3rd Degree is the third book in the women’s murder club and was first published in 2004. This is no macho thriller more a murder mystery which plods in places though it is a pleasant read.

Lindsay Boxer is out jogging when a bomb explodes at one of the large houses on her route and she runs to the site to see if she can aid and discovers a child still alive. It is later revealed that a baby is missing from the house along with the au pair. The house belongs to a Silicon Valley millionaire and the children are his. A message is sent about the bomb.

When another CEO is murdered and with the G8 about to hit town San Fransico is in turmoil. Boxer is leading the charge and briefs the deputy director of Homeland Security. With a group claiming the murder as theirs Boxer is being pressed to find the person or people involved behind the chaos. As the investigation progresses the more Boxer relies on the women’s murder club to bounce around ideas and emotional support. This case will mean a lot to Boxer especially the support and maybe even her private life may be improved.

This an okay murder mystery there is no thriller here. ( )

Third in the series, and quite honestly I'm not going to make it through all of them. These were the first James Patterson books I had ever read, and I'm not impressed. I've read many other cop series and these do not stack up to the others. The characters are relatively one-dimensional. The health issue that Lindsay had in the first book has magically disappeared and never been spoken of again. For being a book that is supposed to be focused on four main characters, there is rarely any interaction between the four women. Quite frankly, the mysteries aren't all that interesting either. Yeah, there are twists and turns, and things you don't see coming, but the procedural part is lacking, and the whole thing just needs to be better written.

Now for the spoiler:



How the hell do you kill off one of the supposed "main" characters? Who the hell does that???? At first I was just like, why does everything bad keep happening to Jill? What did she ever do? Miscarriage, abusive husband, disappears...and eventually killed. Just why? That right there is as good a reason as any to quit the series right now. But I own the next 3 books and book 9 so I'll finish out what I have, but I'm skipping all the others in the series.

All in all, it's an okay mystery. If you're already a fan of James Patterson, by all means, read this book and this series. If you haven't, I would recommend Karin Slaughter, Marie Force, Tana French, or Christina Dodd instead. ( )

Really enjoyed the read, but not the tragedy. ( )

I could read James Patterson all day every day. He did it again with The Woman's Murder Club series. I love his writing.... & 3rd degree was amazing. I'm excited to read the 4th book to this amazing series.
Thank you Mr. Patterson for writing such great books. One of my favorite Authors of all time ( )

Never before have I read a book in which one of the main characters dies. It took me by surprise that she really, truly died. ( )