15th Affair (Women's Murder Club)

4.5 stars

15th Affair is the fifteenth book in the Women's Murder Club series by prolific American author, James Patterson. It is co-written by Maxine Paetro. After a long and frustrating day, Sergeant Lindsay Boxer is looking forward to getting home to her daughter. But it is not to be: with partner Rich Conklin, she is called out to a murder scene at the Four Seasons hotel. In room 1420, an Asian man; in 1418, a young couple apparently doing surveillance on the Asian; down the hall, a cleaner in a supply closet; all have been shot.

CCTV footage shows a blonde woman entering 1420 before, that is, the footage suddenly stops. Lindsay and Rich laboriously scan all the hotel's security footage for the smallest clue. Meanwhile, hubby Joe Molinari is out at the airport on his security consulting job. Why, then, does he appear in vision of the lobby of their murder hotel? And in a car passing by the Asian widow's house? Where is Joe, anyway?

This instalment of the Women's Murder Club is fast paced and exciting. Lindsay and Rich do some good detective work, and Lindsay gets into the bad books of some violent types. There are quite a few twists and an exciting climax. The FBI, CIA, Chinese spies, a shot-down airliner and a lot of baby-sitting phone calls to Lindsay's incredibly accommodating neighbour feature: Mrs Rose is clearly a saint.

While Chronicle Journalist, Cindy Thomas plays an integral role in proceedings, and Medical Examiner Claire Washburn makes a token appearance, attorney Yuki Castellano remains very much in the background. Once again, Lindsay does seem a bit quick to jump to the worst possible conclusion about Joe where another woman is concerned. Another Patterson page-turner.