Women's Murder Club (abridged)

The electrifying first novel in James Patterson's Women's Murder Club series.

As the only woman homicide inspector in San Francisco, Lindsay Boxer has to be tough. But nothing has prepared her for the honeymoon murders.

A brutal maniac begins a killing spree - slaughtering newlywed couples - and Lindsay takes on the case. She is sickened by the deaths, but her determination to bring the murderer to justice is threatened by personal tragedy.

Master of suspense, James Patterson, takes us into a terrifying underworld with this second thriller in his dazzling Women's Murder Club series. When a little girl is shot on the steps of a San Francisco church, Detective Lindsay Boxer knows it's time to reconvene the Women's Murder Club. Working with reporter Cindy Thomas, assistant DA Jill Bernhardt, and medical examiner Claire Washburn, Lindsay tracks a mystifying killer who soon turns his pursuers into his victims.

When an attack leaves one of the members of the Women's Murder Club struggling for her life, the others fight to keep a madman behind bars before he hurts anyone else. And Lindsay Boxer and her new partner in the San Francisco police department try to stop a series of kidnappings: children and their nannies are being plucked off the streets.

A terrible fire in a wealthy suburban home leaves a married couple dead and Detective Lindsay Boxer and her partner Rich Conklin searching for clues. And after California's golden boy, Michael Campion, has been missing for a month, there finally seems to be a lead in his case - a very devastating lead. As fire after fire consumes couples in wealthy, comfortable homes, Lindsay and the Murder Club must race to find the arsonists responsible and get to the bottom of Michael Campion's disappearance.

During an intimate dinner party, a cat burglar breaks into the home of A-list actor Marcus Dowling. When his wife walks in on the thief, the situation quickly teeters out of control, leaving an empty safe and a lifeless body.

Lindsay Boxer is pregnant at last! But her work doesn't slow for a second. When millionaire Chaz Smith is mercilessly gunned down, she discovers that the murder weapon is linked to the deaths of four of San Francisco's most untouchable criminals. And it was taken from her own department's evidence locker. Anyone could be the killer - even her closest friends.

With a beautiful baby daughter and a devoted husband, Detective Lindsay Boxer can safely say that her life has never been better. In fact (for a change), things seem to be going well for all the members of the Women's Murder Club as they gather to celebrate San Francisco Medical Examiner Claire Washburn's birthday. But the party is cut short when Lindsay is called to a gruesome crime scene, where a woman has been murdered in broad daylight.

As she settles in to motherhood and a happy marriage, Lindsay Boxer thinks she has found domestic bliss. But when a beautiful, alluring blonde woman with links to the CIA disappears from the scene of a brutal murder at a downtown luxury hotel, Lindsay's life begins to unravel. Before she can track down the woman for questioning, a plane crash plunges San Francisco into chaos, and Lindsay's husband, Joe, vanishes.

A series of shootings exposes San Francisco to a methodical yet unpredictable killer, and a reluctant woman decides to put her trust in Sergeant Lindsay Boxer. The confidential informant's tip leads Lindsay to disturbing conclusions, including that something has gone horribly wrong inside the police department itself.

For a trio of colleagues, an innocent night out after class ends in a deadly torture session. They vanish without a clue - until a body turns up. With the safety of San Francisco's entire school system at stake, Detective Lindsay Boxer has never been under more pressure. As the chief of police and the press clamor for an arrest in the "school night" case, Lindsay turns to her best friend, investigative journalist Cindy Thomas. Together, Lindsay and Cindy take a new approach to the case, and unexpected facts about the victims leave them stunned.

As the holidays approach, Detective Lindsay Boxer and her friends in the Women's Murder Club have much to celebrate. Crime is down. The medical examiner's office is quiet. Even the courts are showing some Christmas spirit. And the news cycle is so slow that journalist Cindy Thomas is on assignment to tell a story about the true meaning of the season for San Francisco. Then, a fearsome criminal known only as "Loman" seizes control of the headlines. He is planning a deadly surprise for Christmas morning.