12th of Never

I loved how Lindsey reacted to having her baby. I think it is so like her to be head over heels in love with her new baby, yet drawn to go back to work after only 4 weeks. The tension between the baby's need for her and her desire to be part of the team involved in a former case was handled in a very believable way. On the other hand, Claire didn't seem to have her customary self-confidence and drive, and I wondered where that went? There wasn't much interaction among the four women, which I think hurt the book overall.

I found this twelfth book in The Women's Murder Club Series, an extraordinary roller coaster ride from beginning to end. The action never stops as Lindsay, Yuki, Claire, and Cindy capture our imagination and hearts again. First, we witness Lindsay's horrific delivery of her sweet baby girl, Julie. This book captures the terrifying worry that accompanies the working mother when it's time to go back to work and leave your newborn in the hands of others. At least Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer has a capable and loving husband to care for little Julie. Still, I cried more than once as Lindsay and Joe fought to take in the worst news parents can get. Yuki Castellano has her moments in this book. Not only is her character as a determined prosecutor show more cemented in a tricky murder trial with a surprise ending but her wit and playfulness come out as her relationship with Lieutenant Jackson Brady grows. Cindy and Richy have a falling out—is it permanent? —and Claire gets sidelined in the morgue. With short, explosive chapters, the authors capture the often humorous, often horrendous side of the law, life, love, and the random human experience. show less

The big news at the beginning of this novel is that Lindsey is having her kid. That was also the plot that got me through this crazy jumble of plots and subplots in the novel. Little Julie has a very exciting start to her life, and while the twists in the Baby Julie storyline weren't surprising, it was a nicely plotted and written story.

None of the other storylines surprised me either. Richie and Cindy are having some problems with their engagement, Claire is having trouble at work, a body disappears and she gets blamed for it. And Yuki is trying a dirty lawyer who is accused of killing his wife. At first her plot is the one that is going the best, but of course, that turns on a dime too and gets interesting (second most interesting show more story in the novel).

There's also a new intern at Lindsey and Richie's precinct. Mackie, a young woman doing some sort of psych grad work or something.

I liked this particular entry in the Women's Murder Club series a bit more than usual, but still, there was just so much going on. It was like a three-ring circus. I felt like I missed a part of all the stories because I needed six eyes to read all of them at once.

It also seemed like the Women's Murder Club just isn't as much of a crime solving juggernaut anymore. That was one of the things I liked about the series, they managed to solve the crimes when the 'big strong, blah blah blah men' couldn't. Now, instead, it seems like the men are doing the solving and the books are all about all those boring hetero relationships instead of the trails and autopsies, the cases, the stories... and what happened to the mysteries?

Still, it was a mostly enjoyable and fast read, I just wish that they'd go back to the soul of the Women's Murder club books again. One mystery, all four ladies (I still miss Jill). show less

The 12th of Never is yet another one from the over productive Patterson production line which is a little overstretched. This is the twelfth outing of the women’s murder club and is supposed to be a thriller, it is not. It is more like a murder mystery a literary version of Murder She Wrote. Slow and very predictable and yes you can see the ending from about page 20.

The good news is that Lindsay Boxer give birth even Patterson and Paetro cannot draw that out too long. Martha the dog is still the best character, pity she is only a dog. All the characters are there and obviously SFPD is going to collapse because Boxer is not around to lead the investigation. Boxer’s waters break in the middle of a storm and the SFPD have to rescue her show more and aid her child’s birth. No maternity leave here Boxer is back to it.

An eccentric English professor walks into the Homicide division and predicts a murder, Conklin thinks he is mad until everything happens as the professor described. Claire Washburn is about to autopsy a body until she finds that it has gone missing. While convicted killer Rodney Fish has woken from his two-year coma, and he wants to come clean about his victim’s missing bodies. Boxer is suspicious.

A passible read if you have nothing better around. Very predictable. show less

I hate to say it, but I think I'm getting tired of the gals in the Women's Murder Club. Lindsay's feels guilty about going back to work when her daughter is ill (perhaps gravely) but she has two major cases to solve, Cindy is having relationship problems, Claire gets demoted when a body disappears from her morgue, and Yuki is trying yet another case of her career. How much drama can 4 women have all at the same time? Like all of Patterson's books it's a fast read with lots of action, but it's just not as good as the previous novels in this series. One has to wonder how much Patterson is actually writing these days as opposed to his co-writers, because this series has defintely lost some of its magic.

I would have liked this better if there were fewer plot lines. Between the crimes (jailed serial killer jerking around the FBI and Lindsay, a precognitive professor dreaming of crimes before they happen, and the killing of a NFL star's girlfriend)and the stuff happening in the personal lives of Lindsay (baby birth and illness) and Cindy's love life, this one tried too hard.

Another good outing in the Women's Murder Club Seties, with at least three different strands to the story. Things are changing for at least two of the Club, with Lindsey about to be taken through the wringer and as a result losing focus on the job. This was an interesting episode on many levels. I particularly enjoyed the court case! The book was however left on a cliff-hanger so I do need to get to the next one!