a book by James Patterson
Not interested in Matt’s opinion The Chef? We understand…but you can look into the work here:
The Chef
Apple Books | Amazon | Goodreads | Wikipedia | Website
Book Description
“A New Orleans police detective by day and celebrity food truck chef by night, Caleb Rooney has a new title -- Louisiana's Most Wanted -- in this shocking thriller from the world's #1 bestselling author.
In the Carnival days leading up to Mardi Gras, Detective Caleb Rooney comes under investigation for a murder he is accused of committing in the line of duty -- as a Major Crimes detective for the New Orleans Police Department. Has his sideline at the Killer Chef food truck given him a taste for murder?
While fighting the charges against him, Rooney makes a pair of unthinkable discoveries: His beloved city is under threat of attack . . . and these would-be terrorists may be local.
As crowds of revelers gather, Rooney follows a fearsome trail of clues, racing from outlying districts into city center. He has no idea what -- or whom -- he'll face in defense of his beloved hometown, only that innocent lives are at stake.” -Amazon
About the Author
The Following was gathered from Patterson’s Wiki.
“James Brendan Patterson (born March 22, 1947) is an award-winning American author and philanthropist. Among his works are the Alex Cross, Michael Bennett, Women's Murder Club, Maximum Ride, Daniel X, NYPD Red, Witch and Wizard, and Private series, as well as many stand-alone thrillers, non-fiction, and romance novels.”
By 2014, “His books have sold more than 300 million copies worldwide, making him among the world's most prolific and popular writers”, despite Stephen King calling Patterson’s books “dopey thrillers” (USA Today). Patterson’s response…I want to be the “thrillingest thriller writer of all time”. Gotta love it.
In Fall of 2015, Patterson received the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, which cited him as a "passionate campaigner to make books and reading a national priority. A generous supporter of universities, teachers, colleges, independent bookstores, school libraries, and college students, Patterson has donated millions of dollars in grants and scholarships with the purpose of encouraging Americans of all ages to read more books." (National Book Foundation).
Patterson was also the first person to sell 1 million e-books (a number I am not encroaching upon). In 2016, Patterson topped Forbes's list of highest-paid authors for the third consecutive year, with an income of $95 million. His total income over a decade is estimated at $700 million (The Guardian).
“Formerly the chairman of advertising company J. W. Thompson in the early 1990s, Patterson came up with the slogan "Toys R Us Kid". Shortly after his success with Along Came A Spider he retired from the firm and devoted his time to writing.” (Yahoo Answers).
Editorial Reviews
The Pontalba Building on Jackson Square in the French Quarter of New Orleans
Photo by Onasill ~ Bill | SRC: Flickr
The Chef Review: What Do New Orleans Experts Think? -Bloomberg
“We recognize that this book is pop fiction. We don’t take issue with the factual inaccuracies as much as the gross oversimplification and poor characterization of our city and its people.”
“As he’s trying to save the city from mass destruction and running his food truck and falling in love, he finds time to have elaborate four-course meals. And the fancy food he describes is not anything any of the chefs in this city would be proud of, by the way. Oyster-infused veal cheek served in an oyster shell with rhubarb aioli?”
I’m no Sommelier
Now… I’m not one of those people who only drinks Cabernet Sauvignon with a turned-up nose. Mostly, I like free wine. It just tastes better.
But I hear these people sometimes, and sometimes they are my friends, saying things like, “I don’t drink merlot, I only drink cabs, no pinots, no chiantis, and especially no malbecs, just cabs.” Upon hearing this, I usually can’t hide my disgust under my scrunched-up face, because I have trouble hiding it, and a scrunched-up face, in general, means the person scrunching is disgusted.
It’s scrunch-worthy because most of my friends really don’t know anything about the wines they do or do not want to drink, and even less about Cabernet Sauvignon.
And you may be wondering what in the hell does wine have to do with a book that’s not about wine, even though the book is about a chef?
Well, if you’ve read any of my other book reviews, you will notice an unintentional thread of food analogies to the author’s writing.
So, that’s what’s happening.
Could it be that I love reading and writing and food in no hierarchical order?
Could it be that I went to chef school in Italy?
