Light, fast-paced novel unloads a lot

Few claims beg for more scrutiny than the one James Patterson makes about his latest novel: “‘The Black Book’ is the best work I’ve done in 20 years.”

Proving the author’s contention would take a Pattersonian scholar, someone who has read, dissected and rated each of his books.

His website lists more than 160 titles, written alone or with co-authors, for adults and children.

Despite his vast popularity — more than 350 million copies of Patterson’s works have sold worldwide — most of his readers haven’t read every one of his books. The best a reviewer can do is decide whether “The Black Book” is smart, fastpaced and entertaining, all the things readers want a ■ “The Black Book” (Little, Brown, 418 pages, $28) by James Patterson with David Ellis

recreational read to be.

“The Black Book,” written with David Ellis, is built for the modern attention span. Its 418 pages consist of 109 punchy chapters, many ending with a cliffhanger or a shocking revelation. Twists and surprises are so ubiquitous that describing the plot without giving too much away is difficult.

The hero is Billy Harney, a likable Chicago homicide detective who is accused of murders he might or might not have committed. He can’t remember the killings because he gets shot in the head and two other key characters are killed.

Ballistic evidence proves that Harney’s gun was used.

Harney’s problems begin when he tails a murder suspect to a house of prostitution on Chicago’s Gold Coast. The brothel’s black book, which goes missing after a raid, gives the novel its title.

Everyone wants the black book — someone is even willing to kill for it. The book includes the names of the city bigwigs who don’t want their proclivities exposed and identifies the dirty cops who are siphoning thousands of dollars in protection money.

Patterson throws every trope into the blender: crooked cops, undercover officers, internal-affairs investigations, protection rackets and beautiful female prosecutors.

The result is a goes-downeasy story that will satisfy most crime-novel-lite junkies.

Although cliched dialogue occasionally deserves an eye roll, “The Black Book” ultimately is an engaging read that feels ready for adaptation as a cable-TV movie.

Is this the best book Patterson has written in 20 years? Who knows?

Does it have the best marketing plan? Maybe.

Before becoming a bestselling author, Patterson was a top-notch advertising executive. He surely knows how to promote products and tantalize consumers.