22 seconds

  22 Seconds is the latest installment in the Women's Murder Club series by James Patterson.   I always enjoy reading the thrillers about Det Lindsey Boxer. This book features her and husband, Joe Molinari, mainly.  The other ladies in the club, Yuki, Clare and Cindy do each have roles but not as prominent as in other books in the series.  At times the other ladies stories overlap with the main plot line but the one involving Clare, in her ME role really doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the book.  It is also the one most thoroughly developed so it does seem a bit strange.  

 I don't mind that the story focuses on Boxer and Molinari as the story is well developed  and full of action.  The central story line aspect of drugs and guns being trafficked across the Mexican border is very relevant to current events.  I appreciated the perspective of the impact on the law enforcement community and the fact the hot topic wasn't treated too politically, but rather had both sides on the gun control issue represented;  accurately reflecting the complexity of the matter.  

All in all the book is a great thriller as Patterson's books usually are.  I think my favorite part was the excerpt from his upcoming  memoir.  I found the stories fascinating and have now placed that book on hold at my library.  Hopefully I won't have to wait too long.

This is an action packed book but I did feel like the murder club did t really happen in this installment. The side stories for the other ladies intersected with the main plot line. I will admit that Clare’s role was heartbreaking but the story that leads her to Nor Cal felt unnecessary. That being said the other ladies could have been left out entirely and the story would have worked. There were definitely some plot twists for sure and full of shout outs and death

Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge  Book #64
2. Finishing the Series   #FinishingTheSeries2022  Series: 32 Book #1
3. Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2022   Book #76
4. Cloak & Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal  Book #71
5. Medical Examiner Challenge 11 Toe Tags
6. Beachcomber Challenge  
• Crime Scene- jail/streetx4/ferry/carx2/park/warehouse/bedroom
• Weapon- gun/fentanyl/sheet
• Detectives- Lindsey Boxer
• Victims- Ted Swanson/Kim Swanson/Roger Chen/Richard Darby/Brian Donahue/Roy Abend/Carl Barrows/Pepe Carriola/Katie Caruso/Kenny Chen/Royce Bleeker
7. Six Shooter Challenge  Target #3  Shot #2
8. OWLS 22  Unicorn: Your most anticipated book of the year
9. Pick your Poison #92 chicago a book set in a jail or prison