Cover Image: 22 Seconds

22 Seconds

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I received this book in exchange for an honest review. You can find yours here: https://www.amazon.com/22-Seconds-Womens-Murder-Club-ebook/dp/B09FJLLNTV/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2PLDY0PL3CY9E&keywords=22+seconds+james+patterson+book&qid=1698328342&sprefix=22+secon%2Caps%2C358&sr=8-1



22 Seconds is the 22nd book in the Women's Murder Club series by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. The series follows the investigations of San Francisco homicide detective Lindsay Boxer and her three friends: journalist Cindy Thomas, assistant district attorney Claire Washburn, and medical examiner Yuki Castellano. Despite it being the 22nd book, if you missed a few along the way, you will be able to get the gist of things. There is a recurring story arc, however it isn't too high that if you pick this book up, you will be lost and at the same time, if you have read the 21 previous books, you aren't skipping through the first few chapters with the catch up.

In 22 Seconds, Lindsay Boxer is on the case when a group of former cops are murdered, each with the same warning scrawled on their bodies: "You talk, you die." As Lindsay and her team investigate, they discover that the killings are connected to a last-ditch shipment of drugs and weapons crossing the Mexican border ahead of new restrictive gun laws.

The book is fast-paced and suspenseful, with plenty of twists and turns to keep you interested. Patterson and Paetro do a good job of developing the characters and their relationships, and the story is full of action and excitement. I thoroughly enjoyed my 245th book by James Patterson! I am still mourning missing him by one day at BookCon, but was excited to get this ARC and hope I get the chance again to meet him in person! As many books as he pumps out in a year, he still manages to come up with interesting storylines and definitely keeps you guessing as to what is happening next. You can definitely feel Lindsay's exhaustion in this book and feel her struggle with the balance of work and home life. I look forward to the next one in the series!

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22 Seconds is written by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. I love reading about the Women's Murder Club. In this one, Lindsey is faced with a choice. There’s buzz of a last-ditch shipment of drugs and weapons crossing the Mexican border ahead of new restrictive gun laws. Before Lindsay can act, her top informant tips her to a case that hits disturbingly close to home. Former cops. Professional hits. All with the same warning scrawled on their bodies: You talk, you die.

This veers a little from previous Women's Murder Club books - this is heavily focused on Lindsey and her husband Joe. Each of the other members have smaller roles and not as much in their story. But true to Patterson fashion, this book will draw you in within the first few pages and will not let you go.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read a copy of this book - all thoughts are my own.

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Took a little while to get into but then I enjoyed the race to catch the bad guys. I like how they look back on a couple previous cases through Joe and Cindy. Women’s Murder Club is always a good read. Looking forward to next!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the DRC.

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Unfortunately I was never able to successfully download this book. But I sure want to read it as I love the series

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I always love me a good James Patterson book, and the women of Women's Murder Club simply add to that excitement of reading the next book in the series! I love the short chapters Patterson always uses as it makes it feel like it's going faster, even if it isn't.

Sergeant Lindsay Boxer is the on the San Francisco Police Department and is looking for whoever is killing a lot of men and doing some pretty nasty things to their bodies, like stapling their lips together and writing "You Talk, You Die" on them, so it seems like all of these men have probably angered the killer(s) by telling something that maybe destroyed the killer's (killers') lives or ruined their marriage, etc. so the suspense is on to find out WHY the men are done that way in their death. But there is also a shipment of drugs and guns from Mexico in the mix, which (of course) involves the cartels. So it would appear that the reason men are being killed and "silenced" is to prevent them from talking about what they know of the cartels and their illegal shipments.

I am looking so forward to reading book #23!

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Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

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The Women's Murder Club with detective Lindsay Boxer is my favorite James Patterson series. A well-paced narrative and lots of action keeps the reader engaged until the end .
I enjoyed reading this book !
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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Another fabulous book in this series. Love the characters and have become quite attached to them all through the years. Can’t wait for #23!

