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 love destroy all that four friends have built? The exhilarating new chapter in the Women's Murder Club series, The 8th Confession serves up a double dose of speed-charged twists and shocking revelations as only James Patterson can. And remember, this is the only Murder Club episode of the year.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1264 in Books
• Published on: 2009-04-27
• Released on: 2009-04-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 368 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780316018760
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Fans of Sex and the City ripoffs may best appreciate Patterson's eighth Women's Murder Club novel, his fifth coauthored with Patero (after 7th Heaven). Det. Lindsay Boxer, of the San Francisco police department, is searching for a killer who's knocking off the well-to-do without leaving any signs of violence on the bodies. The investigation is going nowhere until the department's repository of institutional memory recalls a series of unsolved killings from 1982, in which the unidentified perpetrator used a krait, a rare Indian snake, to poison the victims. Meanwhile, Boxer's gal pal, journalist Cindy Thomas, is pressing the police to devote resources to a low priority murder-that of a homeless man known as Bagman Jesus, whose real name is a mystery. The romance that develops between Thomas and Boxer's hunky partner, Det. Rich Conklin, includes a striking moment when Conklin, magician-like, slips "his hands into the flimsy fabric of her panties, making them disappear."
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
"Patterson never, and I mean never, disappoints." (USA Today Larry King )

"James Patterson is king of the bestseller hill." (Publishers Weekly )

"Patterson has mastered the art of writing page-turning bestsellers." (Chicago Sun-Times )

"The Man Who Can't Miss." (Time Lev Grossman )

"When it comes to construction a harrowing plot, author James Patterson can turn a screw all right." (New York Daily News )

"America's #1 storyteller." (Forbes )

About the Author
James Patterson published his first thriller in 1976 and since then has become one of the best-known and bestselling writers of all time, with more than 160 million copies of his books sold worldwide. He is the author of the two most popular detective series of the past decade, featuring Alex Cross and the Women's Murder Club, and he has written numerous other #1 bestsellers. He has won an Edgar Award--the mystery world's highest honor--and his novels Kiss the Girls and Along Came aSpider were made into feature films starring Morgan Freeman. His website, www.ReadKiddoRead.com, lists the very best books for kids--titles that kids will gobble up and ask for more. He lives in Florida.

Maxine Paetro is a novelist and journalist. She lives with her husband in New York.

Customer Reviews

RICK "SHAQ" GOLDSTEIN SAYS: "CRIME STORY OKAY... BUT ROMANCE INFANTILE AND RIDICULOUS!"
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.

Better Than I'd Hoped
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.

Another Trite Book by the James Patterson Assembly Line
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.