The 18th Abduction (A Women's Murder Club Thriller, 18) Hardcover – April 29, 2019

This is one of my favorites in The Women's Murder Club Mysteries! Couldn't put this one down. This one was an international thriller. Pretty scary and believable! Lindsay Boxer and her husband Joe's relationship makes you want more! All of the characters are so well written. Love all the ladies in the murder club. Can't leave out Conklin or Jacobi either! I was on edge most of the book! Can't wait to read 19!

This book was excellent and heartbreaking. I know this is fiction but unfortunately I believe evil like this does exist.

In essence, this is a flashback story where two cases—one of kidnapping and human trafficking intersects with a demonic diabolical war criminal—are worked jointly by the SFPD and the FBI. Interesting, but not my favorite of the series. It was prescriptive and ordained so the usual trepidation of the mystery was a bit lacking in this one.

This is a flashback book to the time before Joe cheated. Before Julie was born. This can be a little disorienting at first, but once you get into the book it does not take long to adjust. IF I had one complaint it might be to have known this was coming so that I could go back and reread the 9th through the 11th books. However, this seems to slip seamlessly between the old stories with little mention or overlap into the previous books.As the book begins Lindsay and Joe are accompanying a friend, Anna, in to testify against a "red-faced hog" monster (ya gotta love that), but that is where the flashback begins. In the flashback Joe meets Anna for the first time as she sits by the side of the road disheveled and sobbing. She had just seen a man who had brutalized her several years before and had tried to chase him down on her bike until she had crashed. Lindsay is hot on the trail of three missing teachers from a local high end private school. To her surprise, not so much ours, this chase finds her following the trail into the seedier side of town searching for her next serial murderer.There are probably some things they could have done better, but really this book is much better than the last few and I was very pleased to have ordered it early. It was an easy way to get Lindsay and Joe back on common ground without having to rehash all of the troubles from the last two books and the affairs, so that was a really nice relief.UPDATE:On further reflection I probably should mention that this book does contain some graphic scenes of a sexual and abusive nature. However, as a survivor of sexual assault it did not cause me any distress. If that is something that may affect you in a negative way you may want to use caution in selecting this book.Contains some inappropriate language (yes several F-bombs). [Note to Ms. Paetro: They are not necessary. The preview for the next book is already full of f-bombs, but I read this series because it did not have them.]

I like all of his books.

I’ve been disappointed in some of the recent Women’s Murder Club series. This one; however, was a winner. There was oodles of suspense, and it held my attention from beginning to ending.I loved the ever growing suspense. The mass of vivid depiction of brutality; however, might cause some readers a grinding of the teeth. The story is well written, characters well-defined and a storyline that is definitely a gripping thriller. This narrative has some despicable characters, and it has some haunting twists and turns. Some of the characters endure unspeakable torture, so hold on if those things are bothersome.I was a bit confused at the beginning of the tale because it started with present day, and quickly shifted back five years to the very early period of Lindsay and Joe’s marriage. Slightly perplexing, but the kinks of the time frame cleared fairly readily.San Franciso Homicide Police Sargent, Lindsay Boxer, and her new husband, FBI special agent Joe Molinori, along with their individual staffs, are working hard on separate cases.Joe is working on positive ID and arrest of a wartime criminal known as the Butcher of Djoba, Slobodan Petrović, a Bosnian terrorist military officer who is a man with a history of heinous war crimes including mass executions, rapes and torture. One of his victims, who now lives in San Francisco, has seen the Butcher of Djoba, even though he was officially thought dead years ago. The tale takes the reader on a rather suspenseful journey that includes kidnapping, rape, and murders.Lindsay is working on a case involving the disappearance of three school teachers. What they do not immediately realize is that the two cases may somehow be connected.

A very entertaining mystery to the last page, enjoyed it very much. James Patterson is a very entertaining mystery writer.

Loved it. As always Mr. Patterson doesn’t let us down. Had a hard time putting it down. Looking forward to 19

the women's murder series is my favourite by James patterson...if like me your read the 17th edition and was disappointed a little then you definitely won't be by this one gripped from beginning to endand a nice suprise at the end was a teaser for the 19th book due out in October 2019 a lot quicker than normal

I admt that I was worried about this book, the 18th in the Murder Club series. Throughout the book, not a word about Joe and Lindsay's baby daughter Julie. Then some way through the book I realised that it must be a sort of "flashback" writte as it were before the birth. That would explain the non-appearance of the baby. Pity the writers didn't make that clearer for the reader though, especially those who have followed the whole series.It seems to be a book of two halves to begin with, then it links together, I like the short chapters that he uses, because I can ratin my reading. I do not like to read for too long especially at night and this way suited the style of the story in this case.Felt this one missed the Murder Club, we do not see much of the members apart from Claire, but no matter, it is a really good read, with a good ending. Not entirely unexpected but didn't worry me I was sorry when it did end.Recommended, but I hope they are back to normal as a couple with a baby in the next one!

My wife said "you won't like this". Why?"It's very violent towards women!". Something far too many writes (no names, but well known) rely on, and it is seldom necessary. I am glad to report that Patterson/Paetro stay just this side of graphic nastiness, whilst still telling how one of the characters endured torture and rape in the Bosnian conflict and later in San Francisco. If you have followed "The Women's Murder Club" through all 17 novels, you should enjoy this one. The usual gang are all present and correct (bar one, but that is part of the setting). I can't help feeling that Patterson, a bit like I find Donna Leon, is now writing by numbers, but for me this is still a 5 star novel.

Another excellent tale by Patterson and Paetro; couldn't put it down. My copy has even been autographed by JP himself, after I met him at the Theakston Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate - talk about a dream come true!!This installment of the WMC is a step back in time, as Lindsay et al. relay the story of Bosnian war criminal, Slobodan Petrovic, and how they managed to catch him 5 years ago.The novel focuses on two distinct storylines - that of Lindsay and the three missing teachers, and that of Joe and Anna Sotovina, the Bosnian woman he stumbled over after she'd discovered Petrovic was living in the same town as her. Why is this important, you may ask? Well, Petrovic destroyed Anna's family and tried his best to destroy her.It soon becomes apparent that the two 'cases' and linked and the novel moves at a pace that keeps you on the edge of your seat as you wonder if Lindsay and Rich will find the missing teachers in time and whether Anna will end up at Petrovic's mercy once more.This tale makes me think of a prequel, as it steps back in time, filling us in on a case that we hadn't heard of before, making the characters even more real to us by showing us they are more than just the cases that the novels share with us.Looking forward to 19th Christmas and all that it may bring!

What a gripping read.A retrospective story where Lindsay and Joe's working world collide. Lindsay is investigating a case where three school teachers have gone missing. One is found dead apparently having committed suicide, the race is then on to find what happened to the other two. Joe finds a distressed woman who swears a nightmare from her past just walked straight back into her life. The event forces her to relive the massacres that occurred in war torn Bosnia. The loss of her son her husband and her extended family find her pleading for help. She needs to bring a monster to his knees or she will die trying. Its a compelling read and a timely reminder of how fragile a balance their is in the world . Let us never forget the victims or the evil that men do. Thank you James for reminding us of our most recent terrible history