Judge & Jury

by James Patterson

2007

Status

Available

Publication

Warner Vision Books (2007), Edition: Cover Worn, 416 pages

Description

Fiction. Thriller. HTML:When a single mom and aspiring actress ends up on an important jury, she must team up with an FBI agent to hunt down a vicious and powerful mob boss. Andie DeGrasse is not your typical juror. Hoping to get dismissed from the pool, she tells the judge that most of her legal knowledge comes from a bit part curling around a stripper's pole in The Sopranos. But she still ends up as juror #11 in a landmark trial against a notorious mob boss. The case quickly becomes the new Trial of the Century. Mafia don Dominic Cavello, known as the Electrician, is linked to hundreds of gruesome, unspeakable crimes. Senior FBI agent Nick Pellisante has been tracking him for years. He knows Cavello's power reaches far beyond the courtroom, but the FBI's evidence against the ruthless killer is iron-clad. Conviction is a sure thing. As the jury is about to reach a verdict, the Electrician makes one devastating move that no one could have predicted. The entire nation is reeling, and Andie's world is shattered. For her, the hunt for the Electrician becomes personal, and she and Pellisante come together in an unbreakable bond: they will exact justice . . . at any cost. James Patterson spins an all-out heart-pounding legal thriller that pits two people against the most vicious and powerful mobster since John Gotti. Judge & Jury is a stunning feat by "one of America's most influential authors" (New York Times).… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member gilroy
I don't read a lot of Patterson, so when I checked this out of the library, it became my experiment. The novel flowed well and the voice actor reading it added the right touch to make it believable.

The characters allowed me to latch onto them and follow their moves, though we didn't get enough
Show More
Andie or Nick early on. Seeing things from Cavello's view also brought interesting viewpoints to the book. Thankfully, the change of chapter signaled the change in POV and kept it from being confusing.

The plot, a revenge plot that seems to work well with the mob style book, flowed well, though bogged down when trying to just set scene and detail to drag out the suspense.

Enjoyable for my first foot into the Patterson waters.
Show Less
LibraryThing member emigre
Fast-paced read with evil villain & satisfying ending.
LibraryThing member Bonni208
I must first warn you that I have a bias with this book: I love legal thrillers. The title says it all… and Patterson does not disappoint. His story swept me up from the beginning and I could hardly put it down. If you enjoy suspenseful legal thrillers, this one’s for you.
LibraryThing member miyurose
This was the best Patterson book I've read in a while. The story was interesting and suspenseful and flowed well (which is something missing from some other Patterson books I've read recently). I really enjoyed this. However, I listened to the audiobook, which I have to admit heightened my
Show More
amusement. It had background music! And sound effects! When the "bow-chicka-bow-wow"-like music started during a love scene, I almost drove off the road.
Show Less
LibraryThing member skinglist
Journal entry 4 by SKingList from New York, New York USA on Wednesday, August 15, 2007

A part way through entry. This book is here with me in Australia, typical since it was here - albeit a bit further north in Brisbane that I first discovered Patterson, and I don't mean Banjo!

As is typical with
Show More
Patterson, I started it this afternoon and am already on p.177. I like Nick, but Andie hasn't grown on me. Then again, Cross' girls never do and I'm reading Nick as an albino Cross o:) I'll be back when I've finished this.

edit journal entry | upload journal entry pic | back to top

Journal entry 5 by SKingList from New York, New York USA on Thursday, August 16, 2007

Finished this this afternoon just before leaving for dinner. At 24 hours that's about par for a Patterson book.

