Watchlist: A Serial Thriller

This cd arrived in time for our car trip to Arkansas and was totally satisfactory. Thank you.

Best-selling author Jeffery Deaver devised the concept of developing a plot, creating the characters, opening and closing the novel, then inviting other authors to write a chapter each as they move the characters and plot along. Watchlist contains two thrillers - The Chopin Manuscript and The Copper Bracelet. Both stories star Harold Middleton, a former war crimes investigatgor who is reluctantly drawn back into the game. He gathers what is left of his former group, the Volunteers, to help him bring down international terrorists who threaten world peace. What is most interesting is to read along, then as a new chapter begins, to see what direction the story takes. Some chapters stay true to the story while introducing new characters, and others take a sharp turn opening up a whole new thread. Mr. Deaver writes the first chapter or two, then lets the other writers take their turn with an open outline. He then brings the stories back together as he writes the last chapter or two. A great concept by one of the best thriller writers around. This book will keep readers enthralled as they follow Middleton and his cohorts through grave and difficult times. Watchlist is a must read for action thriller fans! Watchlist: A Serial Thriller

Jeffery Deaver helms a collaborative effort by 21 thriller writers--including Lee Child, Lisa Scottoline and Joseph Finder--that includes two novellas--The Chopin Manuscript, in which Harold Middleton discovers that a score by Chopin holds a deadly secret, and its sequel The Copper Bracelet, which finds Harold drawn into a plot that could lead to a nuclear war. Bt. This was an interesting collaboration of authors, all very qualified and talented thriller writers. As a whole these were two very entertaining novels, though I preferred The Copper Bracelet a wee bit more even though it was a bit more intricate. I like the idea behind this type of collaboration but to me it seems that it takes away some of the fluidity you get from a single author. With the talent that was presented though, it still came out a quality thriller sure to satisfy any readers of any of these authors.

The idea behind the two short novels that comprise WATCHLIST --- THE CHOPIN MANUSCRIPT and THE COPPER BRACELET --- was truly groundbreaking. Take the concept of a somewhat shadowy organization called the Volunteers (headed up by a late middle-aged, ex-war crimes investigator named Harold Middleton), whose purpose is to hunt down war criminals and prevent new crimes from happening. Open and close a book with chapters written by Jeffery Deaver, the creator of the concept, then let the world's top thriller authors each contribute a chapter, taking the story in a never-ending set of twists and turns from beginning to end. There have been similar projects --- though not quite of this scale --- done in the mystery, romance and science fiction genres, but what is truly groundbreaking here is the manner in which THE CHOPIN MANUSCRIPT was released. Not only was it an original audiobook (one that earned a 2008 Audie Award for Audiobook of the Year), it also released a chapter at a time on a weekly basis, thus truly earning classification as a "serial thriller." Not content to rest on those considerable laurels, Deaver, accompanied by a stellar cast of thriller authors, did it again in 2009 with THE COPPER BRACELET. WATCHLIST brings both works together for the first time in print, the result demonstrating that the experiment works as well, if not better, in the traditional book medium. THE CHOPIN MANUSCRIPT, as one might guess from the title, is concerned with classical music, at least peripherally. Middleton is bequeathed with what appears to be an original handwritten score composed by Frederic Chopin that heretofore has never seen the light of day. The score is both more and less than it seems, however. Practically from the moment it passes into Middleton's possession, it begins to set off a chain reaction of events that puts Middleton --- as well as his pregnant daughter --- in terrible danger. He barely arrives in Washington, D.C. from Warsaw before he is on the run, accused of murdering two policemen even as he is pursued by a shadowy group of thugs who will stop at nothing to get their hands on the document in his possession. The only people whom Middleton can truly trust are his fellow Volunteers, who themselves are hamstrung by government officials who seem to be operating at cross purposes to them. Events reach a climax when the work in Middleton's possession is scheduled to be performed by a young woman who is a virtuoso on the violin. Her performance of the long-lost work will herald either a new cultural era or provide the signal for the opening of an unthinkable disaster. While THE CHOPIN MANUSCRIPT is more of a plot-driven work, THE COPPER BRACELET focuses more on Middleton and the personalities of the characters involved, without detriment to the pacing, which, as with its predecessor, moves along at breakneck speed. As indicated by the title, the Copper Bracelet is the focus of Middleton and the Volunteers as they race to prevent what a

This book is fascinating. Just when you think you've figured out the plot and where the characters are going, another author takes over and changes the whole dynamic. Great fun!