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Women's Murder Club #18
The 18th Abduction
The #1 bestselling female detective of the past 50 years is back.
Detective Lindsay Boxer and her husband Joe Molinari team up to protect San Francisco from an international war criminal in the newest Women's Murder Club thriller.
Three female schoolteachers go missing in San Francisco, and Detective Lindsay Boxer is on the case-which quickly escalates from missing person to murder.
Under pressure at work, Lindsay needs support at home. But her husband Joe is drawn into an encounter with a woman who's seen a ghost--a notorious war criminal from her Eastern European home country, walking the streets of San Francisco.
As Lindsay digs deeper, with help from intrepid journalist Cindy Thomas, there are revelations about the victims. The implications are shocking. And when Joe's mystery informant disappears, joining the ranks of missing women in grave danger, all evidence points to a sordid international crime operation.
It will take the combined skills of Lindsay, Joe, and the entire Women's Murder Club to protect their city, and themselves, from a monster.
Detective Lindsay Boxer and her husband Joe Molinari team up to protect San Francisco from an international war criminal in the newest Women's Murder Club thriller.
Three female schoolteachers go missing in San Francisco, and Detective Lindsay Boxer is on the case-which quickly escalates from missing person to murder.
Under pressure at work, Lindsay needs support at home. But her husband Joe is drawn into an encounter with a woman who's seen a ghost--a notorious war criminal from her Eastern European home country, walking the streets of San Francisco.
As Lindsay digs deeper, with help from intrepid journalist Cindy Thomas, there are revelations about the victims. The implications are shocking. And when Joe's mystery informant disappears, joining the ranks of missing women in grave danger, all evidence points to a sordid international crime operation.
It will take the combined skills of Lindsay, Joe, and the entire Women's Murder Club to protect their city, and themselves, from a monster.
381 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 29, 2019
13015 people are currently reading
21094 people want to read
About the author
James Patterson
955 books355k followersOfficial US Site
Official UK Site
JIMMY Patterson Books
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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 - 30 of 2,244 reviews
March 12, 2019
I always look forward to my annual exploration of the Women’s Murder Club, one of James Patterson’s strongest series alongside Maxine Paetro, who is a stellar collaborator. While many series lose their energy after so long, the eighteenth novel in this collection remains fresh and poignant, perfect for the series fan. After a preface in the present day, the story goes back five years, where Detective Lindsay Boxer finds herself in the middle of a baffling query. Three teachers from a prestigious preparatory school have gone missing while out together. There are few clues as to their whereabouts, which makes it all the most confusion. While Boxer is out handling this, her husband, Joe Molinari, comes across a woman on his way home. She tells a story of having seen a war criminal from her native Bosnia, a man who tortured her and her family years ago. Thought rumoured to have drowned, Slobodan Petrović May still be alive and has the glint in his eye made infamous when he held the moniker as the Butcher of Djoba. It perfectly describes the brutality to which he subjected his victims. Molinari is eager to help this woman, but must cut through her determination to take action on her own, while also working with his FBI contacts to bring Petrović to justice. Living under a pseudonym, Molinari will have to approach Petrović closely and ensure that this was not a case of mistaken identity. Meanwhile, Boxer begins to piece together some early clues and one of the victims turns up brutally murdered. Could there be a deeper connection to these three women, outside their teaching together? The rush is on to find the other two women before they are too long, though they are being mocked by the purported killer, Bloodsucker. In a case with more brutality than any Boxer has seen since she joined SFPD, this may be one killer whose determination to eviscerate their victims has deeply psychological ties. A wonderfully dark thriller that takes series readers on a journey with which they are familiar. This deep into the series, I would strongly suggest readers start at the beginning, allowing them to discover some of the character developments and nuances.
James Patterson can be hit and miss for many readers, churning out books faster than many can list them and leaving his name to sell copies. This inconsistency with the quality of writing has soured many and thereby left books like this shunned, forcing new fans not to see that there are still great JP books. Teaming up with Maxine Paetro, Patterson develops this wonderful story that builds on many of the past novels in the series, while adding some new and international flavour. Lindsay Boxer has become a strong character within San Francisco’s Homicide community, working diligently to solve any crime tossed her way. While there is little backstory left to reveal, the reader is always able to see small bouts of development within her work and personal relationships. Her marriage to Joe Molinari has long been a hot/cold situation worthy of exportation, though this book, which flashes back, dodges some of the bumpier parts of their relationship. While the other three ‘Club’ members receive their due mention, there is little the Club does to solve crimes as a unit, as has been the nature of the latter novels in the series. With Patterson’s great use of short and teaser chapters, the reader is pulled into the middle of this thriller in short order and left to explore all aspects of this multi-pronged story. Series fans will likely enjoy this book, as will those who are always looking for strong writing by Patterson and his collaborators. Definitely a series worth exploring for those who have time and are not being drowned by a TO BE READ pile.
