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Summary: LAST CHANCE
Review: Maybe readers should stop giving Patterson a second chance. This guy is a seriously bad writer, and I don't understand how anyone has given him more than one star. At least he has the guts to finally admit he has a ghostwriter, which he's probably had for the last ten books. His ghostwriter needs a ghostwriter. I took this one out of the library, but don't even bother to do that.
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Summary: If Only The Latest Cross Was This Good
Review: This is the Patterson I know. The last Cross novel was so bad I almost decided not to get this book, but I really liked the first novel in this series, so I decided to give this second one a try. This was vintage Patterson -- a taut, gripping story, well written, with an interesting plot that really held together. I read the 390 pages in a little less than 2 hours -- the book was that good. If only he could continue to write Cross novels as well as he writes this new series. For anyone who was as disturbed by his last poor effort as I was, you'll feel much better if you read this.
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Summary: It Was OK, Kind of a Let Down......
Review: This book, while a good read, lacked the excitement of 1st to Die. It did bring back most of the characters from the first book, but I didn't enjoy it as much as 1st to Die. To me, it lacked the heart pounding, page turning drama. I did LOVE the surprise at the end. It is still worth the read and most James Patterson fans will not be terribly disappointed.....
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Summary: Another Winner From The Master Of Suspence!
Review: 2nd Chance is a throwback the Patterson that everyone knows and loves... Suzannes Diary For Nicholas was decent, but a romance novel from America's favorite suspense novelist was not needed. However, Patterson is back on track with 2nd Chance.
The Women's Murder Club regroups after a young girl is shot to death outside of a San Francisco church. Quickly, one murder turns into several, and the women are working at breakneck speed to catch the killer before he strikes again. The book will keep you guessing till the end...
The only problem with 2nd Chance were the unnecessary dilemmas regarding the personal problems of one of the women. This distracted from the story, and never really went anywhere. Otherwise, this is a great book, and is definitely worth your money. 4.5 stars
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Summary: Great murder mystery, but characterization is bad
Review: 2nd Chance is James Patterson's best effort in awhile. A serial killer is killing black people and Lindey Boxer thinks she is dealing with a hate crime. Soon. Lindey and her Women's murder club realize there may be more to the killings than they realized. The murders and the clues add up and Boxer finally settles on a suspect only to realize there's a lot more to the killings than she realizes.While I enjoyed the murder mystery, it came real close to becoming extremely ridiculous. Patterson's last book, Violets are Blue, contains one of the worst, most contrived plots in the history of storytelling. Patterson has the habit of making every serial killer's motives a personal vendetta against Alex Cross. For awhile, I thought the killer in 2nd Chance was going to be doing his killing just to get back at Boxer, and it would be another rehash of a tired old plot. The killer's motives are somewhat personal against Boxer, but remain just far enough away from being just agains Boxer that I can tolerate the story. 2nd Chance is good because most of it is devoted to the murder mystery, and less time is devoted to the social lives of the characters. This is good because Patterson must be one of the worst writers around at characterization and relationships among characters. It is obvious that in Patterson's own personal life, he likes fine wine, fine gormet foods, literature (not fiction) and foreign films. In other words, the types of things the vast of majority of Americans enjoy such as beer and soda, cheeseburgers and pizza, John Grisham, and action movies don't appeal to Patterson. It's like he looks down on people who enjoys those things and it shows in his writing. Every single one of the the women's club members all read literature and cook only gourmet foods. It seems like Patterson is trying to set them apart by throwing in references to these obscure cultural references, and in doing so, all the characters blend together and sound the same. I'll give one example from 2nd Chance. There is a pastor from a inner city church named Aaron Winslow. He and Cindy Thomas of the club begin to date. Cindy is surprised to find out that Winslow has read the Bonesetter's Daughter and some book called A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. I don't know which is worse, that an inner city pastor reads those books, or that a reporter for a newspaper exresses surprise that he does. Then on a date they go to a bar and listen to blues and jazz music and see the movie "Chocolat". It seems even inner city pastors have elite tastes in Patterson's world. Also, Patterson has no idea about what pastors do. They believe in God. I found it quite funny when Winslow was giving a sermon about how hard someone worked and what a great person they were, Lindsey and Cindy were moved to tears at the "chilling, moving words" of Winslow. Patterson said Winslow was a great speaker then gave him mundane words to speak. Also at a eulogy, Winslow talked of service and loving one another and being kind, as if those traits were what he worshiped. Never once did Winslow mention God. Quite odd for a pastor who goes through a lot in this story. Also, Patterson implied that after one of the dates of blues, bars and foreign films, Cindy and Winslow slept together. Patterson needs to stick to murder and mystery. He has no idea about real lives of real people.
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Summary: James Patterson back up to speed.
