The 6th Target (2007)

Great intrigue as always - I love this series. Too bad it didn't make it on tv ( )

James Patterson does it again! What can I say about this book that I havent already said with the rest of his collection? Very fast paced, very entertaining! A definite must read for any fans of crime/suspense novels. Just a tip though, I would recommend that you start from the beginning on this series as it gives you more insight into the characters and their behavior! ( )

Lindsay Boxer has to deal with a madman that shot her best friend Claire and four other people on a shooting spree on a ferry. Plus boxer is Investagtion of a kidnapping / murder cases of well to do people with no leads, and plus Violent happenings in her friend Cindy's apartment building. With maltable plots going on it keeps you on your toes. I love the wayit keeps you in suspens. Read the weman's murder club series you will injoy it as much as I do. ( )

There is action galore in this sixth installment in the Women’s Murder Club series. Despite the somewhat misleading name, the women are solving – not committing - the murders. A madman goes berserk on a ferry and shoots random victims. In an unrelated case, children from well-to-do families are being kidnapped, but no ransom notes are forthcoming. If you like fast paced thrillers with short chapters, and a surprise twist at the end, you will enjoy this novel. If you want something more descriptive and thought-provoking with well developed characters, you might be disappointed. A smattering of unnecessary romance adds some fluff. If you like Patterson, you will devour this series. If not, it still makes a nice change of pace for readers who normally enjoy more in-depth mysteries. This audio version was well performed by Carolyn McCormick. ( )

This is the sixth book in the "Woman's Murder Club" series (the Woman’s Murder Club is a quartet of friends – Lindsay Boxer the homicide detective, Claire the medical examiner, Cindy the intrepid reporter, and Yuki the assistant DA), but there's no reason you have to read the other books first (I didn't) as it can stand on its own. There's numerous plot lines going on in this book - a Law & Order type scenario in which a mentally unstable man goes a shooting spree and later is tried for it with Yuki representing the people (this courtroom drama is the least interesting part of the book, in my opinion); a kidnapping/murder case that Boxer and her co-workers tirelessly toil on with no leads; and a series of bizarre and violent happenings in Cindy's apartment building. I'm not really sure what's the point of having all these different story lines together in one book, unless it's just to make it harder to guess the ending or to add a little bit more so the book isn't just a formulaic mystery. The book ends with one of the mysteries left somewhat hanging, obviously to compel the reader to go on to the next in the series. This wasn’t enough to make me want to read the next book, just enough to leave me feeling dissatisfied with this book (although I must admit I wasn’t really thrilled by the endings for the other two mysteries either).

The narrative bounces around between these competing story lines often (combined with different narrators), making the flow somewhat disrupted but overall it keeps the reader on his or her toes wanting to read more to find out what happens next. Boxer is the nominal protagonist with parts of the story being told in her first-person point of view. However, numerous chapters are told in the third person from Yuki, Cindy, or the criminals’ perspective, not to mention a ton of short chapters from the point of view of an often random character (the nanny of the first child abducted, for instance). As I’ve undoubtedly mentioned in other reviews, I find it a cheap shot/poor writing to be forced to switch perspectives in order to tell your story.

Speaking of writing, this book is written by two authors, so the language and writing is slightly more sophisticated than other Patterson novels I’ve read in the past. Still, there’s nothing particularly stellar about the writing style. The characters are hardly fleshed out. The nominal protagonist, Lindsay Boxer, is pretty much your stereotypical cop in the genre – a hard-nosed detective who's really good at her job but doesn't have it together in her personal life. She's a woman, so add in her tearing up or flat-out crying every once in a while because she just doesn't know what to do with her life.

To sum up, I went into this book thinking it would be a James Patterson mystery novel like others I’ve read by him - a suspenseful page turner of little substance and not particularly skillful in terms of literary writing style - and I got exactly that. It’s a quick read despite its length, with short chapters that go pretty fast. I’d recommend it for fans of Patterson's other mysteries or of suspenseful thrillers in general, especially when your in the mood for lighter fare (in terms of literary style, not subject matter). ( )