Book Review - 2nd Chance

2nd Chance by James Patterson and Andrew Gross

This is the second in Women's Murder Club series by popular writer James Patterson. After the first novel in the series 1st to Die was a hugely entertaining and gripping read, I wasn't sure the follow up novel would be able to live up to the standards the first set up for this series and it did.

The formula is pretty much the same here, but I found the main case involving racially targeted murders much more gripping and more believable than the honeymoon case of 1st to Die. It was engaging and it was left open pretty much all of the story. The killings seemed random at first, but obviously a pattern emerged and it threw me a little when I was trying to guess who the killer was.

Lindsey, Claire, Cindy and Jill all return. They are the central characters after all and each of them gets a storyline. Lindsey is reunited with her estranged father, who fit into the main story wonderfully. Cindy begins dating a neighborhood priest who again is linked to the main story. Jill finds herself pregnant and her story is probably the most poignant but I don't want to spoil it for potential readers. Finally, Claire finds herself effected by the main storyline as well when she is shot. The girls however, still work together on the case, each of them contributing and each of them being woven into the plot nicely.

The writing style is very simple and the chapters are kept short which helps keep the novel moving at a fast pace and makes you want to read on. It is easy to keep reading this into the early hours of the morning without even realizing it! Patterson isn't the most talented writer out there, but he is a talented storyteller and he does justice to his craft.

This book comes highly recommended, and if you haven't read the previous book in the series then you should give that a read as well.