I liked it, though I was a bit surprised by the ending. Felt as if he was creating a division where there didn't need to be. Liked Pellisante - and his nickname by virtue of his name ending in a vowel ;) I thought the characters were well-written but as is the case with many non Cross books, I found myself wanting more with these characters although I know there won't be. I found karma to come through - for Cavello and Nordeshenko. Good read, going to release this somewhere -- just not sure where.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ZachMontana
Exciting, fast moving story of trial of a mafia boss who pays a hitman to kill the jury. Hero FBI agent has to go rogue to find the killers and revenge the mafia boss.
LibraryThing member kysmom02
I listened to the unabridged audio of this book. My sister passed it my way when she was done. When she handed it to me she said, "Give it a few chapters before you give up on it. It starts out slow." I put the CD in during a long car drive and was hooked from the very beginning. I didn't think it
Show More
started slow, and I listened to the entire thing in a couple days. Some parts of the story were predictable, while others caught me by surprise. It was a fun guessing game to see how many pieces of the plot I could guess correctly. The twists and turns were awesome, and well thought out. The two characters Nick and Andy were easy to love. You couldn't help but root for the good guys with these two. He was determined, caring, loyal and honest. She was independent, wild and funny. I guessed right from the start that Nick and Andy would form a bond, but was unable to guess where it would take them, but was happy with where it did. The sound effects and music within the audio of this book was okay, though there were times when I could have done without so much of it. I like the gun shots, or screeching of tires, but the slow songs during the romantic scenes was a little cheesy. The end was NOT what I expected. Parts were, but other parts were not. Before the last CD, I'd give this book a 4.5 star rating. However, the ending ruined it a little. I cannot totally explain without spoilers, so I'll let you judge for yourself if you check out this book.
Show Less
LibraryThing member SonicQuack
Patterson is not about to make John Grisham redundant with this foray in to court room drama. In his usual frenetic style Patterson delivers a story driven piece, although there is more attention to the relationship of the characters than in many of his novels. The story twists and turns its way
Show More
through more than just one genre, ultimately being the master of none, however it's an easy book to read, with a cookie cutter approach to mob crime. It's a simple and short page-turner and easy to recommend and pleasantly forgettable.
Show Less
LibraryThing member debavp
This one really didn't do much for me, a fairly boring read that could have been much, much better. It would appear that on this outing with Gross, they tried to overcome the ridiculous ending ala Lifeguard, but did not succeed.
LibraryThing member loveseabooks
This Mystery is a Disappointment Yet, MR. Patterson can do better.

I'm not sure what has happened to Mr. Patterson's writing skills, but it seems to me that a majority of his novels that he has co-wrote with someone have been real duds. I just finished reading his latest release, "The 6th Target
Show More
and that was another real dud. All I can say to Mr. Patterson: "I have enjoyed many of your earlier novels, would you get serious and start creating well-written stories that you certainly have the talent to conceive."

In the story "Judge and Jury", I almost got excited and began to read pages non-stop, but then the story started to fall apart again. At this point I was reading the scene where the mob leader is on trial for murder. Does he care? No. He just solves the problem by hiring an assassin to destroy the bus that the jury panel is riding on. Murder an entire jury? I just shook my head, wondering who was next: the judge, the DA?. I know this is fiction but the scenes should have some resemblance to the real world. Then we have Nick Pellisante, the FBI agent in hot pursuit of the mobster all over the world with a bank account that seems to have no bottom to it.

It's not a terrible read, but I do feel that it is not a super mystery read. If you are a die hard fan of Mr. Patterson, you may find it an enjoyable read.
Show Less
LibraryThing member jaypee
It was an ok book. Not one of my favorites from him. Still, it was a fast-paced read and entertaining.
LibraryThing member LeHack
I was disppointed with the last few Patterson novels, so I am borrowing them from the library now. This was ok - Trial of a mob boss, jury and judge threatened. Tough FBI agent falls for jury member....finished it but glad I didn't buy it. Could Patterson be churning out too many novels per year?
LibraryThing member es135
This is the typical Patterson suspense thriller that audiences have come to expect from the bestselling author. Whenever a co-author is involved, his novels are either really entertaining or embarrassingly bad. Fortunately, this novel uses its fascinating mobster plot and fast pacing to keep
Show More
readers invested in the story and craving more.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Fantasma
It's a fast read, as usual, but it didn't grab me as usual. Maybe it eas my mood... I felt it changed too much and it seemed a bit unrealistic. And I didn't feel any connection with the caracters.
LibraryThing member jbemrose
Will I was reading the book I was hoping they bring the bad guy down. A mob boss was on trial for murder. He threatned the judge & the Jury. The mob boss had is hitman kill the jury. I enjoyed the suspense & the thrill of the trail.
LibraryThing member Pauline.Ramsey
This has only been the second book I've read by James Patterson and compared to reading "The Lake House" this one was lacking in a lot of areas.

I know I shouldn't compare different books by the same author, but with having such a limited exposure to this author, I don't really have much to go on.
Show More
In all actuality, I found this book pretty boring in most areas. I liked the idea of the story and how the chapter lengths were short and sweet, which I'm grateful to because otherwise I would have probably put the book down and not bothered with the rest of it.

