Midnight Club (30 page)
Authors: James Patterson
THE MIDNIGHT CLUB is the
novel I wrote just before
Along Came a Spider.
I’m
certain that both Alex Cross
and Sampson originated in
ideas I had while writing
this story. It’s one of my
favorites, and I believe it
could make the best movie
of all my novels.
—JAMES PATTERSON
RAVES FOR JAMES PATTERSON, AMERICA’S #1 THRILLER WRITER
“JAMES PATTERSON DOES EVERYTHING BUT STICK OUR FINGER IN A LIGHT SOCKET TO GIVE US A BUZZ.”
—New York Times
“WHEN IT COMES TO CONSTRUCTING A HARROWING PLOT, AUTHOR JAMES PATTERSON CAN TURN A SCREW ALL RIGHT.”
—New York Daily News
“HE’S UNBEATABLE… Patterson proves himself master of the hair-raising thriller.”
—Buffalo News
“PATTERSON JUGGLES TWIST AFTER TWIST WITH GENUINE GLEE.”
—San Francisco Chronicle
“PATTERSON KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING, AND HE KEEPS THE PEDAL DOWN ON THE ACTION AND SUSPENSE.”
—Washington Times
“JAMES PATTERSON KNOWS HOW TO SELL THRILLS AND SUSPENSE IN CLEAR, UNWAVERING PROSE.”
—People
“PATTERSON IS A MASTER.”
—Newark Star Ledger
“PATTERSON LAYS OUT A TRAIL OF UP-AND-DOWN PLOT TWISTS that makes it nearly impossible to figure out the truth before he wants you to.”
—Associated Press
“JAMES PATTERSON BRILLIANTLY EXPLORES DARK CREVICES OF THE ABERRANT MIND . . WITHROLLER COASTER THRILLERS.”
—Ann Rule
“A MUST-READ AUTHOR… reaches out and grabs you from the opening page and doesn’t let go until the last drop of blood.”
—Providence Journal
“PATTERSON’S A MASTER OF SUSPENSE THRILLERS… twists and turns arrive in roller coaster fashion.… Patterson is diabolical.”
—Nashville Banner
“EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED FROM JAMES PATERSON.… Patterson confounds even mystery veterans with spine-tingling twists and turns that leave readers hanging upside down with their hearts racing.”
—Columbus Dispatch
“PATTERSON NOT ONLY CREATES A DIZZYING FLIGHT OF SUSPENSE AND VIOLENCE, but exposes the explosive elements in today’s society that make the world vulnerable to frightening events.”
—Baton Rouge Magazine
“Readers who have not discovered James Patterson just don’t know what they are missing, PATTERSON IS, WITHOUT A DOUBT, ONE OF THE MOST TALENTED AND EXCITING AUTHORS OF CRIME FICTION TODAY.”
—Lake Worth Herald
“A RIDE ON A ROLLER-COASTER WHOSE BRAKES HAVE GONE OUT.”
—Chicago Tribune
on
Cat & Mouse
“CAT & MOUSE IS A PULSATING GAME… . THE ACTION IS FAST AND FURIOUS.… The pages turn in a blur.… You might just finish this in one sitting. It’s that kind of book.”
—Rocky Mountain News
“Patterson delivers THE SWIFTLY PACED FARE THAT HAS MADE HIM A CHAMP OF THE CHARTS.”
—Publishers Weekly
on
Cat & Mouse
“CROSS, A BRILLIANT HOMICIDE COP, IS ONE OF THE GREAT CREATIONS OF THRILLER FICTION.”
—Dallas Morning News
on
Jack &Jill
“CAPTIVATING… A FAST-PACED THRILLER FULL OF SURPRISING BUT REALISTIC PLOT TWISTS.”
—San Francisco Examiner
on
Jack & Jill
“TOUCH TO PUT DOWN… TICKS LIKE A TIME BOMB, ALWAYS FULL OF THREAT AND TENSION.”
—Los Angeles Times
on
Kiss the Girls
“PATTERSON HIT THE BALL OUT OF THE PARK WITH ALONG CAME A SPIDER. KISS THE GIRLS IS EVEN BETTER.”
—Dallas Morning News
“A WILD RIDE… ALEX CROSS IS TO THE ’90S WHAT MIKE HAMMER WAS TO THE ’50S.”
—Denver Post
on
Kiss the Girls
“A FIRST-RATE THRILLER—FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELTS AND KEEP THE LIGHTS ON!”
—Sidney Sheldon on
Along Came a Spider
“HAS TO BE ONE OF THE BEST THRILLERS OF THE YEAR.”
—Clive Cussler on
Along Came a Spider
“TERROR AND SUSPENSE THAT GRAB THE READER AND WON’T LET GO. JUST TRY RUNNING AWAY FROM THIS ONE.”
—Ed McBain on
Along Came a Spider
The Thomas Berryman Number
Season of the Machete
See How They Run
Black Friday (formerly Black Market)
The Midnight Club
Along Came A Spider
Kiss The Girls
Hide & Seek
Jack & Jill
Miracle on the 17th Green (with Peter de Jonge)
Cat & Mouse
Cradle & All
When The Wind Blow
Pop Goes The Weasel
The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to known persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
WARNER BOOKS EDITION
Copyright © 1989 by James Patterson
All rights reserved.
Warner Vision is a registered trademark of Warner Books, Inc.
Warner Books, Inc.
Hachette Book Group
237 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Visit our website at
www.HachetteBookGroup.com
Originally published in hardcover by Little, Brown and Co.
First Warner Books International Paperback Printing: August 1998
First Warner Books U.S. Paperback Printing: June 1999
ISBN: 978-0-446-50596-3
First eBook Edition: July 2007
This is for J., for P., and for N., who told me what it’s like to be in the Chair
It’s for my father and mother, Charles and Isabelle