Review: Unlucky 13

by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (Century)

San Francisco cop Lindsay Boxer and her three best buddies – chief medical examiner Claire Washburn, investigative crime journalist Cindy Thomas and district attorney Yuki Castellano – make up the “women’s murder club”.

Apart from the fact they are all professional women involved in the sphere of crime, they have personal connections, mostly via the men in their lives.

Yuki is dating Lindsay’s police chief boss, Brady, Cindy used to date Lindsay’s cop partner, Richie. It’s complicated…

The story focuses on three crime scenarios – a “mad” bomber who has developed a micro explosive which can be hidden inside a burger; Mackie Morales, a psychotic serial killer out to avenge the death of her equally evil boyfriend; and, behind door number three… pirates – the type who board luxury liners and demand large ransoms while shooting passengers hour by hour.

Just to throw a spanner in the works, in the book before this one, 12th of Never, murderer Mackie Morales fooled the SFPD when she posed as an intern and ended up having an affair with one of the cops.

The book was interesting enough and well paced, but pretty formulaic.

I can’t say I was gripped and it seemed a little underdeveloped, as far as plot and characters go.

Also, why bring up a domestic dispute (another storyline) where a woman shoots her husband in front of their child and just leave the questionable outcome hanging?