The Women's Mystery Club

The Women’s Murder Club work together as the sleuths in a series written by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. They are a group of friends who have gotten together to solve mysteries. They are a diverse group of women in the San Francisco area. The Club consists of a police detective (Lindsey Boxer), a medical examiner (Claire Washburn), a lawyer (Yuki Castellano), a reporter (Cindy Thomas) and an Assistant DA (Jill Bernhardt) who was killed in one of the books. Each book in this series has a number in the title - 1st to Die, 2nd Chance, 3rd Degree, 4th of July, The 5th Horseman, The 6th Target, and 7th Heaven. I have just finished the sixth book in this series.

This book does not involve just one crime but several crimes under investigation. In my mind, this gives the book a little more plausibility since you do not expect the police to be just involved with a single crime.

The first crime involves a shooting on a ferry. Four people were killed, Claire Washburn was wounded, and her son was also shot at. Was he the sixth target? The second crime involved a kidnapping (and murder) which proves to be related to other kidnappings (and murders). Also there are a series of crimes in an apartment complex where Cindy Thomas lives.

The person who did the shootings on the ferry turns himself in at Lindsey’s place and confesses to the murders. Yuki is involved in the team to prosecute the killer. The killer has an attorney who defends him on the basis of a mental illness. The case ends in him being found not guilty after which he issues a warning. More on that later.

The kidnapping proves to be a mystery. Suspects include the nanny (who ends up being murdered), the parents, and pedophiles. There is no ransom made but a letter makes threats if the police are brought in. Lindsey gets help from several sources including the FBI and an employee of the agency who supplied the nanny of the kidnapped girl to discover the links to other kidnappings and missing persons. It turns out the kidnappers are the owners of the agency and they usually sell the kids they kidnapped to wealthy clients for sex toys. Fortunately, this little girl is rescued before she is delivered as a sex toy.

The crimes committed in Cindy’s apartment complex cause a lot of concern. Dogs are brutally murdered, property is destroyed, and there is a murder. Through good police work and investigation, the man responsible is discovered and arrested.

Now back to the shooter from the ferry. He is sent to a secure facility for mental treatment. However, through a series of calculated events, he escapes. The meaning of the threat he made is figured out and he is recaptured. When another person dies, there is evidence he was struck by the last stray bullet fired on the ferry. He was NOT intended to be the 6th Target but he was. And it is this 6th target that allows the shooter to be brought back to trial in which he is sure to be found guilty.