The 9th Judgment

After a little break from Patterson I returned to Women's Murder Club with 9th Judgement. I've been stifling a little with the last few books I've read, for some reason my concentration hasn't been great.

From the moment I started Patterson's 9th Murder Club book I was hooked and finished it in under 48 hours. It was a brilliant and fast paced instalment reminiscent of the early ones in the series.

A serial killer is on the loose killing mothers and their young babies and caught in the middle is Lindsay Boxer. Tied alongside this story is that of a jewel thief targeting rich couples in San Francisco. Both stories equally intriguing and in this book nicely brought together.

The chapters seemed to fly past and it was nice this time not to have the obligatory court case running alongside the storyline and for focus to be on Boxer.

It is great to read Patterson as he's so fast paced as a writer and The Murder Club has been a joy to curl up with again.

I was doing pretty good with this one. It kept me entertained. I wasn't rolling my eyes at every other sentence Lindsay spoke (this is one of those series where I like the supporting characters better than the main one). I was thrilled that the “B” mystery wasn't a nonsensical throw away. Even better - the A and B mystery were actually connected I was even ok with the 2 dimensional, not going anywhere cheesy Marcus Dowling thing.

And then I got to the end. grr. Authors- when you come to the end of the story. It's the end. Stop writing. There is absolutely no need to add to the story. Really, there isn't. If there is a loose end or two, wrap it up quickly or leave it for the next book in the series. Don't add all kinds of melodrama i.e. don't out of the blue put the love interest in perilous danger in the epilogue to pull them right back out of it 1 1/2 pages later. It's not dramatic. It's a cheap trick that only serves to irritate the reader.

I wish I'd stopped reading when the mysteries were solved, I'd have been happier. So...probably 3.25 stars but I'm rounding down on this one.

Patterson's books always make great audiobooks. Not bogged down with heavy prose to lull you into sleep (not great when you're driving), and always fast-paced and tightly plotted, making you excited about the next chapter. Still, this isn't an awesome book to say the least. The plot was intriguing enough but the characters were all one dimensional. And then, there was this weird plot involving a plane crash towards the end. It was pointless and totally weird.

This book isn't one that will make you think at all; the kind of audiobook that you put on while you're tidying up the house.