10th Anniversary (Women's Murder Club) [Paperback]

James Patterson (Author), Maxine Paetro (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 10, 2012 | Series: Women's Murder Club

For every secret
Detective Lindsay Boxer's long-awaited wedding celebration becomes a distant memory when she is called to investigate a horrendous crime: a badly injured teenage girl is left for dead, and her newborn baby is nowhere to be found. Lindsay discovers that not only is there no trace of the criminals--but that the victim may be keeping secrets as well.

For every lie
At the same time, Assistant District Attorney Yuki Castellano is prosecuting the biggest case of her life--a woman who has been accused of murdering her husband in front of her two young children. Yuki's career rests on a guilty verdict, so when Lindsay finds evidence that could save the defendant, she is forced to choose. Should she trust her best friend or follow her instinct?

There's a different way to die
Lindsay's every move is watched by her new boss, Lieutenant Jackson Brady, and when the pressure to find the baby begins interfering with her new marriage to Joe, she wonders if she'll ever be able to start a family. With James Patterson's white-hot speed and unquenchable action, 10th Anniversary is the most deliciously chilling Women's Murder Club book ever.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A fast-paced romp of a read" Best "Compelling stuff" -- 4 Stars Woman's Own "Master writer James Patterson conjures up more literary magic in his latest crime thriller" -- 5 Stars Star Magazine "Gripping" Daily Record "A great book to take in bite size chunks. The greedier reader can quite comfortably consume it all in one go. But does the tenth book mean the end of the line for Boxer and her friends and does Patterson see this as a logical point to call it a day on the Women's Murder Club? By the time you get to the last page you will hope he has the appetite for more." Press Association --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

James Patterson has had more New York Times bestsellers than any other writer, ever, according to Guinness World Records. Since his first novel won the Edgar Award in 1977 James Patterson's books have sold more than 240 million copies. He is the author of the Alex Cross novels, the most popular detective series of the past twenty-five years, including Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider. Mr. Patterson also writes the bestselling Women's Murder Club novels, set in San Francisco, and the top-selling New York detective series of all time, featuring Detective Michael Bennett. He writes full-time and lives in Florida with his family.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; Reprint edition (January 10, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446585165
• ISBN-13: 978-0446585163
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.2 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (510 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,230 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

It is no surprise that in January, 2010, The New York Times Magazine featured James Patterson on its cover and hailed him as having "transformed book publishing," and that Time magazine hailed him as "The Man Who Can't Miss." Recently, NBC's Rock Center with Brian Williams profiled Patterson's prolific career, AARP named him one of the "50 Most Influential People Who Make Our Days a Little Brighter," and Variety featured him in a cover story highlighting his adventures in Hollywood.

In 2011, it was estimated that one-in-four of all hardcover suspense/thriller novels sold was written by James Patterson, he is the first author to achieve five million ebook sales (and is expected to hit ten million in early 2013), and he holds the Guinness record for the most #1 New York Times bestsellers of any author. And his success isn't based solely on thrillers like the perennially popular Alex Cross, Women's Murder Club and Michael Bennett series. Patterson is now also the current bestselling author in the young adult and middle grade categories.

He's been called the busiest man in publishing, and that's not just because of his own books. For the past decade, James has been devoting more and more of his time to championing books and reading. From the James Patterson Pageturner Awards, to his website ReadKiddoRead.com, to his College Book Bucks scholarships and his regular donations of hundreds of thousands of books to schools here in the states and troops overseas (see interviews on Fox & Friends, The Dennis Miller Radio Show and CNN.com), Patterson has passed on his passion of books and reading and supported those who do the same. Jim personally funded a major ad campaign re-printing a recent opinion piece on CNN.com about how it is our responsibility to get our kids reading. The ad has run in the New York Times, The New Yorker, and USA Today. Those ads are a call to action to parents to make their kids reading a top priority; and were featured by USA Today here. Patterson believes that we cannot rely on schools, teachers or the government to get our kids reading; only parents can make this crucial change in the reading habits of our kids. Here are links to some interviews on his first-ever dual lay down (two books, one for parents and one for kids, in one day): AOL's You've Got, NBC's "Today Show" with Hoda and Kathie Lee, USA Today and Family Circle, NBC's "Today Show" with Al Roker, as well as an interview with AARP.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

(What's this?)

