You've Been Warned

July 30, 2007
The Patterson bestseller factory has turned out another high-drama thriller, this time in collaboration with Honeymoon
coauthor Roughan. Kristin Burns, a New York City nanny and aspiring photographer, is devoted to the two children under her care, but her desire for their father, Michael Turnbull, leads her to a risky, torrid affair with him. Kristin's anxiety about her guilty secret is heightened by a series of frightening nightmares centering on a vision of four body bags being loaded onto gurneys in front of a prominent Manhattan hotel. Her nightmares also feature recurring encounters with dead people, including her father and the pediatrician who abused her as a child. Kristin's breathless, superficial narration doesn't generate a lot of reader sympathy or interest in figuring out the source of her macabre experiences.

October 29, 2007
You’ve Been Warned
is aptly titled. Patterson has produced dozens of bestselling thrillers, on his own and more recently with a stable of co-writers. But his latest seriously lacks excitement, and Kadushin doesn’t do much to bring the audio version to life. Despite her exotic name and her background as a singer/composer, she sounds very much like a whiny waitress as she reads the mundane story about a supposedly talented photographer who works as a nanny for a wealthy family and falls into a fevered sexual involvement with the husband. Adding to the déjà vu withdrawals from the cliché bank are a series of nightmares featuring four body bags. She also sees—and talks with—dead people. Unfortunately, none of it adds up to a worthwhile listening experience. Consider this your warning. Simultaneous release with the Little, Brown hardcover (Reviews, July 30).