The 5th Horseman (Women's Murder Club Series #5)

by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro

Overview

From bestselling author James Patterson, the Women’s Murder Club takes on a string of mysterious patient murders at a hospital–will they find the killer before more innocent lives are lost?
 
It is a wild race against time as Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer and the newest member of the Women's Murder Club, attorney Yuki Castellano, lead an investigation against a hospital administration determined to shield its reputation at all costs. And while the hospital wages an explosive court battle that grips the entire nation, the Women's Murder Club hunts for a merciless killer–who just might be one of the medical staff.
 
With high-speed thrills and page-turning twists, The 5th Horseman proves once again that James Patterson "has mastered the art of writing" (Chicago Sun-Times).
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780759567177
Publisher:	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date:	02/01/2006
Series:	Women's Murder Club Series
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	6,908
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

James Patterson has had more New York Times bestsellers than any other writer, ever, according to Guinness World Records. Since his first novel won the Edgar Award in 1977 James Patterson's books have sold more than 375 million copies. He is the author of the Alex Cross novels, the most popular detective series of the past twenty-five years, including Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider. He writes full-time and lives in Florida with his family.

Hometown:

Palm Beach, Florida

Date of Birth:

March 22, 1947

Place of Birth:

Newburgh, New York

Education:

B.A., Manhattan College, 1969; M.A., Vanderbilt University, 1971

Website:

http://www.jamespatterson.com

Read an Excerpt

The 5th Horseman

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By James Patterson Maxine Paetro

Little, Brown

Copyright © 2006 James Patterson
All right reserved.
ISBN: 0-316-15977-8

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Chapter One

RAIN WAS DRUMMING HARD against the windows when the midnight-to-8:00 rounds began at San Francisco Municipal Hospital. Inside the ICU, thirty-year-old Jessie Falk was asleep in her hospital bed, floating on a Percocet lake of cool light.

Jessie was having the most beautiful dream she'd had in years.

She and the light of her life, three-year-old Claudia, were in Grandma's backyard swimming pool. Claudie was in her birthday suit and bright-pink water wings, slapping the water, sunlight glinting off her blond curls.

"Simon says, kiss like a butterfly, Claudie."

"Like this, Mommy?"

Then the mother and daughter were shouting and laughing, twirling and falling down, singing out "wheeeeeee," when without warning a sharp pain pierced Jessie's chest.

She awoke with a scream-bolted upright-and clapped both of her hands to her breast.

What was happening? What was that pain?

Then Jessie realized that she was in a hospital-and that she was feeling sick again. She remembered coming here, the ambulance ride, a doctor telling her that she was going to be fine, not to worry.

Falling, nearly fainting back to the mattress, Jessie fumbled for the call button at her side. Then the device slipped from her grasp and fell. It banged against the side of the bed with a muted clang.

Oh, God, I can't breathe. What's happening? I can't get my breath. It's horrible. I'm not fine.

Tossing her head from side to side, Jessie swept the darkened hospital room with her eyes. Then she seized on a figure at the far edge of her vision.

She knew the face.

"Oh, th-thank God," she gasped. "Help me, please. It's my heart."

She stretched out her hands, clutched feebly at the air, but the figure stayed in the shadows.

"Please," Jessie pleaded.

The figure wouldn't come forward, wouldn't help. What was going on? This was a hospital. The person in the shadows worked here.

Tiny black specks gathered in front of Jessie's eyes as a crushing pain squeezed the air from her chest. Suddenly her vision tunneled to a pinprick of white light.

"Please help me. I think I'm -"

"Yes," said the figure in the shadows, "you are dying, Jessie. It's beautiful to watch you cross over."

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from The 5th Horseman by James Patterson Maxine Paetro Copyright © 2006 by James Patterson . Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Editorial Reviews

An angel of death is stalking the halls of a San Francisco hospital. Recuperating patients on the verge of release are suddenly stricken and die. Nobody can identify the cause -- or the culprit. In their most gripping case yet, James Patterson's Women's Murder Club convenes to track down a killer who hides among healers. A powerful hospital and courtroom thriller.

Prolific writer Patterson recently introduced listeners to the Women's Murder Club, a group of San Francisco professional women who team up to investigate. The club's leader, Lt. Lindsay Boxer, finds herself facing two maddening crimes. In one of San Francisco's largest hospitals, patients who should have been released after routine treatment are found dead, with buttons placed over their eyes. At the same time, young women are turning up dead in luxury automobiles wearing upscale clothes and expensive perfume. Patterson is highly popular, and this latest book will be gobbled up quickly, but it lacks the suspense and drive of the author's earlier works featuring Alex Cross. The "Club" books are filled with cliches that belong more in a college creative writing class than in a novel bearing the name of such a well-known author. Eyes sparkle, twinkle, squint, glint, and roll; stomachs roil, plummet, gurgle, growl, and twist. Carolyn McCormick does what she can to breathe life into the story, and this work has enough plot twists to recommend it, but it feels as if Patterson and Paetro have been resting on their laurels a bit too long.-Joseph L. Carlson, Allan Hancock Coll., Lompoc, CA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

San Francisco PD Detective Lindsay Boxer is suspicious about unexpected deaths at a local hospital--especially after the mother of one of her friends inexplicably succumbs. The Women's Murder Club is soon involved in finding the person responsible--and at risk to themselves. Carolyn McCormick's performance is superb. Her ability to capture the essence of each of the main characters is impressive; her skill at fleshing out even minor characters is rare. Her spirit, enthusiasm, and emotional involvement help the novel, which has its predictable moments. Overall, McCormick's ability to keep each moment fresh and alive makes this program a real treat for the listener. M.A.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine

JUN/JUL 06 - AudioFile