21st Birthday (Women’s Murder Club, 21)

21st Birthday is the story of a twenty-year-old woman named Tara and her baby, Lorrie, who goes missing. The main suspect is, of course, the husband/father, Lucas. The Women’s Murder Club is on the case as Chronicle journalist Cindy is approached by Tara’s rather livid mother. From there, Police Sergeant Lindsay Boxer and ADA Yuki Castellano work the case using all the resources they have to convict Lucas.

While this is the first Women’s Murder Club novel I’ve read, it is not my first James Patterson book. I have to say this one really fell flat as far as excitement goes. The characters were all “good enough” but there was never really any climax to the story. They all thought that Lucas did it, even when there wasn’t any evidence. There is a twist to the book as well, which was so far-fetched I had to roll my eyes. It was the only part of the book that added a little bit of action and suspense. All in all, I’d say skip this one and you won’t be missing too much of anything.