Kudos, Mr. Patterson and Madame Paetro, as you continue this well-established series.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
James Patterson can be hit and miss for many readers, churning out books faster than many can list them and leaving his name to sell copies. This inconsistency with the quality of writing has soured many and thereby left books like this shunned, forcing new fans not to see that there are still great JP books. Teaming up with Maxine Paetro, Patterson develops this wonderful story that builds on many of the past novels in the series, while adding some new and international flavour. Lindsay Boxer has become a strong character within San Francisco’s Homicide community, working diligently to solve any crime tossed her way. While there is little backstory left to reveal, the reader is always able to see small bouts of development within her work and personal relationships. Her marriage to Joe Molinari has long been a hot/cold situation worthy of exportation, though this book, which flashes back, dodges some of the bumpier parts of their relationship. While the other three ‘Club’ members receive their due mention, there is little the Club does to solve crimes as a unit, as has been the nature of the latter novels in the series. With Patterson’s great use of short and teaser chapters, the reader is pulled into the middle of this thriller in short order and left to explore all aspects of this multi-pronged story. Series fans will likely enjoy this book, as will those who are always looking for strong writing by Patterson and his collaborators. Definitely a series worth exploring for those who have time and are not being drowned by a TO BE READ pile.
Kudos, Mr. Patterson and Madame Paetro, as you continue this well-established series.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
October 20, 2022
Book Blog | Bookstagram
I've been reading this series since the first book was published in 2001. I was fifteen, and at that time, I thought Patterson was the epitome of great crime fiction. It took me adulthood, with exposure to crime fiction that was legitimately good, to realize that Patterson isn't a very good writer, he's just prolific. And I, like a lot of people, confused "popular" with being talented.
That's not to say people don't genuinely enjoy his work. Obviously, they do, but objectively it's not great.
Now, I don't care if you're the biggest Patterson fan around, I'm not interested in a debate. Go read his work and write glowing reviews for him to your heart's content. It affects me zero percent. But my opinion is that he's a terrible writer. It's not like I'm the final say in the matter, so don't fucking @ me about it, Donna.
Every year I make a resolution to not read any Patterson, and every year I break that resolution at least once. This is my one for 2019.
But let's face it, when it comes to a quick book to help you achieve a yearly reading goal, Patterson makes it so easy it almost feels like cheating.
I wish I could say this eighteenth book in the series moved the needle on character development or interesting life events, but actually, this book was borderline pointless. The characters felt stagnant and typical, and Yuki and Cindy are hardly in it at all.
Lindsay is looking for three missing teachers, while Joe is trying to protect a witness who brings a supposedly dead Bosnian war criminal to the attention of the FBI. Both plot threads converge after lacklustre twists and predictable challenges. The novel follows the same path as all others in this series.
And honestly, how can you be writing flashback instalments in an 18-year-old series? It breaks canon storylines at least twice. Someone's gotta keep this shit straight.
As always, the writing is annoyingly juvenile and the interactions between characters lack a human quality that felt stilted and awkward. The "I said/he said/she said" was so excessively interjected into the dialogue that it caused me to develop an eye twitch.
But really, I know I did this to myself.
Ultimately, this is a series instalment that can be completely skipped and have no bearing at all on the reader. And is that really something you want to be able to say about a long-running series? Probably not.
⭐⭐½ | 2.5 stars rounded down.
I've been reading this series since the first book was published in 2001. I was fifteen, and at that time, I thought Patterson was the epitome of great crime fiction. It took me adulthood, with exposure to crime fiction that was legitimately good, to realize that Patterson isn't a very good writer, he's just prolific. And I, like a lot of people, confused "popular" with being talented.
That's not to say people don't genuinely enjoy his work. Obviously, they do, but objectively it's not great.
Now, I don't care if you're the biggest Patterson fan around, I'm not interested in a debate. Go read his work and write glowing reviews for him to your heart's content. It affects me zero percent. But my opinion is that he's a terrible writer. It's not like I'm the final say in the matter, so don't fucking @ me about it, Donna.
Every year I make a resolution to not read any Patterson, and every year I break that resolution at least once. This is my one for 2019.
But let's face it, when it comes to a quick book to help you achieve a yearly reading goal, Patterson makes it so easy it almost feels like cheating.
I wish I could say this eighteenth book in the series moved the needle on character development or interesting life events, but actually, this book was borderline pointless. The characters felt stagnant and typical, and Yuki and Cindy are hardly in it at all.
Lindsay is looking for three missing teachers, while Joe is trying to protect a witness who brings a supposedly dead Bosnian war criminal to the attention of the FBI. Both plot threads converge after lacklustre twists and predictable challenges. The novel follows the same path as all others in this series.
And honestly, how can you be writing flashback instalments in an 18-year-old series? It breaks canon storylines at least twice. Someone's gotta keep this shit straight.
As always, the writing is annoyingly juvenile and the interactions between characters lack a human quality that felt stilted and awkward. The "I said/he said/she said" was so excessively interjected into the dialogue that it caused me to develop an eye twitch.
But really, I know I did this to myself.
Ultimately, this is a series instalment that can be completely skipped and have no bearing at all on the reader. And is that really something you want to be able to say about a long-running series? Probably not.
⭐⭐½ | 2.5 stars rounded down.
March 18, 2019
I love that this series is still going so strong 18 books in. This book was just as good as book 1 and I read it in a day. Can always count on James Patterson for a good read.
June 23, 2019
What did I just read? This book is terrible. The writing is juvenile, the “he said, I said” dialogue is comical, and the plot line has a gazillion credibility holes. And it’s boring. Super boring. It’s a murder mystery that literally has no suspense, and doesn’t have any excitement until 60% into the book, for one scene. After reading all 18 books in this series, this entry will be my last.
April 2, 2019
Some Patterson collaborations are woeful however, this one remains an excellent combination with Paetro. The Women’s Murder Club are back on the trail of three missing teachers and Joe is following-up on the sighting of a Bosnian war criminal. This particular avenue made an excellent plot!
