Book Review: The curse of 13

If you've read the Women's Murder Club series, then you know that James Patterson and Maxine Paetro can fuse enough action and plots into each volume to fill two books. Unlucky 13, the latest instalment in the series, is no different. However, the amount of action and drama the authors put in here can fill at least three books if not more.

Patterson four main woman characters -- Lindsay Boxer, Cindy Thomas, Claire Washburn, and Yuki Castellano – are back with their share of problems and tactics. When two dead bodies are found inside a wrecked car on the Golden Gate Bridge, Detective Lindsay Boxer doubts that it will be anything as simple as a traffic accident. The scene is more gruesome than anything she has seen before. It definitely wasn't the crash that killed these people. While Lindsay starts to piece this case together, she gets a call she wasn't expecting. Sightings of her ex-colleague-turned-ruthless-killer Mackie Morales have been reported.

Wanted for three murders, Mackie has been in hiding since she escaped from custody. But now she's ready to return to San Francisco and pay a visit to some old friends.

While Lindsay's good life as a new mother becomes stressful, the honeymoon of Yuki Castellano turns into nightmare.

With three plots the novel fails to give justice to either of them. While reading one tends to feel that the writer is rushing into the stories. Had he kept one plot or worked more on each, the novel would have been much better. A positive aspect about the book is being a continuation of series. This never makes you feel stranger to the characters. You are able to relate to the characters immediately.

The action and thrills are in place but lack of punch is a major downfall of the novel. The regular readers of series may find it interesting but those who want to start reading Patterson, this is definitely not the book to pick.