Three Women Disappear

by James Patterson

Three women are on the run, wanted for the murder of a high-ranking mobster in this stunning new stand-alone from the world's bestselling thriller writer James Patterson.
______________________Sarah, his personal chefAnna, his wifeSerena, his maidThree women disappearMob accountant Anthony Costello has a talent for manipulating both numbers and people. When he's found murdered in his own home, the three individuals who had most reason to want him dead are discovered to be missing.
Detective Sean Walsh, whose personal connection to the case makes his desire to solve it even stronger, is short on leads to track down the three missing women. But even if he finds them alive, can they be trusted?______________________Includes bonus story Come and Get Us

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Audiobook, Crime, Suspense, Mystery Thriller

356 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 26, 2020

About the author

Official US Site
Official UK Site

James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time and the creator of such unforgettable characters and series as Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride. He has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton, Dolly Parton, Michael Crichton, and Viola Davis, as well as collaborated on #1 bestselling nonfiction, including The Idaho Four, Walk in My Combat Boots, and Filthy Rich. Patterson has told the story of his own life in the #1 bestselling autobiography James Patterson by James Patterson. He is the recipient of an Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal.

Reviews

[Mandy White (mandylovestoread) · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's been a while since I was disappointed by a Patterson book but this just didn't work for me

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three Women Disappear 4 ⭐
A quick and fun mystery.

The story is told from multiple perspectives; Sarah (Chef and wife of Det. Sean), Anna ("accountant"/mobster's wife), Serena (maid) and detective Sean.
The accountant was found dead and it was partially a whodunit type of mystery. The format was a little strange at first as it started with interviews at a police station then after I get a hang of it I find this book entertaining.

Come and Get Us 2 ⭐
Almost DNF this one. Unbelievable plot.

Main story is 6hr 45min.
Bonus story is 3 hrs.

[Laura Wonderchick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, JP managed to piss me off again! This weak book that was so annoying I wanted to pitch it after 3 days of struggling to read it. Only to realize the second “bonus” book at the end was previously published and I’ve already read it. What an asshat!

[Aniruddha M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Please read the Detailed review here https://rb.gy/m6dayf Like and Comment if you so feel.
All my book reviews can be found at https://www.aniblogshere.com Thank you!

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a little while to get into the plot due to four constantly shifting narrators, each telling their version of events, which was a bit confusing at first. And the interrogations tending to go on longer that one would expect. But once the plot got rolling, it held my attention and brought things to a very satisfactory conclusion. As for the bonus novel, Come and Get Us, I’d give it 2 stars. It is one thing to keep the reader guessing, but it felt manipulative. I like James Patterson books, but this was not among his best.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher through Goodreads giveaways.

[Debra B · Rating 2 out of 5]

When a central Florida mob accountant is brutally murdered in his home, the three women in his life -- his wife, personal chef and housekeeper -- have all disappeared. Are they victims or suspects? Making things more complicated, the personal chef is married to a police detective who has a reputation for being dirty. THREE WOMEN tells the story from each women's point of view.

Patterson has written with a new co-author for this book. I generally enjoy most of Patterson's books, but this one just didn't appeal to me.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

No surprises in this story. I had it all figured out early in the book. Still, an okay read overall.

[Germaine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Total rubbish.Why did I bother.What a tremendous let down need I go on.

[Lexy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought that this book was good

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the usual whodunit, another fine example by one of the original masters....

[Sheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this story all over the place. Very hard to follow. The second story within the book was better than the main story.

