The 8th Confession
- ISBN13: 9780446561334
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
As San Francisco’s most glamorous millionaires mingle at the party of the year, someone is watching–waiting for a chance to take vengeance on Isa and Ethan Bailey, the city’s most celebrated couple. Finally, the killer pinpoints the ideal moment, and it’s the perfect murder. Not a trace of evidence is left behind in their glamorous home.
As Detective Lindsay Boxer investigates the high-profile murder, someone else is found brutally executed–a preacher with a message of hope for the homeless. His death nearly falls through the cracks, but when reporter Cindy Thomas hears about it, she knows the story could be huge. Probing deeper into the victim’s history, she discovers he may not have been quite as saintly as everyone thought.
As the hunt for two criminals tests the limits of the Women’s Murder Club, Lindsay sees sparks fly between Cindy and her partner, Detective Rich Conklin. The Women’s Murder Club now faces its toughest challenge: will… More >>
Tagged with: Confession
Filed under: Books
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
This is James Patterson’s eighth installment of his “WOMEN’S MURDER CLUB” series and it literally starts off with a “bang” as a floating meth lab disguised as a school bus explodes resulting in numerous deaths. Before the reader has any time to recover from the explosion… “Woman’s Murder Club” (WMC) member Cindy Thomas, an investigative reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle is scrutinizing the brutal murder of a homeless man known simply as “Bagman Jesus”. To the rest of the world “Bagman” is just another homeless loser and his death does not affect the rest of the world… including Cindy’s friend and WMC member Detective Lindsay Boxer… who is immediately taken off the “Bagman” case so she can spend all her time on a rash of high profile “rich-and-famous” millionaire murders. As Cindy digs deeper into who “Bagman” really was… she finds out that “Bagman” was literally a “Saint-Of-The-Streets”. “He’d broken up a liquor-store holdup, sometimes worked in a soup kitchen, said that he always had a few dollars for someone who needed it.” He had even helped deliver a woman’s baby. If all the aforementioned criminal activity isn’t enough to get the readers engine running… a rock star dies mysteriously.
Simultaneously WMC member Yuki Castellano an assistant district attorney is prosecuting a big murder case involving a former beauty queen who beat her Father to death with a tire iron… and attempted to accomplish the same thing with her Mother… but failed… but not for lack of trying. Yuki has been on a losing streak… so this case has an added level of importance.
As the story progresses clues seem to point to the current millionaire murders being related to a series of high society deaths in 1982… and the deeper Cindy digs in the “Bagman” case… the more it seems that the “Saint-Of-The-Streets” may actually be a sinner. Now… based on the crime stories being presented… experienced Patterson fans… who have been terribly disappointed in the last few years… may start to think… hey… maybe Patterson has found his long forgotten talent… but then… we get to the romance!
The romantic interludes between all of the characters could only be appreciated by someone in junior high school or lower. It is hard to take these interludes seriously… such as when Cindy and Lindsay’s partner Rich “hook-up”… the author writes: “IT WAS A PERFECT KISS, NO CLASHING OF NOSES OR TEETH.” And this next quote from the same sex scene will make you laugh out loud: “RICH SLIPPING HIS HANDS INTO THE FLIMSY FABRIC OF HER PANTIES, MAKING THEM DISAPPEAR.” (?What disappeared? His hands… the panties… or both? Was Rich a magician as well as a cop?) And when Yuki starts falling in love with a doctor… “YUKI HAD CAUTIONED HERSELF NOT TO GET TOO GAGA ON THEIR FIRST REAL DATE, NOT TO LET HER MOONY EYES SHOW.”
There is one situation that comes up out of THE ABSOLUTE BLUE… out of left field… regarding Yuki and the doctor… that is so ludicrous and not needed… but I just can’t tell you here. Not that it’s a spoiler in the normal sense of the word… but it’s so indescribably ridiculous… I can’t take this absurdity away from you if you decide to pay for this book. If you want to see what this preposterous development is before laying down your money it’s on page two-hundred-eighty-four.
In summary: the crime portion of this book is an improvement on Patterson’s recent releases… but the romance would only be enjoyable in a comedy.
Rating: 3 / 5
SUMMARY: The Women’s Murder Club returns for their eighth case in which a series of unrelated crimes both past and present converge.
WHY YOU’LL LIKE IT: Anyone who is familiar with Patterson and his numerous coauthors understands that these books are formulaic, and it’s no longer a question of how contrived the plot will be but rather how enjoyable it will be to read. This latest offering is a step above the last two or three entries in the series, but nowhere near as compelling as the first few. That said, this is a quick and untaxing read with characters whom readers have come to know and enjoy. The manner in which the murders are perpetrated is relatively interesting, and the new pairing of Cindy and Rich is cute if pat.
