Rating: 
Summary: strong ¿Women¿s Murder Club¿ thriller
Review: San Francisco Homicide lieutenant Lindsay Boxer is jogging with assistant DA Jill Barnhardt when the cop sees bruises on the shoulder of her companion. Before she asks about the injury, an explosion occurs in a nearby townhouse. Lindsay rushes inside rescuing a child, but three are dead at the scene.Apparently the terrorist group August Spies successfully targeted a CEO and his family and killed them. Lindsay's investigation of the crime coincides with the inquiries of Joe Molinari of the Office of Homeland Security. Joe and Lindsay are attracted to one another while Jill's spouse has turned abusive towards her. Then there are her other two pals that make up the club, medical examiner Claire Washburn and Chronicle reporter Cindy Thomas who help with the case not realizing the danger as they get to close to the killers. The latest "Women's Murder Club" thriller is an action-packed tale that never lets up until the final moment. The story line is apropos as the "third world war" against terrorism has come home to San Francisco. Though the spousal abuse subplot seems off based on Jill's strength of character (from the previous books), somehow the authors pull it off with realism and bring it back into the main plot. The budding romance between Joe and Jill (at least it's not Jack) further humanizes the heroine. Fans of exhilarating thrillers with real people including villains who believe in their cause will enjoy the latest work of these powerful females. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: Intriguing plot driven by great characters
Review: With "3rd Degree," James Patterson does a nice job of creating characters that drive the story, rather than vice-versa. If you're tired of plot-driven novels with thin, and often cliché, characters, then you're likely to dig this one. If you're into writers like Patterson, John Grisham, Brad Meltzer, etc., then there's a new writer you should check out: Greg Ippolito. His new novel, "Zero Station," is absolutely terrific, and an excerpt is available online for FREE. He's still a relative unknown (a friend turned me onto his work)...but this is a must-read. You can check him out and read the excerpt at: www.ZERO-STATION.net. Don't miss it!
Rating:
Summary: BOXER REBELLION
Review: James Patterson has proven to be a master of quick, terse narrative and shocks galore. In "3rd Degree" he does it again, pulling some major surprises, while serving up a tasty and timely tale of terrorism. The relationship between the four heroines continues to cement and become even more credible. Linday's romance with Joe Molinari is also a plus, let's hope it continues. The plot has some really nasty people who kill in the name of justice, but are merely serving their own warped concept of world peace.
This is an exciting entry in the Womens Murder Club, and I look forward to more from Patterson.
Rating:
Summary: not a waste at all
Review: i am a huge james patterson fan and this book was no exception. it was a fast read and i was totally surprised. it keeps you interested and waiting for the next page. i can't wait to hear more from the club.
Rating: 
Summary: Well I Never!!!
Review: I never thought I'd see the day when a James Patterson book, could put me to sleep. What a colassal bore!!! He sold out the Women's Murder Club and put in this dribble with Lindsay falling in love - what?? One of the girls is gone forever and I found myself saying "so what?" How promising he made them in the first 2 books. Mr. Patterson totally missed me with this one. That means that he will have to earn my trust again. The next book of his that comes out, I will pick it up from the library - not spend my hard earned on it. I'm pulling for the next book. He has so entertained me in the past.
Rating:
Summary: Please don't spoil it for others
Review: I normally love reading the reviews - it helps me decide on a book when I'm going back and forth on my decision to buy it. Although I already knew I wanted to buy 3rd Degree, I checked out the reviews. A few posts ago, someone completely gave away a MAJOR twist in the book. I shouldn't even say "gave away" because that might mean they hinted at it and I figured it out -and that would be alright. But no, they flat out said what happened in the end. I seriously couldn't believe it. Everyone is entitled to say what they want, but this section is called "Reviews" and not "The Ending of the Book". Please put "SPOILER" in your subject if you're going to insist on giving away the endings of books.
Rating: 
Summary: Wait For The Paperback
Review: Being a huge fan of James Patterson, this was a disappointment. As one reviewer stated, what a lot of white pages. Next time I won't be wasting my money on a hardback.
