I’ve really gotten into the Women’s Murder Club novel series by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro.

When Maxine Paetro is co-author, Patterson books are better.

I’m not sure why.

That said, Detective Lindsay Boxer is annoying. It makes no sense that she’s such a good cop while simultaneously being an anxious human and terrible MOM.

I’d like to see more books written from the perspective of the other 3 in the Murder Club.

15th Affair	(2016)	Description / Buy at Amazon.ca
16th Seduction	(2017)	Description / Buy at Amazon.ca
17th Suspect	(2018)	Description / Buy at Amazon.ca
18th Abduction	(2019)	Description / Buy at Amazon.ca

15th Affair 

Interesting plot set-up. Poor execution.

The ending was a surprise.

Just as bombs are starting to go off in her personal life, an explosive tragedy rocks San Francisco, plunging the city into chaos.

Pressed into duty to investigate a criminal plot that stretches around the globe, Detective Lindsay Boxer again finds herself following signs that lead to her own front door.

Thrown into a tailspin and fighting against powerful enemies trying to protect their operatives and conceal the truth at all costs, Lindsay turns to the Women’s Murder Club for help as she desperately searches for the elusive, and deadly, blonde …

16th Seduction

For me this was the best of the four.

Still recovering from her husband’s betrayal, Detective Lindsay Boxer faces a series of heart-stopping crimes and a deadly conspiracy that threatens to destroy San Francisco.

… a wave of mysterious and possibly unnatural heart attacks claims seemingly unrelated victims across San Francisco.

As if that weren’t enough, the bomber she and Joe captured is about to go on trial, and his defense raises damning questions about Lindsay and Joe’s investigation. Not knowing whom to trust, and struggling to accept the truth about the man she thought she knew, Lindsay must connect the dots of a deadly conspiracy before a brilliant criminal puts her on trial.

16.5 The Medical Examiner

Write just 1 plotline, this is a self-contained novella that Patterson dubbed a Bookshot.

Bookshots were around 150 pages and were all-new original stories. James Patterson’s vision was that these would be sold on magazine racks and be marketed toward people who said they didn’t have enough time to read.

A (supposed) murder victim wakes up in Claire’s morgue dazed, confused, and obviously covering for someone. She claims she can’t recall the man she was sleeping with who was killed beside her in a hotel room be.

Medical Examiner Claire Washburn is the main character in this short story.

17th Suspect

This one has an important story line ➙ a woman boss is accused of raping one of her male employees at gunpoint.

When a series of shootings exposes San Francisco to a mysterious killer, a reluctant woman decides to put her trust in Sergeant Lindsay Boxer. The confidential informant’s tip leads Lindsay to a disturbing conclusion: something has gone horribly wrong inside the police department.

The hunt for the killer lures Lindsay out of her jurisdiction and impacts her in dangerous ways. She suffers unsettling medical symptoms, and her friends in the Women’s Murder Club warn her against taking the crimes to heart. But with lives at stake, the detective can’t help but follow the case into terrifying terrain.

18th Abduction

This was the weakest of the four. Great premise for a book. But the action in San Francisco is simply stupid. Even for a Patterson book.

Detective Lindsay Boxer’s investigation into the disappearance of three teachers escalates from missing persons to murder …

For a trio of colleagues, an innocent night out after class ends in a deadly torture session. They vanish without a clue — until a body turns up.

As the chief of police and the press clamour for an arrest in the “school night” case, Lindsay turns to her best friend, investigative journalist Cindy Thomas. Together, Lindsay and Cindy take a new approach to the case, and unexpected facts about the victims leave them stunned.

While Lindsay is engrossed in her investigation, her husband Joe meets an Eastern European woman who claims to have seen a notorious war criminal — long presumed dead — from her home country. Before Lindsay can verify the woman’s statement, Joe’s mystery informant joins the ranks of the missing women.

Lindsay, Joe, and the entire Women’s Murder Club must pull together to protect their city and one another — not from a ghost, but from a true monster.