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A review by tabatha_shipley
The 18th Abduction by Maxine Paetro, James Patterson
3.0
What I Didn’t Like:
-Weird chapter breaks. Patterson is known for his short chapters, but these are weird. They break in the middle of a scene or in the middle of the action. Completely weird decisions that cause the book to feel choppier than it needs to be.
-Emphasis on Joe. So the reason I adored this series in the beginning was that it was about Lindsay and her gang of strong women solving these crimes. Lately, it seems like Patterson is putting the focus more on Joe and what his connections can do. This one, unfortunately, also fell to that. In fact, I didn’t think there was enough of the Women’s Murder Club AT ALL.
-Joe, in general. It’s not really a secret that I never liked him. But something about the way he interacts with his witness on this one right from the get-go really got to me. He’s almost over-the-top chauvinistic about protecting her, and it didn’t feel like he was doing it from a cop angle. I don’t know … I can’t explain it. Just got really bad vibes.
What I Did Like:
-The storyline moves fast. Typical Patterson in that there are twists and turns to keep you hooked and no fluff to drag down the storyline. He gives you what you need to understand and moves on.
-Early Lindsay. Literally. This is told out of sequence with the previous stories so this is Lindsay before baby (and other big timeline changes that may be spoilers if you’re not up on the series). So we’re getting Lindsay in her original glory, which was nice.
-Intriguing concept. This felt less like a murder club book and more like a stand alone Patterson. Which is to say the concept was taken out of San Francisco and away from the WMC. It was intriguing and entertaining, which is good.
Who Should Read This One:
-Fans of Patterson’s stand alones who want to try out WMC might like this one because it backs away from that angle.
My Rating: 3 Stars. As a quick read mystery/thriller this one works for detective readers.
-Weird chapter breaks. Patterson is known for his short chapters, but these are weird. They break in the middle of a scene or in the middle of the action. Completely weird decisions that cause the book to feel choppier than it needs to be.
-Emphasis on Joe. So the reason I adored this series in the beginning was that it was about Lindsay and her gang of strong women solving these crimes. Lately, it seems like Patterson is putting the focus more on Joe and what his connections can do. This one, unfortunately, also fell to that. In fact, I didn’t think there was enough of the Women’s Murder Club AT ALL.
-Joe, in general. It’s not really a secret that I never liked him. But something about the way he interacts with his witness on this one right from the get-go really got to me. He’s almost over-the-top chauvinistic about protecting her, and it didn’t feel like he was doing it from a cop angle. I don’t know … I can’t explain it. Just got really bad vibes.
What I Did Like:
-The storyline moves fast. Typical Patterson in that there are twists and turns to keep you hooked and no fluff to drag down the storyline. He gives you what you need to understand and moves on.
-Early Lindsay. Literally. This is told out of sequence with the previous stories so this is Lindsay before baby (and other big timeline changes that may be spoilers if you’re not up on the series). So we’re getting Lindsay in her original glory, which was nice.
-Intriguing concept. This felt less like a murder club book and more like a stand alone Patterson. Which is to say the concept was taken out of San Francisco and away from the WMC. It was intriguing and entertaining, which is good.
Who Should Read This One:
-Fans of Patterson’s stand alones who want to try out WMC might like this one because it backs away from that angle.
My Rating: 3 Stars. As a quick read mystery/thriller this one works for detective readers.