Rating: 
Summary: Should be in the top 10 "Worst Books Ever" list
Review: It is quite a statement to say that this is the worst book I've ever read, but...It was the worst book I've ever read! The script was pedestrian, bordering on conceptual plagerism as it was a cross between the Bruce Willis movie "Striking Distance" and Anthony Hopkins in "Silence of the Lambs." First, the prison visits by the lead detective were almost comedic in their lack of realism. The failed attempt to re-create the Hannibal Lector mind-games was embarrasingly transparent and left me wondering if Patterson's editor asked for his notes instead of readng the full manuscript that he handed in. Any editor that would allow this angle in the book without subjecting it to some basic scrutiny by those that actually visit prisons and interview inmates, should be demoted. But the more glaring hilarity and proof that Patterson (or his editor) decided against a professional legal/law enforcement consultant was the rambling dialogue concerning whether the Detective could get inside the suspect's apartment. HAS PATTERSON EVER HEARD OF A SEARCH WARRANT? Based on the most conservative interpretation of the 4th Amendment requirements, she could have obtained access to the apartment via a search warrant 75 pages BEFORE she illegally broke in. In many places you are left scratching your head, saying to yourself, "I'm no editor, but did I really just read that??!! Similar episodes of defying common sense appear frequently. Usually, editors pick up on this stuff but in this book, I think Patterson just Fedex'd his manuscript straight to the printer. If it underwent ANY revision at ANY stage, I would shudder to think of reading it in its original form!
Do not waste your time reading this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Who wrote this???
Review: I was overcome with the feeling that I was reading someone else's writing - not James Patterson. Sure it had his quick, choppy style - but it felt forced - edited to fit the style. In fact, at times it seemed that essential parts were simply chopped away to allow for short, quick chapters.
That said,anyone from Long island will love the setting and east end mentions.
Rating: 
Summary: Note to Mr. Patterson: About Time!
Review: As a big fan (or former big fan, actually) or Patterson's Alex Cross thrillers, I was more than disappointed with the last few - his most recent, "Violets Are Blue," was just plain ludicrous, a good idea for a novel executed badly. I enjoyed "1st to Die" last year, Patterson's first novel in the Women's Murder Club series, and just today finished "2nd Chance" --About time, Mr. Patterson, to get the formula right again! Lindsay Boxer, newly promoted to Lieutenant of the Homicide Division in San Francisco thanks to her work with the Bride and Groom killer ("1st to Die"), is confronted with the case of a seemingly-random shooting of a little African-American girl outside of a church. Someone with a rifle has opened fire on the young church choir, and with all the shots fired it seems a miracle there was only one fatality. That is, until Lindsay's good friend and fellow Murder Club member Claire Washburn, the city's M.E., informs her that two bullets - one nearly on top of the other - ended the young girl's life; and that the marksmanship of the shots was such that she feels the girl was the target all along . . . So begins what seems to be a series of racially-motivated murders terrorizing San Francisco. Digging deeper, Lindsay discovers a second, disturbing connection the victims had to each other, other than race - each was related to (or was themselves) a city cop. Is there a serial cop killer loose? Why are all the victims black? Further complications arise when Lindsay's father comes back into the picture - and her life - after an absence of over 20 years. And as the body count gets higher, the shootings closer to home, Lindsay realizes she must get to the solution FAST - even when her own father seems to suddenly be connected to the case . . . This book has all the action and gunfire and suspense typical of a James Patterson novel, but in all honesty this is the first book I've read of his in awhile where I really cared about the characters. Lindsay, Claire, Cindy and Jill are all developed a bit more in this book, especially Lindsay's personal life, and you get a better feel for their personalities and care a bit more about what happens to them. The identity of Chimera, the serial killer, is not entirely surprising but a nice twist since Patterson drops a few red herrings along the way to make you think it might be someone else. With Patterson you can expect three or four or even five twists in the plot before you get to the last page, there were only a couple here but the last 40-50 pages made me late for work, and that's always a good sign when reading a thriller. I am wary of the release of "Four Blind Mice" as it is an Alex Cross novel, but please Mr. Patterson, let's hear more from the Women's Murder Club soon!
Rating: 
Summary: big fan of the murder club
Review: I really like the pace of Pattersons books; however i am slightly losing interest in the alex cross series. The womens murder club is good. i like the different experiences and talents of the woman and how they work together. This book was very hard to put down and a very quick read.
