4th of July (The Women's Murder Club) [Paperback]

James Patterson (Author), Maxine Paetro (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Women's Murder Club | Publication Date: July 1, 2008

A young girl is killed in the crossfire after a routine arrest goes terribly wrong, and Lt. Lindsay Boxer has to defend herself against a charge of police brutality. In a landmark trial that transfixes the nation, Lindsay fights to save her career and her sanity.
While awaiting trial, Lindsay escapes to the tranquility of the beautiful town of Half Moon Bay. But the peaceful community there is reeling from a string of unspeakable murders. Working with her friends in the Women's Murder Club, Lindsay finds a link between these killings and a case she worked on years before - an unsolved murder that has haunted her ever since. As summer comes into full swing, Lindsay battles for her life on two fronts: before a judge and jury as her trial comes to a climax and facing unknown adversaries who will do anything to keep her from the truth about the killings. It all comes to a head before the big annual 4th of July celebration on the waterfront at Half Moon Bay.

"Patterson knows where our deepest fears are buried. There's no stopping his imagination."
-New York Times Book Review

"Patterson's skill at building suspense is enviable." -Kansas City Star

"When it comes to constructing a harrowing plot, author James Patterson can turn a screw all right."
-New York Daily News

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Mega-bestseller Patterson teams up with journalist/novelist Paetro for a rousing fourth installment of the Women's Murder Club series. This time, bright, tough SFPD Lt. Lindsay Boxer is battling police brutality charges while chasing down a clan of murderers. When a botched police arrest of two gun-toting minors expands from a shaky preliminary hearing to what promises to be a nerve-rattling jury trial of Lindsay, she flees the pre-trial media frenzy for the serene haven of sister Cat's house in Half Moon Bay. But instead of finding relaxation and romance with her Homeland Security beau, Lindsay becomes embroiled in the ruthless crimes of a troika of killers who've been slashing and flogging victims all over town. With surprisingly little aid from the Murder Club, Lindsay performs her detective handiwork (and steps on the toes of Half Moon's police chief). As more bodies surface, sketchy suspects like a smitten grease monkey and a slimy porn star emerge, then the murderous threesome set their sights on Lindsay. Back in San Francisco, Lindsay is acquitted; she then rushes back to Half Moon Bay to apprehend the elusive villains and put to rest her unresolved first homicide case as well. Heroic super-sleuthing, a steadily gripping plot line and 146 snappy chapters add up to suspense fiction euphoria for Patterson's legion of fans. (One-day laydown May 2)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

After the explosive events of the third entry in the Women's Murder Club series, 3rd Degree (2004), which claimed the life of one of the members, it's understandable that the follow-up might be a bit of a letdown. But only a little. Patterson's characteristic brutal murders and elusive killers are present, keeping the stakes high. Lindsay Boxer, the police lieutenant who brought the club together, is taking some serious heat in this installment. After a car chase goes wrong, Lindsay is forced to shoot two killers after they wound her and her partner. The firefight leaves a 15-year-old girl dead and her 13-year-old brother paralyzed, making way for a police brutality lawsuit. Lindsay hides out in her sister's suburban house, where she hopes to escape the media circus surrounding her trial. But someone has been killing married couples in the upscale community, and the method greatly resembles a case from early in Lindsay's career, one that she was never able to close the book on. Even though the Women's Murder Club itself is consigned to the background, Lindsay's trial and the murders keep the pages turning. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; Reprint edition (July 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446179663
• ISBN-13: 978-0446179669
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 1 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (228 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,142 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

From my publisher:

James Patterson...


* James Patterson holds the New York Times bestsellers list record with 63 New York Times bestselling titles.

* JP has sold more than 220 million books worldwide. And considering pass-along and libraries, it's safe to say many more people than that have read a Patterson!

* In 2010, JP was named by kids everywhere the Children's Book Councils' Children's Choice Book Awards "Author of the Year" in 2010. More than 15,000 kid and teen readers voted for JP in a category he shared with Suzanne Collins, Carl Hiaasen, Jeff Kinney, and Rick Riordan. His Witch and Wizard series saw the biggest launch of a series for young readers ever, surpassing sales of first installments of Twilight, Diary of A Wimpy Kid, and Percy Jackson & The Olympians.