#2 Overall (See top 100 authors)

#1 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Police Procedurals

#1 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery

#1 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery

#2 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers

#2 in Books > Literature & Fiction

#1 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Police Procedurals

#1 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery

#1 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery

#2 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers

#2 in Books > Literature & Fiction

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

207 of 228 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The ladies are back. May 4, 2011

By L. Gondelman

Format:Hardcover

The time has finally come. Lindsay is marrying Joe Molinari, the love of her life. After taking some time off after the wedding she is a little hesitant about her return to work. Changes are all-around, including a new lieutenant to answer to, Jackson Brady. Her first case back is that of Avis Richardson. A 15-year-old girl found collapsed in the middle of the road, bleeding out. It appears that she has just given birth, but apparently has no recollection of what happened since the delivery, how she got where she is, or what happened to her baby. Lindsay isn't so sure how honest Avis is being with her. She will have to push her hard in order to find out the truth. And hopefully find her baby alive.

Yuki has a make or break case on her hands. Dr. Candace Martin is charged with shooting her husband in cold blood. It appears to be an open and shut case, a sure, must-have win for Yuki. That is until Lindsay finds herself drawn into the case and starts poking around. Maybe things aren't as perfect as they appear to be. And Yuki's slam-dunk case may now be in jeopardy.

Cindy is basking in the glow of being head-over-heels in love with Rich, who just happens to be Lindsay's partner. Working as the crime reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle. She knows in this day and age - with internet news and bloggers - that she doesn't have 100% job security. She needs to find that one big story that will make her stand out, and hopefully hold onto her job. She gets the inside scoop on reports of several women being found passed out near their homes, with no memory of the past several hours. Cindy uses her investigative skills and tracks down a lead that will put her in a very precarious position.

While each of the Murder Club women works her own case they offer their own brand of expertise to each other. They each have their own worries, both professional and personal. But they are always there to help and support each other. They are each others best friends.

My issues with 10th Anniversary are relatively minor. Lindsay, Yuki, and Cindy each have strong, independent stories, but we get only glimpse of Claire. Yes, she had a baby not too long ago, and maybe shying away from trouble for now, but I wish we had seen more of her. I also found it confusing that there was a second, albeit minor character, named Cyndi. Granted the spelling is different, but it can be confusing to the reader. I think with any character in a book, we develop a picture in our minds of what we think each character looks like. With the Women's Murder Club having been a TV show, the images of Angie Harmon as Lindsay have stuck in my mind. Don't get me wrong, I love Angie Harmon, but now she is the only face I see. And she wasn't necessarily what I pictured Lindsay to look like originally. This isn't the authors doing, obviously, but those of you who watched the show may have a similar issue.

10th Anniversary is typical James Patterson ~ short chapters, fast-paced storyline, familiar characters and cases that aren't easily solved. He realizes that, at this point, everyone is probably familiar with the women of the Murder Club and doesn't bother the reader with too much repetitive info on their pasts. James Patterson & Maxine Paetro do a great job of combining mystery, intensity, love, friendship, and suspense in this latest edition of the Murder Club series. While most may look at this book as a typical James Patterson mystery, I see beyond that, to what to me is the core of this story. The deep, unrelenting friendship that these four women share. A friendship that has survived death, kidnapping, dating your BFF's boss, and whatever else gets thrown at them. Looking forward to when they celebrate their 20th anniversary.

