“3rd Degree” by James Patterson and Andrew Gross – The Obscured Agenda

James Patterson and Andrew Gross have proven the value of their partnership with their highly successful Women's Murder Club Series, and the third book, titled 3rd Degree, serves up an unexpected twist on a silver platter. 

As the members of the afore-mentioned club investigate a terrorist group with an unknown agenda following a recent attack, one of the women sees death lurking at her threshold.

James Patterson and Andrew Gross Shakes up the Nation

For those of us fortunate enough to be living in peaceful countries, the concept of terrorism is something which feels like it only happens at the other end of the world. However, in 3rd Degree James Patterson and Andrew Gross bring terrorism right to America's doorstep, marking the third entry into the Women's Murder Club series.

If you haven't yet read the previous books, you can check out our 1st to Die review as well as our 2nd Chance review, though it is definitely not necessary to follow the story. Each book works perfectly as a standalone, though have prior familiarity with the characters will certainly make a few elements more poignant.

In any case, moving on to the actual story, Lindsay Boxer (San Francisco Homicide lieutenant) and DA Jill Barnhardt are out for a jog when a nearby townhouse suddenly explodes. They manage to save a child from the wreckage, and soon it becomes obvious it wasn't an accident, but a targeted attack against a greedy CEO.

Three days from then, another killing occurs, and soon everyone is left wondering just what the mysterious group's agenda really is. With her friends from the club backing her up every step of the way, Lindsay dives headfirst into an investigation which quickly veers into the Office of Homeland Security, and its deputy director, Joe Molinari.

While the race is on against the clock to uncover the mysterious group before they can commit any more atrocities, danger is much closer to the Women's Murder Club than its members realize, with death's scythe hanging like Damocles' sword above one of them.

The Convoluted Trail of Terrorism in 3rd Degree

Those among you who have had the pleasure of reading James Patterson before, or other works in this series, will likely be pleased to know it very much follows the same type of cadence we've grown accustomed to seeing from the author.

Barely taking any time to get the ball rolling, we're thrust neck-deep into the investigation before we've even had a chance to meet all the important characters. What's more, Patterson and Gross expertly maintain this speed of plot development from start to finish, with the chapters being generally short, sweet, and full of plot twists.

The primary investigation into the terrorist group is quite fascinating in its own right, especially considering they start off as an invisible force to be reckoned with and no clear goals to speak of. While I do admit the catch ends up being a little less satisfying than anticipated, the chase to get there was well worth the effort.

If I'm being perfectly honest, this novel almost reads like a movie or television show for all the quick turns it has us doing, to the point where we're not really given much time to process whatever events we've just gone through. Though I suppose this is where the charm of it being an actual book comes into play, with the ability to put it down and think for a moment.

While this might not be the most ingenious investigative plot I've ever read (in case you're wondering, I don't believe any one work could qualify for this title), it's one extremely capable of sinking its hooks deep into the reader.

A Heroine's End

If there is one aspect to this story which I found regrettable, it was the lack of attention paid to the development of secondary characters. Mind you, they do have enough characterization to have a clear purpose in the story, but they rarely have any true complexity to them, simply falling into either the good or evil camp.

As a matter of fact, by the very design of the plot itself we don't really get to meet the villains until the end, and as a result, the insight we get into them and their thought process largely comes from what our heroines can surmise from their own incomplete knowledge. While I understand the need to keep them in the dark, we could have benefited from a little more exposition in this regard.

I think this is the drawback of having such short chapters, with some of them being less than a thousand words. This is the kind of book you should go into preparing to focus on the plot and its advancement more than anything else; after all, it's a fast-paced terrorism thriller and it aims to live up to the moniker.

However, with this being said, James Patterson and Andrew Gross do manage to find the time in their high-stakes homeland security investigation to get us a bit closer to the women in the murder club. We learn a bit more about their personal lives, their woes and ambitions only shared with each other, and witness one of them facing off against death.

While these days it has become a little banal to kill off main characters (in large part thanks to Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series), but back then it was a bit more of a shocking occurrence. Naturally I wont spoil who makes their grand exit from the series, but I will simply mention I think the authors took care of this sensitive moment rather well, making it feel impactful without being cheap.

The Final Verdict

3rd Degree by James Patterson and Andrew Gross is not without a couple of faults, but in my opinion those can be overlooked rather easily to simply bask in the enjoyment of a fast-paced thriller following a solid plot with plenty enough twists to keep you guessing until the end.

If you're looking for a page-turner you can simply sit down and relax with for a bit without being forced to fire your brain on all cylinders, or you've enjoyed the previous books in the series, I would definitely recommend this novel.

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	James B. Patterson Personal site James Patterson is an American writer who has dedicated a large part of his literary career to writing murder-related thrillers, inventing in the process two memorable character-based series in Alex Cross and Michael Bennett. His most prominent works include Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider.
	Andrew Gross Personal site Andrew Gross is an American author who primarily specializes in thriller novels, four of which have become New York Times bestsellers, including Button Man and The Fifth Column. He has also collaborated on a few novels with James Patterson, including 2nd Chance and 3rd Degree.