Rating:
Summary: (4+) Action and Radical Politics for Patterson Fans
Review: 3RD DEGREE represents the epitome of the style that James Patterson (recently with Andrew Gross) has continued to refine into a very successful formula for creating bestselling novels - nonstop action; a relatively straightforward storyline with just enough complexity to keep his readers' interest; very short punchy chapters which make it very easy for the reader to get caught up in the action (in this case the 111 chapters average only 2 1/2 pages each); and finally in the case of his series (first the Alex Cross books, now the Women's Murder Club), characters with whom his readers become increasing familiar. Several of his recent books have also included an historical component which I have found intriguing. Of course, the setting of THE JESTER (review 3/15/03) in the time of The Crusades was a complete departure from his previous novels, but previously FOUR BLIND MICE (review 11/25/02) and now also 3RD DEGREE have storylines which involve the Vietnam War era in some way. SFPD Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer and her border collie Martha have just ended their morning jog at the Marina when an explosion rocks a town house across the street. Lindsay risks her life to rescue a young boy and three adult bodies are discovered when the rubble is searched. The investigating team believes that a bomb fashioned from high powered explosives triggered the blast, and the mystery deepens when there is no trace of an infant who lived there and a note is discovered claiming credit for the blast that is reminiscent of the radical rhetoric emanating from the Berkeley campus during the civil rights agitation and Vietnam War protests of the sixties. Very predictably for a James Patterson story, the violence escalates and additional murders occur. The vitriolic notes and emails received from the killers indicate that the agenda of the killers is political, with echoes of the recent anti-globalism protests that have turned vioent at meetings of the WTO and similar venues. Then, the stakes escalate when one of the four women members of the club is herself targeted by the killers. In addition to the political dimension of the story, there is a personal angle as well (as has gradually evolved in the Alex Cross series). Given the high profile of the case and the fact that it appears that the terrorists are targeting high level political functionaries, Joe Molinari, a high ranking member of the Department of Homeland Security arrives to coordinate the Feds' activities with the SFPD search for the killers . As Joe and Lindsay team up on the investigation, it appears increasingly likely that Joe may become an affiliate member of the Women's Murder Club or that he and Lindsay may team up in their own series. That is one of the reasons for my suspicions that there will be more terorist threats in future books. We are continually reminded that there are always additional soldiers willing to continue the battle, and the potential ambiguity created by the conclusion reminded me of the levels of deceit engineered by the criminal nicknamed the Mastermind who taunted Alex Cross for so long. Of course this book makes no pretense at being great literature, and since the reader is introduced to the perpetrators early in the book, the tension concerns only how much violence the terrorists will commit before they will be apprehended and how they will be identified and caught. Nevertheless, I got caught up in the story and finished it in an afternoon. I enjoyed it more than many of Patterson's books for three reasons. First, I actually found the plot enjoyable, maybe because I remember the violence during the sixties so vividly and this effectively built on events of that era. The juxtaposition of the claim that the perpetrators (sometimes misguided, often manipulated) of such violence were seeking "justice" and yet were willing to use tactics that were anything but just to achieve their goals was vividly illustrated in this book.. Second, it did not have the detailed descriptive passages of violence that often are an integral part of the author's books. ( I can understand terror, torture and mutilation without reading about the gruesome details.) Third, it actually raised some interesting issues in the context of the story, even if only superficially examining them. So, if you want a quick read that is quintessential Patterson, and can ignore the usual loose ends and lack of character development, you should enjoy this book. If you are looking for a quick read where the solution to the violence is incidental to the wonderful interaction among the characters, then pick up BAD BUSINESS ( review 3/17/04), the latest Spenser novel by Robert Parker, instead. And if you want a full length murder mystery with a complicated plot and wonderful character development, you should read THE LAST GOODBYE by Reed Arvin (review 2/17/04). Tucker Andersen
Rating:
Summary: I still like Alex Cross better!!
Review: Decent read but not as good as the Alex Cross series. I would still recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put the book down!
Review: I've read all of James Patterson's books.. and am amazed! I especially like reading the ones which are set in Washington, DC.. Looking forward to No. 4!
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