THE 9TH JUDGEMENT

TITLE: THE 9TH JUDGEMENT
AUTHOR: JAMES PATTERSON & MAXINE PAETRO
Pages: 355
Date: 17/05/2010
Grade: 3.5
Details: no. 9 Women's Murder Club
Library

Two very different serial crimes form the basis of this thriller. A burglar is stealing jewelry from the rich while they are at home entertaining visitors. The press, with Cindy in the lead, have nicknamed the burglar "Hello Kitty" and are having fun with the stories until one burglary ends with a corpse. But did Hello Kitty fire the gun?
The second case is far more serious. Someone is killing mothers and their toddlers. With no clues and no hint at a motive, Lindsay Boxer and her colleagues have no idea how to identify and stop the killer.
With stories lines described like this you would be forgiven for thinking you were looking at an intriguing and heartstopping thriller. You'd be wrong.
Both perpetrators are named and identified from the start of the book, which for me took most of the tension away.
Far worse, in my opinion is the fact that this series has now become so formulaic that if you told me that Patterson had created a computer program that writes the stories for him after he enters a few basic premises, I'd take your word for it and wouldn't be surprised.
Yes, this is an easy to read book with just about enough tension to keep you turning the pages, but there's nothing here to get excited about.
I will probably read the next book in this series when it comes out, hoping that it will be a return to the old standards of the early books. I won't be spending any money on my copy though. Library, here I come.