[Tiffany · Rating 1 out of 5]

Meh nothing exciting here

[Paula Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

As we settle into 2021 with the date being the 2nd January 2021, I bring to you my first review for 2021. A new mystery by James Patterson and a new unknown author Shan Serafin. This book contained two mystery stories - one full-length novel "Three Women Disappear" and a bonus novella called "Come and Get Us". In Three Women Disappear we learn that a mob accountant named Anthony Costello has been killed and the three main suspects were the women in his life - his current wife Anna, his chef, and the wife of a police detective Sarah and a new immigrant, his maid Serena. Each woman though is telling their events of what happened and not pointing the blame at themselves. As the book goes along, we learn that each of these women has a strong motive to start fresh and it looks like everybody involved in writing their own story and finding a perfect scapegoat to go down for the murder of Anthony Costello. However, will the "real killer or killers" get away with the murder? I quite liked this story as it was written well and fast-paced despite having a high number of characters and their viewpoints. Three Women Disappear had a strong Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie / Strangers on a Train feel to the story. The second tale also written by the same authors was a short novella called Come and Get Us about a family ( dad, mum, and a little girl) who while driving is pushed off the road and now has to survive as they are hunted due to the husband's actions. Can they survive the nightmare or will they all be dead by the time nightfall hits? I know quite a few people judge James Patterson and therefore refuse to read his books, but I love that he gives a hand to authors starting and helping them leap-frog their platforms. If you love helping new authors like Shan Serafin, then check out Three Women Disappear/Come and Get Us as one of your 2021 reads.

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Patterson needs to stick with the tried and true "co-authors" he uses. Shan Serafin wrote a very bad book. The storyline was predictable and the use of the first person singular for a variety of characters was honestly extremely confusing to follow. In addition, it's like this author watched Good Fellas or the Godfather to get an idea for how the "mob" worked. I wanted to put it down but thought what the heck it is short. And obviously the second "short" story was one of his book shots I had read earlier.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast paced crime thriller which keeps on the edge of your seat

[Jordyn Redwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really far behind in a lot of my reviews due to the dumpster fire that was 2020 and still may be 2021-- who knows at this point.

Normal James Patterson fare here. Quick, short chapters. Intriguing characters. A few surprising twists and turns. Kept me engaged enough to not cheat on this book with another one. Did it blow my socks off? No . . . so four stars.

[Carol Jones-Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anthony Costello, nephew of Don Vincent Costello--the crime Lord of Florida, is the Accountant to the mob. One day he is found stabbed to death in his own kitchen. Three women who were around him at the time, are missing. Anna Costello -- his wife, Sarah Roberts-Walsh- his Chef and Serena Flores - The Mexican Maid. Out of these, Sarah is also the wife of Detective Shan Walsh, a homicide cop who's bent and also a violent husband.

Each of these women have their own good reasons to kill Anthony Costello and they also have a solid alibi for the time of the crime. Detective Heidi Haagen, the investigating officer, has reason to believe that one of the three woman is the actual killer and his ex partner now sub-ordinate, Sean Walsh, knows more than he is letting on. Heidi plans to keep Sean away from the investigation while Sean chips away on his own, seemingly to exonerate Sarah from the charges.

Up and down the story unfolds with the first person accounts of the four primary protagonists, Sean, Sarah, Anna, and Serena. Their conversations with Heidi or just self narrations, we get each
person's perspective on what happened on that miserable and horrible day. It's been proven that there is reason they actually did it. All three women escaped the scene of crime, however come up with comprehendible reasons as to why they did so.

[Lorraine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Returned this book to the library. I read every Patterson book, and I know immediately if I am going to like it or not. No go on his one. Story related to mob. I grew up in a mob neighborhood, saw the real thing. NEXT BOOK.........................

[Curlyhair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one of my fav JP books. The story was ok and a decent ending, that I was starting to guess (but not all of it). I didn’t care for the lead characters much either. I think I was pleased to actually finish it and put it down.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing much to see here.

[Jenny · Rating 1 out of 5]

This almost became a DNF by the end of part 1...I am glad I finished it for two reasons. First, it got much better in parts 2 and 3. Second, it gave me more fodder for the coming rant (see #5 below).