Review: This book is wonderful. The kind you don't want to put down. I've been a fan of Patterson books since he began writing, have read everything he's ever written. All but one of his books I would highly recommend. Great plot, great characters, definetely a book worth reading. Only problem I have with Patterson is he doesn't write as fast as I read. Always wait impatiently for his next to go on sale
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Summary: Not as good as the first time
Review: I have read almost all of james pattersons novels and of course this is a reader too. BUT IT DOESN'T TOUCH 1ST TO DIE. Of course james will have you wondering what is going on and the person that you think is doing the crime isn't the person. I thought this sequeal was ok but it isn't nearly as good as 1st time
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Summary: Second Chance
Review: This second book of the Women's Murder Club series was a disappointment. There are contrived situations, as when the "brilliant" super-sleuth protagonist finds herself in a life-and-death situation, self-imposed, with a dead cell phone. Also, the relationship with her father is too pat and too undeveloped for him to move in with her. In addition, the ending is strange, an attempt on the part of the author to make sure you haven't guessed who the villain is.
The language is abominable and unbelievable. Every character has a plentiful supply of vulgarity, and each has no regard for the person spoken to. It is NOT believable that a high public official would swear like a sailor to a woman he has never met before! Gratuitous use of the F word.
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Summary: Enjoyable pageturner
Review: In this second installment to Patterson's Women's Murder Club series, the author takes the reader again on an enjoyable ride with a group of likeable characters. The plot twists and turns in true Patterson fashion, and he maintains the short chapters making it easy and quick to read. The only complaints I would have are these, first is his character development is a little lacking. The reader has a hard time getting attached to them. Second is that I've never liked the name Women's Murder Club. It sounds like something out of Scooby Doo. Put those things aside, and you have a fun read.
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Summary: Patterson returns...finally!
Review: James Patterson writes a great thriller. However...he hit a dry spell with VIOLETS ARE BLUE as a result of his seemingly incredible faux pas at the end of ROSES ARE RED (i.e. he TOLD us the identity of the Mastermind thus rendering one-half of the "BLUE" storyline impotent). Nevertheless, in 2ND CHANCE, the Women's Murder Club theme is solid and has panache. Our new hero, Lindsay Boxer, had her life ripped apart in the first rendition of Patterson's Women's Murder Club, 1ST TO DIE, simply an outstanding thriller if you've not read it. 2ND CHANCE opens with Lindsay, now a Lieutenant, on sabbatical attempting to heal the wounds inflicted upon her, mentally and physically, in 1ST. Although unsure of the timing of her return, it becomes etched in stone when a young girl is gunned downed in front of a church by a sadistic sniper. During her investigation, it quickly becomes apparent that this attack wasn't random rather, the young girl was a specific target. Further investigation leads Lindsay to a symbol, ultimately determined to be a Chimera. Just as quickly as the clues begin to dry up, an apparent suicide in Oakland is suddenly thrust into homicide status when Lindsay finds a chalk drawing of a Chimera at the scene. Lindsay now has her hands full with another serial. However, Lindsay has another problem; with the two murders linked, the murderer appears to be sending a racially-motivated message as both victims were black. The plot thickens with another sniper-like murder, this time the victim is a cop. However, the killer doesn't stop there. In bold fashion, he steps up and delivers an incredible blow to Lindsay and the City with the very public murder of a highly visible individual (I'll leave it to the unsuspecting reader to find out!). With the politicos calling the spree racial, the heat has been turned up to high. Although Lindsay is now incensed, her investigation appears to be sending the message that the murderer isn't targeting race. Just where is this sadistic sniper leading her? As introduced in 1ST, Lindsay calls upon her "investigative team," the members of the Women's Murder Club. Each member brings varied and pertinent skills and experience to the table. Claire is the medical examiner, Cindy, a newspaper reporter and Jill, the assistant D.A. As in 1ST, the Club is able, through its incredible spectrum of informational sources, to break down the mystique behind the Chimera and trace its roots...the prison system. 2ND CHANCE is Patterson's unheralded return to the thriller. While he appeared to be slumping in his last few Alex Cross renditions, 2ND CHANCE has the making of a solid performer. As always and almost in Patterson trademark form, 2ND CHANCE is a fast-paced read (a/k/a Patterson's "short" chapters) which makes the book tough to put down. The storyline remains relatively fresh throughout albeit corny in spots. One off-tangent (which ultimately becomes ON-tangent) line is Lindsay's reunion with her estranged father, Marty. Marty left his family when Lindsay was a teenager and now, he's come back to make amends with his daughter. Marty becomes a beneficial character; as such, its important to know that he was formerly a cop. Although 2ND CHANCE didn't "thrill" me the way 1ST TO DIE did, it is a fun, intriguing read. The members of the Women's Murder Club are intelligent and grounded...and fun. My hope is that Patterson continues to search for storylines which run the edge of the envelope. 2ND CHANCE won't disappoint.
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