2.0 out of 5 based on 5 reviews. – Customer review on 05/04/2007

The third degree is part an oddly disjointed series called the women's murder club or something along those lines and the stories themselves are simislarly vague and wishy washy. Here a tough female detective finds herself confronted with a killer who has decided they need to kill every three days. Whatever.

5.0 out of 5 based on 5 reviews. – Customer review on 17/01/2007

"The Women's Murder Club", introduced to legions of new fans in "1st To Die" and continued to wonderful effect in "2nd Chance", is an intelligent, plausible, modern idea whose time has come. Lindsay Boxer, a police lieutenant in charge of San Francisco's homicide division, Cindy Thomas, lead crime reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, Jill Bernhardt, assistant DA and Claire Washburn, Chief Medical Examiner, are four sharp, rising professionals in the field of law enforcement who have broken the proverbial male glass ceiling and have discovered the synergy of brainstorming their way to a solution of their mutual problems.

In "3rd Degree", the high speed action starts from the very first page as our ladies are confronted with the brutal terrorist attacks of an out-of-time 60s fringe group of misguided Berkley radicals targeting what they would label stereotypical mega-rich corporate robber barons and their families - better known to the rest of the world as millionaires. With the puffed up rhetoric of the far, far left, they take credit for one of their attacks with a note signing themselves as "August Spies" - "We have declared war on the agents of greed and corruption in our society. No longer can we sit back and tolerate the powered class, whose only birthright is arrogance, as they enrich themselves on the oppressed, the weak, and the poor."

The thriller part of the novel is a well crafted and nicely paced police procedural that takes us through vignettes involving forensics, profiling, post mortems, cooperation between the LA municipal police force and the FBI, the plodding details of policing at street level, and even the moral dilemma posed by the tragic requirement to withhold details of an investigation when this action may place the public in harm's way! The solution is both satisfying and credible and even the bad guys are well-developed characters that come alive off the page with their twisted motivation and hatred of the world around them.

As he did so well in "2nd Chance", Patterson continues to lift his tale above the realm of ordinary thriller by realistically allowing the personal lives of the four ladies to intrude on their professional lives (or is that vice-versa?). Lindsay falls hard for a professional colleague whose base of operations is clear across the country and Jill struggles with the emotional roller coaster of a husband's abuse that has recently escalated into the physical after she lost her baby by miscarriage in "2nd Chance". (I was, however, more than a little miffed to discover that the church pastor Cindy fell in love with in "2nd Chance" and Lindsay's ex-cop father, both of whom seemed to hold out so much promise for future sub-plots and character development were simply ignored in "3rd Degree" - sigh!)

Well done! I'll be out looking for #4 in the series shortly!

5.0 out of 5 based on 5 reviews. – Customer review on 06/01/2007

I have read a number of James Patterson novels, but 3rd Degree is the first book I've read in his Women's Murder Club series.

Lindsay Boxer is a homicide detective who works for the San Francisco Police Department. Boxer's world is blown to bits when she witnesses the explosion of a residence as she is jogging in San Francisco. A backpack left at the scene claims responsibility in the name of a domestic terrorist group. She calls on the skills of her three buddies (news writer Cindy, DA Jill, and medical examiner Claire) to help her solve the crime. Deputy Director of Homeland Security, Joe Molinari, also becomes embroiled in this case. But it quickly becomes more than one instance-as more people are murdered and the broad scope of the crimes increase

There are few clues at the beginning, but Boxer, her Women's Murder Club friends, Molinari, a few errors by the terrorists and a terrorist turncoat allow them to start piecing together this complicated puzzle. The situation is made even more complicated by the budding romance between Boxer and Molinari, along with the possibility that Boxer and her friends are not impervious to becoming victims themselves.

3rd Degree is extremely fast moving with lots of plot and decent characters. It also doesn't get bogged down with too much description (unlike some mystery writers today). It kept me turning pages faster and faster, and reading late into the night. But while it was a fast read, it was also a satisfying book. I guess I'll have to go back and read books one and two in this series. good

5.0 out of 5 based on 5 reviews. – Customer review on 19/12/2006

Another book in the Womans Murder Club Series that is fantastic. Lindsay Boxer is a character that can be related to by women, she kicks butt and she also has her own sensitive side and personality. Another great book in this series that keeps everyone waiting for more.

5.0 out of 5 based on 5 reviews. – Customer review on 02/06/2006

I just loved this book 3rd degree... It shows some woman power. i love james patterson's womens murder club novels. This book is really cool. therez a murder and when detective boxer tries to solve the murder she realizes her friends r being targeted as well. this is a suspence novel with lots of twists in the plots.. i would recommend this book to anyone who loves to read books with women power.