WHY YOU WON’T: Patterson’s quirk of short chapters is annoying and tiresome, as his penchant for ending each one with what he assumes to be a cliffhanger. It’s plodding and actually slows the narrative rather than accelerating it. The villain is revealed early on as plot device, but their motives are never fully explored, and thus it’s difficult to care about them or their victims as we wait for Lindsay to put all the clues together. The new romances for Cindy and Yuki are odd and rushed, with no real thought behind them; Yuki’s in particular was brittle and appeared to reinforce her loneliness rather than abate it. Yuki is extremely likable but has never been as fleshed out as predecessor Jill. In fact, characterization suffers as the series progresses.
BOTTOM LINE: If you’re in the series for the long haul, this installment is better fare than some of the previous novels, but nowhere near as interesting as the first few. A quick read with some good moments.
Rating: 4 / 5
When I first discovered James Patterson about 10 years ago, I loved his stuff. He was by far the top novelist in the Mystery-Suspense genre. His early Alex Cross books were always best sellers and this was completely deserved. His books always had great pace, suspense, mystery and intriguing villains.
He still produces best sellers but he is living purely on reputation. He now employs associate authors thus enabling him to churn out novels 4 times a year. The truly great authors generally produce one book a year.
This book, The 8th Confession, is another assembly-line product. While it holds your interest, there is nothing that makes it stand out. The word that comes to mind after finishing it is TRITE. There is no real suspense. Instead it depends on familiar characters and thin plot lines.
Will the real James Patterson please come back.
Rating: 3 / 5
This is the 8th book in the Women’s Murder Club series. Of course if you’re a fan, you’ve already read the others and probably pre-ordered this one. I do believe it is a series that you have to read in order, so don’t start with this one as even though you would “get it” as a stand alone, it’s really the history that the women have shared that makes this “Murder Club” more interesting. I’ve enjoyed all but 2 books in this series (#3 and #6 and if you’ve read them you can probably figure out why).I like the women characters and their friendship as well as the different glimpses we get into their personal lives. Each has her own flaws and conflicts to deal with and the friends celebrate and commiserate with each other when they get together.
This isn’t a deep psychological thriller with multiple layers and complex motivations or characters. It’s a book that tells an interesting couple of stories — one about the brutal murder of a strange homeless man named Bagman Jesus, and the other about the mysterious deaths of some rich high profile society figures. The main body of the book details how the cases are solved and about the confluence of interest that the women have in the cases and in each other.
It’s a fun summer beach read — you can put it down and pick it up because the short chapters don’t require long attention spans! Perfect for plane, train or ship travel. An easy read that provides a couple of hours of entertainment and reading enjoyment and doesn’t tax the mental processes!
Rating: 3 / 5
This is eighth Patterson Women’s Murder Club thriller. It is the fifth that he wrote with Maxine Paetro. He composed the first volume of this series by himself and the next two with Andrew Gross. Many of his other books were written with other people. Thus, despite being an extremely popular mystery writer, Patterson’s books are not uniformly excellent. This one is a first class engaging thriller.
Patterson composes his mysteries in an interesting manner, and this may partially account for his enormous success. Virtually all of his chapters begin in the middle of a page, are followed by one full page, and end with a half page. The margins along all four sides of the pages are wide. The print is larger than in most other books and the spacing between lines is also greater. Paragraphs are very small, frequently no longer than three lines. Five dollar words appear rarely, but vivid vibrant verbs are present aplenty. As a result, readers are drawn to the pages and do not feel overburdened. Many can read seventy or more pages an hour. Since this novel ends on page 353, it can be completed in five hours, in an enjoyable afternoon or two. This accounts for part of the novel’s attraction. But even more than this, the book is enjoyable because it is a supercharged drama with ever changing dramatic events, and it has interesting and likeable lead characters.
The 8th Confession takes the four women that we have come to love into three separate cases. Each case has at least one murder, one many killings. Three of our four fiends take the lead in each case. The fourth, the coroner, is also involved with the detective, newspaper writer and assistant DA. Two of our friends fall in love. Both the murders and the loves are far from simple affairs and are suffused with problems.
One of the murders involves millionaires with no evidence that a crime was committed; a second a slum do-gooder wearing a curiously designed crucifix who was obviously shot and beaten many times in anger; the third is an apparent patricide.
Were the many killings in the first case related? Did this pattern of these killings exist two decades before these events? How was the murderer able to approach his or her victims?
Who could possibly hate a man who dedicated his life to helping the homeless in the second case? What was the motive? Was the victim really as pious as his prominently displayed crucifix seems to indicate?
How could the DA in the third case prove that the daughter killed her father and tried to kill her mother? What does her mother remember about the assault?
Why is this mystery called The 8th Confession? This is not revealed until the book’s surprising end, and readers will enjoy finding the answer.
This is an enjoyable and well written book. A good summer read, on the beach or at home.
Rating: 5 / 5