What do you think?
Rate this book
Women's Murder Club #7
7th Heaven
A terrible fire in a wealthy suburban home leaves a married couple dead and Detective Lindsay Boxer and her partner Rich Conklin searching for clues. And after California's golden boy, Michael Campion has been missing for a month, there finally seems to be a lead in his case--a very devastating lead.
As fire after fire consume couples in wealthy, comfortable homes, Lindsay and the Murder Club must race to find the arsonists responsible and get to the bottom of Michael Campion's disappearance. But suddenly the fires are raging too close to home.
Frightened for her life and torn between two men, Lindsay must find a way to solve the most daunting dilemmas she's ever faced--at work and at home.
As fire after fire consume couples in wealthy, comfortable homes, Lindsay and the Murder Club must race to find the arsonists responsible and get to the bottom of Michael Campion's disappearance. But suddenly the fires are raging too close to home.
Frightened for her life and torn between two men, Lindsay must find a way to solve the most daunting dilemmas she's ever faced--at work and at home.
376 pages, Hardcover
First published February 4, 2008
2,547 people are currently reading
19.1k people want to read
About the author
James Patterson
1,161 books352k followersOfficial US Site
Official UK Site
JIMMY Patterson Books
ReadKiddoRead
James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time. He is the creator of unforgettable characters and series, including Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride, and of breathtaking true stories about the Kennedys, John Lennon, and Tiger Woods, as well as our military heroes, police officers, and ER nurses. Patterson has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton and Dolly Parton, and collaborated most recently with Michael Crichton on the blockbuster Eruption. He has told the story of his own life in James Patterson by James Patterson and received an Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal.
This author also writes under the following name: Džejms Paterson
Official UK Site
JIMMY Patterson Books
ReadKiddoRead
James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time. He is the creator of unforgettable characters and series, including Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride, and of breathtaking true stories about the Kennedys, John Lennon, and Tiger Woods, as well as our military heroes, police officers, and ER nurses. Patterson has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton and Dolly Parton, and collaborated most recently with Michael Crichton on the blockbuster Eruption. He has told the story of his own life in James Patterson by James Patterson and received an Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal.
This author also writes under the following name: Džejms Paterson
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,380 reviews
August 6, 2019
7th Heaven is the seventh book in the Detective Lindsey Boxer Woman's Murder Club series by Maxine Paetro and it's a beauty!
Lindsey and her partner Rich Conklin are trying to solve a series of deadly arson fires occurring around San Francisco.
Someone is targeting beautiful mansions in the bay area, setting them on fire and leaving the owners alive but bound up, unable to free themselves before viciously succumbing to the smoke and flames. Then the flames get too hot for Lindsay and they are forced to wonder if the arsonist is one of their own.
Michael Campion, the teenage son of a former governor, has mysteriously disappeared without a trace. He's known by the adoring public as California's "boy with the broken heart" as he was born with a severe, incurable heart condition that could prove fatal at any moment.
He's been missing for months and the trail has grown cold but now a new lead comes in. Someone reports that he saw Michael go into the house of a prostitute named Judy Moon. Could Michael still be alive? When Judy confesses that Michael died in her arms all hope is dashed and his parents are crushed. But soon after, Judy recounts her confession saying it was coersed and that she's never even seen Michael. And there's no body. Judy is still indicted for his murder and ADA, Yuki Castellano, must get justice for Michael's parents and win the trial against Judy Moon. It's the biggest challenge Yuki has been up against in her career. As if the pressure from the trial isn't enough, Yuki is being dogged by a reporter who wants a best seller ending to his book, and he won't stop until he gets one.
Then there is always the rich atmosphere surrounding Joe and now there's Rich, too, making things difficult for Lindsay.
(I don't mind a little zing added in with my intense crime mystery, thrillers as is the case in this series!)
7th Heaven is one of the best in the series yet!
The heart pounding tension creeps in from the start and keeps you guessing all the way through.
The twists in the plot are original and the closer to the end you get the more hellish and intense the story becoms. Every emotion the characters perceive is palpable as always! The cases come to a close but not always the way you want them to. If you've been reading this series you'll know what I mean! I dare you to try to anticipate what happens in the end! I had no idea!! Quite a shocker this one was!
Even though the series is up to seven, the characters remain fresh and there's always more insight into the rich and complicated individual characters and something new happening among them.
I love Maxine Paetro's Woman's Murder Club series and I can't wait to see what will happen to the friends in book 8, The 8th Confession!
I highly recommend this series!
Lindsey and her partner Rich Conklin are trying to solve a series of deadly arson fires occurring around San Francisco.
Someone is targeting beautiful mansions in the bay area, setting them on fire and leaving the owners alive but bound up, unable to free themselves before viciously succumbing to the smoke and flames. Then the flames get too hot for Lindsay and they are forced to wonder if the arsonist is one of their own.
Michael Campion, the teenage son of a former governor, has mysteriously disappeared without a trace. He's known by the adoring public as California's "boy with the broken heart" as he was born with a severe, incurable heart condition that could prove fatal at any moment.
He's been missing for months and the trail has grown cold but now a new lead comes in. Someone reports that he saw Michael go into the house of a prostitute named Judy Moon. Could Michael still be alive? When Judy confesses that Michael died in her arms all hope is dashed and his parents are crushed. But soon after, Judy recounts her confession saying it was coersed and that she's never even seen Michael. And there's no body. Judy is still indicted for his murder and ADA, Yuki Castellano, must get justice for Michael's parents and win the trial against Judy Moon. It's the biggest challenge Yuki has been up against in her career. As if the pressure from the trial isn't enough, Yuki is being dogged by a reporter who wants a best seller ending to his book, and he won't stop until he gets one.
Then there is always the rich atmosphere surrounding Joe and now there's Rich, too, making things difficult for Lindsay.
(I don't mind a little zing added in with my intense crime mystery, thrillers as is the case in this series!)
7th Heaven is one of the best in the series yet!
The heart pounding tension creeps in from the start and keeps you guessing all the way through.
The twists in the plot are original and the closer to the end you get the more hellish and intense the story becoms. Every emotion the characters perceive is palpable as always! The cases come to a close but not always the way you want them to. If you've been reading this series you'll know what I mean! I dare you to try to anticipate what happens in the end! I had no idea!! Quite a shocker this one was!
Even though the series is up to seven, the characters remain fresh and there's always more insight into the rich and complicated individual characters and something new happening among them.
I love Maxine Paetro's Woman's Murder Club series and I can't wait to see what will happen to the friends in book 8, The 8th Confession!
I highly recommend this series!
January 12, 2024
Book Blog | Bookstagram
This was a step up from 6th Target, but barely, and we took that step like this:
We got there, but it wasn't easy.
I mean, at one point in this series Lindsay was a level-headed, strong, successful boss bitch. Strong females in charge is my fucking jam. But, now she's morphed into a love-sick airhead who puts her career aspirations aside and can't make a decision to save her life. It's such a betrayal.
I don't mind a bit of romance in my crime novels but I like it coming at me realistically. These cliché romantic moments that we see over and over are crushing my very soul and it's already pretty gaunt to begin with, so I can't necessarily afford this.
Earning marks over the last book, there are fewer crime plotlines to follow. Wealthy couples are being burned to death, and a new breaking lead in the disappearance of a Governor's son gives Yuki a chance to be the lead prosecutor on a huge case, but I use the term "huge" very loosely because the Prosecution's case was super weak.
The weird truth is that people confess to crimes they didn't commit all the time. If Yuki really thought her case against Junie Moon in the murder of the governor's son was going to be a good case to make her mark with, she's not good at her job.
Also minus a star for the one dude who said to his buddy re: his outfit "You look awesome, totally rockin' dude!"
Just, no.
⭐⭐½ | 2.5 stars rounded down
This was a step up from 6th Target, but barely, and we took that step like this:
We got there, but it wasn't easy.
I mean, at one point in this series Lindsay was a level-headed, strong, successful boss bitch. Strong females in charge is my fucking jam. But, now she's morphed into a love-sick airhead who puts her career aspirations aside and can't make a decision to save her life. It's such a betrayal.
I don't mind a bit of romance in my crime novels but I like it coming at me realistically. These cliché romantic moments that we see over and over are crushing my very soul and it's already pretty gaunt to begin with, so I can't necessarily afford this.
Earning marks over the last book, there are fewer crime plotlines to follow. Wealthy couples are being burned to death, and a new breaking lead in the disappearance of a Governor's son gives Yuki a chance to be the lead prosecutor on a huge case, but I use the term "huge" very loosely because the Prosecution's case was super weak.
