Am I the only one that thinks that "Women's Murder Club" sounds not only hokey but juvenile and begging mockery?

The story: a psycho serial killer begins murdering newly married couples. 4 women, each with their own stake in cracking the case, are determined to nail the killer, and so band together outside of official channels to pool their resources and figure it all out. There is a red herring (if one could call it that) and a vaguely surprising twist at the end, but I read this with an unusual level of detachment and disinterest, and so was not impressed by anything.

I just wasn't hugely impressed with this book. Patterson's handling of the female characters and their relationships with each other were stilted, forced, and lacked nuance from beginning to end. I get the impression that Patterson does not truly grasp how women operate, and how their relationships develop.

As for the plot itself, well, it was vaguely diverting, but not much more.

The only halfway compelling facet of this mystery was the main character's struggle with an illness of which she has just learned; an illness that is potentially fatal, can advance rapidly (and in fact does), and that begins to make her realize her own sense of mortality, and how time might be running out.

I love books in which the female characters are young, put-together, strong, successful...I think what is the most disappointing about this book is that there is SO MUCH unrealized potential. Grrrr.