James Patterson

Maxine Paetro

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.

The 18th Abduction

chloe mcpherson

Book: The 18th Abduction
Author: James Patterson & Maxine Paetro 
Rating: 3/5
Book 18 - Women's Murder Club

Review:
We are thrown back 5 years prior when Lindsay is investigating a case where 3 school teachers have gone missing while her husband Joe is pursuing a case where a notorious war criminal who is supposed to be dead resurfaces in the streets of San Francisco.

I thought this was an okay read, with these books there's never really anything shocking to them but the chapters are short so you can fly through these books. Fun and quick books is sometimes what you need even if sometimes they aren't so memorable.

Jessica Williamson

2.25 Stars

Friends, I'm pretty sure this is going to be my last venture into the women's murder club series. The part of me that has been reading this series since the tv show was cancelled in 2007 is going to be sad. The part of me that has been reading this shit series for the past 10 years or so is going to be so fucking happy. This series started off pretty great, book 4 was my favorite. Around book 7 it took a serious nose-dive and since then, only book 15 was able to bring some hope to me that the series would take an upturn. YET AGAIN, here we are with me telling you the same things over, and over:

Women's Murder Club who? Clare has maybe three scenes. Cindy is mentioned twice. I honestly can't even remember if they mentioned Yuki (or Jill, depending on the time period of this book because it was set 5 years in the past and well, that's a whole other bullet point).

THE LIMIT DOES NOT EXIST! And neither do time lines apparently. This book was set 5 years in the past (though we're never given an ideal of when the "present day" parts take place so who even KNOWS how long it's set prior to book 17) and despite the fact that authors expect me to keep up with their ridiculous 18 books of plot, they don't seem to be able to do it themselves. There were things in here that knew off the bat were completely inconsistent with what I've read in this series before but it was all just a hot fucking mess.

SPOILER? WHY DOES THE VILLAIN ALWAYS DIE? Basically every time they catch a bad guy, he ends up dead. Maybe not always, but ALMOST always and like, why do I even bother if I already know the outcome of the story?

MYSTERY PLOTS? WHO NEEDS 'EM? I knew what was going to happen in this book by around page 40. Why did I have to read another 360 pages? 

Let's just go over some basic complaints. As always, Joe is like this cardboard cut out perfect character, I'm sure I liked him at some point (book 15 probably) but I just can't stand to read about him anymore. 

The pacing was god awful and the whole thing was pretty slow over all. I just don't feel like I got much out of this book other than my Lindsay Boxer fix, and I don't think that's enough to keep me interested.

Rating Breakdown:
Plot **
Pace **
Cover **
Characters ***
Writing ***
Enjoyment **

Overall, not worth your time, even for fans of the series.

Krystal Pollock

Christy Talley

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. 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.

Josh Orwick

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.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.

The 18th Abduction

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