The weird truth is that people confess to crimes they didn't commit all the time. If Yuki really thought her case against Junie Moon in the murder of the governor's son was going to be a good case to make her mark with, she's not good at her job.
Also minus a star for the one dude who said to his buddy re: his outfit "You look awesome, totally rockin' dude!"
Just, no.
⭐⭐½ | 2.5 stars rounded down
May 3, 2023
The seventh in the series 'Women's Murder Club' which I am not reading in order! There is really no need since character growth is minimal. This one was written with Maxine Paetro and it is good!
In parallel crimes, couples are being found burned to death in their homes and a man is missing presumed dead. Lindsey is investigating both cases, Yuki is attempting to prove that the missing man was murdered despite there being no body, Claire is the Medical Examiner for both and Cindy is reporting everything she can get. It seemed especially odd that Yuki should technically be able to question her best friend in court but then I never expect these books to be believable - just fun!
This one was exciting, fast paced and fun. When I need a book to count on for a pleasant read I can always choose James Patterson With Maxine Paetro
In parallel crimes, couples are being found burned to death in their homes and a man is missing presumed dead. Lindsey is investigating both cases, Yuki is attempting to prove that the missing man was murdered despite there being no body, Claire is the Medical Examiner for both and Cindy is reporting everything she can get. It seemed especially odd that Yuki should technically be able to question her best friend in court but then I never expect these books to be believable - just fun!
This one was exciting, fast paced and fun. When I need a book to count on for a pleasant read I can always choose James Patterson With Maxine Paetro
November 11, 2024
A thoroughly enjoyable addition to the WOMEN’S MURDER CLUB franchise
7TH HEAVEN is (you guessed it!) the seventh entry in the long-running and surprisingly successful James Patterson series about THE WOMEN'S MURDER CLUB, an informal grouping of professional women that by virtue of their work and their deep friendship for one another, seemed destined to bump up against criminals and their nasty work. Lindsay Boxer, homicide detective for the San Francisco police department, Yuki Castellano, an ambitious young district attorney, Cindy Thomas, hotshot crime reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, and Claire Washburn, San Francisco's Chief Medical Examiner, are up to their armpits in alligators dealing with two cases simultaneously.
Michael Campion, a teenager with an incurable heart defect, has vanished. Last seen in the company of Junie Moon, a known prostitute with an impossibly cute baby face, Michael's disappearance (and possible murder) is bound to be a political headache for Lindsay Boxer because Michael's father is an ex-governor of California with connections at the highest level in San Francisco's police force. Lindsay finds herself under tremendous pressure to come up with a lead, any lead ... and when she does, it's a doozie! At the same time, she and her police partner, Rich Conklin, as well as her stalwart colleagues in The Women's Murder Club are on the trail of a serial killer/arsonist who seems to be on a far left-wing vendetta against the city's wealthy elite.
Unlike the outrageously weak fare that we suffered through in LONDON BRIDGES, or the tripe from YOU'VE BEEN WARNED that, frankly, should never have seen the light of a published day, 7TH HEAVEN continues a great string of WOMEN'S MURDER CLUB successes. Not only are the plots interesting and replete with all the requisite twists and turns that a good thriller needs but the dialogue is smart, crisp and believable. AND the characters remain interesting, realistic and are subject to constant evolution. Lindsay's relationship with former partner, Joe, for example, comes under duress as Lindsay finds herself fantasizing about current partner, Rich Conklin. And that ending is to die for ... right out of left field, completely unpredictable and utterly satisfying.
Nice job, Mr Patterson. Thoroughly enjoyable and highly recommended. I look forward to THE 8TH CONFESSION.
Paul Weiss
7TH HEAVEN is (you guessed it!) the seventh entry in the long-running and surprisingly successful James Patterson series about THE WOMEN'S MURDER CLUB, an informal grouping of professional women that by virtue of their work and their deep friendship for one another, seemed destined to bump up against criminals and their nasty work. Lindsay Boxer, homicide detective for the San Francisco police department, Yuki Castellano, an ambitious young district attorney, Cindy Thomas, hotshot crime reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, and Claire Washburn, San Francisco's Chief Medical Examiner, are up to their armpits in alligators dealing with two cases simultaneously.
Michael Campion, a teenager with an incurable heart defect, has vanished. Last seen in the company of Junie Moon, a known prostitute with an impossibly cute baby face, Michael's disappearance (and possible murder) is bound to be a political headache for Lindsay Boxer because Michael's father is an ex-governor of California with connections at the highest level in San Francisco's police force. Lindsay finds herself under tremendous pressure to come up with a lead, any lead ... and when she does, it's a doozie! At the same time, she and her police partner, Rich Conklin, as well as her stalwart colleagues in The Women's Murder Club are on the trail of a serial killer/arsonist who seems to be on a far left-wing vendetta against the city's wealthy elite.
Unlike the outrageously weak fare that we suffered through in LONDON BRIDGES, or the tripe from YOU'VE BEEN WARNED that, frankly, should never have seen the light of a published day, 7TH HEAVEN continues a great string of WOMEN'S MURDER CLUB successes. Not only are the plots interesting and replete with all the requisite twists and turns that a good thriller needs but the dialogue is smart, crisp and believable. AND the characters remain interesting, realistic and are subject to constant evolution. Lindsay's relationship with former partner, Joe, for example, comes under duress as Lindsay finds herself fantasizing about current partner, Rich Conklin. And that ending is to die for ... right out of left field, completely unpredictable and utterly satisfying.
Nice job, Mr Patterson. Thoroughly enjoyable and highly recommended. I look forward to THE 8TH CONFESSION.
Paul Weiss
October 30, 2021
Book 7 in the Women’s Murder Club published 2008.
An average 3 star read.
Once again, I know the authors, I know the series and I am familiar with the scenarios. So I know before I start reading what I am about to read.
So the question is. Why bother?
For the life of me I have no idea.
The reality is this would be an interesting book if I were new to the authors but given that I have read most of the Alex Cross and The Murder Club series this really is just more of the same.
A couple of rich and entitled young white males are running riot killing and burning down the homes of the rich and famous. Why? Who would know.
Then there is the story of the terminally ill, again, rich young white male and the prostitute. It was about then that the dry retching started.
And lastly there is the journalist/author who would do anything for a good story even, God forbid, murder.
So as you can see there are a quite a few crazies running around.
If only there was something new and fresh between the pages this could have been an entertaining read but I’m sure that many people new to the authors will find it to be so.
An average 3 star read.
Once again, I know the authors, I know the series and I am familiar with the scenarios. So I know before I start reading what I am about to read.
So the question is. Why bother?
For the life of me I have no idea.
The reality is this would be an interesting book if I were new to the authors but given that I have read most of the Alex Cross and The Murder Club series this really is just more of the same.
A couple of rich and entitled young white males are running riot killing and burning down the homes of the rich and famous. Why? Who would know.
Then there is the story of the terminally ill, again, rich young white male and the prostitute. It was about then that the dry retching started.
And lastly there is the journalist/author who would do anything for a good story even, God forbid, murder.
So as you can see there are a quite a few crazies running around.
If only there was something new and fresh between the pages this could have been an entertaining read but I’m sure that many people new to the authors will find it to be so.
October 2, 2014
I must say, Yuki is really getting on my nerves right now. The books seem to get more boring ever since there is that co-author. I can't help it. I liked Yuki at first but by now I really dislike her. When Jill was still there, you wouldn't spend half of the book reading about the things in court and all that stuff. So I really dislike that. I mean, if I wanted to read about court stuff, I'd buy a book about that. But these books are, in my opinion, about homicide cases and therefore I really dislike that there is so much book-time spent in court with Yuki and less time with Lindsay and her team trying to find the killer. Also, the cases seem to be more boring. They used to be with twists that would turn the entire case upside down. Now it's just from one dead end to the next until they happen to find one clue that leads to the big bang. Meh.
January 11, 2012
I have to tread lightly when reading James Patterson books. I have really liked the Women's Murder Club series, but after the first one, they were almost unreadable. Crazy amounts of sex and bad language, they just weren't for me. The stories were always entertaining but I just hated those other parts. This is by far the best in the series. Hardly any cussing (although there is some) and sex (ditto), it's much more tame than the others. The story was intriguing and tense, made even more so by the fact that I was in San Francisco while I read about a killer loose in San Francisco. I was bummed that she didn't resolve whether or not she was going to marry Joe. I like her partner, but Joe is the man for her and I will be devastated if she breaks up with him. He gave up his job with Homeland Security to move to San Francisco and be with her, and he is soooo great. My hope for the next one is that she'll marry Joe and keep solving crimes!
November 4, 2019
I absolutely loved the plot twist at the end.
