4th of July

Mar 25, 2008 Rachel C. rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: pop-fic-mystery

Maxine Paetro picks up the series from Andrew Gross. She introduces a new character, Yuki Castellano, who I think might end up joining the Club.

The bulk of this book features Lindsay on trial for a wrongful death suit. The courtroom stuff was about as good as in an episode of Law & Order, which is to say it was obviously dramatized but sufficiently convincing to me.

There was the obligatory serial killer plot thrown in, with a decent twist ending. I'm not great at guessing who the killers are...more

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Mar 25, 2008 Kevin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Lindsay Boxer is on the trail of a killer with her one of her ex-partners when the unthinkable happens... while chasing down a suspect's car, it crashes. When they go to help, they find two pre-teen kids in the front seat. But as they try to get them out of the car, both kids pull guns and shoot the two cops. Lindsay fires back, killing one and paralyzing the other from the neck down before passing out herself due to her injuries. While on forced leave from the SFPD during her trial, she takes a...more

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Jan 22, 2013 Stacy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Lindsay, Claire, and Cindy are back to work another murder case or cases as it happens. Lindsay finds herself on trial and on administrative leave after a shooting that leaves one teen dead and the teen’s brother paralyzed. She decides to head out of town to her sister’s empty house for some much needed relaxation. While there she becomes embroiled in the local murders terrorizing the local beach community.

Claire and Cindy make small appearances, but this is really Lindsay’s story. Boyfriend Joe...more

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Jan 20, 2013 Bonnie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The opening chapters – WOW! And then the action never stops. The story moves along at a fast clip. Actually, there are two seemingly separate story lines that are combined in this book.

One of the things that I love about the Patterson books is the short, action-packed chapters. There are many places to stop and get some sleep, even though you don’t want to put the book down.

This book focuses on Lindsay Boxer and there are only a few mentions of the Women’s Murder Club members: Claire (Medical Ex...more

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Dec 16, 2012 Brianna rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-series

The new second author on this series, Maxine Paetro, does well with writing Lindsay Boxer and the rest of the girls, including their new member (also a lawyer, Yuki). This book was a bit more tense given the reason for Lindsay's leave of absence, the suit against her for making the mistake of trusting two young siblings who were injured while using their rich father's car to evade the police - without going so far as to completely spoil the plot, I'll just say that Boxer and Jacobi made the mist...more The new second author on this series, Maxine Paetro, does well with writing Lindsay Boxer and the rest of the girls, including their new member (also a lawyer, Yuki). This book was a bit more tense given the reason for Lindsay's leave of absence, the suit against her for making the mistake of trusting two young siblings who were injured while using their rich father's car to evade the police - without going so far as to completely spoil the plot, I'll just say that Boxer and Jacobi made the mistake of trying to help the teenagers instead of treating them like normal suspects and frisking/cuffing them on the spot, and both partners paid the price for their good nature.

While this was a good plot to use in this series, especially when tied into the other plotline of Lindsay spending her sabbatical trying to solve a series of current crimes near her sister's house, crimes that are strangely similar to one of the first homicides that she was ever assigned. However, I tend to get frustrated with series that involve railroading a public servant (like a detective) with a completely BS case of brutality/inappropriate adherence to the rules/whatever the actual charge was against Lindsay - maybe the frustration comes from the several times it has come up on the 5 or so different Law and Orders. It was a nice chance to meet Yuki, however, a young defense attorney who is considered to be a rising star in the local legal world, who acts as Lindsay's defense attorney during the civil trial brought against her by the father of the two teenagers referenced above. I think that Yuki makes a good addition to the WMC, especially as Jill was also a lawyer.

The cases that Lindsay advises on while housesitting at her sister's are interesting - mostly husband and wife pairs who are killed and then lashed with a belt while they are dying (essentially, they are spanked). Both the method of killing and the lashing are consistent with one of Lindsay's first cases, a John Doe who washed up on the beach and the system has never been able to identify. This book also has a few chapters that are of the point of view of the Watcher, one of the three who are committing the killings, and those chapters provide a nice break from the book simply revolving around Lindsay (though some of the Watcher's chapters deal with trying to figure out what to do with her, as she is a thorn in the side of the killers).

This book was good, but it wasn't the best in the series - I still think 1st to Die was the best. But, the book was enjoyable, and if you enjoy James Patterson books or even mystery series like this, I have no reason to think that you won't enjoy this book.(less)

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May 23, 2012 Nicole Green rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

4th of July was a gripping thriller that kept me reading and wanting more. I do have to say, James Patterson working with Maxine Paetro produces a greater piece of literature than when he writes with Andrew Gross. The first three books were pretty good, but this one takes the cake. I could not put this book down.

