I'm probably overrating this book a bit, since I read it after the dreadful London Bridges, and was pleasantly surprised at how good this book was. My expectations were low since this book was written in the mid 80s, and I was expecting it to be very dated. Also, I wasn't sure what to expect from a pre-Along Came a Spider Patterson book.

The story revolves around a mass terrorist plot concocted by bitter Vietnam War veterans who want vengeance against the U.S. government and society in general. The way to hit them where it really hurts is by attempting to strike a severe blow towards the U.S. Stock Market, and thus, causing a crash that would severely hurt the U.S. economy. An interesting Pre 9/11 terrorist plot that I very much enjoyed reading.

This book had some potential at the beginning but bombed about half way through..I am surprised at the favorable reviews here..The story is very weak and almost eerie considering it was published pre-911..I am amazed that J.P.'s publisher didn't hand the manuscript back to him and tell him to rewrite the ending..The ending was probably the worst I have ever read..In fact, if you decide to read this book, skip the last 10 chapters and write your own ending..I'm positive you'll do better than Patterson did!

Black Friday is your typical James Patterson novel. It is very easy to read with short and simple chapters.
The book is about a fictional terrorist organization simply called 'Green Band.' They make a vicious, devastating attack on the financial district of Wall Street, which has left the country in a daze. Many people become worried that there will be another depression.
The President of the United States (President Kearney) assembles a colorful team of different members with special backgrounds in their respective fields. A local New York cop, Archer Carroll is one of these members and the story is told from his and Colonel David Hudson's (Green Band leader) point of view. Archer Carroll is struggling within his personal life while at the same time trying to answer the questions: (1) Who is Green Band? (2) Why did they do this?
Patterson writes very interesting stories because he gives you both sides of the conflict, allowing you to see through the 'bad guys' point of view. So the fun part is getting to the confrontation between the two parties. The suspense still remains and you always want to continue reading.
I would recommend this book because of its simplicity to read and it is very appealing to young adults. It does contain some explicit language and sexual scenes but these can easily be overlooked with the entire quality of the book. It is a perfect book for contemporary literature classes.