#BookReview :: Private Berlin (Other Private Offices) by James Patterson & Mark Sullivan

Mattie Engel is one of the rising stars at Private Berlin, and believes she's seen the worst of people in her previous life with the Berlin police force. That is until Chris, her colleague - and until recently, her fiance - is found dead, brutally murdered in an old slaughterhouse outside the city.

The slaughterhouse is filled with bodies. But just as Private begin their investigations, the building explodes, wiping out all evidence of the crimes, and nearly killing Mattie and her team.

Mattie soon realises that a masked killer is picking off Chris's childhood friends, one by one, and destroying the trail. But who wants the past buried so badly? What is the truth about that slaughterhouse? And will Mattie become the killer's next victim?



When Chris Schneider, an investigator working for the leading investigation firm, goes missing while working on high profile cases, it is only expected that the firm would go all out to bring their man back home. Mattie Engel is put in charge and she means business. Having a personal interest in the case, as Chris’s ex, she is ready to pull all stops and the investigation takes her smack into the most dangerous places and among even more dangerous people. As the investigation progresses, Mattie has to come into terms with the fact that Chris had a whole lot of secrets of his own and that the person she is looking for is almost an invisible man.

I have read Private London, the first in this series, and it was set in the huge backdrop of Olympic games. It was a good one. While picking up this one, I had to remind myself that though it is part of the same series, the protagonist would be different. Yeah well, Peter Knight and Mattie Engel are very different characters. Mattie is a single mom and with a background work experience with German law enforcement. She is really strong and determined and I loved reading about a woman protagonist like her.

The plot would have been in the lines of formulaic thrillers but for the background of Chris. I liked the way the details of his past life were involved in the story. Those were really horrible times. Also, like in Private London, there were chapters that were narrated by the killer in first person. But unlike in case of the Private London, it didn’t really spook me out about the killer. There are a lot of red herrings thrown into the story though most were pretty see through.

In true James Patterson style it was a page turner that I enjoyed reading.

Buy the Book