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2nd Chance
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Plot Summary of 2nd Chance
"

Little Brown, March 2002, 26.95, 416 pp.
ISBN 0316693200

    After solving a particularly gruesome homicide investigation Detective Lindsay Boxer is promoted to Lieutenant. Although she is grateful for the promotion, she knows she would never have solved it without the help of her three good friends: Chronicle reporter Cindy Thomas, medical examiner Claire Washburn, and Assistant District Attorney Jill Bernhardt. This informal group, known as the women's murder club, still meets from time to time as a support cell for each other.

    When Lindsay starts another high profile homicide investigation, being a member of the club becomes very dangerous because the perpetrator marks some of them as his victims. He also kills a young black girl in front of a church, a older black woman in a laundry basement, and a black police officer. The two dead black females are related to police on the force. Lindsay and her superiors conclude that the killer has a grudge against the force. The only problem is they don't have a clue as to his identity.

    New York Times best-selling author James Patterson displays his talent with his latest police thriller 2nd CHANCE. The female characters are at the top of their profession and are in deserved positions of leadership that will definitely appeal to the author's female fans. There is enough action and chills in this work to keep the author's male readers happy. All in all, this is a non-sexist, one of a kind dynamic work.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar

"Very good at hiding who done it till the end. A couple of places I didn't like, were when Lindsey did dumb things for a lieutenant. The clues keep changing,that helped to make it a very good mystery. With the help of the Woman's Murder Club the lieutenant got her man. Each victim was connected to cops. "
sindee, Resident Scholar

"Lindsey Boxer calls upon her friends, members of The Womens Murder Club, to help solve a string of seemingly racial murders. 2nd Chance deals with revenge, hate, loss and a deep bond between friends. Lindsey comes to terms with a father who left the family years before. Jill deals with a miscarriage. Claire is almost killed by Chimera as is Lindsey and Cindy who has fallen in love. They believe they have their man but then realize it couldn't be him after all. It is the son who wants revenge on the police officals who took his father away from him for 20 years."
Sheryl Veliz, Resident Scholar

"An eleven years old girl is killed. Lindsay Boxer, a detective of homicide department and her co-workers decide that this is a racial murder case. With help from Jill the lawyer, Cindy the columnist, and Claire the doctor they solve this murder case together. "
M.Y.Prasetyo, Resident Scholar

"The sensational killings that have rocked San Francisco appear to be unrelated except in their brutality. But detective Lindsay Boxer senses there's some thread that must connect all of this brutality together somehow. And together with her friends in the Women's Murder Club, they try to put the puzzle together. But not without a lot of risks involved.

Working with Chronicle reporter Cindy Thomas, Assistant District Attorney Jill Bernhardt, and medical examiner Claire Washburn, Lindsay discovers there is a link. The victims were of different ages, lived in different locations, and were killed with different weapons every time. But each had a close relative in a particular profession that sends a chill through Lindsay's heart.

The partners in Women's Murder Club realize that this killer is after something unspeakable, something deeper than revenge, and that if their not careful, the next target will be one of them. "

Boppy, Resident Scholar

"Detective Lindsay Boxer needs help solving the recent brutal killings in San Francisco. She calls upon the Woman's Murder Club. Comprising this club are Lindsay and her good friends Cindy Thomas, a Chronicle reporter, Medical Examiner Claire Washburn, and Assistant DA Jill Bernhardt. Together, these extrordinary woman inch closer to the killer only to find some of them are in danger. They are targets but don't know why. Until they find the who and the why, not only are they in danger, but these sensless killings will continue. "
Tracey Ray, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of 2nd Chance
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 23.3%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 46.7%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%




Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain? - Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story: - present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 80%
Misc. Murder Plotlets - Killer purposely leaves clues
Kind of investigator - police procedural, American
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot? - minority/women/homosexual issues
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status: - police/lawman
Age: - 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use? - just the right amount
Ethnicity/Race - White/American
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - student - killer
Eccentric: Yes
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - California
City? Yes

Style
Part of a series? Yes
Person - rotating 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths? - 5-7
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Dirty Laundry by Paula L. Woods
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James Patterson Resident Scholar Profiles

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Tracey Ray   

SCHOLARS:
James Craver  Kylie Chant  Catie Griffiths  Alison  Nick Matkin  Megan  Bobby Blades  Tena van''t Foort  Darren DeBari  


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