When the Wind Blows HC James Patterson 1st print Little, Brown

Description

Frannie O’Neill is a young and talented veterinarian living in Colorado. Plagued by the mysterious murder of her husband, David, a local doctor, Frannie throws herself into her work. It is not long before another bizarre murder occurs and Kit Harrison, a troubled and unconventional FBI agent, arrives on her doorstep. Late one night, near the woods of her animal hospital, Frannie stumbles upon a strange, astonishing phenomenon that will change the course of her life forever….Her name is Max. With breathtaking energy, eleven-year-old Max leads Frannie and Kit to uncover one of the most diabolical and inhuman plots of modern science. When the Wind Blows is as unique a story as has ever been told, filled with suspense and passion. Taking a break from his phenomenally successful Alex Cross series, James Patterson’s When the Wind Blows is as much child’s fantasy as it is an adult nightmare. The novel moves away from the gritty Washington, D.C., setting of the Cross books and follows the daily life of Frannie O’Neill, a Colorado veterinarian. After the mysterious death of her husband several years before, Frannie retreated to an isolated life in her Colorado practice. But a series of bizarre events suddenly disrupts her lonely routine. On a personal level, she is shaken by her new tenant–Kit Harrison. Kit’s too handsome and too friendly and he’s a hunter (or so Frannie thinks). He’s also recovering from a devastating personal tragedy, and, as Frannie eventually learns, he’s really an FBI agent using his vacation to follow a crucial lead. But Kit isn’t the one that’s got Frannie concerned. As she says after stopping her Suburban one night to check out something on the side of the road: “What I saw was way beyond my abilities to imagine, beyond my comprehension, my system of belief, and maybe beyond my ability to communicate right now. The little girl’s arms were folded back in a peculiar way, but when she lifted them–feathers fanned out.” The girl is Max, and the mystery of her wings leads Frannie and Kit into a massive conspiracy involving secret genetic research and the scientific manipulation of the human species. When The Wind Blows by James Patterson is a touching story about a group of children who are mistreated and misused for the benefit of another group of people. This group is using the children as test subjects by mutating cells of different animals and using host women to give birth to the children. These children are born mutated; some have wings, some have no faces, and some do not even survive. The ones that die, or are later “put to sleep” are stuffed away. One of the children in particular, Max, is a 12 year old girl with wings. She and her brother Matthew have taken the abuse from the horrible school for so many years, and are so fed up with it, that they decide to flee the school. This doesn’t work to plan. On the other face of the story, a man named Tom Brennan, undercover for the FBI as Kit Harrison, is boarding an airplane to Colorado to investigate the recent news of several murders in and around the Bear Bluff, Colorado area that may possibly be linked. Behind the backs of his co-workers, Kit has been studying the talks of a corporation secretly trying to evolve humans by testing children, which is extremely illegal and distasteful in every way. Kit is told by his boss to go on vacation to Nantucket due to his diligent work ways, but he’s actually off to investigate this case. Also there is Frannie O’ Neal, a widow of Bear Bluff working as a veterinarian. Her husband, David, was killed a few years ago in a parking lot. The police never found a suspect or lead. She still wakes up sweating after having a dream of her trying to save her loved husband once again. These 3 characters will all meet in one way or another, which leads up to an epic ending full of laughter, surprise, suspense, and loads of entertainment. This book left me wanting more…in which I grabbed a copy of the sequel, The Lake House, to start reading. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has enjoyed a James Patterson book, or to anyone who enjoys suspenseful, murder mystery, and adventure type books.

978-0-316-69332-5

Near mint, 1st print. Minor wear to DJ.