Escape the Night: A Novel

This is my first Patterson book and overall I find it to be a very well-written, if complex, and stylish thriller. The novel opens in the early 1950's and we meet the Carey family, impossibly hard-hearted father John; brothers Charles and Phillip; the self-centered, somewhat demented Allie; and the charming little boy, Peter, who grows up to be the focal point of the novel. The first section has a lot of information in it, and though sometimes hard to digest or keep the many plot mechanizations in context, it sets a very sad and lethal plot for the remainder of the book.Grown up Peter, having amnesia after the accident that claims his parents' lives, now must face the sale of his father's company and fend off some mysterious and deadly pursuers.What makes this book work so well is Patterson's handling of the psyche of Peter, and the difficult time he has trusting people. Several key characters are introduced including his girlfriend, Noelle; the crazed killer Martin; two psychiatrists, one a longtime friend of his father; and Ruth Levy, the mistress of his deceased father and also the sister of his psychiatrist.The plot thickens, secrets are hidden and revealed, and the novel ends in a blazing finish that is more than satisfactory.Not by any means a brilliant classic, "Escape the Night" is a well-written study in suspense and terror.RECOMMENDED.

THREE GENERATIONS ARE INVOLVED IN A FAMILY OWNED PUBLISHING HOUSE. FROM JOHN CAREY WHO KEEPS HIS TWO SONS IN CONFLICT RE WHO WILL INHERIT THE BUSINESS (JOHN OR PHILIP) TO GRANDSON PETER WE LIVE THRU THEIR QUARRELS AND PLOTS RIGHT UP TO THE END. BY GIVING CHARLES 51% OF THE FIRM. JOHN SETS PHILIP INTO A DEEP PLOT TO OBTAIN PETER'S 51% SHARE. AFTER A FATAL ACCIDENT TO CHARLES, PHILIP IS TRUSTEE FOR PETER UNTIL HE REACHES AGE 30 YRS. ALL SORTS OF CREEPY CHARACTERS ARE INVOLVED WITH PHIL TO KEEP PETER FROM REACHING 30. PETER AND HIS WIFE-TO-BE GO THRU ALL SORTS OF HELL AND DAMNATION TO SURVIVE BUT PETER'S WORST ENEMY IS THE AMNESIA AND NIGHTMARES HE HAS HAD SINCE THE ACCIDENT WHEN HE WAS 5 YRS. OLD.THERE ARE SO MANY CHARACTERS AND CONVERSATIONS GOING ON JUST ON ONE PAGE THAT IT BECOMES DIFFICULT TOUNDERSTAND EACH PERSON'S AGENDA AND THE ROLE THEY PLAY IN A COMPLICATEDPLOT. BLACKMAIL, CIA, HUAC ARE ALL INVOLVED. THE END OF THE NOVEL DOESN'T SATISFY THE READER BECAUSE THE BOOK IS JUST TOO LONG AND DETAILED, AND DRAWN OUT UNTIL YOU FEEL LIKE TOSSING IT. BUT OVERALL IT RATES A 31/2 T0 4 STAR READ. I JUST HOPE HIS NEXT BOOK IS BETTER WHICH FOR ME IS "EYES OF A CHILD" WRITTEN 1O YRS. LATER.IF YOU WANT TO START READING THE BOOKS BY THIS FABULOUS WRITER, DON'T START WITH THIS ONE!

I truly enjoyed the book and believed it to be one of his better books. I liked how there was rich character development and how the story was not so similar to his other books. The father/son relationships in the book really touched me. Its an interesting and tragic tale of love, betrayal and redemption.

Peter Carey has demons in his mind, preventing him from dealing with the family owned firm, his girlfriend, the death of his parents. The demons take on very twisted images in his nightmares and the problems are exacerbated by real demons from his past---men who will stop at nothing to prevent Peter from learning the truth. My only complaint was the constant shifting of focus--it became hard to tell one character's thoughts and actions from another. The ending of the book was written almost in screenplay form. It should be a dynamite movie! Just please don't anyone let Demi Moore play Noelle?!

I read this book in 1994 and in the database I keep for the books I read, I listed "Escape the Night" as excellent. I loved the young "rich boy" who faces his fears and becomes a man in this suspenseful mystery. It is also a love story or rather several different kinds of love story and the bad guy is really bad. It's "not too heavy, not too light" and I enjoyed it. Hope you do, too.