» Book Review

By Brandon HENSLEY

You’d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t love a crime thriller with a bunch of moving parts to keep you guessing until the story’s climax. While James Patric’s self-published novel “What You Wish For” may be a little convoluted with one too many characters, it offers excitement with enough action and a plot that will keep readers guessing who the real bad guys are until the final act.

Scott Milner’s marriage is falling apart and there’s trouble at work. His company, which produces children’s educational products, is going through a buyout, which means he might not have a job soon. He and Julie Wilson, a new office partner, scheme a fake sexual harassment claim to bilk his bosses out of enough money to spend a new life together. But Scott’s not a lucky man in this story; virtually everyone he knows or comes to know in the novel has something up their sleeves and the only relationship he can count on is with his teenage daughter Amy.

Things really get going halfway through the novel when insurance investigator Maxwell Moon, who has the background and the name alliteration made for the Marvel character, is introduced. Max sort of becomes the new guy who the reader cheers for because, even though we feel pity for Scott, his deficiencies as a person make it hard to root for him.

Opinions on him may be cleared up by the resolution. We come back to rooting for Scott after certain people die and others show their true colors. It’s a test of patience for readers to not get ahead of themselves as they turn the page.

Patric writes his scenes at a brisk pace; characters are never in one place for long, which makes following the story fun. At the same time, characters will often vomit out expository dialogue that lets readers know information pertaining to all sorts of things: guns, insurance fraud, police work, drug deals and sexual affairs. Patric, who served in the Navy during Vietnam and worked in human resources later on, has banked on his real life experiences to help immerse readers in this fictional tale. But it’s up to the audience to decide if all of that informational dialogue is tedious and takes away from the pacing, or is necessary to fully engage with the novel.

There are some nice character moments, specifically between Scott and Amy, and police detectives Gene Perkins and Linda Garcia. Witty banter between parents/kids and work partners is always welcome, and this gives the story some levity that eases the tension from the scenes involving acts not intended for younger audiences.

Patric’s novel, which is set in Glendale and namechecks other places like Pasadena, certain freeways, Brand Boulevard and even an Italian restaurant in Montrose, isn’t hard to follow per se, but it doesn’t move in and out of perspective, which can be a bit unsettling.

It begins in media res, from the viewpoint of police, where a dead body is found in a motel room. Then the story picks up months earlier when most of the story is told from Scott’s perspective in third person, except when it changes to small paragraphs or chapters involving other players caught up in this messy scheme.

“What You Wish For” is sure to keep readers on edge while providing a great guessing game into how Scott fits into the crazy game he got himself into. The novel is 291 pages and is intended for adult audiences.