My first advanced reader copy!

I re-discovered my love of reading last year when I started James Patterson's Women's Murder Club series. I read all 24 books within a couple months, so I was very excited to gain early access to #25.

I loved being reunited with the b@d@$$ Lindsey Boxer and her fellow murder club ladies working to solve a crime very dear to them. As always with the WMC series, there's lots of action happening with each main character to keep you reading!

This book will be out on April 28, 2025.

If you’ve been a long time fan of this series then I don’t need to tell you that I enjoyed this one! They speak for themselves in their continuing storyline that has stayed fresh with every addition. This starts with a shocking turn of events and has you hanging on til the last page and wanting more! Many thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for read and review

A retired police officer is killed while bird watching. How does this fit in with all of the other murders people are finding around the city. Martha, the collie, has to have surgery. The FBI gets called in so now all the major characters from these books are involved. A great wrap up to the story at the end.

Lindsay Boxer and the Women's Murder Club has a lot to deal with in 25 Alive by James Patterson. The stakes are high and the race is on to solve the crimes.

Terrific. Love this series. It’s a fast read but that may be because I didn’t want to stop reading. Plenty of the suspense you look for in a police procedural. Everything came together in the end. Just sorry to have lost a favorite character right from the start.

25 Alive is the 25th book in the AMAZING Women's Murder Club series by James Patterson.

I have been waiting, and it was worth the wait!!!

Sergeant Boxer's friend is murdered in San Fransico's Golden Gate Park.

A clue is left for her former one-time partner who had rose to Chief of Police.

I absolutely LOVED this book, starts out wish so much action and keeps going to the very end.

The mystery was incredible, and I love these characters SO much!

I’m not a fan of romance novels but I do relish strong female protagonists with husbands or boyfriends of merit who are equal, loving partners and I am a fan of the day to day romance in their lives. The women of James Patterson’s and Maxine Paetro’s Murder Club series fit this bill and they, along with their significant others have become literary friends as well as their co-workers, bosses, children and even their neighbors and pets. It is heartwarming to catch up with them every so often. These are stories that go beyond the murders the characters witness and solve as they are tales of friendship, trust, support, reliance, and interdependent relationships. I can read plots involving murders and gruesome deaths elsewhere but the Murder Club books are riveting because I know these women after 24 books. Lindsay Boxer, police detective in San Francisco, Yukon Castellano, assistant district attorney, Cindy Thomas, San Francisco Examiner’s crime reporter and crime book author and Claire Washburn, medical examiner, comprise the friendship group they have named the Women’s Murder Club. FBI Agent Joe Molinari, Lindsay’s husband, and Police Officer Richie Thomas, Cindy’s husband are, as usual, consequential to the outcome of the story. I worry about them and their families and those who are important to them.
One such person meets his end in 25 Alive. Lindsay’s former boss and mentor, Detective Warren Jacobi, is murdered in Golden Gate Park while seemingly bird watching but, although retired from the force, is in point of fact, stalking a suspected murderer. A clue is found near his body which begins the hunt for the killer. And then, just hours later, in close proximity, a second dead body is discovered along with the same clue.
In another narrative thread, Yuki is assigned to the trial of a Mexican cartel member, a suspected serial killer, and it becomes a trial by fire for her and her second chair of choice, Nick Gaines.
Joe, on the case In Mexico, becomes involved in a shooting with the cartel and he and his FBI partner, agent Bao Wong, find themselves in need of protection. Lindsay and their six year old daughter can only wait for his safe return.
Victims are decapitated, The justice system is put under attack. Retired police officers are under suspicion. One clue is prominent and another is uncovered in time to catch a killer. There is plenty of action, unusual events, and dangerous and threatening situations. How can there not be with a cartel boss and his son and a serial murderer in the storyline?
The ending is abrupt and with none of the fanfare or drama leading up to the resolution of justice in either of the cases. Motives are not fully explained and one murder is said to not have had a motive at all. The interweaving stories suddenly resolve with villains caught and murders solved. All the murder club friends and their spouses do not sit around a table at Susie’s restaurant eating spicy foods and drinking margaritas while summarizing the closing events. Yes, I would have liked that. Yet all are safe and well and ready to move on to new challenges and I can move on to visiting with all of them again.
I want to thank NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for an advance copy of 25 Alive. This is my honest review of James Paterson’s and Maxine Paetro’s book.

"Sergeant Lindsay Boxer, medical examiner Claire Washburn, Assistant District Attorney Yuki Castellano, and crime reporter Cindy Thomas investigate the shocking murder of a former SFPD chief in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.

SFPD homicide detective Lindsay Boxer knows her way around a crime scene.

But nothing can prepare her for the shock of recognition: the victim is Warren Jacobi, Lindsay's onetime partner who rose to chief of police.

A top investigator until the end, Jacobi managed to leave Lindsay a clue.

Following a trail of evidence along the west coast, the Women's Murder Club pledges to avenge Jacobi's death before the killer can take another one of their own."

Anyone else really want to make a Johnny 5 joke?

Even with that adrenaline rush of a prologue, I still would say this is a comfort read for those who are long-term lovers of the series. While there are some hold your breath moments and conflict, it has everything you want in the Women’s Murder Club series.

