This was either poorly written, or dumbed down for Americans who don't know about the metric system.

I had more than a few problems with this book.

First, Craig is supposed to run a good enough PI agency that he gets bought out by Private. The first crime that happens, he disturbs evidence. That's not something a good investigator would do.

The temperatures were given in degrees Fahrenheit, instead of Celsius. Distances were called out in yards and feet and miles instead of meters. They described the suspect in terms of feet and pounds instead of meters and kilograms. And the wife of the Deputy Police Commissioner and sister of a Private investigator would not be allowed to maintain her daily ritual of running alone on the beach while a murderer was targeting women who fit her profile. It just wouldn't happen.

Too much of this story was unbelievable. And I still don't know why Justine was there to "help" them open the new Private office. She played a very minor role in this. The Sydney office seemed to be running fine already before she got there.

Not the best of the Private books but still good.

ames Patterson's Private Down Under, the 8th in the Private series, is an exciting romp and is sure to please his followers. However, if you are expecting a thought-provoking book or one that even can be taken entirely seriously, this might be a pass. It kind of falls into the category of a beach book, entertaining but easily forgotten.
James Patterson has been churning out pulp fiction since 1976 and has to date written over 200 novels, sold over 300 million books and is valued at roughly $700 million. In short, James Patterson is an industry all on his own. His books are quick, to the point thrillers, and seldom leave an aftertaste or afterthought. Indeed it is even unclear how much writing Patterson does these days with all his co-authors. He may be more brand name then a writer at this point. One cannot argue with his popularity, though, and his influence on the thriller/detective genres will likely continue well into the future.
Co-written with Michael White, Private Down Under is another in that long line of no-calorie thrillers. The book centers on the creation of a new branch of Private, "the world's most exclusive detective agency," in Australia. On opening night of the new branch, a tortured and dying Asian man crashes into the party and dies amongst the cocktails. This death, of course, is their first case. Simultaneously, a down on her luck woman has a mental break and becomes a very active serial killer. Private takes on both cases, and we are off on an adventure.
The plotlines are pretty standard and don't represent much that we haven't seen before. Although with pulp detective novels, you learn to expect the familiar vice the original. Patterson fits that mold entirely. He attempts to liven up the plotlines with an Australian flavor, but it comes off oddly. With Patterson's ongoing machismo and poorly executed hard-boiled sensibilities, it feels like Crocodile Dundee meets Phillip Marlow on a B-movie budget.
Lines like "I jumped in my Maz" (meaning Mazarati) are the essence of fresh in Patterson's mind, but it just sounds silly. Kind of like many macho guys revving their engines at a red light or thinking the mere act of owning a Harley Davidson makes them a badass. It's just laughing out loud, stupid. There are many such gems throughout the book as the narration attempts, in the first person, to invoke Raymond Chandler.
So what do you do? You accept the material for what it is, silly throwaway entertainment, akin to a Jason Statham movie. You get on for the ride, and when you get off, you enjoyed the artificial thrills, hope you don't throw up and carry on.
Although I will say, a roller coaster ride would, in the end, probably be more memorable than this book.

Monkeyfist.life

I enjoy detective fiction, and this was a good distraction, but not really a great book.

I need to give up on the series, I think. It makes me absolutely crazy to have every main character described as "a stunner" or "a perfect 10" or whatever is meant to let us know this person is fantastically beautiful. People must like reading characters that are described like that, or Patterson wouldn't continue to write them like that, but it's just not for me.

Pretty good installment to the Private series. I really did enjoy the mystery and the killer was very creepy.

Private has just opened their newest branch and it is in Australia. Craig Gisto is enjoying the party to celebrate this new team when a boy arrives bloody with his eyes removed. It turns out that the boy is the son of a very rich man who had been kidnapped a few days before. A rock star named Mickey Stevens believes his manager is trying to have him killed in order to cash in on the “dead rock star” money and a serial killer is selecting wealthy wives to kill and brutalize. These three cases jump start this newest branch of Private and the employees must scramble to keep up.

Private Down Under has a cast of characters all its own, yet readers of the other books in the series will see references to other persons from the previous volumes. Readers who stumble across this book out of sequence will have no problem understanding the story and will enjoy the thrill ride that is an Other Private Offices novel. Patterson’s short chapters always give the reader an opportunity to read as much or as little as they can at a time. The fast pace story will make the pages fly by and the reader will wonder where the time went.

I enjoyed this Private book, more than some of the other Private Series. It had a good story line and kept you guessing. I great beach read.

I thought I would give James Patterson another try. Not bad, but still not my cup of tea.

OK. Another Patterson that was just ok. LOTS of violence... was it necessary? Maybe not so graphic. Better than "Burn" (which was SUCH a disappointment!)