Rating: 
Summary: Good suspense, but perspective is tilted and inaccurate
Review: Got the CD unabridged version of '2nd Chance' to provide some entertainment on a long road journey this past weekend. It's a good 'listen' overall, but skewed in two key areas I find troublesome. The main problem, and one that another reviewer keyed in on, is the female lead role written by a male author. I don't know why, but very few male authors give a female lead a credible (i.e. a true female perspective) voice in a chosen role and it really shows in '2nd Chance'. A good example of this is Patterson's insistence on having her constantly call the bad guys 'bastards'. In one dialogue, she calls him a bastard three consecutive times in as many sentances. I'm not saying a female isn't capable of it, but it comes across as a male saying it with a female reading it. For me, it imparted an air of true plastic several times in the dialogue. Another big issue I have (and admittedly perhaps influenced by Tom Clancy's superlative accuracy) is, to be blunt, the author understands zero, zip, nada about firearms. Period. He constantly throws out the typical fodder for a firearm-related situation, but he is technically inept in understanding them. An example goes something like this, 'I drew my Glock and flicked the safety off...'. Three separate times, our heroine flicks her Glock's safety off. Only one problem with this: A Glock doesn't HAVE a safety; it uses a 'Safe Action' trigger with NO external safety. There is NOTHING to 'flick off'! He hits it again with a description of a PSG sniper rifle, stating a bad guy 'screwed the barrel onto the weapon, et al', but again, no research. A PSG doesn't have a barrel that can be taken off the weapon. Guess it could, if you had access to a 150 ton press, but most bad guys dispense with carrying these around. More than twice he expounds on the use of a 40 caliber projectile; once from the PSG sniper rifle (which is 30 caliber, not 40) and again in our heroine's fathers old police revolver (again, they were .38 or .357 caliber. The .40 caliber didn't even come into popularity until the 1980s; long after our lead character's father had retired from policework). I'll admit upfront, Tom Clancy spoiled me on this, but I did expect more from Patterson. Overall, an enjoyable book, but one that has the air of a creation for Oprah's Book Club, rather than the creation of a true heroine raised up from the ranks of homicide detective, having the necessary 'street experience' one would have coming from this background. And since he created her as such, I was expecting more in a technical background rather than a 'As a male, I THINK this is what a female would say' viewpoint. Picky? Yeah, it's picky. And at [a good price] for the CD set, I feel more than justified in being picky.
Rating: 
Summary: GREAT FOLLOW-UP TO 1ST TO DIE.
Review: Patterson just keeps cranking out good books. This is another example. Read 1st TO DIE; then this one. You'll be glad you did.
Rating:
Summary: Patterson keeps it going!
Review: James Patterson's ability to create complex psychological thrillers, which celebrate friendships, dedication and wit, continues in his second Women's Murder Club novel. I love that the female protagonists are real people who have hurts, lives and dimension. They are allowed to love without being weak or overly romantically foolish and they are above all intelligent thinking women. 2nd Chance takes the reader on a wild ride of what appears to be a racially motivated string of murders. However, it goes deeper then that. The murder seems to be after several members of the Women's Murder Club. Be prepared to be swept away with a fast paced story and some new characters. I found myself several times gasping and saying out loud "No Way!" But just like always, James Patterson shows us there is a way.
Rating: 
Summary: Used to like the man
Review: I own almost all of the author's books in hardback version but after finally getting 1/2 way through this book I have decided that I will never buy another one of his books again. His heroine, Lindsay, smiles disgruntley too often for me. I think the other person listed as an author is the one who really wrote this book. Too bad, James Patterson, I was one of your best fans but I am going on to other and better and more original authors to collect their books, say, Christopher Moore, for example who wrote Blood Sucking Fiends and his latest, Lamb. Sad about this, but it is not a very good book and the words are too big on the page to make it look like you are getting something. Is he being paid by the weight of the book, or what?
Rating: 
Summary: Womens' Murder Club Revisited
Review: James Patterson's "2nd Chance" is the second in his series featuring the Womens' Murder Club. This sequel reads quickly, as do all Patterson's books, but lacks the "on the edge of your seat" quality that readers experienced in "First to Die." This book seems to be more involved with the development of the characters comprising the story rather than the plot itself. The book was enjoyable, just not as "thrilling."