June 15, 2014
I don't know why I persist in reading these awful things. I think I originally liked them, back when Patterson was actually writing them, as opposed to putting his name on other people's work. But Maxine's writing style is so mediocre, you just know she would never be published on her own merit.
Seriously, she makes it absolutely impossible to like these characters. There isn't a one I give a crap about, and I hope for at least one of them to bite it each book. This time it was Clare.
Did you know Clare is pregnant in this book? Well, just in case you might forget, every. single. time. Clare's name is mentioned, you'll get to hear how huuuuuuuuuuuuge she is. How big that belly is. How Ruby is a giant watermelon of fat on her stomach.
We get the fucking message. She's knocked up. Shut up.
As usual, no one gives two shits about Lindsey's love life, and yet it fills up 1/4 of the book. Joe is so wonderful I love him, oh, but we can't talk about my quickie with my partner. I am sooooo not interested in him, but he's attached because I'm such a vixen in the sheets. No, no, no, won't happen. What do you MEAN you're going away for the weekend to see another woman that is such a slight on ME I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME BEST.
How the fuck is anyone supposed to concentrate on the MURDER part of the WOMEN'S MURDER CLUB series?!
As for the murders? Was anyone brain dead enough to think that Junie Moon was going to be found guilty? That was the shittiest plot yet in this series. I can walk into a police station tomorrow and say "I did it. I killed that little old lady found dead in her living room." And you know what? The police will interview me, they'll search my house, they'll check my alibi. And when they find no forensics, no proof at all that I did it?
They're not going to arrest me and try me. That's not how police work goes. Not even for "famous" people. Give me a goddamn break.
And in all of this, I couldn't care at all about the A plot. Fires being set, rich people toasted alive? Awesomely fascinating. But nope. The rest of this tripe ruined it for me.
I will eventually forget how much I hate this writer and read the 8th book. Thank god for libraries, because I would never pay money for this garbage.
Seriously, she makes it absolutely impossible to like these characters. There isn't a one I give a crap about, and I hope for at least one of them to bite it each book. This time it was Clare.
Did you know Clare is pregnant in this book? Well, just in case you might forget, every. single. time. Clare's name is mentioned, you'll get to hear how huuuuuuuuuuuuge she is. How big that belly is. How Ruby is a giant watermelon of fat on her stomach.
We get the fucking message. She's knocked up. Shut up.
As usual, no one gives two shits about Lindsey's love life, and yet it fills up 1/4 of the book. Joe is so wonderful I love him, oh, but we can't talk about my quickie with my partner. I am sooooo not interested in him, but he's attached because I'm such a vixen in the sheets. No, no, no, won't happen. What do you MEAN you're going away for the weekend to see another woman that is such a slight on ME I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME BEST.
How the fuck is anyone supposed to concentrate on the MURDER part of the WOMEN'S MURDER CLUB series?!
As for the murders? Was anyone brain dead enough to think that Junie Moon was going to be found guilty? That was the shittiest plot yet in this series. I can walk into a police station tomorrow and say "I did it. I killed that little old lady found dead in her living room." And you know what? The police will interview me, they'll search my house, they'll check my alibi. And when they find no forensics, no proof at all that I did it?
They're not going to arrest me and try me. That's not how police work goes. Not even for "famous" people. Give me a goddamn break.
And in all of this, I couldn't care at all about the A plot. Fires being set, rich people toasted alive? Awesomely fascinating. But nope. The rest of this tripe ruined it for me.
I will eventually forget how much I hate this writer and read the 8th book. Thank god for libraries, because I would never pay money for this garbage.
June 4, 2020
3 Stars (that’s being generous because I so invested in this series)
Patterson teams up with Paetro again in the 7th book in the Women’s Murder Club series
This was a let-down for me – I read James Patterson for thrill suspense and speed reading. This book mostly felt like a clingy romance and really not my cup of tea!
“I’m not going to do anything,” he insisted. “I would never do anything—I’m just not good at keeping what I feel to myself, Lindsay. I know you’re with Joe. I get it. I just want you to know that I’ve got this arrow through my heart. And I would do anything for you.” (YAWN)
The story focuses on a love triangle with Lindsey and I feel doesn’t add to her character and if anything makes her seem weak and love sick!
I don’t mind a little romance – but this just wasn’t believable and didn’t have any depth. The plotline of the fire-starters was side-lined massively by Lindsey deciding what man she ‘NEEDED’ in her life (EYE-ROLL). I really hope this isn’t a reflection of what James Patterson thinks of women.
Also can someone kill off Yuki now? I just aren’t feeling this character at all for some reason I find her annoying and I don’t think she brings much to the murder club.
Another easy read – but I did find myself skimming through the love-sick chapters
I will be reading the next – it’s too late to stop but I hope they start to focus more on the crime than the characters love lives!
On to the next!
Patterson teams up with Paetro again in the 7th book in the Women’s Murder Club series
This was a let-down for me – I read James Patterson for thrill suspense and speed reading. This book mostly felt like a clingy romance and really not my cup of tea!
“I’m not going to do anything,” he insisted. “I would never do anything—I’m just not good at keeping what I feel to myself, Lindsay. I know you’re with Joe. I get it. I just want you to know that I’ve got this arrow through my heart. And I would do anything for you.” (YAWN)
The story focuses on a love triangle with Lindsey and I feel doesn’t add to her character and if anything makes her seem weak and love sick!
I don’t mind a little romance – but this just wasn’t believable and didn’t have any depth. The plotline of the fire-starters was side-lined massively by Lindsey deciding what man she ‘NEEDED’ in her life (EYE-ROLL). I really hope this isn’t a reflection of what James Patterson thinks of women.
Also can someone kill off Yuki now? I just aren’t feeling this character at all for some reason I find her annoying and I don’t think she brings much to the murder club.
Another easy read – but I did find myself skimming through the love-sick chapters
I will be reading the next – it’s too late to stop but I hope they start to focus more on the crime than the characters love lives!
On to the next!
November 12, 2021
This is a Crime Thriller, and this is the 7th book in the Women's Murder Club series. I have to say this book as a ton of different things going on, and I do not think so of the things needed to be in the book. I liked the characters. The ending was good not great. I found this book overall just ok.
July 10, 2023
The (almost too...) prolific Mr. Patterson tries to shoot two rabbits using one bullet, by writing a two-in one book: a thriller and a romance opera for girls, but both faces are quite average. The trial of Junie Moon is laughable, as the prosecutors have no material evidence at all, there are too many coincidental fires and police are poor in catching the pyromaniac who has survived. Three stars, probably one too many...
December 24, 2020
This wasn’t one of my favorites but the series must go on!
3 stars!
Full review to come!
3 stars!
Full review to come!
March 21, 2018
San Francisco is Hot! There's so much going on that James Patterson keeps it simple but complicated simultaneously.
Lindsay finally has a man that loves her to death but can't say yes to his marriage proposal. Now she's battling feelings about her partner and it may lead to problems at work and at home further down the road.
The previous governor's son, Michael Campian, has disappeared without a trace and a young prostitute has admitted to killing him. Did she? On trial for murder and being prosecuted by one of the best lawyers, Yuki Castellano, and member of the women's murder club, the prostitute recants her admission.
There's a fire starter that's going around robbing wealthy people, binding them up and setting their homes on fire......murder! The calling card left behind is written in Latin and describes the reason for the murder.
Truly will keep you reading and wanting to get to the end. Good read.
Lindsay finally has a man that loves her to death but can't say yes to his marriage proposal. Now she's battling feelings about her partner and it may lead to problems at work and at home further down the road.
The previous governor's son, Michael Campian, has disappeared without a trace and a young prostitute has admitted to killing him. Did she? On trial for murder and being prosecuted by one of the best lawyers, Yuki Castellano, and member of the women's murder club, the prostitute recants her admission.
There's a fire starter that's going around robbing wealthy people, binding them up and setting their homes on fire......murder! The calling card left behind is written in Latin and describes the reason for the murder.
Truly will keep you reading and wanting to get to the end. Good read.
June 9, 2012
It has been awhile since I read any of the Women's Murder Club (I'm hereby referring to it as WMC) books by James Patterson. I was waiting for this 7th book to come out in paperback, and even though it's been sitting on my shelves for awhile, I only recently got around to reading it. Don't ask me why, because as I always find out when I start one of Patterson's WMC books, I can't put them down!
While he may not be a literary genius, I do find Patterson's books to be enjoyable, not to mention very easy, to read. Short chapters can do wonders for a book, especially when one is busy and often interrupted from reading. (Because as much as I didn't want to put this book down, there were times I had to.) Another big reason I like this series of books in particular is that we get to know a set of characters and revisit them over and over and see what is new in their lives. I think that adds to the appeal of the WMC books.
