10th Anniversary

10th Anniversary
James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2011
395 pages

What better way to start off our journey than with the most prolific writer I have ever heard of - James Patterson.

I have been reading Patterson's books for years - certainly since I was a young teenager. One of my favourite things about his novels is just how quickly I can get through them. Take 1oth Anniversary for example - less than two hours from cover to cover!

Truthfully, I think it's critical that Patterson's novels are quick reads simply because the man publishes so many of them every year - at least half a dozen. How does he do it... I've been writing the same bloody book for over a year now and I'm still only on chapter five. The man is magic! Yes, I know he has co-authors. It's still insane.

In this particular Patterson novel, we once again meet up with the Women's Murder Club - Lindsay, Claire, Cindy and Yuki. Not the original crew, but that would be spelling out spoilers from earlier novels in the series. Love and babies seem to be the theme - the girls are all in love, people are getting engaged and married, a wife is accused of murdering her husband and a newborn baby is missing. Ya gotta take the good with the bad!

The plot in this particular novel is a bit more predictable than earlier books in the series - when the bad guys are fingered its more of a "well, duh" moment than "holy crap, I had no idea!". That said, I still enjoy watching the characters as they progress through the high and low points of their lives, and look forward to their continuing adventures.

A note to the publisher (in case you actually check for reviews): There is a typo in Chapter 43 (on page 150, line 3). I suspect it is supposed to read "Careful, the plate's hot." instead of "Careful, the plate's not,"... the plate's not what? Seriously, you're leaving me hanging here! What is it?!?! Tell me!!! Sigh.

Book Count: 1 down, 199 to go.