Product placement is starting to make its appearance in novels. The latest James Patterson novel, "Cross," talks about Mercedes-Benz in great detail. In fact, an entire chapter of the book describes the main character's trip to a Mercedes-Benz dealership.

“So we stopped at the Mercedes dealer…Jannie and Damon ogled a silver CLK500 Cabriolet convertible, while Ali and I tested out the spacious front seat of an R350. I was thinking family car — safety, beauty, resale value. Intellect and emotion.”

The main character later purchases a R350 and drives it to clear his mind. Each time he drives it he describes what he likes about the car.

This product placement is so obvious and forced that it becomes annoying. If James Patterson just had the character have the car and mention it once or twice readers would not even notice. However, he goes overboard and spends a whole chapter talking about the dealership and keeps mentioning the car throughout the novel.