One of Patterson's strengths is his ability to weave together separate mysteries and crimes and yet still tie it all together into the story. For me, that really helps with the pacing of the story and keeps me turning the pages--you get a fresh look into one of the crimes every few chapters. With 7th Heaven, one of the side plots did bug me a little bit, and that was the problems that Yuki had when trying to date true crime writer Jason Twilly turned creepy. Initially it just didn't seem to fit, though by the end of the book it did make more sense in relation to the story. In my opnion, this little piece of the puzzle just felt almost as if it had been added in after the fact. Other than that, I really thought the ending was well-done, and I honestly didn't see it coming. I'd say more but I'm afraid of giving too much away to those of you who haven't read this book.
If you like mysteries and suspense/thrillers, I think you would enjoy Patterson's Women's Murder Club books. It's not absolutely necessary to read them in order, but I do think it's preferable to do that so that you can see the main characters develop.
While he may not be a literary genius, I do find Patterson's books to be enjoyable, not to mention very easy, to read. Short chapters can do wonders for a book, especially when one is busy and often interrupted from reading. (Because as much as I didn't want to put this book down, there were times I had to.) Another big reason I like this series of books in particular is that we get to know a set of characters and revisit them over and over and see what is new in their lives. I think that adds to the appeal of the WMC books.
One of Patterson's strengths is his ability to weave together separate mysteries and crimes and yet still tie it all together into the story. For me, that really helps with the pacing of the story and keeps me turning the pages--you get a fresh look into one of the crimes every few chapters. With 7th Heaven, one of the side plots did bug me a little bit, and that was the problems that Yuki had when trying to date true crime writer Jason Twilly turned creepy. Initially it just didn't seem to fit, though by the end of the book it did make more sense in relation to the story. In my opnion, this little piece of the puzzle just felt almost as if it had been added in after the fact. Other than that, I really thought the ending was well-done, and I honestly didn't see it coming. I'd say more but I'm afraid of giving too much away to those of you who haven't read this book.
If you like mysteries and suspense/thrillers, I think you would enjoy Patterson's Women's Murder Club books. It's not absolutely necessary to read them in order, but I do think it's preferable to do that so that you can see the main characters develop.
May 4, 2017
الجزء السابع و السلسلة لا تزال تحتفظ بشيء من بريق جزئها الأول من حيث الحبكة القصصية على الأقل
ولـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــكن
الحوارات بين الشخصيات لا يزال أكثر ما يزعجني...و كانك تقرأ حوارا بين مجموعة من المراهقات لا مجموعة
. من الراشدات اللواتي يملكن وظائف صعبة
الحياة الخاصة للشخصية الرئيسية ليندسي عندما يتم التطرق اليها تحس و كأنها تنتمي لرواية كلاسيكية أو درامية أو
. أي شيء غير رواية بوليسية مليئة بالعنف
و عن ليندسي أيضا ...يا الهي ماذا حصل؟ ما الذي حصل بخلاف حماقة الكاتب و جعلها بذلك الضعف في هذا
"strong female characters" الجزء؟ أعتقد روايات
يجب أن تكون وفية لاسمها على الأقل, فمن أجل ذلك يقع الاقبال عليها من القراء. طبعا لا أحبذالمبالغة في الموضوع
. سواء في الروايات أو في السنيما لكن هناك حد أدنى لا ينبغي التنازل عنه من غيره ستصبح الرواية بلا طعم
ختاما نجمتين للحبكة القصصية و نجمة للأيام الخوالي حيث لقائي الأول و الصادم مع السلسلة قبل سنوات
. ذات أمسية صيفية
تمت
30/04/2017
ولـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــكن
الحوارات بين الشخصيات لا يزال أكثر ما يزعجني...و كانك تقرأ حوارا بين مجموعة من المراهقات لا مجموعة
. من الراشدات اللواتي يملكن وظائف صعبة
الحياة الخاصة للشخصية الرئيسية ليندسي عندما يتم التطرق اليها تحس و كأنها تنتمي لرواية كلاسيكية أو درامية أو
. أي شيء غير رواية بوليسية مليئة بالعنف
و عن ليندسي أيضا ...يا الهي ماذا حصل؟ ما الذي حصل بخلاف حماقة الكاتب و جعلها بذلك الضعف في هذا
"strong female characters" الجزء؟ أعتقد روايات
يجب أن تكون وفية لاسمها على الأقل, فمن أجل ذلك يقع الاقبال عليها من القراء. طبعا لا أحبذالمبالغة في الموضوع
. سواء في الروايات أو في السنيما لكن هناك حد أدنى لا ينبغي التنازل عنه من غيره ستصبح الرواية بلا طعم
ختاما نجمتين للحبكة القصصية و نجمة للأيام الخوالي حيث لقائي الأول و الصادم مع السلسلة قبل سنوات
. ذات أمسية صيفية
تمت
30/04/2017
December 29, 2019
7th Heaven by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro is the 7th book in the Women's Murder Club Mystery series. Arsonists are targetting wealthy couples, burning them alive after robbing them, and the disappearance of the son of a former governor keep Sergeant Lindsay Boxer and the members of the Women's Murder Club busy. Fast paced with a few twists. It was nice to be introduced to Clare's new baby daughter at the end but disappointing that Lindsay has still not committed to Joe. The back and forth between the two cases made it confusing at times, but overall an interesting, quick read.
February 14, 2008
02/14/08
TITLE/AUTHOR: 7th Heaven by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro
RATING: 4/B
GENRE/PUB DATE/# OF PGS: Suspense/2008/396
SERIES/STAND ALONE: #7 in Women's Murder Club
TIME/PLACE: Present/San Francisco, CA
CHARACTERS: Lindsay Boxer/Detective; Yuki Castellano/Asst DA Cindy/Journalist; Claire/doctor
FIRST LINES: Tiny lights winked on the Douglas fir standing tall & full in front of the picture window.
COMMENTS: library book. Two storylines keep you turning the pages. The teenage son of recent governor is missing. He has a congenital heart defect and he has been highlighted in the media over the years. Another "hot" case in the San Francisco area are the serial arsons taking place in upper-end homes that include taking the lives of the owners. Good suspense.
TITLE/AUTHOR: 7th Heaven by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro
RATING: 4/B
GENRE/PUB DATE/# OF PGS: Suspense/2008/396
SERIES/STAND ALONE: #7 in Women's Murder Club
TIME/PLACE: Present/San Francisco, CA
CHARACTERS: Lindsay Boxer/Detective; Yuki Castellano/Asst DA Cindy/Journalist; Claire/doctor
FIRST LINES: Tiny lights winked on the Douglas fir standing tall & full in front of the picture window.
COMMENTS: library book. Two storylines keep you turning the pages. The teenage son of recent governor is missing. He has a congenital heart defect and he has been highlighted in the media over the years. Another "hot" case in the San Francisco area are the serial arsons taking place in upper-end homes that include taking the lives of the owners. Good suspense.
April 20, 2020
Women's Murder Club #7: Patterson and Maxine Paetro comeback with a return to form after the not as good sixth instalment. The Women's Murder Club are involved with a confession to a celebrity murder, another celebrity stalking one of the Murder Club members, and the main case, a spate of robbery / arson / homicides! Another riveting read. 6 out of 12
December 30, 2019
Soooo good!!!
August 2, 2017
Ένα ντουέτο παρανοϊκών βάζει φωτιά στις ωραιότερες επαύλεις του Σαν Φρανσίσκο, καίγοντας μαζ�� και τους δεμένους ενοίκους τους. Η υπόθεση παίρνει διαστάσεις και η Λίνζι αρχίζει να νιώθει επικίνδυνα κοντά της τις φλόγες. Ποιοι καίνε τα σπίτια και γιατί; Πώς καταφέρνουν και είναι πάντα τόσο προσεκτικοί που δεν αφήνουν κανένα αποτύπωμα πουθενά; Πότε θα κάνουν το μοιραίο λάθος και θα συλληφθούν; Τι κρύβεται πίσω από αυτό το παρανοϊκό σχέδιο; Παράλληλα εξελίσσεται και η ιστορία της εξαφάνισης του Μάικλ Κάμπιον, έφηβου γιου του πρώην κυβερνήτη της Καλιφόρνια, που επιτέλους κάποιος είπε ότι τον είδε να βγαίνει από το σπίτι μιας πόρνης. Τι πραγματικά συνέβη λοιπόν τη νύχτα της εξαφάνισης του νεαρού; Τι γνωρίζει η πόρνη που βλέπει από τη μια στιγμή στην άλλη τη ζωή της να αλλάζει, μιας και η Αστυνομία τη θεωρεί ύποπτη;
Επιτέλους, λες και οι συγγραφείς εισά��ουσαν τους αναγνώστες τους, ο «7ος ουρανός» μου θύμισε τις καλές μέρες των πρώτων βιβλίων της σειράς. Έχουμε μία υπόθεση που διαδραματίζεται πέντε μήνες μετά το προηγούμενο βιβλίο, καταλαμβάνει το μεγαλύτερο μέρος του και επιπλέον, με ένα παιχνίδι της μοίρας, εμπλέκεται με την εξαφάνιση του Μάικλ Κάμπιον! Οι εκπλήξεις και οι ανατροπές δε σταματούν στιγμή κι ενώ όλα δείχνουν πως οι εμπρηστές και δολοφόνοι δε θα εντοπιστούν ποτέ, υπεισέρχεται το ανθρώπινο λάθος... με έναν δραματικό τρόπο!
