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Critic's Corner
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BOOK
REVIEW: "4th of July" is the fourth novel in the Women's Murder Club series. With over eight million copies sold, the Women's Murder Club is America's second bestselling detective series in the past decade (the first is Patterson's own Alex Cross Detective series). In "4th OF JULY," Patterson and Paetro present an explosive story starring Lindsay Boxer, Chief of Homicide in San Francisco. Lindsay's career is hanging on the outcome of a trial that should never have been, and everything she's ever worked for rests in the hands of twelve jurors. After a late-night showdown and a near-fatal car chase, Lindsay has to make an instantaneous decision: in self-defense, she fires her weapon. The result? One teen is killed and her brother crippled for life. Is Lindsay guilty of using excessive force or was she simply protecting her life and that of her partner? When the teens' parents file a civil suit against Lindsay, everyone is sure the case will not come to trial. Unfortunately for Lindsay, the Judge rules that enough evidence exists to bring the case to trial. Once the trial date is set, the press goes into a feeding frenzy. Lindsay's boss suggests that she get away from San Francisco for a while until things cool down. Taking his advice, she goes to her sister Cat's home in Half Moon Bay a few miles south of Frisco where the press won't hound her. Since Lindsay's sister and her children are away for a few weeks, she has the house by the bay all to herself and looks forward to some down time. But . . . that isn't likely to happen. A serial killer is preying on seemingly innocent and disconnected victims in the Half Moon Bay area. A wily killer who leaves not a scrap of forensic evidence behind. Being Lindsay Boxer, our girl immediately finds herself in the middle of the case, and at cross purposes with the local police chief. Something about these killings reminds Lindsay of a case now gone cold that she covered ten years ago. The same M.O. was used then as is being used now. Could a killer go ten years before surfacing in another town or has he simply gone undetected all these years? As characters, and there are many, enter the story and the plot thickens, the two authors find their stride and it becomes difficult to detect where Patterson ends and Paetro begins. Early pages of the story showed two distinct writers' voices, causing me to question the authors' writing methods. Did they write alternate chapters—or perhaps one began a chapter and the other completed it? Whatever method of co-writing they used, the voices finally blended and the work seamlessly progressed into an intense and engrossing tale. I particularly enjoyed the explanation that a serial killer's M.O. might change but his signature does not. The killer in Half Moon Bay altered his M.O. slightly, but the signature most definitely did not change, and proved to be unique. The misdirection used by the authors was deftly introduced taking this reader off in the wrong direction. "Red-herrings," as this ploy is called, make for more suspense and keeps the reader off balance. Each character introduced and given a name will surely return at some point in the story to light another fuse to either a skyrocket or even a Roman Candle. A fascinating new character to the series is Yuki Castellano, Lindsay's personal attorney. Look for this character to return in the next book of the series. Claire and Cindy, members of The Murder Club return and play a slightly less important role in this story. Also Joe Molinari, Lindsay's on again, off again, love interest, pops in and out of the story. Sweet Martha, Lindsay's border Collie, adds more to the story than Joe . . . sorry about that, but ‘tis true. When Lindsay has to return to San Francisco for her trial, she vows, depending the outcome, to return to Half Moon Bay and find the serial killer preying on the small community. The trial is full of angst and once again, misdirection, as Lady Justice fights to preserve our legal system. Patterson shines in this part of the book, his style and voice ringing loud and clear. The short punchy chapters, each ending with the promise of more and better to come added as much to the story as did the attention paid to attributions, description, and dialogue. All together these tricks of the trade made "4th OF JULY," a sensual experience and one all fans of this genre will appreciate. The race to the finish on the fourth of July took all the talent Patterson has in his major league pen, and he and Paetro do it up with chills, spills, fireworks, and daring- do. It is an ending to satisfy the stiffest critic. Copyright Patricia Ann Jones Save Up to 30% on this book at Amazon.com Jones is a published writer and book reviewer for Tulsa World newspaper. To comment on this review you may email pattij777@aol.com |
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