Without having read the previous entries, this reader easily got drawn into 10th Anniversary, the tenth installment in James Patterson's Women's Murder Club series. Though there's a little business from the previous installments (how could there not be?), Mr. Patterson and co-author Maxine Paetro mainly emphasize the handful of new crime plots devised for this particular book, which new readers can easily latch onto and immerse themselves.
Three main plotlines dominate the proceedings this time out: a classic "whodunit" involving a famed heart surgeon and her murdered husband (did the wife do it?); a disturbing missing child case; and a dangerous, edgy storyline about a serial rapist who is terrorizing local residents.
I thought all of the book's plotlines were involving and well done, and also appreciated that there were just the right amount of "chattering girlfriends" scenes and steamy romantic encounters to give us a break from the drama and danger. But not too much of a break!
I think I'm going to catch up on the previous titles in this popular series. After all, even though I knew nothing about these characters before I picked up the book, Mr. Patterson and Ms. Paetro in short order had me genuinely caring if prosecutor Yuki Castellano solved her murder case, detective Lindsay Boxer rescued the missing child, and too-curious-for-her-own good journalist Cindy Thomas found and stopped the rapist. Now I'm curious to see what came before, both personally and professionally, in the lives of the series' cast members.
The Women's Murder Club may just have me as a regular visitor from here on out. I hope men are welcome among its ranks!
As of this writing, the first thirty chapters of 10th Anniversary are being offered for free in the Kindle Store.
No comments:
Post a Comment