What should have been a peaceful Saturday ferry ride turns deadly when a passenger opens fire as the boat is docking at the San Francisco waterfront.
One of the victims belongs to the Women's Murder Club (WMC), an aptly named alliance between SFPD inspector Lindsay Boxer, Assistant DA Yuki Castellano, Medical Examiner Claire Washburn, and journalist Cindy Thomas. In this, the sixth episode in the WMC series, a troubled young man, Fred Brinkley, shoots several people on a crowded San Francisco Bay ferry boat, before fleeing into the crowd.
Indiscriminate Murder
Lindsay's investigation into the ferry shootings is hampered by the seemingly indiscriminate nature of the crime. The victims are young, old, working class, suburban, with no ties to one another. The forensic evidence is meager, too, due to the masses of people at the crime scene.
As Lindsay struggles to find a killer and worries about her seriously injured friend, her personal life is in an upheaval -- both personally and professionally. Can't one or the other go smoothly, she wonders?
A Kidnapping
As if mass murder were not enough to keep Lindsay and her associates busy, the San Francisco Chronicle chairman's eight-year-old daughter, Madison, and her nanny are snatched by a person in a van while the woman and child are walking in the park. When the nanny is found dead several days later, everyone fears the worst...and every lead Lindsay and her colleagues find is a dead-end. Will they find the child in time?
Although The 6th Target is structured with the Patterson trademark of many, many short chapters, the book is more cohesive than his other recent works, such as Cross. The women of the WMC, always likeable and unique, are the common thread that weaves throughout the many facets of this story. Fans will be happy to note the novel leaves many unresolved issues for the "girls," promising more novels to come in this popular series.
About James Patterson
James Patterson is the author of 43 novels. He is best known for his Alex Cross series and his Women's Murder Club Series. He has also recently branched out into young adult fiction with Maximum Ride series, the third of which is set to come up at the end of May, 2007. Patterson has won numerous writing awards. In addition to the Edgar, he has won the BCA Mystery Guild's "Thriller of the Year" award and is the 2007 recipient of the "Thrillermaster" Award.
About Maxine Paetro
Maxine Paetro has co-authored all of the WMC novels with James Patterson. She is a novelist and journalist, who lives in New York with her husband.
