The 5th Horseman (Women's Murder Club)
by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro
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Book Reviews of The 5th Horseman (Women's Murder Club)
Book Review: Another solid entry in the best-selling series!
Summary: 5 Stars
A young woman recovering in her bed at San Franciso Municipal Hospital suddenly starts gasping for breath, within minutes she is dead. The entire staff is puzzled by her death, although not surprised since at this hospital many patients have started to die suddenly.
Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer, and her group of friends known as The Women's Murder club, begin investigating the strange deaths that plague the hospital when they get the news that someone close to them has been admitted to Municipal Hospital. As Lindsay rushes to find any information that will help save the lives of more patients she is called to investigate a series of new murders...
several call girls have been killed and carefully placed on display, the obvious work of a serial killer.
As the hospital killer claims more lives, the family members of those that have been killed wage a legal battle that will bring the hospital to it's knees.
Lindsay and The Women's Murder Club must race the clock to unmask the killer.
WOW! 'The 5th Horseman' is an absolute stunner. The various plots pull you in quickly and DON'T let go. The hospital plot alone is suspenseful and creepy, add to that the call girl murders and you have non-stop excitement, but let's not forget the double surprise ending...
There isn't much that can be said for a book this good other than READ IT!
There is NO ONE better than James Patterson when it comes to suspense thrillers and he has outdone himself with this un-put-downable novel.
'The 5th Horseman' is a MUST read!
Nick Gonnella
Book Review: Entertaining, but a few quirky things...
Summary: 4 Stars
I finally made it through the library hold list on The 5th Horseman by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. I enjoyed the read, but it wasn't without a few caveats...
This is one of Patterson's Women's Murder Club novels, and brings in the latest member, Yuki Castellano. Yuki's mom suffers a small stroke and is admitted to the hospital. But while recovering with little ill effect, she suddenly dies at a hospital with a dubious track record of pharmaceutical errors. In fact, the hospital and a particular doctor are on trial for malpractice in a number of these cases. Yuki feels her mom was murdered, and wants justice. The doctor is the prime suspect, and is extremely arrogant about his innocence. Lindsay Boxer, the police lieutenant in the group, is convinced he did the acts that caused all the deaths, including Yuki's mom. But she has to put her reputation on the line to prove it, and the evidence isn't there...
That's a pretty brief description, because I don't want to give away the plot twists or ending. It was definitely a fun read, but there were still some strange quirks that I still don't quite get. There's a subplot involving the murder of young women by two people using the date rape drug. I kept expecting that plot to link up with the main plot line. At the end, I was wondering why it was even there in the first place. And the final epilogue chapter is rather jarring and abrupt. I had to go back and reread it a couple time before I was sure I was done...
So... good mind candy and entertainment. Not the best in the series, but still worth reading...
Book Review: WHAT WE'VE COME TO EXPECT.........
Summary: 4 Stars
Lindsay Boxer and the girls are back in yet another fastpaced murder thriller. In this tale, San Francisco Municipal hospital is plagued by a series of shocking patient deaths; patients who have been expected to make a full recovery are suddenly dead. And the killer is leaving a spooky calling card. The deaths really hit home when one of the dead is part of Lindsay's own extended "family." Simultaneously, the hospital is being sued for negligence in the deaths of these same patients....and a reknowned physician is at the very center of the lawsuit. But the jury has no idea that a serial killer is walking the halls of the hospital at night....
Also keeping Lindsay busy are the deaths of beautiful young call girls; in bizarre and reprehensible ways. Who is responsible and why?
In addition....I have to add that I was shocked that a writer of Patterson's caliber would have an editor that would allow such a glaring mistake as an incorrect acronym make its way through the editing process to the final product....it is HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), NOT HIPPA. To me this is sloppy and just a further indication that they simply cannot even be bothered to get the details right.
Somewhat predictable with a few twists and turns, this is the "cookie cutter" style novel that I have come to expect from this author in this series. Pageturners----but disappointing nonetheless. I feel like I've been reading a variation of the same story over and over again....but call me a sadist, because I'll be back for more Patterson.
DYB
Book Review: Decent, but not great...
Summary: 3 Stars
The 5th Horsemen is the fifth book in James Patterson's Women's Murder Club series and is co-written by Maxine Paetro. Of all Patterson's books, this series is the most consistent.
Lt. Lindsey Boxer is a homicide detective with the San Francisco Police Department. She is also part of a group of friends who call themselves the Women's Murder Club. Besides Boxer, the group consists of Claire Washburn (medical examiner), Cindy Thomas (reporter) and Yuki Castellano (lawyer).
A large number of patients are dying under mysterious circumstances at San Francisco Municipal Hospital. All were checked in through the emergency room, and all were well on their way to recovery. Not only does it appear that a murderer is on the hospital's staff, but it also looks like the hospital is engaged in a cover-up. At the same time, a beautiful young girl is found murdered. Her killers dressed her in high-priced clothing after her death and displayed her prominently in a Cadillac. With budget cuts and staff shortages, Boxer has a lot on her plate without sufficient resources. But she also gets some much needed assistance from her Murder Club friends.
With any Patterson book, you're getting a decent vacation book that is fast and suspenseful. Although weighing in at 410 pages, there are 139 chapters with lots of space in-between. There's a surprising twist at the end that is more believable than the last Patterson I read, Beach Road.
So as with any Patterson, you're going to get something that is decent, but not great.
Book Review: A triple mystery
Summary: 4 Stars
3 1/2 to 4 stars. The authors have written three mysteries wrapped together. Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer, San Francisco Police Homicide Division, is dealing with two serial killers. One is killing young female escorts and leaving them posed in luxury cars (a really, really sick mind); the other is a Dr. Death, killing patients at a large hospital. That is wrapped together with a civil case, with an attorney bringing a suit against the hospital for a number of families that have lost someone who was a patient.
The writing is good (somewhat above average for the genre), but I would not give it above four stars because the plot goes off in too many directions. Also, the novel is divided into too many chapters, i.e., a new chapter everytime a different character starts to speak. The novel does take some interesting twists and turns. The plot improved as the novel progressed. Putting the epilogue in a different state was a little overly done as the story could have ended in San Francisco. I could never determine how the story relates to a Women's Murder Club which is mentioned in passing early in the novel, then disappears from view, but I guess that was a carryover from a previous novel.
In regard to some of the other recent reviews, I would point out that the novel is pulp fiction. It is not literature that will win a Pulitzer Prize. I am not sure what some of the reviewers were expecting, but perhaps they are unfamiliar with the authors and have not read the previous reviews.