Count to Ten: A Private Novel

Nothing here worth the Patterson name on the cover. The book is juvenile,boring and predictable. No character development and nothing in the plot to stimulate any thought. Not worth the time to read.

Patterson has sold his name to a lot of other authors, some good, some not so good. This is the worst book he has ever associated his name with. After reading about a third of it I couldn't even finish the book and ended up throwing it out. I haven't not finished a book in years due to poor writing.

This book was unlike any of the other Private books I’ve read. It had far too many difficult names and words that needed a dictionary by your side to read and understand. I found myself glad when some of the players were killed in that I did not have to try and remember who they were and their role in the story. This was not like any of the other Private books in that it was a hard read and hard to follow.

For some time I have been finding less and less interest in the large numbers of books that purport to be written by James Patterson.
I found this novel to have been very predictable and true to the recipe of financial success.
If one day there isa book written by James Patterson I may read it..

Fantastic read many twists to the story. Private India decieved into Taking on a case where the love and head of state are trying to outdo each other. However there seems to be a group that is harvesting organ for those who can afford to pay. But there is The Deliverer, making things right?

As usual, I was hooked from the very beginning of this story. What a story full of twist and turns not really knowing who the killer might me. Keep it going James Patterson and Ashwin Sanghi. Well done.

Great characters so well done. The storyline flowed well and kept the reader wanting more. The IndianchRacters were entertaining and Delhi was a nice change of locals and customs. I recommend this book. Enjoy it.

This book was so slow to read. I found it difficult to keep the characters straight. None of them were memorable or interesting. It was too long - and predictable. I read most Patterson novels and generally enjoy the Private series. This one was torture to slog through. I was so glad to reach the end.

Patterson’s books are fast reading books. This book brings the readers mind to think about organ transplanting, how it could be misused badly instead of the good way of benefiting from it.

This book holds the readers interest until the end. Justice is done .

Just finished reading this novel from James Patterson. Another thriller and an excellent read as usual. Delivered on time and the price was right. I am a reader of Patterson and Baldacci. Cannot go wrong with either and is difficult to keep up with everything they publish.

I gave it one star because you can't write a review without one. My previous review was never posted because I complained that Kellerman had put his name on a book that would otherwise not have been published. Both the plot and narrator were next to impossible to understand. I'd return it if I could.

Once I started this book I couldn't stop! There are some slow points of the book but somehow James Patterson has a way to keep every part of hos books interesting. This was the only adult book of his that haven't read yet.....not disappointed at all. About to get my 8 year old started on his kid books.

James Patterson’s Private series consists of what is arguably his most complex concept. Private, run by former Marine Jack Morgan, is a detective agency on steroids, offering power, discretion and connections in a very expensive package with a worldwide reach. While these novels are set in several of the world’s capitals, perhaps none of those featured are as exotic as the Private India books, of which the newly published COUNT TO TEN is a part. Patterson and co-author Ashwin Sanghi combine their considerable talents to produce one of Private’s most intriguing and entertaining installments to date.

COUNT TO TEN takes place primarily in Delhi, India, and opens with a pair of interesting vignettes. The first concerns a murderer, who we later come to know as The Deliverer, in the midst of an execution. The second involves a pair of young lovers whose attempt at a secretive tryst on some private property is interrupted when they literally feel the earth move, resulting in a grisly discovery of decomposing body parts. It develops that the property --- a mansion and its grounds --- is owned by the Indian government, a fact that the powers that be intend to keep quiet for as long as possible. Jack makes a bit of a deal with the devil when he involves Private on the side of one of the warring political parties in the matter, somewhat to the misgiving of Santosh Wagh, the troubled head of Private India.

Though still recovering emotionally from the injuries he had previously sustained in the events documented in PRIVATE INDIA: CITY ON FIRE, Santosh is more familiar with the labyrinthian intrigues of the Indian ship of state than is Jack, and as COUNT TO TEN proceeds, it turns out that Santosh’s doubts are well-placed. Operating the Delhi office with the able assistance of investigator Nisha Gandhe (who has some emotional baggage of her own) and Neel Mehra, a tech geek with unparalleled IT chops, Santosh gradually uncovers a scheme at the highest levels of the Indian government that involves organ harvesting and medical tourism, among other things.

Sanghi is a very capable tour guide, giving an insider’s look at Indian culture and politics that is worth the price of admission all by itself. The plotting is superb, and includes a couple of compelling plot twists about halfway through the book that bring the investigation personally close to home as the hunt for The Deliverer intersects with Private’s own investigation. A word of warning here: the descriptions of The Deliverer’s work are fairly graphic, and in at least one case give new meaning to the term “stomach-turning.” The killer’s nickname is also a clever ironic play on words, which may have been unintentional but probably wasn’t. Private manages to bring matters to a satisfactory conclusion for both cases, but leaves parts of itself scattered along the way, with possible repercussions for future volumes.

As with most Patterson novels in general and the Private collection in particular, there is a lot going on in COUNT TO TEN. The book mixes the political and medical thriller subgenres along plot tracks that intersect each other more often than they parallel. One suggestion for the authors: a glossary of character names would be helpful in upcoming installments. The number of characters and uniqueness (for Western readers) of their names resulted in a slowing down of what otherwise would have been a fast-paced read. However, that quibble is just a minor speed bump in a suspenseful and intriguing novel with which to close out the year.

Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

I have never personally given a review with two stars as its base before. I start every book I read with the attitude that it deserves a five star review unless the author and publisher convince me otherwise. This book convinced me otherwise. This is a poorly written book and it is a shame since it has such potential. The story, or governmental officials being crooked, is as old as history. The addition of a killer stalking the crooks, taking them out one by one, a vigilantism story, is nearly as old as crooked government officials. Combining the two makes for the potential of a good story. But the very first page of the story is graced with an incomplete sentence. After that the usage is passable but with errors in diction which should not exist in a professionally edited book. The most unforgiving aspect of the story is the author for some unknown reason not following through with the obvious courses any killer would take in given situations, killing being his means of drawing attention to the crooks. I am sorry this story was poorly written. It could have been enjoyable.

I happen to really enjoy this book. it starts out with a house that was found with multiple bodies in barrels that were being disolved.

shortly ate this Private was brought in to investigate what was going on and why it was under wraps and not in the media.

there is politics involved as the chief minister and the lt governor don't like each other yet are equal in power and are kind of a checks and balance for each other. Santosh doesn't want to take the case as he thinks what is found will be used to exploit the other party for political gain.

once the investigation begins it is eventually found out that organ harvesting or organs for sell not totally on the up and up is going on. a few companies are involved including an insurance company aimed at Americans to come to India for surgery.

there are parts of the book that can be pretty gorrey in details about the killings or how bad people can be in harming other people regardless of health or age.

tjis book is an eye opener as to what goes on even though people don't want to admit how horrid people. an be with child porn, and unethical practices and so forth.

I'm interested in India, so I checked this out of the library even though James Patterson isn't my genre. This is the first time it's been checked out since the library acquired it,which should tell you something. Spoiler alert: we start with 2 young people having "weed-induced" sex outside,which hasn't happened since the 1970's. The ground collapses beneath them, and they find themselves in an underground "charnel house", where human body parts seethe in vats of chemicals. I don't know what happens after that as I threw the book against the wall.

What sick brains come up with this garbage?

Definitely a slow start, but with James Patterson books I tend to keep reading since I know it will eventually pick up. Great book. This Private Novel was based on organ harvesting, which is a little morbid but probably rings true to many. The unfortunate or sometimes desperate always prey to those who are greedy. A lot of situations in this book, did take me a while to remember who was who. The names did throw me off a bit. I would recommend.

The best thing about this book is that it finally came to an end. I normally can just sink into a Patterson novel but I did not believe it would ever end. I would give it zero stars but it will not let me. If I had read this as my first James Patterson novel, I would never read another one. JP needs to be a little more selective on who he allows to use his name so they can get published. Truly the worse Private novel and the worst James Patterson novel in circulation at this time.

James Patterson never disappoints. Of the Private novels, this is my favourite. So much of India's culture is revealed in a fast paced novel of corrupt government officials dealing organ procurement. As is most often the case, justice is served. Fascinating read.

I replay like how I can read a Private novel, set in another Country and come away feeling a kinship to threat Country.
The characters become long lost friends.
The plot is riveting, so real, so scary!!!!!!

I was really disappointed in this book. I, like a lot of the 1 star reviewers do not believe that James Patterson wrote any of this book. The characters were nearly impossible to follow and were never well developed. The plot dragged like a ball and chain. I kept going back to the book, thinking that it would become interesting at some point---it did not. I gave up after wasting my time plodding to make it halfway through.

I love have loved all of the James Paterson's books I have read. This book was gteat with the twists, excitement and a shocking ending. This book is based ing Delhi. It gives you sort of a look in their health care and their goverment. Do keep in mind this is a fiction novel. All in all a very good book and I do recommend it. I do suggest that you write down the names of the characters to remember or if you are good with remembering namss then you should be fine. I am not good with stuff like that.

Why do authors release books which have already been published under a different title?

In this instance 'Count To Ten' was published previously as 'Private Delhi' only months earlier.

I guess when an author has over 20 books published in one calendar year, it must be easy to lose track of what was written, especially if he/she didn't write the book but merely put their name on the cover to reap the royalty rewards.

C'mon, guys. You can do better than that. A really good plot ruined by constant, unnecessary use of the "f" word. Why? Words are your business. Use more of 'em and let that one go. You've proved that you can.

Don't know the business side of this, but apparent that the Sanghi guy wrote this and Patterson stamped his name to the cover. Close to a rip off. Reads like foreign language literature, translated. Set in India, the story is simplistic, predictable, and rather like a grade school novel. Not worthy of the price, hype and time invested in reading it. I kept at it, hoping it would improve. It did not. One star would mean I hated it; not accurate but did not like it nor can I recommend it.

Don't know the business side of this, but apparent that the Sanghi guy wrote this and Patterson stamped his name to the cover. Close to a rip off. Reads like foreign language literature, translated. Set in India, the story is simplistic, predictable, and rather like a grade school novel. Not worthy of the price, hype and time invested in reading it. I kept at it, hoping it would improve. It did not. One star would mean I hated it; not accurate but did not like it nor can I recommend it.