Julie's Review: The 9th Judgment

Summary: The most personal: A young mother and her infant child are ruthlessly gunned down while returning to their car in the garage of a shopping mall. There are no witnesses, and Detective Lindsay Boxer is left with only one shred of evidence: a cryptic message scrawled across the windshield in bloodred lipstick. The most dangerous: The same night, the wife of A-list actor Marcus Dowling is woken by a cat burglar who is about to steal millions of dollars' worth of precious jewels. In just seconds there is a nearly empty safe, a lifeless body, and another mystery that throws San Francisco into hysteria. The most exciting Women's Murder Club novel ever. Lindsay spends every waking hour working with her partner, Rich--and her desire for him threatens to tear apart both her engagement and the Women's Murder Club. Before Lindsay and her friends can piece together either case, one of the killers forces Lindsay to put her own life on the line--but is it enough to save the city? With unparalleled danger and explosive action, The 9th Judgment is James Patterson at his compelling, unstoppable best! ~amazon.com

Review: I really never miss a chance to read a Women's Murder Club book and bought it the week it came out but per usual I didn't read it right away. The 9th Judgment is a solid and intense entry into the series. These books never start off slow and always keep going without any slow parts.

It seems to be a pattern lately with these books where there are two murders but on this one, they weave them together in a great manner. The murders of the children and mother's is horrific. Thank god they don't get too gruesome in descriptions or I probably wouldn't have been able to finish the book. There is also the murder of Casey Dowling, a San Francisco socialite, by the cat burgler "Hello Kitty".

The ladies relationships wasn't as central in this book as it has been in others but there does seem to be some tension between Cindy and Lindsey. It should be interesting to see if this ever comes to a head. I'm hoping that Lindsey can move on from her attraction to Conklin and be truly happy with Joe since that is who she belongs with and that she realizes that sometimes being partner's is about having feelings for them but not acting on them. Now the summary makes this seem like it's front and center in the book but it's not. It's mentioned in passing and it related to the plot of the book.

There are a couple twists at the end where I was going thought I was going to have to throw the book if he ended it at certain points. There is enough going on at the end that I can't see what is planned for the 10th book. I have a feeling there are going to be major changes ahead for Lindsey and the group.

Final Take: 4/5