“12th of Never” by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro – A Nightmare All too Real

 

Short Summary

James Patterson and Maxine Paetro have made an excellent writing pair, enduring the test of time with the Women's Murder Club series, and still going strong to this day. Few have managed to produce with their consistency, and in the twelfth book of the series, titled 12th of Never, we are thrust into yet another thrilling affair as Lindsay Boxer is tasked with solving two murders. One involves a start football player, and the other, much more intricate, was seemingly predicted by a professor's vivid nightmares.

James Patterson and Maxine Paetro Embark on a Prophetic Mystery

Peering into the past is simple enough with the right tools, but it's looking into the future which has always jogged humanity's imagination more than anything else. It takes nary a second to imagine the power of the knowledge one might glimpse from a vision of the future, especially when it comes to ridding the world of crime. While perhaps it is best for this power to stay out of human hands, in 12th of Never by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro, Detective Lindsay Boxer seems to have met a man who can do just such a thing.

The twelfth book in the Women's Murder Club series begins with the most important event in Lindsay's life so far: the birth of her beautiful baby. Naturally, the Powers That Be ruled fit to give her no more than a week's rest before forcing her to take the plunge back into her sordid work, tackling the two biggest cases of her career so far.

To begin with, there's a star football player on a meteoric rise at the centre of a grisly murder. He's the prime suspect, but Lindsay knows there's a whole lot hiding beneath the surface on this one and must race against the clock to find the real killer. The prosecution is intent of making a show out of it and aren't about to give her the chance to throw a spanner in their works.

In addition to this, she's also drawn to the strangest occurrence she has had the displeasure of witnessing: a professor claiming to have vivid nightmares predicted a real-life murder down to the smallest details. She was never one to believe in fortune-telling, but now has no choice but to admit the case is very much worthy of her attention.

Meanwhile, her friends at the Murder Club are facing some difficulties of their own. Yuki is running a case involving a disgraced attorney, Keith Herman, as he is being prosecuted for the murder of his wife. On her end, Claire is being demoted from her position following the baffling disappearance of a body from her morgue, a case she must resolve at the speed of light if she is to stop her career from derailing.

Balancing Murder and Home Life in 12th of Never

The investigators and detectives gracing the pages of our favourite mystery novels and series largely have one thing in common: they are obsessed with their work above anything else. Sure, they might have glimpses of a personal life here and there, but it often tends to take a back-seat for the sake of the story and the reader's entertainment.

James Patterson and Maxine Paetro are certainly bucking the trend with Lindsay Boxer, putting her personal life on the same level as her professional one. Consequently, it feels like a considerable aspect of her story is her ability (or at times inability) to keep a steady balance between chasing down criminals and being a good mother.

On more than one occasion in the 12th of Never we get to witness the psychological impact of Lindsay's career on her home life, most notably her relationship with her husband. It's not something new to the series by any means, but I felt like this time around her state of mind was given a lot more attention, especially due to the sickness which befalls her newborn child and forces her to consider the most dreadful of possibilities.

This approach to Lindsay's portrayal humanizes her a great deal, and I feel like her fears and failures make her ever-more relatable than her successful conquests. We can fear for her well-being and her safety, not just her ultimate fate. Even though I logically knew she'd be back in future installments, I couldn't help but dread the moments when she suffered.

Though you can read each book in the series as a standalone, this is one reason to at the very least check out the previous novel: to get acquainted with the main character and glimpse some understanding of her life. Who she is is just as important as what she does, and the stronger your link with her, the better you'll be able to appreciate the story.

The Zoo of Tireless Psychopaths

On the other side of the hill from Lindsay Boxer's personal life, we have all the cases she and her friends are working on, at the same time. As you might have expected if you're already acquainted with the series, the developments come rather quickly without giving the reader much pause to process or think about anything. In this sense, it's very much structured like a thriller.

Our attention is constantly diverted from one case to the next, jumping from a prophesied murder, to a sick baby, the murder of a woman, a missing dead body, and the high-profile arrest of a football player. If you're the type of reader who gets bored to death by long descriptive paragraphs, let me assure you there's none of that here; the action just keeps on rolling and rolling.

Taken individually, I can't say any of the cases in 12th of Never have anything groundbreaking to offer, but they are solid and engaging from start to finish, and though there are a couple of plot holes, it wasn't anything major enough to spoil my fun. If I'm being perfectly honest, I think the book would have been better-served by having fewer plot lines, allowing the James Patterson and Maxine Paetro to focus more on the ones which really catch our attention.

The murder predicted by the eccentric English professor did take the centre stage in my opinion, and while it's resolution didn't entirely live up to the mystery drummed up by the premise, it was nevertheless concluded in a satisfying manner, as were all the plots for that matter. I was only saddened to see it didn't take up as much space in the novel as I would have personally hoped.

If there was one other thing I could change about the novel, I would have made Yuki's case a little less prominent in the overall scheme of things. While interesting in its own right, I would have preferred the attention focused elsewhere, but that's just me. If courtroom dramas are your favourite aspect about the Women's Murder Club novels, then you'll probably hold an opinion contrary to mine.

The Final Verdict

12th of Never by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro is, despite its few faults, an excellent murder mystery and legal thriller, this time placing a greater emphasis on Lindsay's personal life while still delivering an exciting plot woven from a bunch of different threads.

If you've enjoyed what the series has had to offer so far, or are perhaps looking to see what it is the series has to offer, then I would wholeheartedly recommend you give this novel a try.

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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.

Maxine Paetro Maxine Paetro is an American author who began her published career all the way back in 1979 with How to Put Your Book Together and Get a Job in Advertising, which was revised for the fourth time in 2010. She has remained an active author, writing numerous novels since then, including Manshare, Windfall and Woman of God. Additionally, she is known for collaborating with James Patterson on numerous entries in the Women's Murder Club series.