* JP has grossed over 3 billion dollars in worldwide sales. This is larger than the worldwide theatrical gross of Avatar, the highest grossing film of all time.

* JP has had 43 New York Times hardcover #1 bestselling novels, also a publishing industry record.

* Last year, JP has sold more books than John Grisham, Dan Brown, Tom Clancy, and Stephen King combined (source: Nielsen BookScan).

* JP properties are gaining wide interest amongst film and TV producers. JP's award-winning series for young readers, Maximum Ride, is currently with Avi Arad (Spiderman, Iron Man) and Universal Pictures. Lloyd Levin (Green Zone, Watchmen) is attached to produce a feature film adaptation of JP's newest young readers series, Witch and Wizard, and James Patterson Entertainment is set to produce the next Alex Cross film, I, Alex Cross which will feature Idris Elba (The Wire, The Losers) as Alex Cross. And, a television adaptation of JP's 2007 love story Sundays At Tiffanys aired in December 2010 starring Alyssa Milano and Eric Winter.

* JP's books are licensed in 43 countries worldwide, and are in print and actively sold in 100 countries.

* According to a 2010 Bowker Sisters in Crime Survey, JP is the favorite mystery writer amongst readers under 50...AND over 50! Survey respondents comprised American men, women and teens who bought at least one mystery fiction title in 2009 and/or 2010.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

110 of 128 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Major League Whodunit!, May 2, 2005

By 

Michael D. Trimble (Connecticut) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 4th of July (Hardcover)

Wow, what a story! There is a reason why James Patterson sells millions of books and great mysteries like 4th of July are the reason why. In the fourth installment of the popular Women's Murder Club series, Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer (the head of San Francisco Police Department's Homicide Division) is fighting to save her career after she is accused in a wrongful death suit, and at the same time struggling to help solve a series of grisly murders that have shaken the small town of Half Moon Bay, where she has retreated to chill out while on administrative leave from the SFPD.

As the story unfolds Lieutenant Boxer is hot on the trail of a couple of suspects that she and her partner believe are responsible for a recent string of seedy motel murders. Turns out the suspects are two very youthful teenage siblings, and in the process of apprehending these two, Boxer is forced to use deadly force to defend herself and her partner. When all is said and done, Boxer's partner is critically wounded and unconscious, Boxer herself has been hit twice, a 15 year old girl is dead, and her 13 year old brother is paralyzed for life from the neck down. Was it a legitimate use of deadly force? Not in the minds of the parents it wasn't. And the media has already found her guilty without the benefit of trail!

In Half Moon Bay someone is killing local residents in a gruesome fashion reminiscent of an unsolved homicide from Lieutenant Boxer's earliest days on the force. She is supposed to be laying low in the sleepy little seaside resort, gearing up the trail of her life, but when the killing starts, she finds herself hard pressed to remain disinterested and unengaged. Before long she is swept up in the investigation and a target for murder herself!

A great weekend read. The chapters just fly by! Also recommended are the other three stories in the Women's Murder Club series: 1st to Die, 2nd Chance, and 3rd Degree. Be the first on your block to collect all four books!

32 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Manufactured, assembly line thriller., May 2, 2005

By 

Average Reader (San Diego CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 4th of July (Hardcover)

James Patterson and his latest co-writer have written a novel that appears to have been compiled from a crime novel cliche bin. Dozens of murders, overly-dramatic descriptions, and a climax that it is anything but. His leading character hardly spends more than a few moments investigating yet miraculously solves a baffling crime. Patterson has really stretched himself thin on this one. It is a true page-turner in that you keep turning pages to see if anything interesting will ever happen.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Keeps you guessing!, May 3, 2005

By 

Glen Cassini - See all my reviews

This review is from: 4th of July (Hardcover)

I thought this was a good book that kept me guessing to the end. The chapters are only a few pages each, so the action shifts all over the place. The one unrealistic aspect of this book that I did not care for was the trial. She had this trial hanging over her head the whole book and yet she never really seemed to worry about it, at least not in the way that most normal people would.