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Friday, June 20, 2025

My next book and REVIEW - 25 Alive (ebook)


 25 Alive (Women's Murder Club series) by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro (ebook)

OVERVIEW

I totally forgot to post. I started and finished this book today, with about ten pages last night. That may sound like a lot of reading, but the book had a LOT of white space!

This is the 25th+ book in the very, very, very long (too long) Women's Murder Club series. Of course, it ended on a cliffhanger AGAIN!

Normally, I would say read the previous novels in the Women's Murder Club series to get the full backstory and understand the characters. Don't do it - this series is not worth that much time!


OVERALL REVIEW: 3.0 stars.

 

Writing: 3.0 stars

The writing is like assembly-line writing to me. I wonder how much involvement James Patterson has with this series anymore, since he has had an "assistant" writer since the first book in this series. 


Character development: 3.0 stars

The main characters are Lindsay (SFPD detective), Yuki (assistant district attorney), Claire (chief medical examiner), and Cindy (newspaper reporter). These four women have been personal and professional friends for a very long time.

The secondary characters are the personal partners, work partners, and assorted friends and family.  

The tertiary character is Martha, Lindsay's dog. 

There has not been any real or interesting character development with any of the main or secondary characters for a long time. The only real changes are the different "guest" characters, and this time, there were two separate groups.


Storyline:  3.0 stars

There were some horrible and shocking murders, but nothing really happened to the main characters. Plus, a cliffhanger - shocker! There was no setup to end the series, so there are obviously more bland novels to come. 

The main locations were primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area. 


Memorable/Informative:   2.5 stars

This series is getting tired. Please, James Patterson, bring it to a conclusion so I know how all of the characters end up. I have invested too much time. 


Book cover: 3.0 stars

I have no idea what the book cover has to do with the story.     

 

Book title: 3.0 stars 

The rhyme of the two words, twenty-five and alive, is possibly where the book title comes from. There is no connection to the story at all.   

 

Lukewarm Recommend


Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) borrow: ebook

25 Alive (Women's Murder Club series) by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

330 pages 

Little, Brown and Company

Release date: 4/28/2025

 

INFORMATIONAL LINKS

James Patterson

Maxine Paetro

Goodreads review

The Storygraph review

Little, Brown and Company

Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL)


TRIGGER WARNINGS:

Death, grief, child death, death of a parent, violence, gun violence, murder, cursing, bombing, medical content, blood, gore


Happy reading, 

Dorothea 💜



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