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4th of July
Women's Murder Club

By James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

     The Women's Murder Club is back and one of its members is in more danger than ever. Detective Lindsay Boxer is enjoying her night off when her partner, Jacobi, calls for her assistance. Lindsay agrees to go along but warns him that she has had a few drinks. The drinks are not enough to slow her down, but Lindsay feels it is her duty to let Jacobi know. While out on their call, they realize it is two scared teenagers who called for help. At least that is what they think up until the minute that the two kids pull out guns and shoot Lindsay and Jacobi. Lindsay manages to return fire, killing the girl and paralyzing the boy. Now the children's parent are claiming police brutality and suing Lindsay personally. This lawsuit could ruin Lindsay if she loses, so to blow off some steam before the verdict comes in, she takes a small vacation to Half Moon Bay. While there, Lindsay stumbles upon a string of murders that just might date back to her very first unsolved case. Lindsay has more on her plate than ever before, and it is up to her, with the help of her best friends, to solve the case while saving herself from ruin.

     4th of July is the fourth entry into the Women's Murder Club series and, although it is a good addition, I feel as though the voice is somewhat different in this book than the others. Lindsay's personality is not as strong in this book as it has been in the past, and Claire and Cindy are barely in the book at all. It's almost as if they were put in as an afterthought. Having said that, the suspense and plotting are still right on target, with me trying to guess the killer but failing. I was surprised and happy with the ending, feeling it was the strongest part of the book. All the ends were tied up nicely but not too conveniently. I enjoyed 4th of July and hope that the 5th entry will have Lindsay's strong personality, as well as her friends, front and center.

Reviews of other titles in this series

1st to Die, 2nd Chance, 3rd Degree Boxed set  [audio]
2nd Chance 
[book]
3rd Degree  [book] [audio]
The 4th of July  [book] [audio]
The 5th Horseman  [audio] [book]
The 6th Target  [audio]
The 4th of July, The 5th Horseman, The 6th Target Boxed set  [audio]
7th Heaven  [book] [audio]
The 8th Confession  [book] [audio]
9th Judgement  [audio]
11th Hour  [audio]
The 12th of Never  [audio]
UnLucky 13 [audio]
14th Deadly Sin [audio]

The 15th Affair [audio]

The Book

Little, Brown /TimeWarner
May 2005
Hardcover
0316710601
Suspense
NOTE: Audio book review

The Reviewer

Robyn Glazer
Reviewed 2005
© 2005 MyShelf.com