Και οι δύο υποθέσεις του βιβλίου ήταν εξίσου καλογραμμένες και πολύ καλά σχεδιασμένες. Οι εμπρησμοί εκτυλίσσονταν ταυτόχρονα με κάποια γεγονότα που απλώς μπερδεύανε τη Λίνζι Μπόξερ και το Τμήμα της και παρ’ όλο που ήξερα τους δολοφόνους, έστω και με ψευδώνυμα, οι συγγραφείς φρόντισαν με σαδιστικό σχεδόν τρόπο να αργήσουν αρκετά να τους τοποθετήσουν στην ιστορία με τα κίνητρά τους και τις πραγματικές τους ταυτότητες (είναι δυνατόν να δημοσιεύτηκε ποτέ ένα κόμικ σαν τον «7ο ουρανό» που σχεδίαζαν οι δολοφόνοι; Προσωπικά δε θα το ήθελα στην ελληνική αγορά!). Δε θα ξεχάσω ποτέ τα τελευταία κεφάλαια με τις ανατριχιαστικές περιγραφές και τη λύση του δράματος, ούτε την ατάκα της ιατροδικαστού Κλερ ότι τα χυμένα μυαλά είναι «σα ζεστά ζελεδάκια»! Μπλιαχ!
Η υπόθεση της πόρνης Τζούνι Μουν ήταν ασύλληπτη! Υποτίθεται ότι ήταν ο τελευταίος μάρτυρας που είδε τον Κάμπιον ζωντανό, παραδέχεται τελικά ότι αυτή τον σκότωσε, η δήλωση αυτή όμως μαζί με την έλλειψη αποδεικτικών στοιχείων, η φύση της ομολογίας και η απουσία πτώματος κάνουν τη Γιούκι Καστελάνο που αναλαμβάνει την υπόθεση να τραβάει τα μαλλιά της. Χωρίς να είναι κουραστικές ή μονότονες, οι σκηνές του δικαστηρίου είναι ένα διάλειμμα μεταξύ της φρενήρους δράσης από το κυνηγητό των εμπρηστών και δεν καταλαμβάνει ως ιστορία και τόσο πολύ χώρο. Οι σελίδες που της αναλογούν όμως είναι αρκετές να παρουσιάσουν μια ολοκληρωμένη υπόθεση με ένα μη αναμενόμενο τέλος, που δε διστάζω να πω πως με κέρδισε απόλυτα, αν και ίσως ελάχιστα παρατραβηγμένο. Θεωρώ όμως πως ήταν και το πιο δίκαιο.
Με τους χαρακτήρες της Γυναικείας Λέσχης Φόνων τι γίνεται; Η Λίνζι Μπόξερ, όσο είναι σε διάσταση με τον Τζο, κάτι οι πολλές ώρες εργασίας, κάτι ο συγχρωτισμός, πέφτει στην αγκαλιά του συνεργάτη της, Ρίτσι, αλλά προλαβαίνει να μετανιώσει πριν ολοκληρώσουν. Και τι γίνεται τώρα που ο Τζο επιστρέφει στη ζωή της, μετακομίζει οριστικά στο Σαν Φρανσίσκο και συγκατοικούν; Πόσο εύκολο είναι σε καθημερινή πλέον βάση η Λίνζι να νοιάζεται για τον άνθρωπο που αγαπά και πολλές φορές τον αγνοεί ή τον «ξεχνά» λόγω του φόρτου εργασίας; Πώς θα δεχτεί τα νέα δεδομένα ο ίδιος ο Τζο και τι θα συμβεί όταν το ένστικτό του καταλάβει το δέσιμο μεταξύ των Λίνζι και Ριτς; Η Γιούκι Καστελάνο αναλαμβάνει την υπόθεση της Τζούνι Μουν αλλά μια σωρεία πράξεων, αποτελεσμάτων και κινήσεων θα αρχίσει να κλονίζει την αρχική της αποφασιστικότητα να διώκει τους κακούς ως αντεισαγγελέας, ίσως και να μετανιώνει για την απόφαση αυτή. Ταυτόχρονα, ένα φλερτ θα τη βάλει τελικά σε θανάσιμο κίνδυνο! Η Κλερ, που έμαθε λόγω του τραυματισμού της στο προηγούμενο βιβλίο πως είναι έγκυος, αν και 42 ετών με ήδη δύο ενήλικα παιδιά στη ζωή της, φέρνει στον κόσμο μια τρισχαριτωμένη μικρούλα.
Στο έβδομο βιβλίο της σειράς της Γυναικείας Λέσχης Φόνων, ο πήχης ανεβαίνει ξανά ψηλά, η Λέσχη αυτή καθαυτή δεν παράχει ενεργητικό ή διαλευκαντικό ρόλο στην υπόθεση ενώ οι πρωταγωνιστές κάπου αρχίζουν να μεστώνουν και να αλλάζουν. Όχι πολύ, ούτε βαθιά, κάτι ξεκίνησε να συμβαίνει όμως. Όλα αυτά σε συνδυασμό με μια δραματική, γρήγορη περιπέτεια και ένα τέλος που με ξάφνιασε, αποτελούν ένα καλό σύνολο που μου άρεσε, με κράτησε και μείωσε στο ελάχιστο την γκρίνια μου
Επιτέλους, λες και οι συγγραφείς εισά��ουσαν τους αναγνώστες τους, ο «7ος ουρανός» μου θύμισε τις καλές μέρες των πρώτων βιβλίων της σειράς. Έχουμε μία υπόθεση που διαδραματίζεται πέντε μήνες μετά το προηγούμενο βιβλίο, καταλαμβάνει το μεγαλύτερο μέρος του και επιπλέον, με ένα παιχνίδι της μοίρας, εμπλέκεται με την εξαφάνιση του Μάικλ Κάμπιον! Οι εκπλήξεις και οι ανατροπές δε σταματούν στιγμή κι ενώ όλα δείχνουν πως οι εμπρηστές και δολοφόνοι δε θα εντοπιστούν ποτέ, υπεισέρχεται το ανθρώπινο λάθος... με έναν δραματικό τρόπο!
Και οι δύο υποθέσεις του βιβλίου ήταν εξίσου καλογραμμένες και πολύ καλά σχεδιασμένες. Οι εμπρησμοί εκτυλίσσονταν ταυτόχρονα με κάποια γεγονότα που απλώς μπερδεύανε τη Λίνζι Μπόξερ και το Τμήμα της και παρ’ όλο που ήξερα τους δολοφόνους, έστω και με ψευδώνυμα, οι συγγραφείς φρόντισαν με σαδιστικό σχεδόν τρόπο να αργήσουν αρκετά να τους τοποθετήσουν στην ιστορία με τα κίνητρά τους και τις πραγματικές τους ταυτότητες (είναι δυνατόν να δημοσιεύτηκε ποτέ ένα κόμικ σαν τον «7ο ουρανό» που σχεδίαζαν οι δολοφόνοι; Προσωπικά δε θα το ήθελα στην ελληνική αγορά!). Δε θα ξεχάσω ποτέ τα τελευταία κεφάλαια με τις ανατριχιαστικές περιγραφές και τη λύση του δράματος, ούτε την ατάκα της ιατροδικαστού Κλερ ότι τα χυμένα μυαλά είναι «σα ζεστά ζελεδάκια»! Μπλιαχ!