93 of 106 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stories in one May 6, 2011

By William D. Curnutt TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This has been a good series for James Patterson and we have come to love the characters. The girl's club seems to get a lot of good work done and they hang together as friends. This book chases the lives of the four ladies, Lindsey, Cindy, Yuki and Claire. The first three ladies are heavily involved in cases and they form the three plot lines that run through the book. Claire is relegated to a small role in this installment as she has recently had a baby and is thus not as able to get into the mysteries.

Lindsey catches a case of a missing baby. Fifteen year old Avis Richardson has been found wandering a country road near a lake and is bleeding out from having given birth and facing a complication. The problem is, where is the baby? Who helped her deliver the baby? Did they kidnap the baby after tricking the 15 year old Avis into selling the baby? Those are all questions that Lindsey and her partner will have to try and solve. The chase has lots of twists and turns and could have been a great stand alone story all on it's own. But because it is woven with two other plot lines it doesn't get the development it needs to become a fantastic stand alone. Instead it ties up a bit to neatly and predictably.

Yuki on the other hand is in the trial of her life as she is trying to get a murder conviction on Dr. Candace Martin for the murder of her husband. There are plenty of twists and turns in this story as well. Maybe even more twists than the other two plots. It is the more interesting of the three stories. Again, there is so much more that could be developed but because you have three stories going on at once you don't get as much development as you want. Who really killed her husband? Was it a hit man hired by a former lover? Was it the wife who is disgruntled that the husband has been and is having multiple affairs? Is it the kids nanny who is the current affair? Or is it the surprise witness that steps up to claim responsibility (this is the surprise witness and I won't spoil it for you)? Yuki has her hands full and oh by the way Lindsey steps in to meddle in the case while still trying to solve the case of the missing baby.

Then you have the third case, Cindy is running down leads and writing columns for the newspaper regarding a serial rapist who is terrorizing the community. She is getting close to finding out who the person is when she is, yeah you guessed it, kidnapped by the criminal, drugged and hauled off for what will be a night of rape and most likely murder. Will Lindsey and Conklin though be able to find Cindy in time to rescue her or not?

Now, add in to all of this the four love stories of each of the women's lives and you have lots of material to read, sift through and keep tabs on. Patterson is a good writing and he keeps your attention throughout the entire book. I didn't want to put it down. But I think that maybe there were just one or two plots to many for the book. Either focus on just one plot and build a better mystery or lengthen the book by a couple of hundred pages and give all three major plots the justice they deserve by more development.

While I only gave the book three stars I still think that you won't be disappointed if you are a James Patterson fan.

Enjoy!

50 of 56 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Easily the WORST in the series! May 13, 2011

By Bill Garrison VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

James Patterson will destroy this series if he and coauthor release any more garbage like 10th ANNIVERSARY. This book was especially disappointing because the 9th JUDGMENT was a great book and one of the best.

The 9TH JUDGMENT featured an evil killer targeting mothers and babies and also a jewelry thief caught up in a murder. There were thrilling chapters from the killer's point of view and the two mysteries were linked an a thrilling fashion.

In this book, Patterson goes back to a formula from a few earlier books. He introduces three different mini-plots. None of them are tied together and none of them are original. Reading a book with 3 mini plots is like going to see a summer blockbuster at theater and they show a Law and Order episode instead.

There are 3 lame plots. A 15 year-old girl is found wandering the streets. She claims to have delivered a baby and can't remember anything about it. Lindsay Boxer launches a frantic search to discover what happened to the baby and whether or not the girl is telling the truth.

Also, women throughout the city are being raped, and not remembering a thing about it. Reporter Cindy Thomas takes the role of reporter/investigator to get to the bottom of it.

Finally, Yuki, the DA, is prosecuting a woman suspected of killing her husband. But, surprise! She claims to be innocent.

This book disappointed me because the stories were so unoriginal and uninspired. None of the characters were any real danger, except of the contrived nature.

Patterson's writing style of not going into depth in any part of the story means that none of the three mini-stories have any depth or characterization. While it has the usual character development of the four women, this is one you might be better off skipping.