In this #1 New York Times bestseller, the Women’s Murder Club gets ready for a quiet Christmas — until a mysterious killer decides to terrorize the city. As the holidays approach, Detective Lindsay Boxer and her friends in the Women’s Murder Club have much to celebrate. Crime is down. The medical examiner’s office is quiet. Even the courts are showing some Christmas spirit. And the news cycle … courts are showing some Christmas spirit. And the news cycle is so slow that journalist Cindy Thomas is on assignment to tell a story about the true meaning of the season for San Francisco.
Then a fearsome criminal known only as “Loman” seizes control of the headlines. Solving crimes never happens on schedule, but as this criminal mastermind unleashes credible threats by the hour, the month of December is upended for the Women’s Murder Club. Avoiding tragedy is the only holiday miracle they seek.
Not my favorite Patterson book but they’re all entertaining.
Love the Women’s Murder Club
Pretty average and somewhat tedious. Same old….same old
I’ve read all his books. Great writer.
I enjoyed this book very much. I loved the ending and wondered if the new character will be included in the next book.
Love Women’s Murder Club. Have been reading James Patterson for Years, LOVE, LOVE,LOVE!!!!
He writes too many books
was disappointed usually love this series of his books
I’m not going to recap the plot as most reviewers do. Read the book. I read the first “Murder Club” book when it came out, loved it. Read some of the others, had no problem following from one book to another. This one is wonderful. Well written, characters are real, and generally behave as real people do. The tension builds and you are there with them wondering, digging and hoping. I love it! More, please!
Up to Patterson’s standard. The change at the end of this story makes me anxious to see what “20” will bring to Boxer’s life.
Perfect combination of history, entertaining, with a touch of romance.
Should be a 6 star book. Awesome book
A good, easy read in one of my favorite series. My favorite ME Claire Washburn was all but missing from this installment as she and her husband were away on a work trip the entire book.
Love this series and this book is no let down.
San Francisco Homicide Detective Lindsay Boxer and her partner Rich Conklin are using their lunch hour for a little holiday shopping, and they happen to be on hand to catch a petty criminal. The criminal immediately wants to talk deals. He’s heard rumors that someone named Loman is planning some kind of big heist on Christmas Day. As the tips begin to pour in, the police are left chasing their tails as they try to figure out what Loman really plans. Or who he even really is. Meanwhile, reporter Cindy Thomas has landed the story of an illegal immigrant accused of a murder and gets assistant district attorney Yuki Castellano involved in her attempts to free him. And medical examiner Claire Washburn leaves town to teach a course during Christmas week to college students down in San Diego.
As popular as Christmas books have become, this is one series I hadn’t expected to offer one since some of the storylines in other books don’t lend themselves to the season. These storylines do, but unfortunately, the books is a mixed bag. I didn’t buy their excuse for writing Claire out of the book, and Cindy and Yuki’s sub-plot is undercooked. It felt like it was there more to preach than entertain. Fortunately, the main mystery was entertaining and kept me turning pages, although it relied on the villain taunting police, a trope I have trouble buying. Add in an epilogue that came out of nowhere and left me wondering if they are setting up the next book in the series. On the other hand, I got plenty of Christmas spirit from the book. As I said, this is an average entry in the series.
I have loved everything he writes
Not as good as others in the series but an enjoyable read
Loved it. The next issue in the series.
I’ve read all but one of the series. I skipped it because of low reader ratings, but this was a good one and well worth it for those who like this series.
This book center around an investigation in which the mastermind had set off a chain of events to keep the police distracted while he executed his true crime, on Christmas. This story was very Boxer and Conklin oriented. Claire and her husband are in San Diego. Except for the beginning and the epilogue, she is not in the story. Cindy is tasked with a story about Christmas traditions from the immigrant community. Cindy uncovers a wrongful imprisonment story and takes it to Yuki. Those two storyline intersect each other but are so minor they take up a few chapters. As with the last Women’s Murder Club book, the story does not involve the 4 friends discussing the crime(s) over drinks. That being said, I still liked this story and would recommend it.