At the same time, Cindy Thomas, news reporter and author is attending the first event on her tour promoting her new book on the life of serial killer, Evan Burke, who is serving life in prison. Her fellow members of the Women’s Murder Club – Lindsay, Yuki, and Claire – show up to support her and indulge in a celebratory dinner afterwards. I thoroughly enjoyed 23rd Midnight, which is another high octane hunt for a serial killer, with the added bonus of interactions between Lindsay and Burke. It is told from Lindsay’s first person point of view and various other characters in the third person. It works well, mixing the personal reactions with a more distant view of events.

It starts with us watching a killer at work through his own glasses he murders a young mother and her baby, he also murders a nosey old neighbour who tries to see what he’s doing. And appealing to my personal wants, we got a classic "Women's Murder Club" meetup to sift through evidence and bounce ideas around. But this time, Cindy was not there - because it was her they needed to save.I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for an advance copy of 23rd Midnight, the twenty-third novel to feature Detective Sergeant Lindsay Boxer of the San Francisco PD and her friends, known collectively as the Women’s Murder Club. One of Detective Lindsay Boxer’s greatest feats as part of the San Francisco PD was putting serial killer Evan Burke behind bars. Burke’s murder spree was long and complicated, allowing everyone to breathe a sigh of relief. Fellow member of the Wommen’s Murder Club, Cindy Thomas, uses her crime reporting skills to work with Burke to write a tell-all book about the killer’s life and some of the gruesome acts he committed. Now published, the book is selling like mad and Cindy has been on the book signing junket, in hopes of garnering even more press. I love James Patterson books and the Women’s murder club ones are usually superb, this one does not disappoint in any way. In fact once I started reading it I couldn’t stop and read it in a day! Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a James Patterson mega fan girl 😆 I just love his books, with their short and punchy chapters, characters that feel like family now and killers that you can’t wait to get what is coming to them. I am always thrilled to get approved for early copies of his books, so a massive thank you to Random House UK for feeding my addiction. Patterson knows where our deepest fears are buried... there's no stopping his imagination New York Times Book Review

A mother and her baby are murdered in broad daylight. A passing jogger who bears witness to the scene is then also killed. All of this is caught on film... by the killer himself! A new serial killer seems to be recreating the most infamous crimes of Evan Burke. Lindsay put prolific serial killer Evan Burke behind bars and her friend, journalist Cindy Thomas, wrote a bestselling book about his crimes. Now a new killer is walking in Burke’s footsteps and recreating his crimes with Cindy in his crosshairs with Lindsay in hot pursuit.As expected the chapters are short and punchy, just making you want to read on and on and because they are short you keep promising yourself 'just one more chapter ' which turns into 5, 6, 7....

No one gets this big without natural storytelling talent - which is what Jim has, in spades Lee Child Reporter Cindy Thomas is undertaking a book tour on her bestselling book about Evan Burke but after each book signing someone seems to end up dead, is this connected to Cindy?

For the first time I'm not giving 5*. Not because of anything negative but in all honesty it's got to the point where alot of what is happening (bar the actual plot) I've come to sort of predict. In my opinion, this series, written by Patterson and Paetro since the fifth book has been really hit and miss over the last five to eight outings. At times, it has lost steam, including superficial and ludicrous serial killer villains, repetitive and formulaic storylines that have grown old, and stagnant growth in most of the primary characters. Cindy has just promoting her published her new true crime novel and becomes embroiled when an obsessed fan starts causing problems that mirror the original serial killers actions. Lindsay has to try and catch the criminal.

Detective Lindsay Boxer put serial killer Evan Burke behind bars. Now a new killer has recreated Burke's most infamous crimes-and disappeared without a trace. This year’s outing - “The 23rd Midnight”- has three primary plots – Lindsey’s police team’s hunt for a serial killer, Cindy’s troubled book tour, and Yuki’s courtroom case involving a battered wife. This time it’s Claire’s turn to play more of a supporting role.

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The good news is that is a pretty good book. Not a great one, but a solid improvement over several of the previous half dozen, building on the multi-book arc involving Evan Burke. Yuki Castellano, a Prosecutor, working on an incredibly violent domestic abuse case against Lewis Sullivan. The key charcters making up the women's murder club are. Detective Lindsay Boxer , Prosecutor Yuki Castellano, Chief medical examiner Claire Washburn and Journalist Cindy Thomas. What I would add though, is that I think it would be good to give Yuki a different kind of storyline. It seems that every plotline she’s involved with is prosecuting the case of her career. It’s time to develop her in other ways that are outside of the courtroom. Show that she’s more well-rounded and has other aspects to be explored. The characters a came across as quite one dimensional and I struggled to connect with them or feel anything towards them. I’m aware that this is a part of a series but equally I should’ve been made to feel like I was part of ‘the gang’. Instead I was left utterly confused as to why this group of women ‘the murder club’ felt it was totally okay to talk shop with one another - because they are friends.