The Palm Beach Murders

The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Copyright © 2021 by James Patterson
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First Edition: March 2021

The Palm Beach Murders was first published as Let’s Play Make-Believe by Little, Brown in August 2016
Stingrays was first published as an ebook by Little, Brown in June 2017.
Nooners was first published as an ebook by Little, Brown in July 2017.

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ISBN 978-1-538-74998-2 (paperback) / 978-1-538-70445-5 (large-print paperback) / 978-1-538-75407-8 (hardcover library) / 978-1-538-75004-9 (ebook)

E3-20210224-NF-DA-ORI

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The
Palm Beach
Murders

James Patterson
with James O. Born

Prologue

The young reporter tried to keep her eyes on the camera as it tracked past her to the mansion facing South Ocean Boulevard and the Atlantic on the island of Palm Beach. She thought back to all her journalism and broadcast classes and tried to keep calm. Even with that effort, her voice cracked when the studio anchors cut to her live.

She said, “I am here in the town of Palm Beach as the police try to sort out what has occurred at this South Ocean residence. We know that at least one person has been shot to death, and the killer is believed to be still inside, possibly with a hostage.” The young reporter threw in a few improvised lines, then hit the points the producers wanted her to make. “Police have closed this section of South Ocean, and early-morning traffic is backing up as far as the Southern Boulevard Bridge, as we wait to hear exactly what has led to the tense standoff with police on the island of Palm Beach.”