Rating:
Summary: Same Old Patterson
Review: Same Old Patterson. Sorry I tried to read one more of his books. As usual, his characters lack substance. The don't become real to the reader. Patterson writes very superficial books: shallow characters, stereotypical villian, catering to "political correctness." Very easy to ID the real villian in the book once you were introduced to him.....how many times before have we seen this "perp" in movies or other books? The anger that he assigns to his characters is out of place and doesn't lead to productive thinking or enjoyable reading. His characters are so plastic that when they express this all-consuming anger it just exposes the poor job of character creation that much more. His lead character just becomes another hyped-up, profanity riddled, "new" woman as created by Hollywood. No more Patterson for me.
Rating:
Summary: Not up to par
Review: I have become a big fan of James Patterson, especially his Alex Cross series. I really enjoyed the change of pace in "First to Die" but was pretty disappointed with "2nd Chances". This book did not have the depth of most of his books. Both the plot and characters were pretty shallow. I bought the CD version of this book on tape and I didn't care much for the voice of the reader. This is just personal preferance but it detracted somewhat from my enjoyment.
Rating:
Summary: Another Page Turner
Review: This is another great book. It moves along quickly and has you guessing until the end. The characters are well written and it doesn't matter if you read the first book, as the author always gets you caught up with information from the previous book. I would definately recommend it and hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Rating:
Summary: They Keep Getting Better!
Review: I actually liked this one better than the 1st to Die. 2nd Chance had more suspense and better story line. It was written in the traditional James Patterson style, but it had a little romance (Cindy and the minister), a lot of suspense, some real issues (Boxer and her father), and then the Womens Murder Club style to get together and solve the mysttery. The Murder Club even had a close one and that brought a lot of suspense to the novel. I thought this was a well written novel and makes me that more anxious for the next one to come out. I do hope the mystery is truly hard to solve, because that make the storyline that much better. 2nd Chance was a little difficult to solve, and that is what made it good and easy to read. You couldn't put it down until you found the suspect!
Rating:
Summary: patterson is back and better!
Review: What a pleasure to read the "old"Patterson who left Alex Cross behind and moved to San Fransico with new characters. I haven't read the first book in this seriesbut he picks up with fast action in the beginning and carries it right up to the end. The four women involved in solving the crimes are belivable and interact well. Why Patterson calls them The Women's Murder Club doesn't click in with their purpose.But the characters' skills blend in to solve murders. The DA, newsreporter, medical examiner and police detective make use of theirknowledge and work toward a commongoal...catch the killer. This time the killer is targeting the police detective in his list of victims. I had given up on Patterson after "Roses are Red" but now I'm back to reading his books again. A page turner that keeps you guessing, I say "Well done and welcome back, Mr. Patterson!"
Rating:
Summary: Same Old Plot
Review: The book is the second in the Women's Murder Club Series, who got together to solve the bride and groom murders in '1st to die.' In '2nd Chance,' Lindsey, still grieving over the death of her Chris, was promoted lieutenant of her department. Other changes were happening in her friends' life, with a surprise pregnancy popped up by one of them in the middle of the book. However, their personal lives took second fiddle when they got together again to solve another puzzling murder. It all started when a choir group, upon leaving church, were shot by an unknown assailant. One black girl lay dead. Though apparently it was made to show that it was a random shooting, Lt. Lindsay and her team found out it was not. The black girl was a target. When this fact was leaked out, everybody presumed it was a racially-charged murder. Patterson guides the viewers in realizing that her death and those of others were not only based on race. This book will never disappoint diehard Patterson fans, but sadly it will never whet their appetite for more, either. As a reader, I avidly follow new releases of my favorite authors, and James Patterson is one of them. However, when I finished this book, I felt something that I never felt after reading his books before. I've always felt the mind-tingling suspense, the excitement in finding out whodunnit, and a sense of justice when the lead character gets the bad guy/girl. After reading '2nd Chance," however, I started feeling discontented about his plots. It's all the same old stuff! Brilliant and endearing protagonist, a sinister baddie, more twists and turns to boggle your head, enough misery heaped on the protagonist that even Job cannot take, and the most tiring of all is the use of twinning to thwart the audience in determining who the killer really is.
The 'twinning' method of Patterson was very effective in his earlier books, especially 'Kiss the Girls' but using such method over and over and over again makes this old fan tired. All in all, the book is fast paced and suspenseful enough, and a good book to enjoy when you have time in your hands. But beware to the old fans, though, its a 2nd serving of the same old, same old.
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