The novel starts in the present and then we go back five years. If you’ve read the other 17 in the series it’s a little disconcerting but most pre/current information aligns. If you haven’t read any of the others, this would be a great starting book in the series.
Four stars because of some missing info from previous books which doesn’t align, the slightly unbelievable ‘linking’ of the cases midway but thereafter the novel flies. And I would love to have ‘seen’ a bit more of the other 3 members of the Women’s Murder Club, this one focuses on Boxer and Joe.
I’m looking forward to the 19th one due out later this year.
The novel starts in the present and then we go back five years. If you’ve read the other 17 in the series it’s a little disconcerting but most pre/current information aligns. If you haven’t read any of the others, this would be a great starting book in the series.
Four stars because of some missing info from previous books which doesn’t align, the slightly unbelievable ‘linking’ of the cases midway but thereafter the novel flies. And I would love to have ‘seen’ a bit more of the other 3 members of the Women’s Murder Club, this one focuses on Boxer and Joe.
I’m looking forward to the 19th one due out later this year.
March 31, 2020
The disappearance of three female school teachers saw Detective Lindsay Boxer and partner Rich Conklin on the job. But when one of the women was found murdered, things became much more complicated. Lindsay’s husband, FBI agent Joe Molinari was also on a case which was causing him headaches. A young woman whom he’d found injured and crying in the gutter outside FBI headquarters told him a tale of a notorious war criminal from Eastern Europe – a man who was supposed to have drowned some years earlier. But Anna identified him to Joe and as this man casually strolled the streets of San Francisco, Joe had no idea how to venture forward.
With shocking suddenness, Lindsay and Joe’s cases collide. And while Lindsay and her three friends from the Women’s Murder Club do their best to find clues to direct them to the perpetrators, Anna disappeared as well. What would be the outcome for these women? Would Lindsay and her team find the cruel and sadistic criminal before anyone else lost their lives?
18th Abduction by James Patterson is another fast paced thriller in the Women’s Murder Club. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, racing through the pages with the short, choppy chapters making it a quick and easy read. Highly recommended.
With shocking suddenness, Lindsay and Joe’s cases collide. And while Lindsay and her three friends from the Women’s Murder Club do their best to find clues to direct them to the perpetrators, Anna disappeared as well. What would be the outcome for these women? Would Lindsay and her team find the cruel and sadistic criminal before anyone else lost their lives?
18th Abduction by James Patterson is another fast paced thriller in the Women’s Murder Club. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, racing through the pages with the short, choppy chapters making it a quick and easy read. Highly recommended.
February 27, 2024
Genocidal monster or Serbian war hero? History, of course, is written by the winners!
Ladies and gentlemen, meet THE WOMEN’S MURDER CLUB - Lindsay Boxer, police sergeant and homicide detective; Yuki Castellano, prosecutor and assistant district attorney; Claire Washburn, medical examiner and forensic scientist; Cindy Thomas, writer and investigative journalist. Their novels are as predictably formulaic as the proverbial Hallmark movie but that formula (as of the writing of THE 18TH ABDUCTION) is working like a well-oiled high speed machine so don’t expect authors Paetro and Patterson to be breaking the pattern any time soon.
Think of a WMC novel as a mash-up of two or three novellas or short stories, each involving one of the WMC ladies as a lead protagonist – a murder, trial or legal issue, medical drama, rape, breaking news story, kidnapping, bombing, arson, social issue … you get the idea. The stories weave in and out of one another in real time to produce a single larger novel but the interaction between stories is typically minor, incidental, or coincidental.
Sprinkle in a generous helping of personal issues interrupting the ladies’ professional lives – marital difficulties; flagging sex lives; questions of professional integrity or self esteem; pregnancy; professional discord in their employment; divorce or separation; commitment; changing personal objectives; morality … once again, all pretty predictable stuff!
Last but not least, toss in at least one or two coffee klatch, dinner and drinks, or purely pub meetings over booze during which the ladies meet and discuss their issues and brainstorm potential ideas and solutions with one another.
In a pretty real sense, if you’ve read one WMC novel, you’ve read them all but, darn it, they’re entertaining as hell, they manage to be quite gripping, and THE 18TH ABDUCTION is no exception to this astonishing string of successes. The story lines in this one? First, three teachers from a prestigious preparatory school, with no apparent common denominator have gone missing while out together. The clock is ticking and their deaths by excruciating torture seem inevitable as time passes. Second, a more political meta-story focused on the apprehension of a war criminal living free and easy in the USA spotted by a refugee from the Serbian genocide.
Definitely recommended. Read it and enjoy!
Paul Weiss
Ladies and gentlemen, meet THE WOMEN’S MURDER CLUB - Lindsay Boxer, police sergeant and homicide detective; Yuki Castellano, prosecutor and assistant district attorney; Claire Washburn, medical examiner and forensic scientist; Cindy Thomas, writer and investigative journalist. Their novels are as predictably formulaic as the proverbial Hallmark movie but that formula (as of the writing of THE 18TH ABDUCTION) is working like a well-oiled high speed machine so don’t expect authors Paetro and Patterson to be breaking the pattern any time soon.
Think of a WMC novel as a mash-up of two or three novellas or short stories, each involving one of the WMC ladies as a lead protagonist – a murder, trial or legal issue, medical drama, rape, breaking news story, kidnapping, bombing, arson, social issue … you get the idea. The stories weave in and out of one another in real time to produce a single larger novel but the interaction between stories is typically minor, incidental, or coincidental.
Sprinkle in a generous helping of personal issues interrupting the ladies’ professional lives – marital difficulties; flagging sex lives; questions of professional integrity or self esteem; pregnancy; professional discord in their employment; divorce or separation; commitment; changing personal objectives; morality … once again, all pretty predictable stuff!
Last but not least, toss in at least one or two coffee klatch, dinner and drinks, or purely pub meetings over booze during which the ladies meet and discuss their issues and brainstorm potential ideas and solutions with one another.
In a pretty real sense, if you’ve read one WMC novel, you’ve read them all but, darn it, they’re entertaining as hell, they manage to be quite gripping, and THE 18TH ABDUCTION is no exception to this astonishing string of successes. The story lines in this one? First, three teachers from a prestigious preparatory school, with no apparent common denominator have gone missing while out together. The clock is ticking and their deaths by excruciating torture seem inevitable as time passes. Second, a more political meta-story focused on the apprehension of a war criminal living free and easy in the USA spotted by a refugee from the Serbian genocide.
Definitely recommended. Read it and enjoy!
Paul Weiss
May 2, 2019
I give this book a 3.5. It was okay. Not up to the usual Womens Murder Club books. The story didnt grab me. There was very little interaction with the other ladies in the group.
May 9, 2019
Let me be honest up front. I read most of James Patterson’s books and have for several years. Some might ask why and that’s another whole discussion best saved for another day. I have really enjoyed some, liked some, and didn’t really care for others. On a personal level, I must admit that his Women’s Murder Club series – focused on the professional and personal lives of four women in San Francisco - has been hit and miss over the last couple of years. Last year’s outing was pretty good, but the prior year’s book was absolutely weak.
“The 18th Abduction” begins like other books in the series with two mysteries – one with the disappearance of three young school teachers and one the sudden appearance of a supposedly dead notorious war criminal. With the public pressure mounting, Lindsay Boxer and her partner, Conklin, race the clock to save the teachers before they turn up dead. At the same time Lindsay’s husband and FBI agent, Joe, has been approached by a Bosnian refuge who suffered serious personal loss at the hands of a war criminal that is now running a restaurant in San Francisco. The refugee, Anna, experienced the brutal death of her husband, her child, as well as being raped repeatedly and left with permanent physical scars. Now, Joe is the only person who can provide her with the justice that no one should have to beg for.
Patterson and Paetro weave both investigations in a fast but predictable manner. There are the usual twists and turns along the way, but the challenges and obstacles were not very complex, nor that compelling. In typical Patterson fashion, the standard multi-plots come together in the end and provide the link that most readers saw coming after reading the book jacket. And the key penultimate scenes leading to the climax happened mostly off-screen, which weakened the ending a bit.
In addition, there was no growth or development for any of the main characters, either professionally or on the home front. Our fearless club members are stagnant, including Cindy Thomas playing a small role and Yuki Castellano being completely absent. Although I truly love Lindsay and Claire Washburn, leaving them out was disappointing to me
Overall, Patterson and Paetro lost some of their Women’s Murder Club mojo this time out. If you like the standard Patterson recipe, then enjoy to your heart’s content. But this one breaks no new ground, and feels too casual and comfortable when reading.
“The 18th Abduction” begins like other books in the series with two mysteries – one with the disappearance of three young school teachers and one the sudden appearance of a supposedly dead notorious war criminal. With the public pressure mounting, Lindsay Boxer and her partner, Conklin, race the clock to save the teachers before they turn up dead. At the same time Lindsay’s husband and FBI agent, Joe, has been approached by a Bosnian refuge who suffered serious personal loss at the hands of a war criminal that is now running a restaurant in San Francisco. The refugee, Anna, experienced the brutal death of her husband, her child, as well as being raped repeatedly and left with permanent physical scars. Now, Joe is the only person who can provide her with the justice that no one should have to beg for.
Patterson and Paetro weave both investigations in a fast but predictable manner. There are the usual twists and turns along the way, but the challenges and obstacles were not very complex, nor that compelling. In typical Patterson fashion, the standard multi-plots come together in the end and provide the link that most readers saw coming after reading the book jacket. And the key penultimate scenes leading to the climax happened mostly off-screen, which weakened the ending a bit.
In addition, there was no growth or development for any of the main characters, either professionally or on the home front. Our fearless club members are stagnant, including Cindy Thomas playing a small role and Yuki Castellano being completely absent. Although I truly love Lindsay and Claire Washburn, leaving them out was disappointing to me
Overall, Patterson and Paetro lost some of their Women’s Murder Club mojo this time out. If you like the standard Patterson recipe, then enjoy to your heart’s content. But this one breaks no new ground, and feels too casual and comfortable when reading.
May 20, 2019
I mean I will keep reading them as long as they keep getting published but I need more of Women’s Murder Club! The storyline with Joe, Lindsay, and Conklin was great-very engaging and a few triggers. However, Yuki, Cindy, and Claire were so overlooked. We are a bit of them but I felt like that group dynamic between them was forgotten and I missed it.
April 14, 2019
Women’s Murder Club are my favourite Patterson novels but this one just didn’t grab my attention. Slow read, bland.
June 26, 2019
3.5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I always wait with much anticipation for the next book in this series. James Patterson and Maxine Paetro did it again with the 18th Abduction.
While I didn’t love the plot for this one as much as some of the others in this series, the short, cliffhanging chapters that Patterson is so good at providing for us made for a very quick, enjoyable reading experience. While there are really no jaw dropping moments or shockers, the endings tie up nicely, but still leave you wanting more - which makes the waiting part so difficult! 😜
It always pains me to have to wait a year in between books, but I only have to wait until October for the next one when 19th Christmas gets released!
If you are a James Patterson fan and haven’t yet started this series, or just a fan of mysteries in general, I highly recommend! You will enjoy it!
I always wait with much anticipation for the next book in this series. James Patterson and Maxine Paetro did it again with the 18th Abduction.
While I didn’t love the plot for this one as much as some of the others in this series, the short, cliffhanging chapters that Patterson is so good at providing for us made for a very quick, enjoyable reading experience. While there are really no jaw dropping moments or shockers, the endings tie up nicely, but still leave you wanting more - which makes the waiting part so difficult! 😜
It always pains me to have to wait a year in between books, but I only have to wait until October for the next one when 19th Christmas gets released!
If you are a James Patterson fan and haven’t yet started this series, or just a fan of mysteries in general, I highly recommend! You will enjoy it!
October 7, 2019
4.5 actually. Well Patterson and Paetro have done it again - another wonderful plot involving the Women's Murder Club.
Three school teachers' disappear. No traces can be found. Sargent Lindsay Boxer leads the police investigation. Soon her husband from the FBI is drawn in as possible leads from police and FBI overlap.
The Serbian genocide account greatly disturbed me. Since I know the reality of these events happening.
The overall plot was well planned and delivered.
Excellent prose. Unputdownable.
Three school teachers' disappear. No traces can be found. Sargent Lindsay Boxer leads the police investigation. Soon her husband from the FBI is drawn in as possible leads from police and FBI overlap.
The Serbian genocide account greatly disturbed me. Since I know the reality of these events happening.
The overall plot was well planned and delivered.
Excellent prose. Unputdownable.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 1, 2019
4.5*
This was one of the best Patterson books I have read recently. I love the Women’s Murder Club books and am so glad I went ahead and bought The 19th Christmas already. I originally felt like I wanted to wait to read it when I put my Christmas tree up but now I am just going to go ahead and read it! I want more Women’s Murder Club books to have the international aspect as this one did. Great, quick read.
This was one of the best Patterson books I have read recently. I love the Women’s Murder Club books and am so glad I went ahead and bought The 19th Christmas already. I originally felt like I wanted to wait to read it when I put my Christmas tree up but now I am just going to go ahead and read it! I want more Women’s Murder Club books to have the international aspect as this one did. Great, quick read.
March 21, 2024
The 18th Abduction is a fast-paced and, at times, hard to read book (check trigger warnings) in which Detective Lindsay Boxer and her FRI husband Joe Molinaris cases collide after Joe's chance encounter meeting Anna outside his office building. Anna's pretty dishevelled after being knocked off her bike chasing a car containing a war criminal from her past. No one took her seriously at the FBI office due to her appearance and emotional state when she went into report seeing him. Joe takes her seriously and decides to do some digging himself after taking her home and hearing her heartbreaking story.
Meanwhile, Lindsay and her partner Rich Conklin are investigating the disappearance of three female school teachers and are on borrowed time to try and find them alive. As they all race against the clock, their cases intwine, narrowing the escape of the war criminal involved. This was very well written, and I was heartbroken for Anna even more so at the end of the book. I did miss the rest of the women's murder clubs involvement within this book as they weren't really that much involved in this case.
Meanwhile, Lindsay and her partner Rich Conklin are investigating the disappearance of three female school teachers and are on borrowed time to try and find them alive. As they all race against the clock, their cases intwine, narrowing the escape of the war criminal involved. This was very well written, and I was heartbroken for Anna even more so at the end of the book. I did miss the rest of the women's murder clubs involvement within this book as they weren't really that much involved in this case.
October 24, 2019
I always look forward to the near annual James Patterson installment of the Women's Murder Club. I have a friend in my book friends that invited me to be a member of his friends and as I've finally got caught up in all the books in this series, he was very encouraging as I finally got all the books read.
I really liked that Lindsey and Joe M and their daughter and dog they seemed close and a lot tighter than they they have during other books. I probably liked this book less than about any of them. I was remembering some of them such as the one where Lindsey is buck naked carrying stuff for the bad guy.
Detective Lindsay Boxer’s investigation into the disappearance of three teachers quickly escalates from missing persons to murder in the newest Women’s Murder Club thriller. The girl's club spent less time together but they did work together when they needed to.
For a trio of colleagues, an innocent night out after class ends in a deadly torture session. They vanish without a clue — until a body turns up. With the safety of San Francisco’s entire school system at stake, Lindsay has never been under more pressure. As the chief of police and the press clamor for an arrest in the “school night” case, Lindsay turns to her best friend, investigative journalist Cindy Thomas. Together, Lindsay and Cindy take a new approach to the case, and unexpected facts about the victims leave them stunned.
While Lindsay is engrossed in her investigation, her husband, Joe Molinari, meets an Eastern European woman who claims to have seen a notorious war criminal — long presumed dead — from her home country. Before Lindsay can verify the woman’s statement, Joe’s mystery informant joins the ranks of the missing women. Lindsay, Joe, and the entire Women’s Murder Club must pull together to protect their city, and one another — not from a ghost, but from a true monster. Way too many people were killed or hanged in this book. Very depressing. It was a very difficult book to read and ponder. The #1 bestselling female detective of the past 50 years is back.
Detective Lindsay Boxer and her husband Joe Molinari team up to protect San Francisco from an international war criminal in the newest Women's Murder Club thriller. Three female schoolteachers go missing in San Francisco, and Detective Lindsay Boxer is on the case-which quickly escalates from missing person to murder. Under pressure at work, Lindsay needs support at home. But her husband Joe is drawn into an encounter with a woman who's seen a ghost--a notorious war criminal from her Eastern European home country, walking the streets of San Francisco. As Lindsay digs deeper, with help from intrepid journalist Cindy Thomas, there are revelations about the victims. The implications are shocking. And when Joe's mystery informant disappears, joining the ranks of missing women in grave danger, all evidence points to a sordid international crime operation. It will take the combined skills of Lindsay, Joe, and the entire Women's Murder Club to protect their city, and themselves, from a monster.
Overall a pretty good book, just not my all time favorite. I'll probably read and/or listen to it
again.
I've noticed that they don't seen to have included their baby daughter which is an important person in this most sweet story. This book is very sadly put together for their 3rd installment.
I really liked that Lindsey and Joe M and their daughter and dog they seemed close and a lot tighter than they they have during other books. I probably liked this book less than about any of them. I was remembering some of them such as the one where Lindsey is buck naked carrying stuff for the bad guy.
Detective Lindsay Boxer’s investigation into the disappearance of three teachers quickly escalates from missing persons to murder in the newest Women’s Murder Club thriller. The girl's club spent less time together but they did work together when they needed to.
For a trio of colleagues, an innocent night out after class ends in a deadly torture session. They vanish without a clue — until a body turns up. With the safety of San Francisco’s entire school system at stake, Lindsay has never been under more pressure. As the chief of police and the press clamor for an arrest in the “school night” case, Lindsay turns to her best friend, investigative journalist Cindy Thomas. Together, Lindsay and Cindy take a new approach to the case, and unexpected facts about the victims leave them stunned.
While Lindsay is engrossed in her investigation, her husband, Joe Molinari, meets an Eastern European woman who claims to have seen a notorious war criminal — long presumed dead — from her home country. Before Lindsay can verify the woman’s statement, Joe’s mystery informant joins the ranks of the missing women. Lindsay, Joe, and the entire Women’s Murder Club must pull together to protect their city, and one another — not from a ghost, but from a true monster. Way too many people were killed or hanged in this book. Very depressing. It was a very difficult book to read and ponder. The #1 bestselling female detective of the past 50 years is back.
Detective Lindsay Boxer and her husband Joe Molinari team up to protect San Francisco from an international war criminal in the newest Women's Murder Club thriller. Three female schoolteachers go missing in San Francisco, and Detective Lindsay Boxer is on the case-which quickly escalates from missing person to murder. Under pressure at work, Lindsay needs support at home. But her husband Joe is drawn into an encounter with a woman who's seen a ghost--a notorious war criminal from her Eastern European home country, walking the streets of San Francisco. As Lindsay digs deeper, with help from intrepid journalist Cindy Thomas, there are revelations about the victims. The implications are shocking. And when Joe's mystery informant disappears, joining the ranks of missing women in grave danger, all evidence points to a sordid international crime operation. It will take the combined skills of Lindsay, Joe, and the entire Women's Murder Club to protect their city, and themselves, from a monster.
Overall a pretty good book, just not my all time favorite. I'll probably read and/or listen to it
again.
I've noticed that they don't seen to have included their baby daughter which is an important person in this most sweet story. This book is very sadly put together for their 3rd installment.
May 12, 2019
Lindsay Boxer and her partner Conklin are called to help find three female teachers from a prestigious private school, who have disappeared after a night of drinking together. When one of the three is found hanged in a rent-by-the-hour hotel in the Tenderloin, it turns out not to be her first time there; however, despite Herculean efforts, the SFPD and Women's Murder Club is stymied. Meanwhile, Joe Molinari takes pity on a woman named Anna, who is convinced, she has spotted the Serbian war criminal, Slobodan Petrović (a/k/a the Butcher of Djoba), living large under a new identity in San Francisco. Convicted in the Hague, Petrović managed to negotiate some type of pardon, but was presumed drowned. He taunts both the FBI and SFPD, with the U.S. presumption of innocence. When the second teacher is found dead, hanging in a forest, also with odd injuries from a shuriken, which tie back to a known skill of Petrović. Medical examiner Claire makes important contributions, but then Anna is kidnapped. The cases ended too easily and conveniently, at least for my liking.
May 23, 2019
One of my favorite JP's collaboration series, but book 18 didn't wow me. The case was interesting, with Joe and Lindsay end up trying to pin down the same suspect. It was the women's group exchange that was a bit lacking and underwhelming. However, I'm still looking forward to 19th in October.
May 23, 2019
Three teachers have gone missing in San Francisco, and all eyes are on San Francisco police officer Lindsay Boxer as she is leading the hunt for them. Unfortunately, there are few leads. Can she find anything before it is too late? Meanwhile, her new husband, Joe Molinari, has found a woman near the FBI’s San Francisco office. This woman, Anna, claims to have just seen a known war criminal from her native Serbia in the city. Is she right? What is he doing there? Can Joe make sure this man receives the justice he deserves?