The plot is so action-packed it amazed me. There was not one moment when something wasn't happening, whether it was the grisly murders in Half Moon Bay or Lindsay's trial back in San Fra...more

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Feb 12, 2011 Tony rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

James Patterson and Maxine Paetro- 4th of July (Little, Brown and Company 2005) 4 Stars

A brutal unsolved murder still bothers Lieutenant Boxer and now there are fresh killings that she is convinced are connected. She must try to hunt down the killers before they strike again. Meanwhile she has a pending lawsuit against her after being forced into a self-defence killing and crippling of two young teens. She is now fighting on two fronts.

This was a pretty good book. Patterson is always a quick rea...more

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Jan 15, 2011 Liz Abinante rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: xyz-2011, kindle, fiction-mystery

Don't think I didn't notice that you killed a black female lawyer and replaced her with a bi-racial Japanese-Italian female lawyer, Patterson. Because I did.

This is when the series turned in a direction that I didn't care for. Maybe it was the addition of the new co-writer? Whatever it is, I don't like it.

This novel was really fractured. It tried to cram two plots into one book without paying adequate attention to either of them. Lindsay's wrongful death trial was complete shit. I don't care. I...more

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Nov 26, 2010 Jay rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

4TH Of July
by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

Book Review by Jay Gilbertson

If you’re looking for something with depth of character, fascinating setting, amazing plot lines and an ending so enthralling you nearly scream—skip this one. BUT, if want to disappear into a fast-paced murder mystery with entertainingly fun women at the wheel; hop aboard.
The basic reason for my picking this baby up and giving it a read is that author Patterson in the past has penned some truly amazing novels that simp...more 4TH Of July
by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

Book Review by Jay Gilbertson

If you’re looking for something with depth of character, fascinating setting, amazing plot lines and an ending so enthralling you nearly scream—skip this one. BUT, if want to disappear into a fast-paced murder mystery with entertainingly fun women at the wheel; hop aboard.
The basic reason for my picking this baby up and giving it a read is that author Patterson in the past has penned some truly amazing novels that simply creeped me out. Read; I highly enjoyed. In this series, which is obviously the fourth, the story reads like a script right off the set of Charlie’s Angles, but with less emphasis on fashion and more wallop on murder, and boy are there murders. Lots of mangled bodies, tons of red-herrings and more twists and turns than Lombard Street all dished out in three page chapters that really cook.
This particular installment mostly featured detective Lindsey Boxer as the starring character along with her supporting cast of doctor Claire Washburn and news reporter Cindy Thomas. The reader is literally thrown into the action from the start:

“…My mind was racing even before Jacobi nosed our car up in front of the Lorenzo, a grungy rent-by-the-hour ‘tourist hotel’ on a block in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district that’s so forbidding even the sun won’t cross the street...”

While detective Boxer is in hot pursuit of an ominous black Mercedes, she shoots down two really rotten killers who, of course, turn out to be some hot-shot doctor’s twisted kids. All hell breaks loose. Boxer is sent away while the court case boils; lawyers hunch shoulders in hopes of proving she did indeed follow police protocol to a T. Knowing, as the informed reader that you are, not only had she had a few drinks prior to the all-important car chase, but in the midst of nearly being killed herself, Boxer forgot to read the murdering children their Miranda rights. She had a really bad hair day, shall we say?
No arm-chair murder mystery starring an all-woman cast would be complete without the occasional appearance of the male lead. Joe Molinari literally pops out of his car, zooms into Boxer’s kitchen, whips up Julia Child-like dishes and then whisks away our star for some romance and then poof—he dashes off stage left only to re-appear when the pacing permits. And this story has pacing.
Naturally, when Boxer leaves town and cozies away in her sister’s really well appointed cottage south of the city in Half Moon Bay, more murders happen right down the lane. The poor woman seems to pull murderous energy with her wherever her long, luxurious, wind-whipped chestnut hair seems to fall. Thank goodness she’s able to solve this one too and all in time for the reader to be so confused by all the plot twists and turns that when the murder’s identity is finally revealed not only are you surprised (I was) but happy there’s still time to catch a re-run of Charlie’s Angles.

