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vbanfo's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
traci1974's review against another edition
3.0
If half stars were allowed, this would be 2 1/2 for me.
I think it may be time for the WMC to consider retiring. While this one was better than 19, in that the club was more together (though we still don't see the connection from the earlier books), it's just lost some of the spark the series once had. I listened to this one on audio, and that only made me enjoy it less as the narration was sort of whiny throughout the book. If this was book one in the series, I'd never have picked up book 2.
I think it may be time for the WMC to consider retiring. While this one was better than 19, in that the club was more together (though we still don't see the connection from the earlier books), it's just lost some of the spark the series once had. I listened to this one on audio, and that only made me enjoy it less as the narration was sort of whiny throughout the book. If this was book one in the series, I'd never have picked up book 2.
robhood's review against another edition
1.0
This is the first book that I read in this series and I won't read another. The author brings different characters in, without telling you who is speaking. That is way too confusing. I believe that James Patterson did not really write this book. He has his name on it, but this book is not written in a way that I have come to expect from him.
aj8915's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
pewterwolf's review against another edition
2.0
Flip-flopping between 2 & 3 stars.
Review Taken from The Pewter Wolf, which will be going live in early April 2020
***eProof given by UK publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review/reaction, even though I borrowed and listened to audiobook from local library via BorrowBox***
I have a weird love/hate relationship with James Patterson, something I always talk about when I do a write-up for one of his novels. I find him a light, fun read, something I would be ok reading on a sunny beach (almost perfect for me to read/audiobook at the current moment with my brain not ready to cope with Corona-Virus and something heavy), but he never offers anything of substance.
And yet, I seem to always go back to reading him after a few months/years. And I have a soft spot for his Women’s Murder Club series as [b:3rd Degree|446384|3rd Degree (Women's Murder Club, #3)|James Patterson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1174849637l/446384._SY75_.jpg|2549051] was my first James Patterson novel and I always like reading about the ladies.
So, when I saw 20th Victim, I was excited and intrigued. After trying to read [b:19th Christmas|43567286|19th Christmas (Women's Murder Club, #19)|James Patterson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1558751546l/43567286._SY75_.jpg|67785398] and DNFing it after a few chapters (and I seem to be not the only one to do that), I was intrigued to see how James Patterson and Maxine Paetro would celebrate 20 books in this series. Is it going to be something similar to how TV shows Eastenders and Neighbours celebrate 35 years and celebrate with a big bang, or is it going to be fall a bit flat?
Three simultaneous shootings happen at 8:30am one morning. And of them is at San Francisco on the Women’s Murder Club patch. Sergeant Lindsay Boxer is involved in investigating and reporter Cindy Thomas is reporting the crime. The shootings are precise and exact, the victims chosen with great care as each victim are involved in drug selling. As more shootings happen, the public debate wonders if the shooter are villains or heroes?
For what I wanted from it - a light, easy, audiobook to distract from the Corona - it did exactly what I wanted. It was light, fast and something that didn’t involve much brain power. So, I can’t complain about that!
However… and yet, it feels like a miss at the same time. Like I said earlier, this is the 20th instalment in this series, and I was expecting a huge birthday-like event. A huge celebration of the previous instalments and celebrating the future of the series.
And yet, we got a standard Women’s Murder Club story. There was nothing really special about it. It was very paint-by-numbers.
We had one huge story - the shooter going after drug dealers that Lindsey and Cindy were following - and three small subplots. Lindsey’s husband, Joe, is asked by an old friend to investigate his father’s death as he believe the doctor in charge is an Angel of Mercy, one of Club member’s, Yuki, is involved in a trial where she feels the young man is being used as scapegoat and the fourth member of the WMC, Claire, is told she has lung cancer.
Big things, right? So why am I annoyed over these subplots? Well, Joe’s subplot has been used in a previous Women’s Murder Club novel - [b:The 5th Horseman|828626|The 5th Horseman (Women's Murder Club #5)|James Patterson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1178736320l/828626._SX50_.jpg|3132603] - as main plot and had added danger with Yuki’s mother being a possible victim. As for Yuki and Claire’s subplots - they felt like add-ons. A “blink and you missed it” kinda vibe came off them. I get that Yuki’s, in some sense, is linked VERY VAGUELY to Lindsey’s and Cindy’s but Claire’s… Claire’s lung cancer plot angered me the most.
Cancer is a big thing. According to cancer charities, cancer effects 1 in 2 of us in the UK AT LEAST. So, do we see Claire fight cancer? Nope. We’re told she has it then… then she’s written out of the book. She having an operation to remove the growth but it feels like she’s dismissed from the book. We see her at the end, saying she’s ok and need to keep appointments, but it all felt wrong. We had no emotional reaction to this horrifying news. Plus, whenever I dip in and out of this series, Claire is always the character I feel that Patterson and Maetro doesn’t know what to do with or, when they do, it always feels like a short-change story. She’s a medical examiner, USE THAT AND GIVE US A CASE THAT INVOLVE HER, HER JOB AND HER SKILLS HEAVILY! You do that with Lindsey, Cindy and Yuki so why not Claire?
As something light to read to take mind off current, scary world events, this did exactly what it said on the tin. But it didn’t do what I hope - celebrate this long-running series.
