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Women's Murder Club #26
26 Beauties: A Women's Murder Club Thriller
From the world's #1 bestselling author, the Women’s Murder Club goes searching for 26 Beauties—young women missing in San Francisco.
SFPD’s Sergeant Lindsay Boxer's best friend, Claire Washburn, is named medical examiner of the year. But an uninvited guest crashes the Women’s Murder Club's party: a concerned father seeking investigative reporter Cindy Thomas’s help in locating his missing daughter. And she’s not the only one. Lindsay’s been investigating the deaths of a Jane Doe washed up on a nearby beach, and a young woman found in Golden Gate Park.
What if all these cases are connected?
The answers lie with the 26 Beauties on the run and in the wind.
SFPD’s Sergeant Lindsay Boxer's best friend, Claire Washburn, is named medical examiner of the year. But an uninvited guest crashes the Women’s Murder Club's party: a concerned father seeking investigative reporter Cindy Thomas’s help in locating his missing daughter. And she’s not the only one. Lindsay’s been investigating the deaths of a Jane Doe washed up on a nearby beach, and a young woman found in Golden Gate Park.
What if all these cases are connected?
The answers lie with the 26 Beauties on the run and in the wind.
1 pages, MP3 CD
First published May 4, 2026
1997 people are currently reading
4227 people want to read
About the author
James Patterson
986 books357k followersOfficial US Site
Official UK Site
JIMMY Patterson Books
ReadKiddoRead
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, and Michael Crichton, 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.
Official UK Site
JIMMY Patterson Books
ReadKiddoRead
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, and Michael Crichton, 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.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
May 7, 2026
James Patterson’s 26 Beauties is a masterclass in controlled chaos, the kind of thriller that seduces you with elegance before dragging you into something far darker and infinitely more unsettling. From its opening pages, the novel moves with Patterson’s trademark velocity, yet beneath the relentless pacing lies an unexpectedly sharp meditation on fear, disappearance, and the fragility of identity in a city built on illusion.
What elevates this installment beyond a conventional procedural is the emotional architecture beneath the investigation. Lindsay Boxer and the Women’s Murder Club are no longer merely solving crimes; they are confronting the psychological residue left behind by absence itself. The missing women become more than statistics or plot devices, they linger like ghosts at the edge of every chapter, creating an atmosphere that feels simultaneously cinematic and intimate.
Patterson understands something many thriller writers do not: suspense is not created solely through violence, but through anticipation. Through implication. Through the unbearable possibility that the worst outcome may already be inevitable. The novel weaponizes that tension brilliantly.
The prose is lean without feeling hollow, polished without losing urgency. Every chapter lands like a controlled detonation, making the book nearly impossible to put down once its machinery begins turning. There is also a surprising emotional maturity threaded throughout the narrative, particularly in the exploration of loyalty, grief, and the quiet exhaustion carried by those tasked with chasing monsters for a living.
In an era oversaturated with formulaic thrillers, 26 Beauties reminds readers why Patterson remains a dominant force in the genre. He does not simply write page turners; he engineers momentum. This novel is sleek, intelligent, psychologically resonant, and ruthlessly effective.
A sophisticated, pulse driven thriller that proves the Women’s Murder Club series still has the power to evolve while delivering everything longtime readers crave. Patterson once again demonstrates that commercial fiction and literary tension do not have to exist on opposite ends of the spectrum.
What elevates this installment beyond a conventional procedural is the emotional architecture beneath the investigation. Lindsay Boxer and the Women’s Murder Club are no longer merely solving crimes; they are confronting the psychological residue left behind by absence itself. The missing women become more than statistics or plot devices, they linger like ghosts at the edge of every chapter, creating an atmosphere that feels simultaneously cinematic and intimate.
Patterson understands something many thriller writers do not: suspense is not created solely through violence, but through anticipation. Through implication. Through the unbearable possibility that the worst outcome may already be inevitable. The novel weaponizes that tension brilliantly.
The prose is lean without feeling hollow, polished without losing urgency. Every chapter lands like a controlled detonation, making the book nearly impossible to put down once its machinery begins turning. There is also a surprising emotional maturity threaded throughout the narrative, particularly in the exploration of loyalty, grief, and the quiet exhaustion carried by those tasked with chasing monsters for a living.
