3rd Degree

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable, fast-paced read...
Review: While I was in the emergency room with my son yesterday, I pretty much started and finished the book 3rd Degree by James Patterson and Andrew Gross. This is the latest installment of his Women's Murder Club series, and it was an enjoyable read.

Detective Lindsey Boxer is jogging along one day when the house she passes literally blows up. She rushes in to save a child, but three other adults die in the fire. She quickly determines that it was not an accident, and the killer(s?) has left a manifesto demanding the reform of corporate greed. Shortly after that explosion, another prominent businessman dies by a massive overdose of rictin, and the city knows a terrorist organization is on the loose. They threaten a G3 economic summit meeting in San Francisco in a week unless their demands are met. The race is then on to find out who the killers are, and what motivation they have for what they are doing. The subplots involve (among other things) Lindsey's budding romantic involvement with the deputy director of Homeland Security who is also on this case.

Fast-paced writing, with really short chapters which keep you thinking "just one more chapter, then I'll put it away". Plenty of character development, and he makes some good points on how the "have nots" of society are ignored and exploited by the "haves". While you quickly learn who some of the killers are, you are kept in the dark about motives until the end. Good stuff. I also find it interesting how Patterson (a white guy) writes novels with main characters who are black (Alex Cross) and female (Lindsey Boxer). Not often that you see a writer go cross-cultural AND cross-gender.

Rating:
Summary: Very satisfying
Review: While not the nailbiter that some of his others works are, this Patterson novel is better than the majority of other reads out on the market nowadays. Of the three books I've come across recently, (LITTLE CHILDREN, Jackson McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD, and this one) 3RD DEGREE is probably the most satisfying. All three of these were excellent and all were completely different, but 3RD DEGREE was the most entertaining. A highly recommended and compelling read.

Rating:
Summary: A Top-Notch Twisty Thriller
Review: Patterson does it again with this latest installment in the Women's Murder Club series, and even takes the excitement up a notch from previous books. The only other writer in this league is one Patterson once offered advice to: John Robert Marlow, whose first book NANO is--like Patterson's--also set in San Francisco. Looking forward to more from both!

Rating:
Summary: SEARING THRILLER!
Review: Apart from the break-neck pace, I love the way Patterson squeezes in contemporary facts and events in his thrillers.

This latest in the Women's Murder Club series is every bit as nailbiting as the first two, but with a slight twist: this time, the solution to a grisly string of bombings cannot come without the expense of having to lose someone very close to our amateur detectives.

Riveting plot twists. Bullet paced turn of events. This novel packs in just about everything you would expect from a wholesome crime thriller. If you've read the first 2 in the series, you'd probably be even better off as you could relate more easily to the fears and idiosyncrasies of our intriguing protagonists.

So feed the cat, turn on the air conditioning and slip into bed with this very, very satisfying nailbiter.

Rating:
Summary: WOW !! GREAT shocker!!!
Review: I still can't believe what he did !!!! This book is the best one I have read in a long time that made me STOP and say WHOA and re-read a certain part again!!! I also have a feeling this will continue with the way it ended

Rating:
Summary: Certainly Not One of His Best Shots
Review: I read his books as soon as they come out and waited with baited breath for this one as I enjoyed the first two in this genre. I was disappointed. First, I didn't find the character development which was so great in his other books quite as believable in this book. Second, I didn't see what spousal abuse had to do with the story, and when Jill was killed, I couldn't figure out why (in the long run). I liked her character and looked forward to her in future books. I like the "out there" plots, but in the past everything has fit together.
It would be nice if our little star would get married.
I know he can't bring Jill back, but hopefully he doesn't kill off any other important parts.
Sorry! But I'm waiting for his next Alex Cross novel. And I'll probably buy it the day it comes out and read it right away and forgive him for this one.
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Rating:
Summary: Fast pace action.
Review: When Lindsay and Jill feel that nothing of can wreck an enjoyably quiet afternoon in San Francisco, a townhouse in front of them explodes. Thus ends the peacefulness and starts the adventure as "August Spies" starts a rampage of violent acts throughout the city driven under the umbrella of political terrorism. Just to drive the interest up a notch, the upcoming economic summit will surely be the idea target for "August Spies".

James Patterson is noted for fast-paced tales with twist and turns. However, some of the small points in the story just seemed to be thrown in with little reasoning because the writer appeared to run out of ideas to justify them. This doesn't affect the overall story, but it is a tad disturbing and something I hope the author leans away from in future projects. Still a recommended read.

Rating:
Summary: The Book Machine Needs a Rest
Review: I am an avid Patterson reader, having read all of the Alex Cross and Women's Murder Club books. I am amazed at Patterson's ability in the Alex Cross series to produce a good solid story and develop the characters and up until this book, I held the same opinion of the W.M.C. books. This one seemed to me like a book that was written in a very short amount of time. The plot seemed thrown together and the characters did not seem as seamless as in the past. I would be willing to wait a while for the next book if it translated into Patterson books of the past.

Rating:
Summary: August Spies
Review: Lindsay Boxer is back for her third novel, with the lives some of those in the Women's Murder Club not running as smoothly as desired the last thing Lindsay needs is for a terrorist group calling themselves August Spies to be murdering the world's financial heavyweights and decision makers every third day.

Although a good read the first half of this book does not have the usual can't put down Patterson brilliance. It vastly improves for the second half with the usual Patterson flair. Although this could be read as a stand alone novel you won't really feel the emotional turmoil within the Women's Murder Club without having gotten to know them from 1st to Die and 2nd Chance. 1st to die is the best of this series but this one is still worthwhile.

Rating:
Summary: Not Patterson's Best
Review: 3rd Degree was not a bad book. It simply doesn't live up to Patterson's potential. The book, the third in the promising Women's Murder Club series, gets away from many of the things that made the first two books in the series work. The plot relied heavily on Lindsey's character helping to solve the crime but the rest of the ladies were only superficially involved.

With that being said, the book was enjoyable and a fast read. The story was solid and started off strong with an explosion that rocked San Francisco and action that continued at a fast pace throughout most of the book. However, the story lacked any shocking plot twists that Patterson's books have become known for and the only real surprise comes early in the book. So while it is a fun read, don't expect anything earth shattering.