Thursday 11 July 2013

Review: James Patterson/Maxine Paetro - Women's Murder Club 8, 10, 11 & 12

From James Patterson's website:

Lindsay Boxer, Cindy Thomas, Claire Washburn and Jill Bernhardt, the stars of 1st to Die and 2nd Chance, are the founding members of the Women's Murder Club. Later, in 4th of July, Yuki Castellano joins the Club. Together, they solve crimes in their home city of San Francisco, and often meet up to talk about clues and life over Mexican food and drinks at Susie's.

My Review(s):

I just went through a James Patterson overload.  I read (4) of the Women's Murder Club series in a row.   I haven't read from this series in a few summers and couldn't quite remember where I left off.  I started my re-read with #8 - The 8th Confession.   Most of it was familiar, but I got sucked in again and remembered why I loved this series.  The characters are quirky and imperfect, I love the mystery, and the books are a quick and easy read.

I skipped The 9th Judgement as I recognized it within the first chapter and remembered it wasn't one of my favourites. 

I then jumped in to 10th Anniversary with both feet - my kids were gone for a few days and I had some time to spare.  I enjoyed this one.  I felt involved with the characters.  I wanted to shake the teenage mother.  I got caught up in the drama and mystery.   As soon as I finished, I had to load the next title to my tablet. 

11th Hour made me sad.  I didn't like the Joe & Lindsay drama.  I also found the titles in this series when Lindsay was pregnant slightly unrealistic.  I don't think she'd be solving crimes quite so actively... but hey, this is fiction, so who says it has to be true to life?  It was still an enjoyable read. 

Next up was the most recent title in the series:
12th of Never.  This one didn't grab me quite as much.  I felt like the flow between personal lives and the actual crime solving/criminal prosecuting/newspaper reporting wasn't very smooth.  I do realise the lead character (Lindsay Boxer) was going through personal crises and was feeling disjointed herself - maybe the novel as a whole just reflected that.  It was a little more disjointed than I've seen before.  I had my suspicions regarding some of the elements put into play immediately (and was right.)  I was a little disappointed at the conclusion... not enough to give up on the series, just enough to think maybe it's run it's course.

If you enjoy a quick contemporary murder mystery/legal thriller, give this series a go.  Each novel is a quick read and there's a reason Patterson is a best-selling author.

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