Review Taken from The Pewter Wolf, which will be going live in early April 2020
***eProof given by UK publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review/reaction, even though I borrowed and listened to audiobook from local library via BorrowBox***
I have a weird love/hate relationship with James Patterson, something I always talk about when I do a write-up for one of his novels. I find him a light, fun read, something I would be ok reading on a sunny beach (almost perfect for me to read/audiobook at the current moment with my brain not ready to cope with Corona-Virus and something heavy), but he never offers anything of substance.
And yet, I seem to always go back to reading him after a few months/years. And I have a soft spot for his Women’s Murder Club series as [b:3rd Degree|446384|3rd Degree (Women's Murder Club, #3)|James Patterson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1174849637l/446384._SY75_.jpg|2549051] was my first James Patterson novel and I always like reading about the ladies.
So, when I saw 20th Victim, I was excited and intrigued. After trying to read [b:19th Christmas|43567286|19th Christmas (Women's Murder Club, #19)|James Patterson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1558751546l/43567286._SY75_.jpg|67785398] and DNFing it after a few chapters (and I seem to be not the only one to do that), I was intrigued to see how James Patterson and Maxine Paetro would celebrate 20 books in this series. Is it going to be something similar to how TV shows Eastenders and Neighbours celebrate 35 years and celebrate with a big bang, or is it going to be fall a bit flat?
Three simultaneous shootings happen at 8:30am one morning. And of them is at San Francisco on the Women’s Murder Club patch. Sergeant Lindsay Boxer is involved in investigating and reporter Cindy Thomas is reporting the crime. The shootings are precise and exact, the victims chosen with great care as each victim are involved in drug selling. As more shootings happen, the public debate wonders if the shooter are villains or heroes?
For what I wanted from it - a light, easy, audiobook to distract from the Corona - it did exactly what I wanted. It was light, fast and something that didn’t involve much brain power. So, I can’t complain about that!
However… and yet, it feels like a miss at the same time. Like I said earlier, this is the 20th instalment in this series, and I was expecting a huge birthday-like event. A huge celebration of the previous instalments and celebrating the future of the series.
And yet, we got a standard Women’s Murder Club story. There was nothing really special about it. It was very paint-by-numbers.
We had one huge story - the shooter going after drug dealers that Lindsey and Cindy were following - and three small subplots. Lindsey’s husband, Joe, is asked by an old friend to investigate his father’s death as he believe the doctor in charge is an Angel of Mercy, one of Club member’s, Yuki, is involved in a trial where she feels the young man is being used as scapegoat and the fourth member of the WMC, Claire, is told she has lung cancer.
Big things, right? So why am I annoyed over these subplots? Well, Joe’s subplot has been used in a previous Women’s Murder Club novel - [b:The 5th Horseman|828626|The 5th Horseman (Women's Murder Club #5)|James Patterson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1178736320l/828626._SX50_.jpg|3132603] - as main plot and had added danger with Yuki’s mother being a possible victim. As for Yuki and Claire’s subplots - they felt like add-ons. A “blink and you missed it” kinda vibe came off them. I get that Yuki’s, in some sense, is linked VERY VAGUELY to Lindsey’s and Cindy’s but Claire’s… Claire’s lung cancer plot angered me the most.
Cancer is a big thing. According to cancer charities, cancer effects 1 in 2 of us in the UK AT LEAST. So, do we see Claire fight cancer? Nope. We’re told she has it then… then she’s written out of the book. She having an operation to remove the growth but it feels like she’s dismissed from the book. We see her at the end, saying she’s ok and need to keep appointments, but it all felt wrong. We had no emotional reaction to this horrifying news. Plus, whenever I dip in and out of this series, Claire is always the character I feel that Patterson and Maetro doesn’t know what to do with or, when they do, it always feels like a short-change story. She’s a medical examiner, USE THAT AND GIVE US A CASE THAT INVOLVE HER, HER JOB AND HER SKILLS HEAVILY! You do that with Lindsey, Cindy and Yuki so why not Claire?
As something light to read to take mind off current, scary world events, this did exactly what it said on the tin. But it didn’t do what I hope - celebrate this long-running series.
abiwright's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
rmarcin's review against another edition
4.0
Another solid entry into The Women's Murder Club series. This time, Lindsay and Rich are trying to determine who is on a killing spree of drug dealers. Meanwhile, Yuki is trying to save a young teen from taking the fall for a murderer, although she is supposed to be prosecuting him. Cindy is chasing the drug dealer murder stories, but she is suspicious of a young reporter assigned to work with her. Claire has some devastating news. Joe is helping an old friend who seems to be losing it.
One thing that really bothered me about this book is that Lindsay and Joe would look in on Julie sleeping and then take Martha, their dog, out for a walk. Who leaves their child at home with no adult supervision?
These aren't deep, just reading about characters who I have followed for 20 books!
Already looking forward to the next installment.
#The20thVictim #JamesPatterson
One thing that really bothered me about this book is that Lindsay and Joe would look in on Julie sleeping and then take Martha, their dog, out for a walk. Who leaves their child at home with no adult supervision?
These aren't deep, just reading about characters who I have followed for 20 books!
Already looking forward to the next installment.
#The20thVictim #JamesPatterson
vlyman's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
dreavg's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
brittanys_books's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.25