The focus for the latest paperback in Patterson's Private series, about an international detective agency, switches across the Atlantic to our shores.

The second book is an improvement on the first one, which had too many storylines for its own good.

This time there are just enough strands, and as a result we get a typically glossy Patterson crime adventure's ideal for a holiday read.

One storyline follows Private's London chief as he deals with the kidnap of a young American girl, daughter of a tycoon, who was studying at university under an assumed name.

Meanwhile his ex-wife, a Brit cop, looking into the brutal murders of young women across the home counties.

The two cases could be connected, but there are plenty more twists to come in this fast-moving thriller.

David Knights