Rating:
Summary: The Grip Broke
Review: This novel started off to be a page turner. BUT, when the Chief of Detectives of the San Francisco PD tails the suspect by herself in her personal vehicle with her non-functioning cell phone (her personal car didn't have a police radio??? and the cell phone battery was discharged and for some reason, she couldn't charge it in her car!!!) the story lost all credibility and lost me as well. A huge breakdown. Patterson should have been more creative as to why Linsey had neither a functioning cell phone nor a police comm system in her car. I barely finished the remaining third of the book.
Rating:
Summary: Very, Very Good!
Review: This is the Patterson I've come to enjoy. The story moved at asteady pace and was easily read in one sitting. Loved the short chapters. Looking forward to the next novel in this series. Highly recommend.
Rating:
Summary: Keep 'em coming!
Review: I really admire James Patterson's ability to write such varied characters. Writing as an African-American man (Alex Cross series) or as a white, female homicide detective (Lindsay Boxer series), he's just fantastic and very believable. I liked this second Lindsay Boxer book even better than the first. I've already loaned my copy to a friend!
Rating:
Summary: It starts out slow but then BANG!!!!
Review: I enjoyed the 2nd book in the Lindsey Boxer series. The first half of the book was kind of slow but when it picks up, it really kicks. Lindsey teams up once again with her three girlfriends to analyze murder cases. The 4 women are intelligent and I like the way they work together to help each other. They are true friends. Lindsey's father makes an unexpected return in this book and stirs up some bad memories for her. But his return is not for nothing and he ends up helping Lindsey out of a pretty tight jam. I would recommend 2nd Chance for all of you who have read First to Die. I makes a good 2nd book in the series. I hope the third one is not too far behind.
Rating:
Summary: After a few hit-and-miss affairs, he's back on track
Review: I don't know about you, but whenever i am confronted with a new James Patterson book, i always allow myself a small tingle of anticipation as i open that first page. I know i'm in for a great ride. When that ride is not as good as i hoped (See Violets are Blue, Pop Goes the Weasle) the disappointment is profound. but when it isn't, that just sets you off eagerly awaiting the next one even more. This book was released in the US a couple of weeks before it was in the UK, so i was able to read the reviews of it to see what i would be in for. Would he have imrpoved on his last book? i was glad to see that it apparently had. And, i can confirm that yes, this book is a fine return to form from James Patterson. 1st to Die was a very fine thriller, but there was no character development, the writing was oversimplified, and the plot resolution was overly complicated. I like twists, but not ones i have trouble understanding. The most simple twists are the most effective. That said, i enjoyed the first outing in the "Women's Murder Club" series (even though the club has incredibly little relevance to the case's investigation. and just seems like a device for Patterson to give in to sentimentality and girl-ish ness which i'm sure is a little patronising to some women.) It had potential. And now, with 2nd Chance, James Patterson has realised that potential, and has brought us his best serial-killer thriller since Cat And Mouse. Roses are Red was a fine book, but too short and with a dubious end. Pop Goes The Weasle was just silly. Violets Are Blue was awful. 1st to Die suffered a little from oversimplification. But now, he has really returned to form. Whilst this still doesn't contain the great writing he showed us in his first couple of books, it is still an excellent thriller. the plot is great, He doesn't overcomplicate it, and adds a really great twist at the end which works really well, precisely because it is simple. Yet still shocking and unexpected. Character development has really been lacking in some of his latest books, but with this book the character development is very good. it's subtle so that you're not really aware of it, but it's definitely there. This time around the four women are much more rounded and believeable characters. His subsidiary characters are also drawn very well and effectively. They add weight to the story. In Violets Are Blue there were far too many killings, practically one every ten pages. Here he has wisely cut down on the deaths. This adds much more emotion to the book, and we get time to feel sad at the character's deaths. As well as there actually being some real investigation, which makes for compelling reading (especially when Lindsay goes to visit Weiscz in the prison, a la "Silence of the Lambs"). The inclusion of Lindsay's father into the complex plot is good, and again gives weight to the story and Lindsay's character. It makes it more personal and interesting to read. Overall, this is a very good thriller. Everything has been improved upon since his latest efforts. the plot is exciting, the book is a pageturner, full of emotion (which Patterson is undeniably very good at evoking). This new series is definitely going to shine. I cannot wait for the 3rd installment... I am not naive, i realise that this book was co-authored with someone else. I expect that that is the reason why it is such an improvement. I suspect that this book is good not because of James Patterson, but because of Andrew gross. I think people should be aware of the fact that the improvement is likely to be due to the efforts of Mr Gross, and, as such, we should thank heaven for him. Well done Mr Gross :)
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