Well, we return to the formation of theMurder Club and wow, it’s been awhile since I read the book.

Awhile but I did remember key parts so the sequence of events and the serial killer reveal wasn’t too big of a surprise for me. Nor was it for my friend but she’s always been good at guessing the killer. She feels like a genius.

Still it was the usual Patterson mystery with quick description, tight pacing and a twisty plot. More of the appeal for me was seeing how much had changed for Lindsey Boxer since the beginning. Like the fact she spent the entire book battling a fatal anemia, concerned about her future and whether or not she’ll ever reach her goals of getting promoted, finding love etc. Just knowing it will all happen makes it surreal.

Same with seeing how young the rest of the club members feel with Cindy spunkily making her first big break when one knows that she’ll not only become a big time reporter but a big time author; Claire’s calm and cool demenour when knowing she has big traumas coming ahead; and Jill, poor Jill, I feel like she’s really forgotten as the series continued.

Same with Chris Raleigh, I completely forgot about him. Still he made a poignant emotional impact on Lindsey in the short space of time with their work-trauma bond, opening her up to the concept of love again. Could he be a rare case of male fridging?

My one nitpick would have to be with the epilogue that reveals the true mastermind behind the serial killer’s strategies. Even though the ending implies this is a real scene but the way Patterson wrote it, it felt more like a nightmare with sparse description, clustraphobic surroundings and distorted features, not a realistic ending.

Next up: Bobbie Faye’s very (very, very) bad day by Toni McGee Causey.