The Trial: A BookShot: A Women's Murder Club Story (Women's Murder Club BookShots, 1) Paperback – July 5, 2016

The Trial: A BookShot: A Women's Murder Club StoryWritten by: James Patterson, Maxine PaetroNarrated by: January LaVoy"I'm not on trial. San Francisco is."An accused murderer called Kingfisher is about to go on trial for his life. Or is he? By unleashing unexpected violence on the lawyers, jurors, and police involved in the case, he has paralyzed the city. Detective Lindsay Boxer and the Women's Murder Club are caught in the eye of the storm.Now comes a courtroom shocker you will never see coming.I have to say that this is one of my favorite James Patterson series but I’m a little peeved that my one of my favorite people is being so hard headed. But at least she is not hard headed enough to completely throw Joe out of her life. I’m still holding out with great hope that things will be set just right between them.Kingfisher is a complete douche of a criminal and sometimes what you need to take down such a criminal is another criminal. One that is smarter. One that is maybe out for a little revenge? Like sharks in a tank with blood they go after each other. Will Kingfisher be the all-time winner, the big fish that eats all the others or will he finally be met with justice; one bite at a time?

I'm still on the fence when it comes to the concept of BookShots, the project spearheaded by very prolific author James Patterson. The intent, I've read, is to produce thrillers that sell for around $4.99 and are no longer than 150 pages. Some are standalones, while others are rooted in some of Patterson's popular series including Alex Cross and, like this one, the Women's Murder Club.My mugwump attitude isn't because I want to see the concept fail; in fact, as authors struggle to make anywhere near decent amounts for their writing efforts, I think it's a clever idea that has merit. The books are affordable and perfect, I'd think, for something to do while waiting in the doctor's office or catching a red-eye flight. But I've never been much of a short story fan - and when stripped down to the nitty gritty, that's pretty much what these are - so my personal enthusiasm isn't very high.For the record, I read one, a standalone titled "The Witnesses," back in July (it earned 4 stars from me as well). After I finished and had a better idea of how these books would play out, I first said that for me it would be one and done; later, I changed my mind and decided to someday try one involving my personal favorites just to test those waters. A few months later, I spotted this one, and away I went.As I already knew, it's way too short for my liking - I polished it off in just under an hour (actually, just 85% of the book is the actual story; the remainder is a four-chapter "special excerpt" of another BookShots entry featuring Detective Alex Cross). Besides that, any sort of balance among the four Women's Murder Club members (San Francisco Medical Examiner Claire, attorney Yuki, hot-shot crime reporter Cindy and Detective Lindsay) is pretty much nonexistent. While Lindsay usually takes the center front stage, the others typically get fairly strong supporting roles; but here, not so much - hardly at all, in fact.On the other hand, as short stories go, I have to say it's pretty good. As regular series readers already know, Lindsay and her husband Joe have separated, although they still love each other and share a love for their young daughter Julie. When club members gather for one of their regular restaurant meetups, Lindsay gets a phone call from her partner Rich, who tells her the notorious Mexican gangster dubbed the Kingfisher is back in town. That's especially disturbing since, as far as the police are concerned, he's dead.But surprise - he's not only very much alive, but apparently has committed two murders. He's then charged and is awaiting trial - a process that quickly goes to hell in a handbasket, turning the entire city upside down.Because it's so short, there's little more I can say without giving away too much (except that unlike a few other reviewers, I thought the ending was great). So for those who like a shorter format and Patterson's work, I'd say this one is worth a try. As for me, though, it's over and out.

An elaborate cast of characters from the Blue Line, Prosectors, and Notorious Bad guys. The Kingfisher has control over the city but SFPD had determination to change the scenario. With threats and promises of death, the cops stayed the course while protecting loved ones. But in the end, bad guys killed bad guys.

I enjoyed this BookShot. This story involved the Mexican cartel. I would like to say that this story proves that crime does not pay, but the ending proves otherwise.I can visualize this story being made into a very exciting movie.

TOO GIRLIEThis male reader likes female characters because they are more fun to imagine for a male reader (know what I mean?), yet, still, this book used a female lead character who was a police officer, yet she made herself sound like an uptown model, or some other type of "yuppie" character. In fact, her and her friends all talked in uptown "yuppie" language--they all shortened their words in "hipster"-style (like "tats" for tattoos, and "Chron" for Chronicle, which was a newspaper, et cetera), and the lead female made herself appear to girlie. She imagined herself slow dancing with her ex-husband in a fancy dress, she "cuddled with her adorable baby daughter" (I didn't phrase that exactly like James Patterson but close), she drinks fancy cocktails, and eats stylish sandwiches, and meets her female friends in an "art deco"-style cocktail lounge.But, here's the worst part, the lead female (who was supposed to be a "police sergeant") acts so huggie-wuggie-huggie and so kissie-kissie-kissie that she seemed like a cross between a Vogue fashion model and a kindergarten teacher. I can't believe an author as experienced as James Patterson would really think that his female "police sergeant" could be believable when she kisses and hugs and "needs a hug badly," and, then, kisses, and hugs, and kisses, her female friends some more. After the case wraps, the lead female "policewoman" will need to cuddle below her soft warm blankets, snuggle with her baby daughter, enjoy a glass of warm cocoa, and give herself a few gentle huggie-wuggie-hugs to feel better. (Can you hear the sarcasm in my tone?)So, the storyline sounded good (most James Patterson does), but (and I complain about Jeffrey Deaver in the same manner) the characters were supposed to be police officers yet they sounded like rich fancy "yuppies," and very girlie-girl ones, too, and NEVER like cops.

Haven't had a chance to read the book yet but I'm sure I will enjoy it