Swimsuit * James Patterson, Maxine Paetro

When a breathtakingly beautiful supermodel vanishes from a high-profile magazine photo shoot at a glamorous resort in Hawaii, a cop-turned-journalist launching an independent investigation gets pulled straight into an impossible agreement with a brilliant, psychopathic killer.

The Story: Co-authored by prominent master of suspense James Patterson and celebrated thriller novelist Maxine Paetro, this highly acclaimed 2009 standalone blockbuster stands as one of the most shocking and seductive tales in contemporary suspense fiction. The narrative steps cleanly away from the predictable patterns of ongoing detective series like Alex Cross or the Women's Murder Club. Instead, Patterson and Paetro construct an atmospheric cat-and-mouse game that masterfully pairs a scenic tropical paradise with untold psychological horrors, demonstrating that the most terrifying monsters are those who treat horrific crimes as a high-end, calculated creative production.

The plot follows Ben Hawkins, a former police officer who has transitioned into a high-profile reporting track for the L.A. Times. Assigned to cover the sudden disappearance of world-famous supermodel Kim McDaniels from a beachfront photo shoot in Maui, Ben arrives to find a local law enforcement response hollowing out from deep ineptitude. Driven by his investigative instincts and his growing obsession with the case, Ben launches a solitary tracking mission to find the missing beauty before her desperate, panicked parents succumb to a terrifying extortion plot run by the kidnapper.

Rather than a basic missing-persons procedural, the journey transitions smoothly into a dark, high-stakes countdown for personal survival. Ben's tracking brings him face-to-face with Henri Benoit, an incredibly elusive, theater-obsessed serial killer who records his horrific crimes for an elite, secretive audience. When Benoit approaches the reporter with an impossible-to-resist deal to pen his definitive true-crime biography, Ben is forced to enter the mind of a monster, turning the book in your hands into an explosive battle of wits. Published as a premium hardcover edition by Little, Brown and Company, this pacy page-turner keeps the adrenaline at an absolute boil.

Perfect For: Fans of high-octane psychological thrillers, chilling cat-and-mouse suspense, and standalone criminal profiling mysteries; readers who appreciate the relentless pacing of authors like Harlan Coben, David Baldacci, or Iris Johansen; and book collectors securing a clean first edition of one of Patterson's most unique standalone triumphs.

Published 2009 by Little, Brown and Company; stated First Edition.

Psychological Suspense / Crime Thrillers / Serial Killer Investigations / Standalone Noir / High-Stakes Page-Turners