The Angel of Death hovers above the Municipal Hospital in San Francisco. Twenty mysterious and poorly explained deaths of sometimes young and often otherwise healthy people have occurred and it is time for answers. Maureen O’Mara, a successful young and attractive lawyer is bringing a class action suit against the hospital in an attempt to get answers. The hospital could stand to lose millions in damages but that is just icing on this legal cake. Braded into this tale is another featuring mannequin killers. Beautiful but dead women are being displayed in expensive cars with designer shoes and clothing on. The reason the murders are believed to be a joint effort is that the method of execution point to a killer duo. The story keeps you guessing as the plot thickens and the female quartet start strutting their stuff. The factual introduction of “The City of the Silent”, Colma, California (a city of cemeteries where the dead outnumber the living by more than 1000 to 1) is an informative and interesting touch. These little pieces of trivia make an entertaining novel into a source of added wisdom. As with almost all crime mysteries of this sort the reader can cast a critical eye and discover small or large faults in the story. With this story 32 mysterious deaths in a three-year period seems unbelievable but if you just swallow it the rest digests easily. This is the fifth book in the Women’s Murder Club and augments this popular series. It is always a pleasure to see the opposite sex effortlessly multitasking. Anyone familiar with the works of James Paterson doesn’t have to be reminded of their readability. If you’re a Patterson fan you will surely like this book, if you’ve never read him, this is a great place to start.
The book is fast paced with a gripping, fun and yet disappointing plot. There were a few twists to keep you going but most of them were anticipated. There were two different cases – one involving mysterious deaths in a hospital and another involving the gruesome death of beautiful call girls. The book would have done better if the focus was on either one of the cases as it would have assured us a better quality mystery. Also apparent was the missing motive behind the case which left me searching for answers even after I completed the book.The Women’s murder club is definitely an exciting series. If you have read the books in the order they were published you would connect to the women and feel for them like I do. They are smart, go-getters with a common passion. Yuki is relatively new and the sudden demise of her charming and lovable mother did not make me feel for her like it would do with the other characters.5th Horseman sadly did not bring anything new to the table. If you are James Patterson fan go ahead and read this one as you will definitely enjoy it, but if you are looking for one of his best works this is not it.
I'm not one to look down on a good murder mystery/suspense novel, but having read a number of James Patterson books over the years, I've come to realize that his writing is an insult to readers' intelligence. A 3rd grader could read this book with no problem-- and still find it a yawn. The plot was so disjointed, made hardly any sense, and was just a bunch of garbage. Remind me to never be tempted to grab another Patterson book when I'm looking for a quick read!I'm not sure why this book pissed me off so much, but I just find it ridiculous--and embarassing--that so many read and enjoy this crap (my former self included).
—Alyssa
Love this series, it reminds me of watching a extended episode of Law and Order. Lindsay and friends are very likable, they make you think you could also be a detective. I especially enjoy the relationship between Lindsey and Claire, there is nothing better in life than a Really good girlfriend., And it is always nice to see women getting along. As usual the Mistry kept you guessing until the very end. I will definitely read this entire series!
—Berit
I hadn't read a Patterson in a while when I picked this up and it immediately brought back all of the reasons that I like his books.After a bit of a let-down for me with 4th of July, the Women's Murder Club is back in fine form. Patterson's characters are all likeable and easy to root for. The writing style is what I would call very comfortable and the storyline moves along at the usual Patterson frenetic pace. Once I start, I usually don't want to put one of his books down and The 5th Horseman is no exception.I read a lot over lunch at work and another caveat of reading his novels is that the chapters are usually short and it's always easy to find a place to stop (even if you REALLY don't want to!)Anyway, I guess this isn't a review for The 5th Horseman exactly, but more of a review of James Patterson novels in general. He writes books that are incredibly fun and engaging to read and I would recommend picking one up! If you can start at the beginning of one of his series, that would be best, but another caveat of his writing is that he does a great job of filling the reader in on what's going on, so if you pick up a series in the middle, you're still ok.
—Stefan Yates
