The Invisible Woman by James Patterson and Susan DiLallo Book Review

About the Book:

No one sees her, but she sees everything. Elinor Gilbert was once a young woman with a thriving career at the FBI.
           Now decades past solving crimes with the bureau, she is personally and professionally forgettable. 
           Which is exactly what her former FBI boss needs. He disguises Elinor as a middle-aged nanny, and casts her as an agent on the inside of his investigation into a New York art dealer suspected of ties to organized crime.   
           But as Elinor pushes toward the truth, her superpower—anonymity—morphs into a fatal flaw. 
           The more the invisible woman integrates into her “host” family, the more dangerously memorable she becomes.

My Review:

This novel was a surprise for me. Seeing Patterson as one of the authors, I anticipated an action packed thriller. What I read was a really funny novel. That humor totally surprised me. Imagine a talented FBI operative who had lost her position by being thrown under the bus by her supervisor asked to work again for the agency, serving undercover as a nanny. Never having changed a diaper, some of the scenes involving Elinor are truly humorous. There is some suspense, especially near the end, but that did not seem to be the focus of the plot. I now understand the co-author to be a humorist, explaining the fun aspect of this novel. There was a good twist at the end that added to the believable nature of the entire plot.

The characters are well crafted and Patterson's usual writing style makes it a fast moving plot. I really love the humor DiLallo adds. That addition makes for a very entertaining novel. This is the first book I have read by this duo and I will certainly be watching for more.

My rating: 5/5 stars.

About the Authors:

James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time. He is the creator of unforgettable characters and series, including Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Effing Smith, and Maximum Ride, and of breathtaking true stories about the Kennedys, John Lennon, and Princess Diana, as well as our military heroes, police officers, and ER nurses. He has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton and Dolly Parton, told the story of his own life in James Patterson by James Patterson, and received an Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal.

Susan DiLallo is a lyricist, librettist, and humor columnist. A former advertising creative director, she lives in New York City.

Little Brown and Company, 352 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)