In an era oversaturated with formulaic thrillers, 26 Beauties reminds readers why Patterson remains a dominant force in the genre. He does not simply write page turners; he engineers momentum. This novel is sleek, intelligent, psychologically resonant, and ruthlessly effective.
A sophisticated, pulse driven thriller that proves the Women’s Murder Club series still has the power to evolve while delivering everything longtime readers crave. Patterson once again demonstrates that commercial fiction and literary tension do not have to exist on opposite ends of the spectrum.
May 6, 2026
This one was interesting. It seemed like for most of the book the women, except Cindy and Lindsay weren't working together or even getting together like normal. Also interesting was how Claire found a body, instead of being brought one. The things that Claire, Cindy and Lindsay were working on, all ended up connected, where Yuki had a case gone wild. The high light for me in this one was the Interpol guy who worked with Lindsay. He was funny and kept surprising her.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 5, 2026
James Patterson, for sure!
The Women's Murder Club is back! It is the amazing, multi fabulous, hair razing, hold your breath suspense book as usual. This book is not as suspenseful as others, but it is still typical Patterson. You won't be sorry you've read it, enjoy! Liz/f S. Jersey, USA
The Women's Murder Club is back! It is the amazing, multi fabulous, hair razing, hold your breath suspense book as usual. This book is not as suspenseful as others, but it is still typical Patterson. You won't be sorry you've read it, enjoy! Liz/f S. Jersey, USA
May 7, 2026
Just another Lindsay Boxer novel. Four female friends from different disciplines. Murder, drugs, trafficking. Got their perps once again.
May 6, 2026
Extremely disappointed in this book - It was not written by James Patterson. And it sure wasn't written by Maxine Paetro either.
The writing was very sophomoric and not very good and for sure not the work of a huge author like Patterson...
and I got sick and tired of the use of the 4 main character's last names whenever mentioned.
When someone referred to one of the women in the Murder Club they used her last name every single time.
For example:
I met Claire Washburn at the bar - instead of I met Claire
I took Yuki Castenaletto to her car.... instead of I took Yuki to her car
Cindy Thomas hoped to write a book on the case. Instead of Cindy hoped to write a book
Enough already. Do it once in the beginning if you have to and then be done.
The last names were said at least 6 times in each chapter depending on the woman talking or being talked about. I don't know why that bugged me so much, but it did. After 26 books I think we would know who was meant if they just said their first name when referenced or speaking.
Lindsey is the real main character and she is told in the first person, but then we get 3rd person with the other women. I remembered Lindsey as being tougher too. She seemed very wimpy in this book.
Maybe it's time to hang this one up, especially if Patterson and Paetro aren't writing it.
That said I did like the new character Alain from France, but am not sure if he would be in future books or not. He was the only saving grace for this book.
The writing was very sophomoric and not very good and for sure not the work of a huge author like Patterson...
and I got sick and tired of the use of the 4 main character's last names whenever mentioned.
When someone referred to one of the women in the Murder Club they used her last name every single time.
For example:
I met Claire Washburn at the bar - instead of I met Claire
I took Yuki Castenaletto to her car.... instead of I took Yuki to her car
Cindy Thomas hoped to write a book on the case. Instead of Cindy hoped to write a book
Enough already. Do it once in the beginning if you have to and then be done.
The last names were said at least 6 times in each chapter depending on the woman talking or being talked about. I don't know why that bugged me so much, but it did. After 26 books I think we would know who was meant if they just said their first name when referenced or speaking.
Lindsey is the real main character and she is told in the first person, but then we get 3rd person with the other women. I remembered Lindsey as being tougher too. She seemed very wimpy in this book.
Maybe it's time to hang this one up, especially if Patterson and Paetro aren't writing it.
That said I did like the new character Alain from France, but am not sure if he would be in future books or not. He was the only saving grace for this book.
May 7, 2026
🚓 26 Beauties
🚓 James Patterson
🚓 Women's Murder Club (book 26)
🚓 341 pages
🚓 4.5 stars
🚓 Summary 🚓
The women's murder club goes searching for 26 beauties-young women missing in San Francisco.
