as opposed to it being entirely relevant to the book. That however is my only criticism.

The book, because of the subject area, is heavy going at times but is a fascinating thriller, based largely on an apparent conspiracy theory. Theres plenty of twists and turns along the way with a believable ending. An excellent book - thoroughly recommended