Η υπόθεση της πόρνης Τζούνι Μουν ήταν ασύλληπτη! Υποτίθεται ότι ήταν ο τελευταίος μάρτυρας που είδε τον Κάμπιον ζωντανό, παραδέχεται τελικά ότι αυτή τον σκότωσε, η δήλωση αυτή όμως μαζί με την έλλειψη αποδεικτικών στοιχείων, η φύση της ομολογίας και η απουσία πτώματος κάνουν τη Γιούκι Καστελάνο που αναλαμβάνει την υπόθεση να τραβάει τα μαλλιά της. Χωρίς να είναι κουραστικές ή μονότονες, οι σκηνές του δικαστηρίου είναι ένα διάλειμμα μεταξύ της φρενήρους δράσης από το κυνηγητό των εμπρηστών και δεν καταλαμβάνει ως ιστορία και τόσο πολύ χώρο. Οι σελίδες που της αναλογούν όμως είναι αρκετές να παρουσιάσουν μια ολοκληρωμένη υπόθεση με ένα μη αναμενόμενο τέλος, που δε διστάζω να πω πως με κέρδισε απόλυτα, αν και ίσως ελάχιστα παρατραβηγμένο. Θεωρώ όμως πως ήταν και το πιο δίκαιο.
Με τους χαρακτήρες της Γυναικείας Λέσχης Φόνων τι γίνεται; Η Λίνζι Μπόξερ, όσο είναι σε διάσταση με τον Τζο, κάτι οι πολλές ώρες εργασίας, κάτι ο συγχρωτισμός, πέφτει στην αγκαλιά του συνεργάτη της, Ρίτσι, αλλά προλαβαίνει να μετανιώσει πριν ολοκληρώσουν. Και τι γίνεται τώρα που ο Τζο επιστρέφει στη ζωή της, μετακομίζει οριστικά στο Σαν Φρανσίσκο και συγκατοικούν; Πόσο εύκολο είναι σε καθημερινή πλέον βάση η Λίνζι να νοιάζεται για τον άνθρωπο που αγαπά και πολλές φορές τον αγνοεί ή τον «ξεχνά» λόγω του φόρτου εργασίας; Πώς θα δεχτεί τα νέα δεδομένα ο ίδιος ο Τζο και τι θα συμβεί όταν το ένστικτό του καταλάβει το δέσιμο μεταξύ των Λίνζι και Ριτς; Η Γιούκι Καστελάνο αναλαμβάνει την υπόθεση της Τζούνι Μουν αλλά μια σωρεία πράξεων, αποτελεσμάτων και κινήσεων θα αρχίσει να κλονίζει την αρχική της αποφασιστικότητα να διώκει τους κακούς ως αντεισαγγελέας, ίσως και να μετανιώνει για την απόφαση αυτή. Ταυτόχρονα, ένα φλερτ θα τη βάλει τελικά σε θανάσιμο κίνδυνο! Η Κλερ, που έμαθε λόγω του τραυματισμού της στο προηγούμενο βιβλίο πως είναι έγκυος, αν και 42 ετών με ήδη δύο ενήλικα παιδιά στη ζωή της, φέρνει στον κόσμο μια τρισχαριτωμένη μικρούλα.
Στο έβδομο βιβλίο της σειράς της Γυναικείας Λέσχης Φόνων, ο πήχης ανεβαίνει ξανά ψηλά, η Λέσχη αυτή καθαυτή δεν παράχει ενεργητικό ή διαλευκαντικό ρόλο στην υπόθεση ενώ οι πρωταγωνιστές κάπου αρχίζουν να μεστώνουν και να αλλάζουν. Όχι πολύ, ούτε βαθιά, κάτι ξεκίνησε να συμβαίνει όμως. Όλα αυτά σε συνδυασμό με μια δραματική, γρήγορη περιπέτεια και ένα τέλος που με ξάφνιασε, αποτελούν ένα καλό σύνολο που μου άρεσε, με κράτησε και μείωσε στο ελάχιστο την γκρίνια μου
August 13, 2023
Great story. So much going on. The ending will get you
July 30, 2020
I'm just going to pretend the last chapter of this book didn't happen because that honestly would bring my rating down to 2 stars. The rest of the book was great, really thrilling plot lines involving arson and some great heartfelt moments with the Murder Club. I'm a bit sad Cindy took a back seat in this one, but I enjoyed Yuki's plot line a lot so I can't complain too much. My only complaint is what kind of name is "Junie Moon" for a suspect. I couldn't take her seriously (bambi-eyed prostitute named JUNIE?).
Can't wait for the next adventure with Lindsey, she's like my best friend only she's not real and is a cop.
Can't wait for the next adventure with Lindsey, she's like my best friend only she's not real and is a cop.
April 13, 2024
Weirdly, the Michael Campion subplot was more interesting than the arson plot. One family attack was well described, but every other crime was more removed and less enjoyable.
The Call girl seems freaking crazy! Everything about that was messed up, and I wanted to know more about it.
I like that Yuki's cases have become a good counterpoint to Lindsay's detection, although the word distrust in the Murder Club kind of paints Lindsay in a bad light.
I still don't like what Patterson wrote about her and her partner. That was kind of out of nowhere, and the fact that it is continuing is meh for me.
3.5 Stars rounded up.
The Call girl seems freaking crazy! Everything about that was messed up, and I wanted to know more about it.
I like that Yuki's cases have become a good counterpoint to Lindsay's detection, although the word distrust in the Murder Club kind of paints Lindsay in a bad light.
I still don't like what Patterson wrote about her and her partner. That was kind of out of nowhere, and the fact that it is continuing is meh for me.
3.5 Stars rounded up.
April 15, 2020
I love that James Patterson’s books have more than one storyline. It makes the book more interesting and luckily they’re written so well that it doesn’t get confusing. There was a lot of twists in this one and I didn’t predict any of them! Again you get to meet some new characters and I really liked them. I don’t think I’ve ever read crime books that make me this emotional! There’s something in every book that makes me feel sympathy for the characters. This is definitely one of my favourite series and I love every book. I’m reading book 8 straight away and I can’t wait!
August 25, 2021
The story was good.
The pace? Excellent
The plot? Good
The characters? Fine
The plot's intricate, but there's not much of a character building. But maybe it's just me who feels this way coz this is the first time I've read a book of this series, and it doesn't really help that I started with the 7th book. However, even if the characters are not very descriptive, they are definitely likeable. And I didn't find any of the main ones annoying.
A lot of things were happening and that's what I meant by the pace being excellent. Like there were no filler pages, and each of them had a content. But the quality of the content was questionable, and that's why I've stated that the plot I just good and not anything more than that. Like, during the timeline of the story, there were 4 fire accidents (the Malones, the Meachams, the Chus, the Jablonskys) and there was a very interesting trial regarding Michael Campion's disappearance.
I wasn't really satisfied with the story coz, the mystery around the murders was solved mostly coz of the murderers' one last screw up. It felt like the Women's Murder Club (WMC) didn't really contribute much in solving it. I mean I get it that the cases were all met with dead ends with there being absolutely no evidence, but then again don't the protagonists of the story supposed to do something at least a tad bit heroic and figure something out?
Chapters 121 to 124 were like the climax scenes of the book, and they were just too rushed. Like, the evidence was just lying around at a place. I might be wrong but from what I read it really looked to me like it was never the MC's skill, talent or experience. Things just happened and they were just there driving from one crime scene to another, investigating and getting nowhere. And the last chapter (125) was just pointless. It left me feeling so frustrated.
Also, imo, this was more of a mystery than a thriller.
Okay, spoilers ahead, people.
Let's first talk about the fire-starters:
🤷♀️ Like, Lindsay did follow through each of the cases, but did she find anything other the books with the latin quotes? And did those quotes lead to anything? Nope.
🤷♀️ Were the SFPD or the WMC finding any clues or connecting any dots or tracking anyone? They seemed quite incapable actually.
🤷♀️ The motive of the murderers? They were writing a graphic novel and wanted it to turn into a blockbuster movie. Also, Hawk and Pidge were just psychotic.
🤷♀️ The Chu's daughter was carried out of the house by Hawk, and she had clearly seen his face. Couldn't these people have eventually investigated her more and found any leads?
🤷♀️When they finally caught upto Hawk they actually didn't catch upto him. Did they? Those two attempted an attack at the Campion's house and they messed up coz Mr. Campion somehow reached his gun and shot hawk. And as usual the MC's just drove upto the crime scene and carried out the formalities of an investigation before the half-dead Hawk completely took his life. Even then, Lindsay or Richard Conklin (Rich) couldn't get Hawk to make any confessions or even find any leads.