The way the book's written, you're introduced to several different characters. And it's kind of sad when you feel more for the bad guys in the novel than you do the FBI Agent. You learn a lot about Don Cavello from his associates, but then you are only shown slight glimpses of Nicky Smiles. The depth of that character is lacking compared to the others in the book. Hell, even the secondary character of the actress/juror/Jarrod's mother has more influence than the FBI agent whose POV is in the first person during his chapters. And see that above sentence, I just finished the book and I can't even remember the chick's name now. I even caught myself skipping over paragraphs just so I could hurry up and finish it.

It's a good story for those who like a quick read, and aren't disappointed by the lack of character development. It was quick, that's about all of the good things I can really say about it.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Barb_H
What can I say, this is a typical Patterson type book. It's formulaic yet compelling. There is a lot of action and excitement and the short chapters make it easier to say just one more as you keep on turning pages. Definitely recommend for anyone who is a fan of Patterson's books.
LibraryThing member BruinsFTW108
When a mob boss is finally caught for terrible crimes, how far will he go to escape the jury? In this thriller, How far will a man go to prevent the rest of his life behind bars? After threats, the jury must stay in secure conditions, but how safe are they? When the jury bus is bombed, a lone
Show More
survivor fights for vengeance, how far will she and detectives go to get this criminal the death sentence? Read James Patterson's Judge and Jury to find out.
Show Less
LibraryThing member jguidry
This was an interesting mystery by James Patterson and Andrew Gross.  I think the narrator (Joe Mantegna) added to my enjoyment of the story.  He did an excellent job narrating the point of view of FBI agent Nicholas Pelissante.  There were lots of twists and turns, but they weren't distracting
Show More
to the story.  It actually felt like they belonged there and they made sense to the movement of the story.  Patterson/Gross created and excellent villain and I really found myself rooting for him to get his in the end.  This was a fun, quick read.
Show Less
LibraryThing member mashley
Good chase action novel
LibraryThing member DubaiReader
A bit formulaic.
A friend kindly gave me her collection of audio CDs and so I promptly trundled my car down to the auto repair shop to get my CD player fixed. The first CD I chose had such low volume that I couldn't hear it in the car, but I'm glad to say my second choice was more successful. Most
Show More
of the books were abridged, but this one was a complete novel, well narrated by Joe Mantegna, and although not earth shattering, it kept me entertained through several hours of driving.

The two main characters are Nick Pellisante, the detective responsible for bringing in mafia boss, Dominic Covello, and Andie, a member of the jury chosen to try him. Nick is an FBI agent who has been on Covello's heels for a large part of his career. Andie is a single mother and part-time actress, who really doesn't want to be on the jury at all.
Their paths cross at various times during the case, but their joint desire to see Covello brought to justice results in a satisfying denouement.

Initially this looked like being a court case-based fiction, but I'm glad to say that it broadened out into something a bit more interesting. My main problem with it was the structure of "build-up, emergency, solution", which seemed to be on repeat throughout the book. It got a bit irritating and predictable after a while.

I'd only read one Patterson book before, 1st To Die, but this felt similarly formulaic and I won't be rushing back to read another.
Show Less
LibraryThing member LizME
This book is about the mafia and multiple murders including a young son of a jury member.It weaves a love story thru it also.The story covers how they finally made some mafia members pay for their crimes when they continued to escape.It makes you want to keep turning the pages.It grabs your
Show More
attention from the start.Great like all James Pttersons' novels.
Show Less
LibraryThing member RoSands
Great thriller suspense book. Had me interested front start to finish. Really enjoyed the book.
LibraryThing member DavidLErickson
There is something about a couple who find love amidst the most extraordinary circumstances and then work together to accomplish what needs to be done. James carries off the story with his usual style and I was quite plased to read it.
I know it's necessary to paint the bad guy in a horrible light,
Show More
but I felt the murder of 18 jurists was far more than necessary to make the point. I was tempted to set the book aside at that passage, but I'd already invested myself in the protagonists. Personally, I don't think I could've let it go. I would've smuggled a gun into the jail and murdered Dominic Cavello before he could contract the killing of anyone else.
It was intriguing the way James allowed the characters to deal with the bad guys, keeping in focus that Andie was just an actress before Cavello took her son's life and thus no super-heroine with extraordinary skills. Well done.
Overall, an entertaining read in the James Patterson style we've become accustomed to.
Show Less
LibraryThing member JillsWorld5
Another great action-packed and suspenseful novel by James Patterson!

Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

2006-07-31

Physical description

416 p.; 4.13 inches

ISBN

0446619000 / 9780446619004

Barcode

1600324

Similar in this library

Page: 0.9901 seconds