Review
Normally I fly through James Patterson books. However, I really struggled to read this one and it took me a long while, two thirds of the way through in fact, to work out why.
I love cosy mystery books where the bad person has it coming and everyone could be a suspect. So, at first, I thought it was because this book has more violence.
But then I’d enjoyed other James Patterson books (eg The Postcard Killers and Murder Games ) and they were as violent.
And I’ve read other Women’s Murder Club books, such as 9th Judgement.
So thinking about it, I suppose I’m used to the cat and mouse aspects of (non-cosy) murder books. There may be a psychopathic serial killer bumping off innocent victims, but at least the kills are quick.
This book was different because it was very violent towards women and included torture. One plot strand follows a woman who was tortured and raped in the Bosnian conflict. Escaping to the USA, she is confronted by her tormentor. Another plot strand follows the abduction of three school teachers. Lets just say it doesn’t end well for them.
The Plot
Three missing women. Two impossible cases. One determined detective.
When three teachers disappear without a trace, Sergeant Lindsay Boxer takes the lead in the investigation. But with no clues and no suspects, the odds of finding the women alive are getting slimmer by the second.
Under pressure at work, Lindsay needs support at home.
But her husband Joe is drawn into an encounter with a woman who’s seen a ghost – a notorious war criminal from her Eastern European home country, walking the streets of San Francisco.
When Joe’s informant disappears, the two investigations collide.
It will take the combined skills of Lindsay, Joe and the entire Women’s Murder Club to protect their city, and themselves, from a monster.
Available from https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/james-patterson-and-maxine-paetro-women-s-murder-club-series
Available from Amazon