SFPD Sergeant Lindsay Boxer's best friend, Claire Washburn, is named medical examiner of the year.
But an uninvited guest crashes the Women's Murder Club's party; a concerned father seeking investigative reporter Cindy Thomas's help in locating his missing daughter. And she's not the only one.
Lindsay's been investigating the deaths of a Jane Doe washed up on a nearby beach and a young woman found in Golden Gate Park.
What if all these cases are connected?
The answers lie with the 26 beauties on the run and in the wind.
🚓 My Thoughts 🚓
I absolutely love this series so much! I have been reading it for quite some time, and each book gets better and better! So glad I was able to read this newest installment, a HUGE thank you to the publishing team for sending it my way!! I am already eager to read the next book whenever it comes out!
🚓 James Patterson
🚓 Women's Murder Club (book 26)
🚓 341 pages
🚓 4.5 stars
🚓 Summary 🚓
The women's murder club goes searching for 26 beauties-young women missing in San Francisco.
SFPD Sergeant Lindsay Boxer's best friend, Claire Washburn, is named medical examiner of the year.
But an uninvited guest crashes the Women's Murder Club's party; a concerned father seeking investigative reporter Cindy Thomas's help in locating his missing daughter. And she's not the only one.
Lindsay's been investigating the deaths of a Jane Doe washed up on a nearby beach and a young woman found in Golden Gate Park.
What if all these cases are connected?
The answers lie with the 26 beauties on the run and in the wind.
🚓 My Thoughts 🚓
I absolutely love this series so much! I have been reading it for quite some time, and each book gets better and better! So glad I was able to read this newest installment, a HUGE thank you to the publishing team for sending it my way!! I am already eager to read the next book whenever it comes out!
May 6, 2026
This book was absolutely awesome. Action-packed. It also got me thinking hard about human trafficking in the United States and how much of an ignored problem it truly is. Just how dangerous life really is for beautiful young girls in any setting. As always the women's murder club ladies characters were extremely well written. Only disappoint part is waiting another year for next book
May 5, 2026
I don't know if I'm too used to mysteries now because these books aren't doing it for me like they used to. They just seem to end. There's no grand finish. It's just kind of over, if that makes sense.
May 6, 2026
good book
This was another good book in the series. These books are easy to read and I’ve enjoyed all of them. I can’t wait to see if another book eventually comes out in the series.
This was another good book in the series. These books are easy to read and I’ve enjoyed all of them. I can’t wait to see if another book eventually comes out in the series.
May 7, 2026
I have read every book of this series
I am never disappointed at reading the Women's Murder club. I look forward to the next one. I enjoy the family stories and twists turns of each book.
I am never disappointed at reading the Women's Murder club. I look forward to the next one. I enjoy the family stories and twists turns of each book.
May 7, 2026
I have loved all of this series, but I feel this one fell short. Plots were not as intertwined as normal. This was almost a DNF for me, but I slogged along and finished. If you are like me and have read all the rest, it is worth the time to finish it.
May 7, 2026
Girls, girls, girls! Where are they?
Trouble seems to fall into their lives. Another terrific tale, to prove that following the series is a reward in itself. Great read and enjoyable time spent.
Trouble seems to fall into their lives. Another terrific tale, to prove that following the series is a reward in itself. Great read and enjoyable time spent.
Want to Read
December 30, 2025Purchased in epub format from Barnes and Noble for my Nook.
May 7, 2026
subpar
The last chapters were on par with earlier books, but the book as a whole was not the quality I had come to expect.
Very disappointing.
The last chapters were on par with earlier books, but the book as a whole was not the quality I had come to expect.
Very disappointing.
May 7, 2026
As always, this addition to this series was highly entertaining! Fast paced and riveting! Many thanks to the publisher for this copy for read and review
May 7, 2026
🎧 As long as January Lavoy narrates The Women’s Murder Club, I’ll keep listening! I always enjoy reconnecting with these characters.
May 8, 2026
I love all of the Women's Murder Club novels. I get every one Pic the first day they're available .
May 8, 2026
Finished in 2 days, loved it!
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews