22 Seconds: (Women’s Murder Club 22) (Women's Murder Club)

Product Information

A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy. In addition, to the primary plots, Dr. Claire Washburn, SF’s chief medical examiner has been called in to help autopsy the dead body of a six-year-old girl, found dead under mysterious circumstances in a small rural town a short flight from SF. Before Claire knows it, she finds herself discovering awful secrets that are heartbreaking.

There is a new law in California, limiting firearms availability and legality and certain sections of the populace are protesting. At the same time law enforcement is hearing rumours of a large smuggling operation bringing in illegal drugs and guns. In all honesty this is not going to be a proper review of this book. Actually this book probably deserves two stars. Why the five star rating then? Boxer and her team of detectives. someone is killing cops in the San Francisco and Oakland area and attaching a mysterious note that reads “You Talk, You Die”.Up front disclosure. 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 very hit and miss over the last couple of years with more weak outings than not.

Harry Bosch and the Lincoln Lawyer team up to exonerate a woman who’s already served five years for killing her ex-husband. I own and have read every single Women's Murder Club books. I was disappointed in the last one because the writing was and characters were flat and formulaic. One more, this just might be my last one, if I could return it I would, that is how disappointed I am. This year’s outing - “22 Seconds”- has two primary plots, involving Lindsay and Joe, and two subplots, involving Claire and Cindy. Yuki plays more of a supporting role this time.It would seem that there are crooked cops all through the shipment’s route, turning head or greasing wheels to ensure these illegal items make their way onto the streets. As Boxer and her husband, a veteran of various US Agencies, work to discover the truth, they come to the realisation that they could be putting themselves and their family at risk. It starts off with a new restrictive gun aw in San Francisco (SF) that is bringing pressure to Lindsay At the same time, Cindy Thomas is working on her true-crime thriller about Evan Burke, a high-profile killer that was caught in the previous book of the series. Senior crime reporter Cindy Thomas is writing a biography of Evan Burke, a notorious serial killer who sits in solitary confinement in San Quentin. She’s kidnapped by thugs wanting her to talk about her best friend, Lindsay Boxer, who’s an SFPD homicide detective and the story’s main character. San Francisco has a restrictive new gun law, and gun-totin’ folks everywhere have their boxer shorts in a twist. A national resistance movement has formed—Defenders of the Second—whose motto is “We will not comply.” They find it outrageous that the new law makes it illegal to own a gun that can kill 50 people with a single clip. Meanwhile, lots of bodies show up: A young girl disappears and is later found dead in a ditch, and ex-cops are found dead with their lips stapled shut and “You talk, you die” written on their foreheads. An inmate is found hanged in prison. And “a massive but unspecified load of military-style weaponry was en route from Mexico to the City by the Bay.” In a “frustrating, multipronged case,” there’s a harrowing shootout memorialized in a video showing “twenty-two of the scariest seconds” of Boxer’s life. She’s an appealing series hero with loving family and friends, but she may arrive at a crossroads where she has “to choose between my work and [my] baby girl.” The formulaic story has unmemorable writing, but it’s entertaining and well told. You probably won’t have to worry about the main characters, who have thus far survived 21 adventures. Except for the little girl, you can expect people to get what they deserve. It's relatively mild as crime novels go, but the women characters are serious, strong, and admirable. I WANT to like this book. But its just not good enough. The vocabulary choices he makes aren't always character appropriate or situational appropriate. Where did the police procedure researcher go?

The plot has a bit of everything, shootouts, a cunning plot, double crosses, tension and even a tug on the heartstrings. The other characters of the Women’s Murder Club, Cindy, Claire and Yuki, do get a mention, although Claire’s story is unrelated and obviously included to give her a voice but this is very much the Lindsay and Joe (Molinari, her husband) show. He’s consulting with the FBI on an extradition warrant and she’s investigating the gun smuggling rumours and a series of potentially related murders.I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for an advance copy of 22 Seconds, the twenty second novel to feature Detective Lindsay Boxer and her friends, known collectively as the Women’s Murder Club.