🤷♀️ Then they came across Pidge. Why? Coz some other kid owned a website that spoke of these fire homicides. And Lindsay and Rich just asked the kid the reason for him using latin phrases on his website and the kid showed them a graphic novel. And the graphic novel totally revolved around these homicide incidents and below the author's name there were two icons... Hawk and a Pigeon (Pidge). And through the witness that is Mr. Campion they knew that the two boys called themselves Hawk and Pidge. Everything was obvious. So where is the detective work here? Everything was handed to them.
🤷♀️ By then they had already got the Hawk and Pidge's real names from the graphic novel. It was a matter of looking for those names and they soon got to know that they were from Stanford University. Which is partly obvious coz it was already kinda known from the beginning that the murders were college kids. Once the got the Uni details, it was an obvious matter of fact of going through stuff like year books or questioning the students there to get a pic of Pidge. And of course they'd gotten their address too. It'll all obviously be there on the SFPD system or the Uni's system.
🤷♀️ They finally go to Pidge's place and watch him kill his mom. And lamely and finally arrest him. Then go to Hawk's place and obviously find all the evidence there including Hawk's parents' corpses.
🤷♀️ I repeat. The evidence was all there in one place. They literally had to do nothing but obvious steps of following each scene to get there.
🤷♀️ And there are no scenes of what happens after the arrest. Like they arrested Junie Moon for Michael Campion's death and questioned her left and right. But there are no pages describing the critical questioning scenes with Pidge? A guy who just burned down 4 houses and 8 real living people?
And with that being said....
We're moving on to Michael Campion's case.
🤷♀️ Why are Lindsay and Yuki so dead set that Junie Moon was responsible for Michael's death? They were already suspicious of her, but I get that. But why were they so sure that she had something to do with it? They only got a tip that someone saw him walk into Junie's house.
🤷♀️ I'm sorry. But I feel it's kinda stupid. Like there's no body, no evidence, no witness and no nothing at all. But they're all sure that Junie Moon was involved in Micheal's death and the dismemberment of his body? How??? Based on one confession? How can a confession hold so much power? It looks like the WMC's biased. They hear something they wanna hear, and then when they do they decide it's the truth. Like if we're all going on with believing words out of a person's mouth, then the line "I did not do it" will hold the same amount of power as the line "I did it". Get my point?
🤷♀️ And here also. They just got a tip mentioning Junie Moon's name and they decided it was her. Another example of these MC's being incapable. Like they didn't figure out Junie Moon's involvement on their own. Someone had to inform them. And once they get the info, they don't even dig enough to get evidence.
🤷♀️ They're definitely biased. Yuki literally once said something like, Michael was seen going to Junie's place and since then nobody had heard from him and that was not like him coz apparently he loves his family, is responsible and is the golden boy, whatsoever. So Yuki's whole case is based on a person's image and public reputation? Wth? And I was even more annoyed when it was later revealed that Michael was indeed alive and he had just selfishly escaped with plan of living with his lover with no trace or evidence or even a good bye phone call to his parents, just contradicts his reputation. The very same reputation that these MC's had built their case on!
🤷♀️ And after all this, it turned out that Michael was actually alive. And guys, even I had this suspicion that he had run away from his family. Why didn't this thought even cross Lindsay or Yuki's mind? Are they that incapable of some actual thinking? You investigate. You find evidence. And if you don't? Then you accept that the info was false!
🤷♀️ The fact that Michael was alive and yet half the book was about court trials over his death that never even happened, had me feeling so frustrated. And dude, what's the point? And the fact that Yuki receives some dried up blood on a piece of cloth and some hair at the very end of the story and yet again confirms that he's dead, made me lose my mind. Like people, how could you still go in believing in things that u just saw and heard. And the other fact that the WMC could never figure out what truly happened to Michael, made it all seem extremely pointless. Like isn't this your job? Isnt this why you're the main characters of a whole series?!
Okay... Now that all that's done. I'm gonna rant a bit more.
Jason Twilly's character and input certainly made things more interesting and I'm glad abt it.
Also, this Richard Conklin is kinda funny and adorable. And what little I saw of him, I liked it.
That whole scene where there's finally some tiny brainworks of Lindsay and Rich and they put everything together in Chapter 63......👇
[The couples were all in their forties and well-to-do. The doors to all the houses were unlocked...........The couples all had a child of college age..........The killer is smart and unthreatening enough to talk his way into the houses...He or they used fishing lines as ligatures because they'd burn off quickly......They don't leave evidence and that's smart.]
Well that...👆 That was brilliant. That's what I wanted to see more of.
So summary:
The writing was very contemporary, light and easy to grasp, so I found it very easy to get into the book since page 1. The pace was excellent since a lot of interesting things were happening all the time. And there wasn't a single boring moment in the book. But it all came down to very very unsatisfying conclusions. And most of the interesting stuff that happened turned out to be pointless. The characters were likeable, but it didn't look like they did justice to the story being a "mystery/thriller" or their own professions being involved with the SFPD. So conclusion, I didn't mind reading this book and I even quote enjoyed most of it, but I don't think I'll be reading anything else of this series anytime soon.
The pace? Excellent
The plot? Good
The characters? Fine
The plot's intricate, but there's not much of a character building. But maybe it's just me who feels this way coz this is the first time I've read a book of this series, and it doesn't really help that I started with the 7th book. However, even if the characters are not very descriptive, they are definitely likeable. And I didn't find any of the main ones annoying.
A lot of things were happening and that's what I meant by the pace being excellent. Like there were no filler pages, and each of them had a content. But the quality of the content was questionable, and that's why I've stated that the plot I just good and not anything more than that. Like, during the timeline of the story, there were 4 fire accidents (the Malones, the Meachams, the Chus, the Jablonskys) and there was a very interesting trial regarding Michael Campion's disappearance.
I wasn't really satisfied with the story coz, the mystery around the murders was solved mostly coz of the murderers' one last screw up. It felt like the Women's Murder Club (WMC) didn't really contribute much in solving it. I mean I get it that the cases were all met with dead ends with there being absolutely no evidence, but then again don't the protagonists of the story supposed to do something at least a tad bit heroic and figure something out?
Chapters 121 to 124 were like the climax scenes of the book, and they were just too rushed. Like, the evidence was just lying around at a place. I might be wrong but from what I read it really looked to me like it was never the MC's skill, talent or experience. Things just happened and they were just there driving from one crime scene to another, investigating and getting nowhere. And the last chapter (125) was just pointless. It left me feeling so frustrated.
Also, imo, this was more of a mystery than a thriller.
Okay, spoilers ahead, people.
Let's first talk about the fire-starters:
🤷♀️ Like, Lindsay did follow through each of the cases, but did she find anything other the books with the latin quotes? And did those quotes lead to anything? Nope.
🤷♀️ Were the SFPD or the WMC finding any clues or connecting any dots or tracking anyone? They seemed quite incapable actually.
🤷♀️ The motive of the murderers? They were writing a graphic novel and wanted it to turn into a blockbuster movie. Also, Hawk and Pidge were just psychotic.
🤷♀️ The Chu's daughter was carried out of the house by Hawk, and she had clearly seen his face. Couldn't these people have eventually investigated her more and found any leads?
🤷♀️
🤷♀️ Then they came across Pidge. Why? Coz some other kid owned a website that spoke of these fire homicides. And Lindsay and Rich just asked the kid the reason for him using latin phrases on his website and the kid showed them a graphic novel. And the graphic novel totally revolved around these homicide incidents and below the author's name there were two icons... Hawk and a Pigeon (Pidge). And through the witness that is Mr. Campion they knew that the two boys called themselves Hawk and Pidge. Everything was obvious. So where is the detective work here? Everything was handed to them.
🤷♀️ By then they had already got the Hawk and Pidge's real names from the graphic novel. It was a matter of looking for those names and they soon got to know that they were from Stanford University. Which is partly obvious coz it was already kinda known from the beginning that the murders were college kids. Once the got the Uni details, it was an obvious matter of fact of going through stuff like year books or questioning the students there to get a pic of Pidge. And of course they'd gotten their address too. It'll all obviously be there on the SFPD system or the Uni's system.
🤷♀️ They finally go to Pidge's place and watch him kill his mom. And lamely and finally arrest him. Then go to Hawk's place and obviously find all the evidence there including Hawk's parents' corpses.
🤷♀️ I repeat. The evidence was all there in one place. They literally had to do nothing but obvious steps of following each scene to get there.
🤷♀️ And there are no scenes of what happens after the arrest. Like they arrested Junie Moon for Michael Campion's death and questioned her left and right. But there are no pages describing the critical questioning scenes with Pidge? A guy who just burned down 4 houses and 8 real living people?
And with that being said....
We're moving on to Michael Campion's case.
