3rd Degree

The thing I love about James Patterson books, other than that he spins a mean yarn, is that he isn't stuck in one particular rut. He has two different sets of story lines going, the Alex Cross series, which centers on a detective working out of the D.C. area, and the Women's Murder Club series, set in San Francisco (which, being a native, I like).

This is the third of the Women's Murder Club books, written in conjunction with Andrew Gross. (The previous two were "1st to Die" and "2nd Chance").

The unlikely collaboration of friends, homicide lieutenant Lindsay Boxer (our heroine), an assistant DA, a medical examiner, and a crime reporter.

In this story, one of them will meet with foul play and it will be up to the other three to find out who is responsible. This particular story deals with a terrorist group calling itself "August Spies," and the fast-paced plot shows the very real posibility of the planting of incendiary devices or introducing the poisonous ricin into the environment, and the kind of response one might expect from the Department of Homeland Security.

This is a page turner, a roller coaster ride from beginning to end. There are enough twists and turns to warrant a dramamine.

Oh yeah--and there's a hint of sex too.