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SFPD Sergeant Lindsay Boxer has guns on her mind when a new law is passed in San Francisco restricting guns. There’s rumor of a shipment of drugs and weapons crossing the Mexican border ahead of the new restrictive gun laws. Lindsay, along with her husband, with other agencies work to try and stop the shipments. Then, former cops die by professional hits and all with the same warning written on their bodies....You talk, you die. Can Lindsay and the gang stop the shipment before more killings?

I have followed this series from the beginning and always like them, especially when all of the members of the Women's Murder Club figure into the story. I tried without success to download this book from NetGalley and the publisher so had to get it at the library. It must have been the book itself rather than NetGalley as I have downloaded several since then with no problem. I ended up getting a print copy from the library; and, since the book remained on my NetGalley Shelf decided to post a review anyway.

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Womans Murder Club strikes again. Love these stories and the characters are like friends. Another great mystery- plot was worthy and I will always be glad to delve into another of these books. Sometimes its great to pick up a book that you know will be good. Patterson and Paetro fans will want to read this.

Thanks to NetGalley Patterson & Pastor & Hachette Book Group for the opportunity ti read this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Its hard to believe that 22 Seconds is the 22nd book in the series Women's Murder Club.

James Patterson and Maxine Paetro never disappoint in writing a book that will have you ignoring everything but getting to the end of the story.

Lindsay and Joe are looking into the illegal guns in Southern California and the action is non stop.

Bodies are piling up and the pages turn faster.

I could not help but think of my son who passed away he just loved James Patterson and this series and I know he would have loved 22 Seconds.

I cant wait for the next adventure or misadventure of Women's Murder Club.

Thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown and Company for a fast paced read.

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Murders abound in the latest installment in the Women’s Murder Club series. A young girl’s body is found in a ditch, former police officers are murdered, their lips stapled shut and “You talk, you die” written on their foreheads, an inmate is hanged in his prison cell. A huge shipment of guns and drugs is on its way from Mexico. There are shootouts. The end… meh.

The ratings for this book are sky high, so if you’re a diehard James Patterson fan and have been hooked on the Women’s Murder Club series, you’ll likely enjoy this one. I surely didn’t. The author, not James Patterson, but Maxine Paetro, attempted to be clever, but she wasn’t. I didn’t care about the characters and the plot was formulaic and forgettable. I’m done with the Patterson book factory for a while… there are too many talented authors to read. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

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"22 seconds...until Lindsay Boxer loses her badge - or her life.

SFPD Sergeant Lindsay Boxer has guns on her mind.

There’s buzz of a last-ditch shipment of drugs and weapons crossing the Mexican border ahead of new restrictive gun laws. Before Lindsay can act, her top informant tips her to a case that hits disturbingly close to home.

Former cops. Professional hits. All with the same warning scrawled on their bodies:

You talk, you die.

Now it’s Lindsay’s turn to choose."

New Women's Murder Club!

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The Women’s Murder Club series—twenty-one years and twenty-two full length novels in—has settled into a relatively bland and predictable pattern. Every time I’m about to give up on the series, Patterson and Paetro perform prodigiously and offer an entertaining story that deepens the characters’ personalities and relationships. My hopes are raised and then, the next year, there’s an inevitable regression to the mean. Obviously, this tried-and true pattern works for the writing duo. Women’s Murder Club is one of Patterson’s most successful series and Paetro has been the primary writer since in the mid-00s.

22 Seconds can be evaluated two different ways. First, how does it perform objectively? Is it a compelling story? Does it have engaging characters? Is the plot believable? Is the theme thought-provoking? Paetro’s style has been to introduce two or three storylines that are mostly disconnected. It’s a way of ensuring that most of the main WCM characters all see some air time. The result is what reads more like a series of contemporaneous novellas. At its worst, there is no connection between the characters. 22 Seconds, while not tying the storylines together in the strongest manner, does make an attempt and the prevailing theme also provides some much-needed cohesion. The characters are way more two-dimensional than they should be this far into a story, but that also helps readers engage with the novel without having to have read anything in the series prior to it. The plot is a bit slapdash. It works if you don’t think too hard or long about it. Overall, it’s reasonably entertaining.

