16th Seduction

Another fun read from James Patterson. The last couple of Women's Murder Club series were a little disappointing, fortunately this was a notch or two above the past couple. Regardless of the quality of the writing James Patterson always fulfills his legacy as a master storyteller. In this one there is a terrorist organization creating havoc around the world and San Francisco is not being ignored. Lindsay and Joe witness a the spectacular explosion while eating dinner at a hot new seafood restaurant and run to work the scene to the scene to help. There they encounter the perpetrator who confesses to them while appreciating his handy work. As simple as it seems, from there to the conclusion is nothing anyone would expect. Along the way show more Lindsay encounters a silent hidden killer and resolves another mystery.

This is not particularly deep reading but Patterson's stories, to me at least, are normally fun and this one does not disappoint. show less

Strictly a paint-by-numbers, formulaic piece, that held neither drama nor suspense for me. The story is so weak, it required an idiot plot point - The terrorist leader contacts the acquitted bomber via unsecured e-mail (which the authorities hack) to attaboy him on his successful mission, even commenting that he shouldn't be emailing him, but that he just had to let him know what a great job he did. - to lead the authorities to the resolution of the case. And what's with the title and cover illustration? Talk about incongruous . . .

The 16th Seduction is the sixteenth book in the women’s murder club, the literary version of Murder, She Wrote but without the excitement. Still, it is a pleasant Sunday afternoon’s read when there is nothing else to do.

Boxer and her husband are trying to patch things up as she had discovered that he had been lying to her about his past. She was upset that he had not told her that he had been a CIA agent. Yeah, he is in the wrong for doing his job and not talking about it. While they are out walking and talking, they witness the bombing of the Sci-Tron on pier 15. They run towards the bomb-damaged building to help when they come across Conor Grant who admits to being the bomber.

Joe sprints off to Sci-Tron to see if there is anything show more he can do to support and help the survivors. While Joe is in Sci-Tron there is a secondary explosion, and he is trapped. Outside Boxer is worried about Joe even more so when he is brought out on a stretcher.

There is a gang going around San Fransico murdering people and the only mark is that of a needle in the buttocks. All the victims have heart attacks even though they had healthy hearts and whoever is murdering the victims they are doing it with stealth and leaving no forensic evidence. Boxer needs some luck to crack the case and hope the killers leave some evidence behind.

As with all the others in the series there is a very predictable outcome the good guys win and the bad guys are arrested. show less

Two monsters are the stars of this sixteenth installment of Women's Murder Club. First is a brilliant and psychotic teacher, Conner Grant, who likes to blow things up and almost kills Lindsay's husband, Joe Molinari. The second is Neddie Lambo, a.k.a. Edward Lamborghini, an inmate at Hyde Street Psychiatric Center, also nicknamed The Stealth Killer, who roams the streets at night injecting people with lethal doses of a drug called succinylcholine—a short-term paralytic used primarily for intubation. Detectives Lindsay Boxer and Richie Conklin spend lots of time trying to nail these two while Clair does autopsies, Cindy writes stories, and Yuki, once again, becomes an ADA working for her old boss, Len Parisi. As usual in these books, show more there's plenty of action; however, not much in this story is dazzling. The villains' deeds are evil but too unbelievable and a little predictable. I don't think this book was one of the author's best efforts for the club. show less

The Women’s Murder Club series is the only James Patterson work I still bother reading. I enjoy the four characters who make up this group; the short lived TV series some years ago enhanced this enjoyment.

Despite its flaws, I did enjoy 16th Seduction. I thought there was a big whole in the plot near the end. I kept asking myself,”didn’t the authorities do a thorough search of the house and the suspect’s background? Since it was such a high profile case, didn’t they find anything questionable in his history?”

There was a subplot that was a bit absurb; perhaps it was added just to pad the book? And, the denouement seemed rushed and somewhat of a jumble.

Despite those flaws, I couldn’t put this book down and read it in two show more sittings. show less

I just don't know with this series. I loved it SO MUCH at the beginning but I'm starting to lose focus while I read them. This one had less of the actual Woman's Murder Club than I would have liked. That's why I read these books. I was also a little annoyed at the fact that there were two cases in this book. There was the terrorists blowing up the science centre and then the book switched gears and went on to a mysterious serial killer. It just felt like the serial killer plot was thrown in to get that page count up higher.

Lindsay and Joe are having dinner at Pier 9 in San Francisco when the science museum at Pier 15 explodes. In the devastating aftermath, they encounter a man who claims to have caused the destruction of Sci-Tron. Lindsay arrests him, but things take a far different turn when he comes to trial.

While the court case unfolds, Lindsay is investigating a mysterious death while she struggles to balance her time between work and Julie. And she’s considering her future with Joe.

With the typical short chapters ramping up the tension and the suspense building as the investigation of the bombing unfolds, readers will find themselves pulled in to the story. The twists and turns of the plot keep those pages turning.

Readers may be disappointed show more that, although all of the Women’s Murder Club folks are on hand, there is not much interaction between them and the focus of the story remains mainly on Lindsay and her concerns about her marriage and the outcome of the trial. Although readers may find the secondary plot to be a poor fit with the well-developed bombing tale, it’s a good read.

Recommended. show less