Outside the prologue and epilogue, this book takes place five years in the past, meaning that some of the recent stupidity in Joe and Lindsay’s marriage has been forgotten. I couldn’t be happier about that. The story is another fast-paced mystery against overwhelming odds that keep the pages turning. It even gave me something I’ve been wanting for a long time in this series (no spoilers, don’t worry). Unfortunately, most of the Women in the Women’s Murder Club are reduced to cameos as the plot drives forward. The characters continue to be fairly thin, but that’s no surprise to fans. We get into Anna’s past and the war crimes that took place in Serbia, so expect the heavier subject matter when you pick up this book. Overall, fans of the series should be happy with this latest offering.
Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.
Outside the prologue and epilogue, this book takes place five years in the past, meaning that some of the recent stupidity in Joe and Lindsay’s marriage has been forgotten. I couldn’t be happier about that. The story is another fast-paced mystery against overwhelming odds that keep the pages turning. It even gave me something I’ve been wanting for a long time in this series (no spoilers, don’t worry). Unfortunately, most of the Women in the Women’s Murder Club are reduced to cameos as the plot drives forward. The characters continue to be fairly thin, but that’s no surprise to fans. We get into Anna’s past and the war crimes that took place in Serbia, so expect the heavier subject matter when you pick up this book. Overall, fans of the series should be happy with this latest offering.
Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.
May 9, 2019
The book was hyped up to draw you in but the storyline did not deliver. I've read this entire series and was disappointed in the book. The story starts in the present but reverts back to the past, 5 years ago. This story is not talked about in the entire series of the Women's Murder Club.
There are missing characters in the story but as I stated before, the story reverted back to the past. The book kind of dragged in the middle but picked up off and on.
Don't allow my opinion to deter you from reading this book. You may enjoy it. I didn't.
There are missing characters in the story but as I stated before, the story reverted back to the past. The book kind of dragged in the middle but picked up off and on.
Don't allow my opinion to deter you from reading this book. You may enjoy it. I didn't.
March 14, 2019
What a great series this is. Two completely different, but equally compelling, storylines make this book very difficult to put down.
4-5 stars
4-5 stars
August 5, 2021
I like this series. I liked the plot here. Lindsey Boxer is probably my favorite female protagonist. This one didn’t really include the rest of the “Women’s Murder Club” but rather a hunt for the killers with her husband. I like it.Still find this Patterson series enjoyable.
March 1, 2022
This is very likely, the worst book I have read in a long time. It started off as a 3/5 story, with a fairly interesting storyline and ok characters. Very quickly though, the plot became very predictable, with no development in terms of the characters.
The writing itself is very, very bad. It's full of "she thought of this", "she felt of that.." and by far the worst, is that it was full of cheesy straplines throughout the book. I came so close to actually stop reading and never bother to finish as it was obviously a waste of my time, but I kept on thinking that perhaps, the story would surprise me at the end. It never did.
The writing itself is very, very bad. It's full of "she thought of this", "she felt of that.." and by far the worst, is that it was full of cheesy straplines throughout the book. I came so close to actually stop reading and never bother to finish as it was obviously a waste of my time, but I kept on thinking that perhaps, the story would surprise me at the end. It never did.
May 12, 2019
Almost a DNF for me.
December 24, 2019
Oh dear. War criminal murdering women. One of the Murder Club investigates. That is all. Read as a cure for insomnia
July 1, 2020
Simply simplistic, repetitive and awful.
May 9, 2019
In a bit of a departure from the status quo with the ladies of the Women's Murder Club, Lindsay Boxer and Joe Molinari team up to take down a vicious war criminal who is now running a steak joint in San Fran.
Yeah, you read that correctly. But despite that kooky intro to this story, it is actually quite dark. The book contains several strong triggers for those sensitive to stories of rape, torture, war crimes, and abduction.
The story jogs back in time, so it isn't sequential to the events in the previous book, but don't let that throw you (some readers have complained, "Where's their baby? etc., but this was set before she was born). It's a solid WMC story, even if most of the WMC only play peripheral roles in the action.
Yeah, you read that correctly. But despite that kooky intro to this story, it is actually quite dark. The book contains several strong triggers for those sensitive to stories of rape, torture, war crimes, and abduction.
The story jogs back in time, so it isn't sequential to the events in the previous book, but don't let that throw you (some readers have complained, "Where's their baby? etc., but this was set before she was born). It's a solid WMC story, even if most of the WMC only play peripheral roles in the action.
May 19, 2019
This is the latest in the Women's Murder Club series. Fans of the series will probably enjoy it. It may a bit confusing for those familiar with the series because the main story takes place five years before the the prologue and ending. Missing from the story are Joe and Lindsay's daughter, Julie, as well as Lt. Brady. Presumably, this case is supposed to have taken place earlier in their careers.
It's a tough story and I didn't particularly enjoy that part of it. I also kept wondering (spoiler alert) why the main villain started his atrocious behaviors again after a period of seemingly not engaging in them. There just seemed to be a time warp problem.......I also thought that there seemed to be very little mention/interaction of the other members of the Women's Murder Club.
Still, I will be sure to read the next one, The 19th Christmas.
It's a tough story and I didn't particularly enjoy that part of it. I also kept wondering (spoiler alert) why the main villain started his atrocious behaviors again after a period of seemingly not engaging in them. There just seemed to be a time warp problem.......I also thought that there seemed to be very little mention/interaction of the other members of the Women's Murder Club.
Still, I will be sure to read the next one, The 19th Christmas.
May 28, 2019
Just average read with a juvenile writing style
This is my first woman's murder club book, and probably my last based on the poor quality of the writing. The potential that the actual person who wrote this is the writer of all the other books in the series clouds my desire to read anymore, because it certainly isn't Patterson who wrote this. As I read the story and became more and more invested in it, I started to ask myself is this book ghostwritten?