Reasons I love Patterson books:
1. Well edited
2. Likable main characters
3. Interesting, well thought out plot lines
4. Short chapters and quick to read

Unfortunately, this book had little of the above.
So...reasons this book should not be a Patterson book...

1) NARRATION - 2 stars
Shifting first person point of view between four characters was confusing, especially in part 1. I had to keep going back to see who "I" was in many of the chapters. I like the Women's Murder Club because Boxer gets to be the "I" and the others are told in 3rd person. It is interesting and easy to follow. All the switching in this one just didn't work for me. The book would have had more flow in third person or done like Women's Murder Club.

2) PLOT LINE - 2.5 stars
Convuluted plot line that jumps back and forth between present and past in Part 1...I had to keep going back, not only to see who was speaking at the moment, but also to see what the setting was. The timeline was hard to follow and to swallow. I have to admit it got much better in parts 2 and 3.

3) CHARACTERS - 2 stars
Characters were not likable. I think the goal was to keep us guessing who was good and who was bad. But pretty much everyone came across as "bad" except maybe Aunt Lindsay and Doris. They are the heros of this book, IMHO. Even Det. Haagen came across as unlikable and mean. By the time we find out who did what and why, it helped redeem some characters, but I found I just didn't care that much, and at that point, just wanted to finish the book to see how they ended it (I will give the ending 4 stars).

4) BIG EDITING MISTAKE - ratings for me always drop a star (or more) when editing is poor.
Homeless man found "knifed to death" (p. 107) then...cause of death? "...someone beat him real bad. Then...they dropped a cinder block on his head." (p. 109) WHAT??? That should have been caught during editing...pretty obvious miss.

5) LACK OF RESEARCH - THIS MAKES ME CRAZY!!!!
And, the biggest problem...(which unfortunately happens all the time in books and movies, but this one had to be the "winner" for being wrong and stupid)...If you are going to make one of the main characters have diabetes, GET THE DISEASE RIGHT!!!! I have two close friends who are type 1, a friend whose son is type 1, a former student who is type 1, and several friends who are type 2. I still googled some info to be sure I was not wrong...it took about 5 minutes. Writers...This is a common disease...DO YOUR RESEARCH!

(here goes rant...and a few spoilers)

p. 14 - Sarah wakes up after being asleep/unconscious for at least 8 hours and the first thing she says is that she needs insulin, but then promptly forgets about it (due to the murdered man). After all of those hours, a diabetic would likely need FOOD over insulin as blood sugar would have dropped over that many hours.

p. 56 - Sarah goes to her Aunt Lindsay (a nurse who should know better), still not having eaten...more time has gone by...and the first thing she wants is insulin. Her aunt has an emergency kit and gives Sarah 15 units. WRONG! The first thing is to take her blood to see what correction she needs (probably none considering how long it has been since she has eaten), then to add whatever carb ratio her food (YES she would need some food) would add. The only time my husband has taken 15 units was with dinner and a large Dunford donut shake from Arctic Circle. THEN, they proceed to clean her wound and waste time before finally getting some stew (which would NOT warrant 15 units).

p. 66 After Aunt Lindsay gets a visit from Sarah's abusive cop husband, they notice the insulin kit is gone, and they know he took it. Sarah now has NO insulin. (keep this in mind for future reference)

p. 93 Sarah then goes on the run after stopping for a latte and two pieces of lemon pound cake. She likely would have needed some insulin with her food, but alas she doesn't have any...she probably should have taken her blood then too.

p. 97 Sarah then proceeds to drive 18 hours, only stopping for gas and to clean her wound...never mentioning eating anything, and the diabetes problem seems to have disappeared.

p. 162 Sarah spends a few days in jail. I can only hope she got some insulin while here because of what happens in a few pages. Of course, it isn't mentioned at all...remember when it disappeared from the book 70 pages ago?

p. 170 Sarah visits a friend for a couple of days. They drink and eat and party...no mention of the mysterious disease that has disappeared.

p. 218 Before we get to this page, Sarah has driven for hours, run through a forest, crawled through a tunnel, rescued two people, shot a man, and driven some more (exercise and stress/adrenelin will lower blood sugar). When the women arrive at their destination, their car is searched and the insulin kit is found (hopefully from when she was in jail because otherwise where did it come from?). She decides this is a great time to prove she is a diabetic by taking a dose of...another 15 units of insulin!!!
"I'm due a dose. It's been a busy day. I forgot to inject myself, and I'm starting to feel a little woozy."