Would I read another one of these? You betcha.
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Aug 20, 2010 Kavyen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Lindsay Boxer is involved in a near-fatal car chase causing her to make an instantaneous decision. She repents the action very soon afterwards. Finding her partner in the hospital bed, having the guilt of shooting dead a teenager and almost paralyzing another leaves her running for some solace and peace to her sister’s place in the picturesque town of Half Moon Bay.

Soon after she reaches there, her instincts sets in when a string of murders rocks the little peaceful town. Does she solve the myst...more

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Jul 04, 2010 Jerry rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"Murder Club" takes back seat to Lt. Lindsay Boxer in twisty fourth outing!

Patterson is sustaining his popularity with the new, four-book (to date) series featuring LAPD Homicide Lt. Lindsay Boxer, and her gal pals Claire (Medical Examiner), Cindy (News Reporter) and Jill (Asst. DA). [That this foursome has like three built-in conflicts of interest doesn't seem to bother anybody but us!:] In "1st to Die" and "2nd Chance", we came to enjoy the affable group and their solving perplexing murder mys...more "Murder Club" takes back seat to Lt. Lindsay Boxer in twisty fourth outing!

Patterson is sustaining his popularity with the new, four-book (to date) series featuring LAPD Homicide Lt. Lindsay Boxer, and her gal pals Claire (Medical Examiner), Cindy (News Reporter) and Jill (Asst. DA). [That this foursome has like three built-in conflicts of interest doesn't seem to bother anybody but us!:] In "1st to Die" and "2nd Chance", we came to enjoy the affable group and their solving perplexing murder mysteries, despite Lindsay's frequent departures from standard police procedures. We enjoyed "3rd Degree" best of all for its complex and shocking plot, but ironically quibbled that the women's dialogue seemed awfully adolescent for four professionals. We suggested perhaps a woman co-author might fix that, instead of Patterson's stalwart cohort Andrew Gross. To our amazement, "4th" does feature a new writer to the set, namely Maxine Paetro - was the author listening ??!!

Unfortunately, the club, now one member short after the events of the preceding tale, didn't get much play in this their fourth outing. The beginning of the novel features a deadly encounter between Boxer and an old partner, who chase and then get into a shootout with two teenagers, leaving three injured and one dead, 15-year-old Sara. A lawsuit by the parents for wrongful death is almost more suspenseful than the murder mystery that followed, although the case seemed clearly an open and shut self-defense considering the girl fired first, with the policewoman's gun holstered. {However, we know what goes on in LA courtrooms!}

Meanwhile, a series of serial killings are taking place, apparently at random, with the unusual twist that the victims are whipped near or after death. Boxer recognizes a similarity to a cold case from ten years ago, and despite being on leave, then on vacation resting from the trauma of the shooting and the court case, she inserts herself into the local investigation and helps solve the case. We rather suspected one of the perps early on, but the ultimate outcome was pretty shocking. Despite treading on risky ground procedurally (as usual), Boxer comes out the heroine once again.

While we thought the interactions of the woman to be more professional as hoped, the club really got short shift in this story. Moreover, with Patterson's typical 146 chapters in a 380-page book, there's an awful lot of blank space that makes this actually rather short novel a quick read. We would have preferred a little more character work, especially with what appears to be the new addition to the club, an interesting persona with whom our acquaintance barely scratches the surface. While no doubt most will enjoy this new addition to the set, we'd like to see a more substantive story next time out, and one that involves all the women in the solution. If they are just going to be drinking buddies, we fear Boxer and her antics per se may get a little tiring. Meanwhile, undoubtedly Patterson and Paetro have another hit on their hands!
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Feb 03, 2010 Lauren rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 27, 2009 Jodi rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Patterson fans

Shelves: books-in-a-series, thrillers

This book in the Women's Murder Club series was very different from the first 3 books in the series. In this book, Lindsey is put on administrative leave during a trial while she is being investigated for shooting her police gun at two children. The charges are found to be bogus and Lindsey is found to be innocent (no shock there). What makes this book different is that we learn about Lindsey in her free time. In the previous books, besides working A LOT, she dates, cooks amazing meals, works ou...more

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Sep 01, 2009 Aaron rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In the fourth installment of the Ladies Murder Club series, readers will find Lindsay Boxer heading out of time. This is largely because she has come under scrutiny when she is sued for police brutality. She and her long-time partner Jacobi were hunting down a murder with the only really clue being a reference to a high end car with a partial license plate.

After just having had a couple of drinks with Cindy and Claire, she gets a call from Jacobi indicating the car had been seen. He quickly pick...more In the fourth installment of the Ladies Murder Club series, readers will find Lindsay Boxer heading out of time. This is largely because she has come under scrutiny when she is sued for police brutality. She and her long-time partner Jacobi were hunting down a murder with the only really clue being a reference to a high end car with a partial license plate.

