I know that Patterson can write excellent thrillers, but this felt very contrived and more like a pulp fiction book. Maybe knowing the series would make it more satisfying, but I didn't think that it was near the writing of his earlier books, sadly.

After writing the tell all biography of serial killer Evan Burke, Cindy Thomas could never have guessed the outcome would result in a copycat killer. A copycat who takes his own victims in the same way however putting his own twist on it.
This becomes the most difficult and disturbing case the Woman’s Murder Club have ever faced. Can they catch the killer before he destroys everything they hold dear?
This is number 23 in the series and I think maybe the best so far.
It’s fast paced, tense, emotional and highly engrossing. The two authors continue to raise the bar with this series and never let the reader down. This is another great book and I can’t wait to see what comes next.

The Womens Murder Club is back, and they've brought the suspense and thrills back with them!

This instalment continues on with the storyline of the prolific serial killer Burke, and Cindy's book tour, for a book written with Burke about his crimes. But there seems to be a copycat who is killing their victims wherever Cindy has a book signing. Will the Women's Murder Club be able to stop the copycat before its too late?

I will admit that I was getting to the point of throwing in the towel with this series, but am glad that I gave this one a chance, as the authors have served up what the Women's Murder Club series is all about - suspense, thrills and 'I'll read just one more chapter!'

As ever, this author draws you into a heart pounding adventure from start to finish. Murders are mounting up, seemingly related to Cindy’s book tour, and Yuki is involved in a domestic abuse trial. There is always so much going on as Lyndsey and the team try to solve the murders and tie the puzzle pieces together before more lives are lost, especially when one of their own is in danger. The Womens Murder Club, their partners and colleagues are all compelling characters and each add to the story overall. A highly enjoyable read and definitely to be recommended.
I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley but voluntarily leave this review.

Yes!! Another fast paced novel from the women's murder club. Pattersons signature short chapters are well written and powerful it wasn't long before I was half way through.

Being a massive Patterson fan the characters are so familiar and it was great to catch up with them again and follow them whilst they solve crimes. What I love most is not only do we follow the story of the crime, we are immersed in each characters lives.

As always plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing and of course wanting more. Completely unputdownable.
As much as each of these books can be read as a standalone as Patterson does give a short character intro at the beginning of each book I highly recommend reading the whole series in order. It definitely makes for a better read!

Thank you to Netgalley, Publisher and Author for the opportunity to read this book and feeding my Patterson addiction.

I think that this is the first James Patterson novel I’ve read and I have to say that it came as a bit of a surprise. Clearly there are millions of Patterson fans out there - this is #23 of this series - but I’m not really one of them.

For me the characters were flat and their voices all sounded the same. Similarly the flip from hard-nosed cop/lawyer, etc to talk of bffs was similarly unconvincing and a bit irritating. Although it is a police procedural with a pretty impressive body count, I just didn’t feel any real sense of danger for the protagonists and it all felt extremely unlikely.

This sadly didn’t really work for me at all.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This is the investigation into the murder of a woman and her baby by detective Lesley Boxer and her team. The case soon escalates with more bodies that show similarities to serial killer Evan Burke who Lesley put away.
The killer taunts her by sending videos. Then her best friend Cindy who wrote a biography about Evan Burke disappears.
I did enjoy reading this book and was at the edge of my seat a lot of the time, worrying bout the safety of the investigation team. The story is well written and easy to follow. This was my first James Patterson book, but it won’t be my last.

I have loved these ladies of this series from the start and my love for them keeps growing. Each case that they handle makes me learn more about the women even more. Lindsay and her gang are some very smart women this book was as fast paced as usual, I cannot wait to hear January LaVoy read the audiobook she makes all the difference in the enjoyment of the book.

Lindsay and the team are called to a murder scene that emulates a murder committed by jailed felon Evan Burke. It seems to coincide with the publication and book tour by Cindy of her book about the serial killer. When more murders are committed and the victims are found to have attended the book signings, and had been vocal in their disgust at that the subject, it becomes clear that there is a connection and that Cindy is in danger.
Lindsay and co are on a mission to stop this killer in his tracks.
I enjoyed this, but find that the series is getting a bit predictable now.

💭 ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
It was a gripping and a quick read. Short Chapters keeping up the pace. However, I found the characters making it a bit confusing. There is such a thing as too many characters, including background. Also they were named by first name, last name, first and last name and nicknames. Which made me look back a couple of times to check who was who and took me away of the story too much. I did really like the story itself. And flew through it. I adored the female power in this so much, reminded me a bit of my favourite detective show Rizolli & Isles!
⭐️⭐️⭐️

🤓 ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Short chapters
Serial Killers
Detective series
Strong Female Main Characters
Rizolli & Isles

ꜱʏɴᴏᴘꜱɪꜱ:
𝘋𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘉𝘰𝘹𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘌𝘷𝘢𝘯 𝘉𝘶𝘳𝘬𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘴. 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘉𝘶𝘳𝘬𝘦'𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴-𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦.

𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘊𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘺 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘉𝘶𝘳𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦-𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦. 𝘈𝘯 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭-𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘩 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘉𝘶𝘳𝘬𝘦'𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦.

𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘢𝘺'𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰'𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘊𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘺'𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥-𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘬.

I only starting reading this series, out of order, after receiving the 19th book at Christmas and yes 23rd Midnight is the 23rd book in the Women’s Murder Club series. It read well as a stand-alone and if you are new to the series there is a brief note about each woman, Lindsay, Cindy, Yuki and Claire, at the start of the book. This latest instalment proves to be an emotional ride for the four members of the club and the readers.

Briefly, Evan Burke a psychopathic killer is serving a life sentence in San Quentin prison. Cindy who is a journalist has written a book about him and is doing a book tour. However, there is a copycat killer at large. The killer is taunting the police who have no leads and no idea who the killer is. As the murders continue Cindy is kidnapped by the killer and with time running out it’s all hands on deck to find both her and the killer.

Written from Lindsay’s POV and multiple third person perspectives this was an exciting read. With many twists and turns it was impossible to put the book down and followers and new readers alike will love this one. A good, well written read that was fast paced and very enjoyable

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this brilliant book in this series

a gruesome murder right from the first page till the last james patterson surely knows how to keep us riveted right to the end and this book you will not be able to put down

it was great to see all 4 ladies of the murder club in their actual roles and boy are they busier than ever.... but its the murder of the mother and baby that upsets them all and boxer is after the perp and though it brings her into contact with evan burke she is willing to do that to catch him

but one of them goes missing and is in the hands of the murderer and its all hands on deck

brilliantly written and couldnt put it down...

I'm a huge Patterson fan so I was thrilled to be able to review this one. It didn't disappoint. Great story very well told.

i love this series. It covers everything with police work , investigating and journalism. I like the characters and I can see they have got stronger and more determined. The story flows well and is fast paced.

I was really looking forward to this book having read lots of James Patterson books. However I really struggled with this one, I could not get into the story and couldn’t remember the plot. I kept having to re-read pages to remind myself of what was going on. Unfortunately on this occasion this was not for me.

The women’s murder club return in this novel and as always its hits the right note.
Cindy is touring with her book on the serial killer Evan Burke , but as always trouble isn’t far away .
Yuki is prosecuting a horrific attempted murder case involving a husband and wife.
The chapters are short and easy to read and the writing is fast paced and plenty to keep the reader gripped.
I enjoy the concept of the women’s murder club consisting of female characters all strong in their own way and pursuing high level careers .
This series is a breath of fresh air and an easy enjoyable read.
This story could be read as a stand alone as there is enough back story to get to know the characters , although I recommend you read the rest in the series!
Sit back in your favourite chair and lose yourself in the lives of Lindsay Boxer and the rest of the team you’ll not regret it!
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK.

23rd Midnight is the 23rd book in the Women’s Murder Club series.
It has been a while since I read a WMC book but it was like meeting up with old friends and everything falls back into place.
This time out a copy cat killer is on the loose and taunting Detective Lindsay Boxer with live videos of his kills. It starts off shocking and continues through out to keep you interested.
It is a compelling and entertaining read that will appeal to all James Patterson readers every where.

I had read some of the earlier books so I knew some of the main characters already. It followed A similar format to the others, but that didn't really diminish it for me. It features two murderers, one trying to emulate the other who is now in jail.
This is a very fast moving story.that keeps the tension high.throughout. Some of the scenes are gorey to say the least. I found the descriptions of the domestic violence case that was in court during the story to be troubling and some readers might find it too extreme.
All in all a good read as we have come to expect from Mr Pattison.

Copycat serial killers are common in fiction. “Blackout” starts his series by killing a woman and her baby, as an homage to Evan Burke, the most prolific murderer ever. He is currently languishing in St Quentin penitentiary, put there by DS Lindsay Boxer of the San Francisco police. Lindsay is a member of the Women’s Murder Club, along with Cindy (Crime Reporter), Claire (Forensic Pathologist) and Yuki (Prosecution Lawyer). An elderly jogger who happened upon that first murder was collateral damage. It doesn’t take Lindsay and her fellow officers long to make the connection to Burke, since the new kid on the block records his murders and then taunts her with videos. As it happens, Cindy has spent the last year interviewing Burke and has just published a book on him, potentially drawing her to Blackout’s attention. Although Lindsay warns her about the danger, she is too excited about her nationwide book tour to take the warning seriously. Recipe for disaster!
This is the twenty-third book featuring the Women’s Murder Club, ostensibly a friendship group, who keep getting involved with murder investigations. They should not be confused with a bunch of OAPs in England with a similar sounding name – the crimes they encounter are diabolically horrendous and graphically detailed. This book is not cosy crime, it is not an intellectual puzzle, it is a thriller, and it moves at a fast pace. Short sentences, short paragraphs, short chapters. Patterson and his collaborators are a well-oiled machine and this is very much in their groove. Personally, I think that grooves make stories a bit predictable.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

This very readable book moves the story around the Women's Murder Club along a bit further. Tension builds from the beginning. I would recommend the whole series.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK for the advance copy.