Okay...seriously...That likely would have dropped her sugar levels so low, she would have ended up in a diabetic coma. The student I taught a few years ago hit a low of 48 once. She was definitely woozy. Guess what? She needed 2 juice boxes, a granola bar, and some fruit snacks...NOT a dose of insulin.

Frankly, James Patterson should know better.

One last note, the bookshot Come and Get Us at the back of the book was much better than the full novel. I should have just read that one. (Reviewed separately)

[Donna Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good book. Actually, it’s a pleasure to read about three disparate women in a seriously desperate situation: “the trophy wife, the maid, and the cook.” Kick-ass performance.

[Morgan.books · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be interesting I didn’t really know what to expect. I thought each of the main characters were developed really well. Anna was definitely my favorite character. I didn’t expect the twist at the end. For the second book in this novel. I understand the plot well, but it didn’t surprise me much, only one thing truly shocked me. Although both were amazing mysteries!

[Nicole Chamberlaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

eh

[John Mirmina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not his best, but still solid. The second book featured in here was better than the first from a thriller standpoint. The first one seemed a little abrupt on the climax and then became too elongated.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

This didn't work at all for me. It's 250 pages for me for three Women disappear and 100 for come and get us. Listen, you don't need to pump out twelve books in a year. This is just Fluff to make money. Shameful.

First story is told from four POV, the chef, the maid, the Widow and the cop. The mobster is dead and the three women are the suspects. The cop is married to the chef. The only thing I did like was the ending.

Come and get us? Jesus just watch any bad guy movie and there's your damn story. Family vacation, bad guys push them off road. They survive. Who can you trust? Husband uncovered secrets at job. The end.

I can't roll my eyes any more. I don't believe I wasted an afternoon reading this. I need to forget this book ever existed. Maybe I'll go bury it and save the next poor sob the trouble.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having vision issues right now I'm becoming an audiobook reader - and I am learning that audio books are not all created equal!
This audio book is WELL DONE! The ensemble cast made this so easy to follow and interesting to listen to.

The book is fast paced as expected from James Patterson. Getting a bonus Book Shots novella from 2016, Come Get Us, was a bonus that was also interesting.
When mobster Anthony Costello is found dead, the three women in his life are missing! HIs wife, Anna, his chef, Sarah and his housekeeper, Serena are all under investigation, Tony's uncle Vincent demands that Police Detective Sean Walsh find them first and figure out who is responsible for his nephew's death. The ladies are all very interesting characters and I found myself cheering them on.

[Miranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked both stories in this book - they have super strong BADASS female characters and in “Come Get Us” her name is Miranda !!!!

“Three Women Disappear” was really good it is a big distractor in the way it is told def leads you far away from the truth ! I Absolutely loved Aunt Lindsey and want to be Dorris when I grow up!

I just loved that in both stories the women were not in need of a savior or hero they were their own saviors and heroes!

If you are looking for a who done it or murder mystery with strong female leads then this is a book for you!

[Jeanni Ritchie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave this one star because 0 stars wasn’t an option. It’s awful. I’ve read bad books before and I usually just move on without rating or reviewing. But if Patterson’s name is linked, he needs to see just who he’s working with. It’s the first book of his that I’m 100% sure he didn’t even read before he let it go into publication. And whoever edited it should be fired.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story, with a great ending. Didn't she the plot until the end. Highly recommended.