After just having had a couple of drinks with Cindy and Claire, she gets a call from Jacobi indicating the car had been seen. He quickly picks her up, and they end up on a chase when they find the car. It leads to an accident. Lindsay and Jacobi find two kids in the car. After putting their weapons away, the older sister starts firing. It leads to a shoot out. She ends up dead, the younger brother ends up in a wheel chair, and both Lindsay and her partner are shot as well. The kids' parents are suing her since they claim she was drunk at the time and didn't follow proper procedure. They leave out the fact= the kids are suspects in the murders being investigated.

Upon advice from her lawyer and soon to be new friend and the newest member of the murder club, Yuki, Lindsay finds herself heading to the seclusion of her sister's home in Half Moon. While things start of nice and relaxing, it does not take long for Lindsay to find herself being drawn into another investigation.

Couples throughout the community have been murdered over the course of recent years, and the pace of the murders is picking up. There seems to be very little tying the victims together other than the fact that all of their throats have been cut, and they were whipped as they lay dying.

The MO reminds Lindsay of her first case, which ended up becoming a cold case. That case did not involve a couple, but a young teen boy, but otherwise the MO was exactly the same.

Lindsay also finds herself catching the eye of a slimy, former porn star. He thinks she is exactly what she needs to relax, but she thinks he is just a jerk. She also meets a really nice, younger auto mechanic who she befriends over a shared interest of fixing up cars.

The book is as quick-paced and interesting as the earlier books in the series. I was a little disappointed because it really focused only on Lindsay. Claire pops up periodically because as the chief medical examiner she must testify in Lindsay's case. Cindy is barely in the book. Fuki does get a nice introduction, but it is not clear that she will step up to be a full replacement for Jill in the club after the former-assistant DA's murder in the previous book. There is generally a lack of the strong teamwork between the various women that has made the series so strong.

I am not sure if the changes are due to the fact that Patterson has switched writing partners or if it was just a result of the storyline itself, which is very possible. It does not mean that it is not a good book, but it was not what I have come to expect from the series.(less)

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Aug 04, 2009 Hongbin added it · review of another edition

I got this book from used store near UTA because I was noticed by the front cover the author name, James Peterson. I had read Maximum Ride and really liked the way of his wording. That unintended choice brought me a new exciting of reading English books. I have gone through more than 150 pages of this book in just only one night with a lot of interesting.

This book was about a female detective Lindsay Boxer who shot 2 kids after a long way of chasing in self-defense. However, accidental events h...more

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Jun 14, 2009 Don Voorhees rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novels, read-since-may-2009

After losing one of its own, Lindsay Boxer and the Womens Murder Club make a courageous return for their fourth and most chilling case ever--one that could easily be their last. A young girl is killed in crossfire after a routine arrest goes terribly wrong, and Lt. Lindsay Boxer has to defend herself against a charge of police brutality. In a landmark trial that transfixes the nation, Lindsay fights to save her career and her sanity. While awaiting trial, Lindsay escapes to the beautiful town of...more

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Apr 12, 2013 Alex Guevara rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In the 4th of July, James Patterson tells a story about a detective named Lindsay Boxer,living in California, on trial for the unnecessary shootings of two teenagers that tried to kill her when she was pursing them in a car chase. She also is trying to solves the mysterious cases of random murders in her neighborhood. Not only is she a detective and this is her job, but one victim reminded her of a John Doe many years back. She wants to solve the murders because her personal emotions are involve...more

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Apr 20, 2011 Faye rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

So let me just say, I had once picked up a James Patterson book....and was not all that impressed. It's not that his writing style isn't good, but it was a book out of a series of his which is more fantasy based. Which I'm not a big fan of reading. I had no idea that he wrote completely, entirely different kinds of series. If you like mysteries and female lead characters...this one will have you hooked.

