Monday, November 2, 2020

20th Victim

Title: 20th Victim
Author: James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
Published: March 5th 2020 by Century
Format: Hardcover, 432 pages
Genre: Police Procedural
Series: Women's Murder Club #20

The Women’s Murder Club brings a bonded group of women together where each has a story to tell, but what this writing team put Claire through was unnecessary. Still not sure why, unless they are basing her off someone that has gone through the same experience, but there was something superficial about the whole thing.

As perfect kill shots are taking down drug deals across the country, Lindsay and her SFPD team are trying to link the murders and how they relate to an online game. And that is where the problem lies - the general public does not think that this is a problem. Yet murder is still murder, and the police department is responsible for tracking down the killer(s), all the while Cindy, and her police band radio, is chasing the story while fending off a news reporter that is determined to take her down. Yuki has a periphery role in this book, involving the prosecution of a desperate boy who has managed to get himself entangled with a drug dealer, but her heart is not in it. She needs to come up with a way to let him walk away.

Then the authors need to find a place for Joe Molinari. He is no longer part of the FBI, and cannot help Lindsay, so what is second best? That would be a call from a friend in Napa who suspects his father's death was at the hands of a doctor and is asking Joe for help to prove it. There are numerous webs woven to distract the reader away from Claire, and lets Lindsay deal with her shooters while giving Joe a role to play.

As with all Patterson books, there are continuity issues and lightweight storylines that are all tied up with a neat bow allowing the reader to walk away with a just dessert feel. The 20th Victim is a beach read that is easy to pick up and put down without feeling that you need to reread a chapter or two to get back into the feel. No heavy lifting is required, and since Patterson and Paetro rehash who everyone is, there is no need to start at the beginning of this series.

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