Or a more reasonable answer could be that I have a limited imagination, and I am always hungry. Hungry.
Furthermore, the wine analogy for me is more of a life analogy. Sure, I always enjoy a huge Napa Cabernet any time it’s within my reach. I would drink that with a delicate fish and laugh in the sommelier’s face, while tears drip down her cheeks if it were my only chance to try the wine.
But usually, delicate fish or not, nobody is offering me an age-worthy and full-bodied (expensive) Napa Cabernet and, quite often, the Napa Cabernet is beyond my budget (BMB).
And truthfully, on more than one occasion, I have had twenty-dollar bottles of Merlot that I’ve enjoyed more than very expensive Cabernets.
Is it my low-quality and untrained nose for good wine?
Is it my roots in the middle class, where in my childhood I was convinced that the “jug wine” my grandfather routinely purchased was top shelf and of quality?
Or could that just be my ability to transcend the BS and find the good in almost anything, including “bad” wine?
Take movies for instance. Sometimes, I don’t want some dramatic, award-winning-whatever, no matter what those nose-in-the-air Cabernet drinkers say.
I want a good old fashioned action car chase never going to happen in real life Fast and Furious King Kong of Skull Island Bad Boys reunion, with a dash of rehashed Predator, and some First Blood to boot… all with a heaping spoonful of cheese.
Which brings me to THE REVIEW
Can I have some spaghetti with my cheese?
I must be honest; I love Patterson’s books in the same way I love many of the movies I listed above (all of which would make a great film when combined).
Patterson’s books are good fun, and they go down easy, without a lot of hard thinking or even simple paying attention. I’m not saying that as a pejorative comment, because I think it’s brilliant that he can entertain with book after friggin’ book in such a satisfying and fun way.
Sort of like how a decent Malbec that only incinerates ten bucks instead of $40. Happy wine wallet.
Again, I must wonder if these two guys got together and decided to have a contest to outdo each other on the amount of cheese that could be created in each of their respective portions of the writing. It hurt to read, and I did not want it to.
The cheese kept coming like the meat at a Brazilian Churrasco restaurant because you forgot to turn the bring-me-more-meat sign from green to red.
The story follows a cop who is also an amazing chef, and who also owns a very successful food truck.
Okay, I think I get it; I can cook pretty good, and I’m a writer, and a personal trainer…that’s plausible. But I don’t own a very successful food truck. I guess I don’t want to, but I still don’t think I could if I did want to.
Really, if the relationships and the story weren’t so… cheesy. I attempted to add a little balsamic to cut into the cheese by reading other books. I hoped they would remind me that I am not an upturned nose Cabernet person, and that I didn’t read the books that upturned nose people do, like books about wine…or food.
Fine Cheap-O Wine at Trader Joe’s
Photo by Matthew Oliphant | SRC: Flickr
If you’re in need of a cheap box o’ wine, which I sometimes am, you can give this one a shot.
I don’t remember his books being this painful to read but maybe it’s just been a while, and I like upper middle class expensive wine now. Like $14.99.
I’d love for other people to read, The Chef, so they can tell me why they thought I should have liked it. And maybe, I’ll start to like it too. Maybe the book gets better with time, like a Napa Cabernet.
Patterson got me hooked though, and that’s what carried me through to the finish line. I felt like I needed to see what happened. But, before I knew it and after it was too late, I was borderline drowning in the fondue like a piece of bread left in the pot with the cheese too long.
After coming up for air a few times, however, I made it through.
See if you can too. I challenge you. You won’t get an award, other than an award of tolerance…for cheese.
In the meantime, I’ll be eating real cheese and drinking a Malbec from the cheap shelf at Trader Joe’s.
Yum!
Dear Reader,
Interested in detectives, lawlessness, and mystery? Do you want to dive into a not so cheesy investigative thriller? Check out my latest release, MIGRANT!
Migrant by Matt Orlando
Salinas police detective Mike Garcia is tasked with investigating the murder of a gang member found in the lettuce field of a rich grandfather he had never met. Having been a beat cop in 2009 when Salinas was known as the Youth Murder Capital of California, he knew what sort of retaliation was coming…