Second, how it does perform subjectively as a Women’s Murder Club novel? Patterson and Paetro have WMC novels down to a science and the problem with that is that the novels have become formulaic. It’s the same general structure each time with only a few things changed. Over time, the characters have become flatter and less individual and the interaction between the main characters—the impetus for the series—has become minimal. It’s an average WMC novel, but because of the trend the series has been on, that’s honestly not saying much.

22 Seconds is probably the strongest thematic and politically-charged novel Patterson and Paetro have written, taking on the topic of gun control. Instead of writing this in a sensible, well-researched, and realistic manner, the writing duo instead goes for over-the-top bombast that ends up harming their positive message about the need for gun control.

Personally, I think it’s time to wind this series down. The Women’s Murder Club no longer feels like the Women’s Murder Club. But as long as the formula keeps working and the books keep selling, Patterson and Paetro will keep giving readers their once-a-year fix. One last thing, the tagline for this book said " 22 seconds... until Lindsay Boxer loses her badge—or her life." At no point during this book was either in seemingly serious peril. Clickbait in back cover copy form.

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This is #22 in the Womens Murder Club. It was mostly about the adventures of SFPD Sargent Lindsay Boxer and her husband Joe but her friends Claire, the coroner,Yuki , the state attorney and Cindy, the newspaper reporter, all had minor roles.
California had passed a restrictive gun control law against semi automatic weapons. Soon was an influx of illegal guns into the San Francisco area and when Joe, working with the FBI, and his partner tried to make an arrest at a gun show, he was shot but saved by his vest. The team investigated the gun imports and discover that they were coming in from Mexico along with large amounts of drugs. Then a number of people were murdered in a short period. They all had the same message attached to their bodies: you talk you die.
This is a fast paced book with lots of action as the SFPD, the FBI and the ATF all join forces to stop the supply of guns and drugs from coming into the US at the Southern California border.
I received this book from Net Galley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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Latest in Women's Mystery Club series, Continues the fast paced, unexpected events of previous titles. Also continues to explore the dynamics of the 4 women and problems their vastly different careers cause the group.

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Another great Lindsey Boxer book along with her lady friends. I kept reading the book all day to see what would happen next. The story line included the drug problems we are having today along with the fentanyl problem at our southern border, the difficulties the police and their families are having in today’s time, the greed of people, and the good and bad of our men in blue. I prefer the number books and Alex Cross books of James Patterson. I would recommend this book to others. I look forward to the next in this series because they are fast moving and enjoyable books.

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This is #22 in the Women's Murder Club series, and I have read (and enjoyed) all of them. However, this particular story seemed particularly disjointed, and some of the sub-plots for the various murder club members seemed contrived and inserted after-the-fact. Several plot points differed throughout the book. The writing didn't even seem to be by the same authors. Overall, I was disappointed.

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22 Seconds by James Patterson is the latest in the Women’s Murder Club series. Lindsay and the ladies are each faced with their own brand of struggle while Joe, Lindsay’s decorated husband, is asked to help the authorities crack down on illegal arms dealers. Suspenseful and fast-paced, 22 Seconds by James Patterson will quench your thirst for excitement.

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

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Patterson and Paetro have come together once again to write another installment of the Women’s Murder Club series. Lindsay and her husband, Joe, are working together on a task force that is trying to shut down a gun and drug smuggling operation. Smuggling, murders of several ex-cops, protests about stringent gun laws, and threats to Lindsay and her family make for an exciting read. The other women of the Women’s Murder Club play lesser roles in this installment. However, I wasn’t bothered by that. I liked how it focused on Lindsay and Joe this time. Working together on the same case brought a whole new set of challenges as parents as they raise their 4-year-old, Julie. There was a brief subplot with Claire, the medical examiner, which could have been omitted. It did nothing for the story.

The Women’s Murder Club has always been a favorite of mine. 22 Seconds did not disappoint. As typical of Patterson’s novels, the chapters are short. It was fast-paced and a quick read. I recommend it to readers of crime fiction and to James Patterson fans.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Little, Brown and Company, for providing me with an advanced review copy in exchange for an honest review.

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