Book ~ "3rd Degree" (2004) James Patterson and Andrew Gross

From Goodreads ~ Plunging into a burning town house, Detective Lindsay Boxer discovers three dead bodies ... and a mysterious message at the scene. 

When more corpses turn up, Lindsay asks her friends Claire Washburn of the medical examiner's office, Assistant D.A. Jill Bernhardt, and San Francisco Chronicle reporter Cindy Thomas, to help her find a murderer who vows to kill every three days. Even more terrifying, he has targeted one of the four friends. Which one will it be?

There are four members of the Women's Murder Club ... Lindsay, Cindy, Claire and Jill.

Lindsay is a police lieutenant in San Francisco.  She is jogging with her dog when a house blows up as she's passing by.  Three dead bodies are found inside, one is the owner of a company from which he had recently sold his stock, thus plunging the price down.  As more murders happen and more notes are found, the group taking responsibility want fairer conditioners for people around the world.  Joe, a deputy director from Homeland Security, is brought in to help the San Francisco police department solve these murders.

This is the third in the Women's Murder Club series (and the fourth one I've read).  Though it is part of a series, it does work as a stand alone.

I enjoyed the writing style and it went at a good pace. I liked the short choppy chapters. The point of view shifted ... it was first person perspective when the focus was on Lindsay and third person perspective when the focus was on everyone else ... but it was easy to figure out.  As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.  Out of the blue, domestic violence appears but it's nipped in the bud rather quickly (too quickly I thought).

I found this book a bit too political and as a Canadian, I didn't get some of the American references to things that have happened in the past.  I'd never heard of the Weathermen and there was no explanation of who they were and I don't really know what Homeland Security is.

I thought this was just okay and will continue to get caught up in the series.

Book ~ "2nd Chance" (2002) James Patterson and Andrew Gross

From Goodreads ~ "2nd Chance" reconvenes the Women's Murder Club, four friends (a detective, a reporter, an assistant district attorney, and a medical examiner) who used their networking skills, feminine intuition and professional wiles to solve a baffling series of murders in "1st to Die". 

This time, the murders of two African Americans, a little girl and an old woman, bear all the signs of a serial killer for Lindsay Boxer, newly promoted to lieutenant of San Francisco's homicide squad. But there's an odd detail she finds even more disturbing: both victims were related to city cops. 

A symbol glimpsed at both murder scenes leads to a racist hate group but the taunting killer strikes again and again, leaving deliberate clues and eluding the police ever more cleverly. In the meantime, each of the women has a personal stake at risk - and the killer knows who they are. 

There are four members of the Women's Murder Club ... Lindsay, Cindy, Claire and Jill.

After choir practice as the children are leaving, a gunman open fires on them, killing a young black girl and Lindsay investigates.  It seems like a random act until Cindy, Lindsay's friend and another member of the Women's Murder Club, tells Lindsay that the hanging of an older black woman and the killing of the girl may be related.  There is the same symbol at both deaths plus both have a connection to police officers.  Then there are more shootings ... one hits its mark killing the person and other just misses.

As Lindsay continues the investigation, she has to deal to some of the most hardened criminals to get to the bottom of what's going on.  On top of that, she has a surprise visit from someone from her past.

This is the second in the Women's Murder Club series (and the third one I've read).  Though it is part of a series, it does work as a stand alone.

I enjoyed the writing style and it went at a good pace. I liked the short choppy chapters. The point of view shifted ... it was first person perspective when the focus was on Lindsay and third person perspective when the focus was on everyone else ... but it was easy to figure out.  As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.

I liked Lindsay, Claire, Jill and Cindy.  They are very supportive of each other both professionally and emotionally.  There were a couple of dumb things that Lindsay did which put her in danger.  As a cop, she should know better.

I liked this one and will continue to get caught up in the series.

Book ~ "No Way Back" (2013) Andrew Gross

From Goodreads ~ One woman is framed for a horrific crime and desperate to prove her innocence.

A chance meeting with a stranger in a hotel ends in a shocking murder. Wendy Gould is an average mom--and the only witness. Nanny Lauritzia Velez knows a shocking secret that could prove to be deadly. Both of their lives in danger, this unlikely pair must work together against a network of dangerous men who want nothing more than to see them dead.

A fast-paced, riveting tale with strong, compelling characters, No Way Back is an edge-of-your-seat read with nonstop action and a complex mystery.

Wendy and her husband, Dave, had a spat last night and are still not speaking.  She is meeting up with her friend, Pam, in a bar to have some drinks and to talk about it.  Pam is running late and Wendy starts chatting with Curtis, who is also at the bar.  Pam texts that she can't make it after all and Wendy ends up in Curtis' hotel room.  Before it goes too far, Wendy stops things and goes into the washroom to freshen up.  While she's in there, she sees a man come into Curtis' room and shoot him.  To save herself, Wendy shoots the guy and ends up on the run when she is blamed for the murders.

Lauritzia escaped from Mexico and is working as a nanny for a family she loves and who love her. She is going to school and has dreams of opening her own store one day.  But her dreams are shattered with a shooting in the mall and she knows the bullets were meant for her.  She wants to run to protect the family but they convince her to stay so they can help her.

Wendy and Lauritzia have to work together so they can both get their lives back.

This is the first book I've read by this author and I enjoyed it.  I liked the writing style and it sucked me in right away.  It's action-packed and never slows down.  The chapters are short and snappy which I like.

While I liked Lauritzia, I didn't care much for Wendy.  Yes, I was cheering her on but I couldn't warm up to her for some reason.  She had the bad luck to be in the wrong place at the wrong time that set off the chain of events.  Despite not liking one of the main characters, I really enjoyed the book which is a testament to the writing and story.  The bad guys are ruthless and cold.

The pieces start falling together at the end as to what's going on and I was happy with the ending for the most part.  Not to give anything away, I wasn't buying the possible love connection that was hinted at, though.  Really?  It had only been four months.

I look forward to reading other books by this author.