2nd Chance
2nd Chancereconvenes the Women's Murder Club, four friends (a  detective, a reporter, an assistant district attorney, and a medical examiner)  who used their networking skills, feminine intuition, and professional wiles to  solve a baffling series of murders in1st to Die. This time, the  murders of two African Americans, a little girl and an old woman, bear all the  signs of a serial killer for Lindsay Boxer, newly promoted to lieutenant of San  Francisco's homicide squad. But there's an odd detail she finds even more  disturbing: both victims were related to city cops. A symbol glimpsed at both  murder scenes leads to a racist hate group, but the taunting killer strikes  again and again, leaving deliberate clues and eluding the police ever more  cleverly. In the meantime, each of the women has a personal stake at risk--and  the killer knows who they are.2nd Chancespeeds along at a Formula One pace through many tight curves,  but unlike recent entries in theAlex Cross series, it  doesn't sacrifice good characters to a twisted plot. Lindsay's the star, but  there's a fineesprit de corpsamong the four women, who are even better  developed here than in the first book. What makes them both convincing and  interesting as a criminal-justice juggernaut is their willingness to stick their  necks out, even if they suffer for it. If you haven't picked up a James  Patterson novel in a while, this is a great time to start anew.--Barrie  Trinkle