Though this series like most is probably better read in order, between his writing style and g...more

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May 24, 2012 Shun Igarashi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"4th of July" is a book written by James Patterson in the "Women's Murder Club" series. The "Women's Murder Club" is a place where four women, Lindsay Boxer, Claire Washburn, Jill Berndhardt and Cindy Thomas get together and solve mysterious and gruesome murders committed by a serial killer. In this case, Lindsay Boxer, a police lieutenant, must solve a case in which a murderer stabs, cuts and whips innocent civilians, between intervals of about two to three weeks. However, one day, Lindsay meet...more "4th of July" is a book written by James Patterson in the "Women's Murder Club" series. The "Women's Murder Club" is a place where four women, Lindsay Boxer, Claire Washburn, Jill Berndhardt and Cindy Thomas get together and solve mysterious and gruesome murders committed by a serial killer. In this case, Lindsay Boxer, a police lieutenant, must solve a case in which a murderer stabs, cuts and whips innocent civilians, between intervals of about two to three weeks. However, one day, Lindsay meets a suspicious man named Dennis Agnew at the petrol station, filling his black Porsche up. When she finishes filling her Explorer up, she goes to the cashier and meets a very pleasant young man called Keith. They become friends instantly, and Keith even sells his precious Bonneville to Lindsay. Later on in the week, a dramatic occurrence takes place, waking the whole city of San Francisco; Lindsay is almost killed when someone shoots her house with a machine gun, and when the firing comes to a halt, the same black Porsche races away from Lindsay's house. This causes the cops of San Francisco to chase down Dennis, but is he the real killer? On a morning during the weekends, Lindsay sees a person wearing a hooded jumper following her. So, she points her pistol at the man, and when she removes his hood, to her horror, there was Keith. He was also holding a knife and a belt hidden in his pockets…

From the very beginning of the book, Lindsay Boxer is responsible for investigating a case in which a young teenage boy is gruesomely murdered in a bathroom in a hotel. When Warren Jacobi, a fellow cop, calls her while she is having a drink with her four friends about the fact that two suspects convicted to be involved in the murder is seen driving a car, Lindsay leaves and goes to Jacobi's car to chase down the suspects. However, the suspects' car crashes and so Lindsay Boxer and Warren Jacobi must get out of their car in order to arrest the people inside the crashed car. However, to their horror, the suspects inside are children, bleeding and vomiting up. So, the two inspectors holster their guns and move towards the car in order to help the kids. Suddenly, the two children get out their pistols out of no-where, and suddenly shoot the police. After this, Jacobi takes two shots to the leg and goes down, and although she can still see and move her upper body freely, Lindsay also takes two shots. However, seeing that the police officers were still alive, the children take aim once again, however, Lindsay sees this and raises her pistol. She tells the children to put their guns down. However, they do not listen and keep their aims on Lindsay. So, Lieutenant Boxer shoots the first girl three times in the chest, as well as the boy standing behind twice in the leg and a last time in the heart. Later on, we find out that the girl did not survive against the bullets, although the boy is disabled for life. At this, the teenagers' parents sue Lindsay for wrongful death and for shooting after drinking. After this, the book goes on about how the trial takes place. Finally, Lindsay Boxer is found not guilty, and so she goes back home to check the news. She is informed of the fact that a killer is on the loose; one that murders very gruesomely.

In my opinion, one of the reasons why this book was so good is mainly because of the plot of the story. There were many twists in the story, such as when Agnew was very suspicious but the real killer was in fact Keith, Lindsay's "friend" at the beginning. I was very surprised when I read the last few chapters and realised that it was Keith who had committed these murders. This is because of the fact that in the opening chapters of the book when we are first introduced to Keith, he appears to be a very friendly character, whereas Dennis Agnew is very suspicious, such as the fact that the black Porsche which he owns always seems to be following Lindsay's car. On top of the twists, the reader finds out that there are more killers, who worked alongside Keith before he got arrested and jailed. This causes for the book to have many action scenes until the very end, and so you do not get bored in the middle of the book.

My favourite scene was when the murderer is killing a person named Lorelei, although in this case, only named as "Him". The reason for why I liked this scene so much was because of the fact that the description made you feel like you were seeing it with your own eyes, although it was very grotesque. "Pressing his hand against the small of her back, he sliced the blade up through the soft tissues of Lorelei's abdominal cavity, severing her aorta. The blood didn't spray; it poured from the woman's body like water from a bucket until her knees gave and she fell onto the shoes lining the closet floor." Patterson, p.74. This book, as you can see from the quote, is not for the squeamish, although I recommend it very much to those that enjoy reading mystery or crime stories.
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Aug 20, 2010 Bob rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: james-patterson

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 17, 2010 Holly Lee (Bellas Novella) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009

This is by far my favorite of the series thus far. Lindsay Boxer finds her life thrown into a tailspin when her judgement as a cop is questioned.

The newly dubbed "Dirty Harriet" must fight a very public court case to save her position on the force as well as her reputation and her finances. To top everything off, her vacation spot at her sisters home is surrounded by families being murdered in a bizarre style that mimics a cold case she had come across over a decade previous.

