In a late-night showdown, Detective Lindsay Boxer has to make an instantaneous decision: in self-defence
she fires her weapon - and sets off a chain of events that leaves a police force disgraced, a city divided and a family destroyed. Now everything she's worked for her entire life hinges on the decision of twelve jurors.
To escape the media circus, Lindsay retreats to the picturesque town of Half Moon Bay. Soon after, a string of grisly murders punches through the community. There are no witnesses; there is no pattern. But a key detail reminds Lindsay of an unsolved murder she worked on years ago.
As summer comes into full swing, Lindsay and her friends in the Women's Murder Club battle for her life on two fronts: in court and against a ruthless killer.
James B. Patterson (born March 22, 1947) is an award-winning American author. Formerly an advertising executive for J. W. Thompson in the early 1990s, Patterson came up with the slogan "Toys R Us Kid". Shortly after his success with Along Came A Spider he retired from the firm and devoted his time to writing. The novels featuring his character, Alex Cross, a black forensic psychologist formerly of the Washington, D.C. Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation, now working as a private psychologist and government consultant, are the most popular books among Patterson readers. James Patterson has been criticized by Stephen King, who called Patterson's books "dopey thrillers".[citation needed] Patterson shrugged off the comments, stating that he wants to be the "thrillingest thriller writer of all time".[citation needed] James Patterson has also been put as one of Forbes magazine's top 100 celebrities.