I had heard that this was a good book, it is a high star rating, and so I thought another Patterson book that should be a good read. What I didn't realize at the time I ordered the book, was that the actual author is Maxine Paetro while Patterson only placed his name on the book to get sales apparently. I will never read another book that has the name Maxine Paetro listed as an author or co-author.
Reading the description of the book it sounded very interesting and had a good storyline, so I thought for sure I would enjoy the story. Sadly, I was disappointed. The buildup sounded much better than the actual writing made it in the end.
Firstly, there was a lot of wasted time building up the narrative, much of which led me to put the book down over and over again. When it finally became interesting and fast-paced enough to read through the poor writing style, bam it's done.
Speaking of poor writing style, let's get into that starting with the excessive use of: I said, s/he said...said...said...said... Nearly every dialogue in the entire book began with the words he, or she, or I said, and on the rare occasion ended with I said, he said, or she said! Does Maxine Paetro not realize there are more ways to introduce or end dialogue, than using the word "said" so abusively! She even asked questions, but used the introduction of, I said rather than the appropriate, I asked, or some other variant . For example: * Conklin said, "killed question why?"* The sentence clearly ends in a question mark. The sentence clearly deserves to be written as "Conklin asked", not "Conklin said"! The use of said was used so much as to make the writing unclear at points, and created the need to reread parts in order to understand what was actually going on in the story. The book is just 380 pages long, around 77,000 words, and use the word "said" roughly a thousand times or more...I lost count. While counting I noticed, "I said" at least 200 times! It was very monotonous, and distracted from the story. Add that to the he said, she said, specific character name said....bleh!
Sadly, the poor writing style Overshadowed the actual storyline which deserved better attention in editing. Is there no copyeditor when a big name is on the cover of a book? Is it not the job of an editor to make suggestions that make the book better? If this is in fact the 18th installment of the *Women's Murder Club*, it seems that the writer should have honed her skills a bit better at this point.
This is my first woman's murder club book, and probably my last based on the poor quality of the writing. The potential that the actual person who wrote this is the writer of all the other books in the series clouds my desire to read anymore, because it certainly isn't Patterson who wrote this. As I read the story and became more and more invested in it, I started to ask myself is this book ghostwritten?
I had heard that this was a good book, it is a high star rating, and so I thought another Patterson book that should be a good read. What I didn't realize at the time I ordered the book, was that the actual author is Maxine Paetro while Patterson only placed his name on the book to get sales apparently. I will never read another book that has the name Maxine Paetro listed as an author or co-author.
Reading the description of the book it sounded very interesting and had a good storyline, so I thought for sure I would enjoy the story. Sadly, I was disappointed. The buildup sounded much better than the actual writing made it in the end.
Firstly, there was a lot of wasted time building up the narrative, much of which led me to put the book down over and over again. When it finally became interesting and fast-paced enough to read through the poor writing style, bam it's done.
Speaking of poor writing style, let's get into that starting with the excessive use of: I said, s/he said...said...said...said... Nearly every dialogue in the entire book began with the words he, or she, or I said, and on the rare occasion ended with I said, he said, or she said! Does Maxine Paetro not realize there are more ways to introduce or end dialogue, than using the word "said" so abusively! She even asked questions, but used the introduction of, I said rather than the appropriate, I asked, or some other variant . For example: * Conklin said, "killed question why?"* The sentence clearly ends in a question mark. The sentence clearly deserves to be written as "Conklin asked", not "Conklin said"! The use of said was used so much as to make the writing unclear at points, and created the need to reread parts in order to understand what was actually going on in the story. The book is just 380 pages long, around 77,000 words, and use the word "said" roughly a thousand times or more...I lost count. While counting I noticed, "I said" at least 200 times! It was very monotonous, and distracted from the story. Add that to the he said, she said, specific character name said....bleh!
Sadly, the poor writing style Overshadowed the actual storyline which deserved better attention in editing. Is there no copyeditor when a big name is on the cover of a book? Is it not the job of an editor to make suggestions that make the book better? If this is in fact the 18th installment of the *Women's Murder Club*, it seems that the writer should have honed her skills a bit better at this point.
June 25, 2019
Lately, I have been finding that James Patterson's books have been hit and miss for me. One series though, that still stands strong and as a favorite is his Women's Murder Club which is co-written with Maxine Paetro. Something that I have noticed in the last few Women's Murder Club is that Lindsay Boxer's husband Joe M has been getting a bit more of a stronger storyline and focus than rather her cases. In the 18th Abduction, we have two storylines running through the book. We have Joe M's FBI case of ex- Serbian War Soldier who caused genocide and run a rape hotel in Bosnia etc. This starts with Joe meeting a woman called Anna on the side of the footpath outside the FBI building. She tells Joe her story of an evil man. This man was tried for his crimes, but given immunity and came to the US under a new name. Many thought that he had been dead for years. Seeing him has brought flashback and terrible memories for Anna and now with Joe and the FBI's help, they may be able to get him imprisoned via The Hague once and for all. The other storyline is the Woman's Murder Club - Lindsay's team has been tasked with finding and discovering what has happened to three teachers and who kidnapped them? Can the team find them before they are killed as the days tick by, the less likely the chances are of them being found alive? Find out in 18th Abduction - Book #18 in the Woman's Murder Club by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. I am now looking forward to reading Book #19 coming out later this year.
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