🤷♀️ Why are Lindsay and Yuki so dead set that Junie Moon was responsible for Michael's death? They were already suspicious of her, but I get that. But why were they so sure that she had something to do with it? They only got a tip that someone saw him walk into Junie's house.
🤷♀️ I'm sorry. But I feel it's kinda stupid. Like there's no body, no evidence, no witness and no nothing at all. But they're all sure that Junie Moon was involved in Micheal's death and the dismemberment of his body? How??? Based on one confession? How can a confession hold so much power? It looks like the WMC's biased. They hear something they wanna hear, and then when they do they decide it's the truth. Like if we're all going on with believing words out of a person's mouth, then the line "I did not do it" will hold the same amount of power as the line "I did it". Get my point?
🤷♀️ And here also. They just got a tip mentioning Junie Moon's name and they decided it was her. Another example of these MC's being incapable. Like they didn't figure out Junie Moon's involvement on their own. Someone had to inform them. And once they get the info, they don't even dig enough to get evidence.
🤷♀️ They're definitely biased. Yuki literally once said something like, Michael was seen going to Junie's place and since then nobody had heard from him and that was not like him coz apparently he loves his family, is responsible and is the golden boy, whatsoever. So Yuki's whole case is based on a person's image and public reputation? Wth? And I was even more annoyed when it was later revealed that Michael was indeed alive and he had just selfishly escaped with plan of living with his lover with no trace or evidence or even a good bye phone call to his parents, just contradicts his reputation. The very same reputation that these MC's had built their case on!
🤷♀️ And after all this, it turned out that Michael was actually alive. And guys, even I had this suspicion that he had run away from his family. Why didn't this thought even cross Lindsay or Yuki's mind? Are they that incapable of some actual thinking? You investigate. You find evidence. And if you don't? Then you accept that the info was false!
🤷♀️ The fact that Michael was alive and yet half the book was about court trials over his death that never even happened, had me feeling so frustrated. And dude, what's the point? And the fact that Yuki receives some dried up blood on a piece of cloth and some hair at the very end of the story and yet again confirms that he's dead, made me lose my mind. Like people, how could you still go in believing in things that u just saw and heard. And the other fact that the WMC could never figure out what truly happened to Michael, made it all seem extremely pointless. Like isn't this your job? Isnt this why you're the main characters of a whole series?!
Okay... Now that all that's done. I'm gonna rant a bit more.
Jason Twilly's character and input certainly made things more interesting and I'm glad abt it.
He laughed, said, 'Delete the last forty-two seconds, okay, Lindsay? I'm an idiot, and I'm sorry.
—————
Okay, I finally found a tad bit of romance and I was glad. Coz I totally need romance. So this whole convo made me super happy. Yes, I'm a cheesy idiot.
Also, this Richard Conklin is kinda funny and adorable. And what little I saw of him, I liked it.
But as we grappled together, making the delicious climb to ecstasy, an image of another man came winging to my mind.
—————
ok so there's finally some romance and it involves Lindsay emotionally cheating on Joe (a really nice guy) with Rich?
That whole scene where there's finally some tiny brainworks of Lindsay and Rich and they put everything together in Chapter 63......👇
[The couples were all in their forties and well-to-do. The doors to all the houses were unlocked...........The couples all had a child of college age..........The killer is smart and unthreatening enough to talk his way into the houses...He or they used fishing lines as ligatures because they'd burn off quickly......They don't leave evidence and that's smart.]
Well that...👆 That was brilliant. That's what I wanted to see more of.
'Requiescat in leguminibus,' I said. 'Rest in peas.'
I started moving the bags of frozen vegetables aside until I saw a woman's face.
'This freezer is deep enough for two,' Jacobi muttered.
—————
The scene where they find Hawk's parents' deadbodies...was very thrilling. That was just chilling. But apart from that sick and twisted murder scene, this book doesn't exactly give you the "thrills".
So summary:
The writing was very contemporary, light and easy to grasp, so I found it very easy to get into the book since page 1. The pace was excellent since a lot of interesting things were happening all the time. And there wasn't a single boring moment in the book. But it all came down to very very unsatisfying conclusions. And most of the interesting stuff that happened turned out to be pointless. The characters were likeable, but it didn't look like they did justice to the story being a "mystery/thriller" or their own professions being involved with the SFPD. So conclusion, I didn't mind reading this book and I even quote enjoyed most of it, but I don't think I'll be reading anything else of this series anytime soon.
January 2, 2022
The writing is so trite.
January 11, 2012
This one is getting closer...
This book rated more of a 3.5 instead of barely a 3 like the last 2 books. There were several crimes but they were at least a little more focused, although we never really get the reasons behind the crimes anymore. (Although one did have a nice twist that I didn't know for certain, but I felt/hoped it was something like that). Lindsay is was less of a crazy lady in this book, and now I think I understand what was happening in the last few books, especially the last one.
I hope the storyline that makes Lindsay seem crazy gets resolved soon. And I really hope they get back to the Woman's Murder Club being more than 4 friends getting together and drinking margaritas.
This book rated more of a 3.5 instead of barely a 3 like the last 2 books. There were several crimes but they were at least a little more focused, although we never really get the reasons behind the crimes anymore. (Although one did have a nice twist that I didn't know for certain, but I felt/hoped it was something like that). Lindsay is was less of a crazy lady in this book, and now I think I understand what was happening in the last few books, especially the last one.
I hope the storyline that makes Lindsay seem crazy gets resolved soon. And I really hope they get back to the Woman's Murder Club being more than 4 friends getting together and drinking margaritas.
July 30, 2010
7th Heaven had a lot of false starts that got my hopes up only to immediately dash them. The first scene was set at Christmas time, but this was not to be a Christmas mystery. Soon after, the Women's Murder Club embarked on their first annual getaway, only to turn around and come right home. Two exciting premises, nothing more than teases.
The real mystery, a high-profile missing teen cold case, has a reliable lead. Three months after the fact, an anonymous tipster claims to have had seen the teen entering a prostitutes house the night he disappeared. The prostitute confesses and Yuki begs for the chance to prosecute the case. We see Lindsay investigate the second mystery, serial double homicide by arson.
The book doesn't actually get interesting until after the trial is over. Yuki finds herself in danger and it's the first real thing of note to happen in the whole book. That and Claire going into labor.
In the background, Lindsay deals with live-in boyfriend Joe and partner Rich. Both men want to be with her and she must choose. Ultimately the decision is taken out of her hands and she is only left with one man, but is it the man she would have chosen for herself? Things don't feel completely settled in Lindsay's love life.
7th Heaven wasn't the best book in the series. I expected more action, more surprises and more thrills than the book contained. The minor series story lines progress a little, but the stand alone mystery and plot lacked the excitement a reader expects from James Patterson.
The real mystery, a high-profile missing teen cold case, has a reliable lead. Three months after the fact, an anonymous tipster claims to have had seen the teen entering a prostitutes house the night he disappeared. The prostitute confesses and Yuki begs for the chance to prosecute the case. We see Lindsay investigate the second mystery, serial double homicide by arson.
The book doesn't actually get interesting until after the trial is over. Yuki finds herself in danger and it's the first real thing of note to happen in the whole book. That and Claire going into labor.
In the background, Lindsay deals with live-in boyfriend Joe and partner Rich. Both men want to be with her and she must choose. Ultimately the decision is taken out of her hands and she is only left with one man, but is it the man she would have chosen for herself? Things don't feel completely settled in Lindsay's love life.
7th Heaven wasn't the best book in the series. I expected more action, more surprises and more thrills than the book contained. The minor series story lines progress a little, but the stand alone mystery and plot lacked the excitement a reader expects from James Patterson.
May 25, 2016
Basic Info
Format: E-book
Pages/Length: n/a
Genre: Murder Mystery
At A Glance
Love Triangle/Insta Love/Obsession?: No
Cliff Hanger: No
Triggers: n/a
Rating: 3.5 stars
Score Sheet
All out of ten
Cover: 7
Plot: 7
Characters: 8
World Building: 7
Flow: 7
Series Congruity: 8
Writing: 7
Ending: 7
Total: 7
In Dept
Best Part: I can't tell ;)
Worst Part: I don't believe it much.
Thoughts Had: Eh.
Conclusion
Continuing the Series: Yes
Recommending: Yes
Short Review: Why would this random two kids just decided to follow this comic or book or whatever and burn down houses?! I was very upset that Lindsay was affect by poor workmanship. Then that ending. That son of a bitch. Really?! Ugh. Men are pigs, just saying. I wish Lindsay would just give Joe a freaking answer already.
Misc.
Book Boyfriend: Joe
Best Friend Material: Clair
Review in GIF Form:
Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,380 reviews