You have the family moments that make you feel like you’re sitting around the table. You have lovable moments with Martha, as well as margaritas and drinks around the infamous table. There are times when you don’t know if everyone’s going to make it to the end, but I can only say it’s satisfying.

It’s everything you want: it’s adrenaline-pumping, it’s heartwarming, it’s intense, and it’s layered with multiple storylines happening. If you love this series, you will enjoy this book. If you're new, go back and read a couple of the previous books so that you don’t feel lost if you are jumping into the series.

James Patterson delivers another thrilling page-turner with 25 Alive. Lindsay Boxer faces her most personal case yet when her former partner, Warren Jacobi, is murdered but not before leaving her one final clue. As she and the Women’s Murder Club follow the trail along the West Coast, the tension builds with every twist and turn. The pacing is fast, the stakes are high, and Patterson’s signature short chapters make it impossible to put down. A must-read for fans of the series!

Enjoyed the next novel in the Women's Murder Club series. There was suspense with several of the plot lines. However, one was easy to figure out too. Thanks NetGalley for the advanced copy. #NetGalley #25Alive

The newest installment of The Women's Murder Club follows Lindsey and the crew trying to solve a murder that hits close to home.

I'll never not read this series and I'll never be disappointed by it. For 25 books in a row, I know I'm going into something quick-paced and entertaining with short snappy chapters that will wrap itself up in a bow at the end. As always, the intertwined plots of the different characters keeps you reading more. The opening sequence was surprising and those who have been fans from the start like myself will be a touch heartbroken. Follow along as the Club seeks to serve justice on a silver platter.

I love reading books in this series. There's always suspense to them. This book was really good. The author kept me hanging until the end. The ending turned out great, it was better than I thought it would be. I look forward to reading the next book James Patterson writes. I'm grateful that netgalley and the publishers let me read this in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

I very much enjoyed this book. The writing was great and the characters were well developed. I hope to read more from this author in the future.

I have been waiting very impatiently for the next Women’s Murder Club book.

The ladies are all back and in the thick of things again. Claire, the ME, Yuki, the ADA, Cindy the reporter and of course, Lindsay Boxer, Sergeant in the SFPD.

The department is stunned by a horrific murder of a former SFPD detective. And right on the heels of that, another body with the same odd message.

AS they all work together to find out who killed their friend, and who is still killing?

I don’t want to give away anything here because you deserve to relish it yourselves.

My favorite writing duo.


NetGalley/ Little, Brown, and Company April 28, 2025

4.5 stars, actually.

Would you believe my last book in this long-running series was the 19th? I'll concede that it helps that I didn't miss any of those that came before, but it still came as a surprise when I was able to zip through this one - the 25th - as if I hadn't missed a beat.

Well, with a couple of relatively minor exceptions. San Francisco detective Lindsay Boxer, who arguably is the star of the show, had a daughter Julie, who is now five years old. She and the rest of the so-called Women's Murder Club - medical examiner Claire Washburn, San Francisco Examiner crime reporter Cindy Thomas, assistant district attorney Yuki Castellano - are more experienced and wiser. Otherwise, it's basically same old, same old, but that's certainly not a bad thing.

This one begins with the unthinkable - and a happening that ain't happening in my review. Suffice it to say there's a single clue - the words "I Said, You Dead" left at the scene. That happening rallies all the troops, including Lindsay's boss, Jackson Brady, Cindy (who can smell a great story a continent away). Close on the heels of that one comes another one - and again, those same words.

Meantime, Yuki is prosecuting a murder case against a member of a Mexican cartel, who's also a suspected serial killer. Almost immediately, it becomes clear that someone - most likely others in the cartel - are intent on making sure the trial never takes place, and their methods take jury tampering to a whole new level.

On that front, Lindsay's husband, FBI agent Joe Molinari, gets involved, and readers begin to suspect a link between the "I Said" events and the trial. Bringing both to a close, though, takes up most of the pages and leads readers through another nail-biting adventure right up to the end. With which, I'm satisfied. I'm also happy to thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to get back in the game via a pre-release copy. Good job once again!

Thank you to NetGalley , Little, Brown and Company and James Patterson for this ARC. Someone close to everyone in the Women's Murder Club and many others is murdered. With such a personal killing, it is all hands on deck with Lindsey Boxer at the lead. Another great WMC that did not disappoint! #25Alive #JamesPatterson #WomensMurderClub #LittleBrownandCompany #April2025

This book was another smash hit from the author in this ongoing series. The storyline was well developed as were the characters. The book was filled with much mystery and suspense which kept the reader interested and waiting for what happens next. This is a book which I would recommend to all readers who enjoy a good mystery.

I loved this book as all the Women’s Murder Club Books. In one hand I really liked the connected but different story lines but I also felt a bit disconnected from the characters in this one. It was more case and less characters. I feel that Lindsay has a huge potential story line that was somewhat alluded to but due to the focus on the case there was no time to connect with that. It was a fast read. Read it in a day. I look forward to the next one. 5 stars

I absolutely love James Patterson and his latest novel in the Women's Murder Club, "25 Alive" is another fantastic addition to the ongoing series!