Both Meed and Savage’s characters are intelligent and intriguing. Meed’s character is original and unforgettable. She is the pillar of the story, and her strength, courage, and perseverance are admirable. As a Doc Savage fan I have been waiting anxiously for the publication of this book. Not with excitement but with fear. I was terrified of what might happened to the character under this pseudonym. I ended up reading the book in two evenings and found it to be harmless to my beloved Doc Savage. The writing is of the “telling not showing” variety. Plot driven, fast paced, filled with inconsistencies and plot holes. But easy reading. If I had a single complaint to share it would be the continuous use of double question marks at the end of sentences. I had only seen this in comic books and angry text messages. Witnessing it in a mainstream published novel which is supposed to have been proofread made me stumble each time. I’m not going to bother to discuss the multiple plot inconsistencies or my inability to suspend disbelief at times. I am just too grateful they didn’t butcher the source material. And if this can introduce Doc Savage to a wider audience then I want to be supportive at least to that degree. Thus four stars.

Prof. Brandt Savage—grandson of the legendary action hero Doc Savage—is forced into a top-secret training program where he discovers his true calling…as the perfect assassin.Armageddon (2012), with Chris Grabenstein, New York: Little, Brown and Company ISBN 978-0-316-10179-0 Princess: A Private Novel, or Private Princess (2018), with Rees Jones, New York: Little, Brown and Company ISBN 978-1538714447

Patterson, James; Sanghi, Ashwin (2014). Private India: City on Fire. New York: Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4555-6081-3.The Second American Revolution: The People's Plan for Fixing America-Before Its Too Late (1994), with Peter Kim, New York: William Morrow and Company ISBN 978-0688117306

Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life (2011), with Christopher Tebbets, illustrated by Laura Park, New York: Little, Brown and Company ISBN 978-0-316-10187-5 Private London (2011), with Mark Pearson, New York: Grand Central Publishing ISBN 978-1-4555-2815-8 [12] I was really hoping Patterson wouldn't bugger this up. But...yeah, well...I should have known better. Patterson, James; Karp, Marshall (2011). Kill Me If You Can. New York: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-316-09754-3. The President Is Missing (2018), with Bill Clinton, New York: Knopf & Little, Brown and Company ISBN 978-0-316-41269-8

Customer reviews

The Perfect Assassin is a gripping, suspenseful tale that takes you into the life of Dr. Brandt Savage, a professor of anthropology whose planned sabbatical takes an unusual turn when he is kidnapped off the street by the enigmatic Meed and is schooled in the fine art of assassination. I highly recommend reading this if you're a fan of thrillers - it has everything you want and still exceeds your expectations. If you're new thrillers and want to give James Patterson's books a try, this is your sign to do it! You will not regret it. Patterson, James; Roughan, Howard (2009). Sail. New York: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-316-01870-8.

NYPD Red (2012), with Marshall Karp, New York: Little, Brown and Company ISBN 978-0-316-19986-5 [17] Abduction (2019), with Maxine Paetro, New York: Little, Brown and Company ISBN 978-0-316-42026-6 [6]My Brother Is a Big, Fat Liar (2013), with Lisa Papademetriou, illustrated by Neil Swaab, New York: Little, Brown and Company ISBN 978-0-316-20754-6 [42] City of the Dead (2021), with Mindy McGinnis, New York: Little, Brown and Company ISBN 978-0-316-50015-9 Juror No. 3, or Juror #3 (2018), with Nancy Allen, New York: Knopf & Little, Brown and Company ISBN 978-0-316-47412-2 This book was insufferably bad, awful, and plain terrible. The mild mannered Brandt Savage gets kidnapped and forced to train his body and mind and never once suspects it might have something to do with his great grandfather? And the guy has a PhD? His parentage is never discussed - Doc Savage never had a girlfriend in any of the books, but obviously there was someone. Maybe to be discussed in a subsequent book, if there are any.