James Patterson's literary collaboration with other authors has been a bit of hit and miss. Similarly, the same is the case with his forays into differing subject matter and angles of attack than we are used to with his work. Judge & Jury sees Patterson once more working with Andrew Gross in a legal thriller which goes deep to the heart of corruption and the courtroom and jury system.

FBI agent Nick Pellisante has been chasing mob boss Dominic Cavallo for a long time. Finally, he has the mob boss, known as the Electrician, in the courtroom with a seemingly watertight case, but the problem with people like Cavallo is that they have power that reaches in and out of the courtroom, corruption littering in its wake. When the Electrician does something that makes the nation reel, juror number 11 finds the case becomes more personal than before, and she and Nick become even more determined to give Cavallo what he deserves.

What I found about this story is that it promises much and sort of delivers, but I was left wanting more by the end. Patterson's writing style is as fast and fervent as it always is in his novels, but I couldn't help that, despite my inability to put it down and stop reading at any point, the book needed a bit more courtroom attention and less of the action.

However, this is Patterson's style, and I shouldn't expect a John Grisham style novel from him, no matter what I am used to. The authors attack the tale with no holds barred and the characterisation is powerful despite the fact that the fast pace limits it somewhat. The combination of a hero and a heroine is a formula that historically works for Patterson, and crime boss Cavallo does come across as very scary, and I had to reel my mind in from the endless possibilties that corruption can do.

There are points where the authors go a little bit over the top, and the plot does become a bit unbelievable, but then this is fiction, and we must grant the authors a certain licence to play with our imaginations. I do recommend reading this book. I was impressed on the whole, but there was still that feeling that I wanted more from the courtroom scenes and that it had been glossed over a bit too much. I know that this is Patterson's style, but it still bugged me a bit.

Judge & Jury gets a 3 star rating from me. It is a high 3 star rating, verging on 4 stars, but the disappointment factor by the end swayed it. Judge & Jury is available from amazon.co.uk for £5.99.