For those that enjoyed the first three installments of the Women's Murder Club series, this will bring as much entertainment as the rest. Maybe that is a good thing, and maybe it's bad. Sometimes, as authors, we tend to rehash the same storylines because the readers want it. This book, while venturing out in some new directions, also stands pretty much by the storyline that some may have already found running a bit thin in the first three books.
Lindsay Boxer has already had more troubles in her life than most ever will. So, as to not let up on her, this installment finds her on trial. One day, all in a day's work for a police officer, a car chase takes a wrong turn. Forced to survive a firefight with the bad guys, Lindsay terminates the problems of the two killers they were chasing, but not after they wound her and her partner. Collateral damage in the shootout finds a 15-year-old girl dead and her 13-year-old brother paralyzed. Forget about making the world a safer place with two less convicts in it. Cries of revenge root a police brutality lawsuit.
Lindsay needs to get away from the media eating up the story and her every move. So, she finds a safe haven in her sister's home. Just to assure that she doesn't stay bored between court dates, she is also attempting to solve a recent killing that has all the same trademarks of one of her first unsolved case. It is a case of someone killing off well to do married couples in the better part of town. Could the killer be playing with her or is it a copycat killer looking for attention?
While Lindsay's running partners and pillars of friendship, Claire and Cindy, don't have as large of a supporting role in this book as in previous installments, they still appear to add a bit of that same camaraderie the first three books had. Lindsay's boyfriend, Joe, also seems to not have found his place in the series. He is there, then he isn't. He needs to commit or back away from Lindsay. I think adding a sidebar for some deep and committal romance would do Lindsay some good.
Overall, a good read, but the series needs to either be given some new ideas and twist or brought to a conclusion. Fans of the series will be happy, but newcomers may not be as amused.
Frederick A. Babb