Its hard for Lindsay...more

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Nov 29, 2008 Duy Nguyen added it · review of another edition

I got this book from used store near UTA because I was noticed by the front cover the author name, James Peterson. I had read Maximum Ride and really liked the way of his wording. That unintended choice brought me a new exciting of reading English books. I have gone through more than 150 pages of this book in just only one night with a lot of interesting.

This book was about a female detective Lindsay Boxer who shot 2 kids after a long way of chasing in self-defense. However, accidental events h...more

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Aug 19, 2012 Natalia Ch rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

WOW!! Patterson is just too good!! What a page turner!!

This is book 4 in the Women’s Murder Club series. And I believe, so far, it is the BEST one in the series.

The book focuses mainly on Detective Lindsay Boxer, leaving her girl friends, Claire and Cindy, in a more secondary role.

Detective Boxer finds herself on trial, after firing her weapon in a self-defense situation, killing one murder suspect and seriously injuring the other one. To escape the crazy media, she seeks peace at her sister’...more

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Oct 07, 2011 Dyana rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The first three books in the Women's Murder Club series was co-authored with Andrew Gross. The 2nd had bad dialogue and poor writing. The third was much much better. Now we have to start all over again as this book, the fourth, is co-authored with Maxine Paetro. The book is back to bad dialogue and mediocre writing. I hope her writing improves like her predecessor was achieving.

Once again this story centers around Lindsay Boxer, a lieutenant with the SFPD, who responds to a late-night showdown w...more

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Sep 18, 2009 Jan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: crime/mystery readers

Recommended to Jan by: Sally

A friend gave me the 5th book in this series and now I've caught up having read the first four books. Doing so, I'll probably take a break for awhile. Some of the storyline travels sequentially, but the books are easy to read out of sequence.

The setting is in San Fransisco Bay area, so it adds more interest for me as I live nearby and know the area well.

I like the short chapters, making it an easy-to-read bedtime or travel book. The author adds new main characters to each book which helps to fr...more

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Apr 08, 2013 Greg Chandler rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Addictive series. This one is a little less focused as it really tells two separate stories.

Lindsay is forced to fire on two teen perpetrators, killing one and paralyzing the other. Despite the fact that is is clearly self-defense, she is brought to trial and labelled a child-killer in the press, where most of the trial is played out. One aspect that didn't ring true here is that her good friend, and Murder Club member, Cindy who is a crime-beat reporter seems not to have defended her in the pr...more

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Dec 13, 2012 yyyasmin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult, owned, bigbadwolf-2012

Picked this up first before the 2nd and 3rd books as I had to return it to the library. At the beginning - darn, what a spoiler. But as some reviewers have mentioned below, even as big an event like that couldn't stir up an emotion inside me, as the authors have neglected to expand their characters in exchange for an action-packed plot. Although if you ask me, a 400-page novel could afford for some character development, if it stops adding in some stupid plot twist in the end just for the shock...more

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Apr 08, 2011 Elizabeth rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: people who like lite James Patterson

Shelves: library-shelf, books-read-in-2011

This was a very quick read because it was a very good book. It lives up to the name of page turner as both of the authors are known to write. I do recommend it to people who don't like reading the main series that James Patterson has because they're too gory or other reasons. Do start with 1st to Die because that starts the series and you'll get a look into who the characters are.

I will say that the books are easy to pick up again. It's been more than a year since I read 3rd Degree and I was abl...more

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Dec 28, 2009 Cheryl Beran rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-patterson

Definitely a good read! Takes place in SF and Half Moon Bay. Two young punks/teens are out terrorizing the town - sister and her younger brother, who are from a wealthy family - so think spoiled rich kids with a drug problem and no morals. Lindsey Boxer, the main character gets shot by the girl after Lindsey pulls her from a wrecked Mercedes. Lindsey's partner pulls the boy out. As Jacobi is calling for an ambulance, the girl shoots Lindsey and her brother shoots Jacobi. Lindsey yells for the gi...more

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Dec 09, 2011 Jenny Busby rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: american-setting, borrowed, series

I didn't like this book as much as I liked his other books in the series. As other reviewers mentioned, there seemed to be too much crammed into this book and not enough meaning into what was being done. The serial killers started out interesting but it doesn't even go into how they really got together to start killing in the first place except for the revenge of the person who started the murders years before when Lindsey was a rookie.

I also was disappointed at the end of the book. The book see...more

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4th of July (Women's Murder Club #4)

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