18th Abduction

Review: Women’s Murder Club by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

Let me start by saying that I’ve been a loyal reader of the Women’s Murder Club series, sticking with it all the way to book 21. So when I say this latest installment didn’t exactly thrill me, you’ll understand it’s coming from a place of affection and dedication—kind of like when you keep buying chocolate from your favorite brand even though the last few bars tasted like cardboard.

In this book, Detective Lindsay Boxer is on the case of three missing schoolteachers in San Francisco, which quickly escalates from a missing persons case to murder. Meanwhile, her husband Joe is entangled in his own mystery involving a war criminal who’s apparently traded Eastern Europe for the streets of San Francisco. Sounds exciting, right? Well, it should have been.

But here’s the thing: the plot holes in this book are more impressive than the potholes in South Africa. Seriously, I could have driven a bus through some of these gaps. And I get it, sometimes thrillers require a little suspension of disbelief, but this one asked me to suspend it, hang it out to dry, and then forget where I put it.

And yet, I finished it. Why, you ask? Audiobook. If it weren’t for the ability to listen while getting other things done, this might have been a DNF (Did Not Finish). The narration kept me company while I worked, and that’s the only reason I made it to the last page—or rather, the last minute.

Now, I know I shouldn’t start a sentence with “but,” but… James Patterson has done so much for literacy and supporting authors that I’m going to keep reading his books, even when the series takes a nosedive like this one. The man’s done more for getting people to read than a lot of us ever could, so he’s earned my loyalty—even if it’s with a grimace and a two-star rating this time around.

So, if you’re a die-hard fan, give it a listen while you multitask. Just don’t expect the same thrill ride you’ve enjoyed in earlier books. And who knows? Maybe the next one will fill in some of those plot holes—or at least patch them up a bit.