Book Review: The 9th Judgement by James Patterson

My first book of 2013 was, unsurprisingly, a James Patterson novel. I'm almost caught up in the Women's Murder Club series. A new book in the series. comes out each year, so I only have a handful left and would like to be caught up by the end of 2013.

Goodreads Summary:

The most personal
A young mother and her infant child are ruthlessly gunned down while returning to their car in the garage of a shopping mall. There are no witnesses, and Detective Lindsay Boxer is left with only one shred of evidence: a cryptic message scrawled across the windshield in bloodred lipstick.

The most dangerous

The same night, the wife of A-list actor Marcus Dowling is woken by a cat burglar who is about to steal millions of dollars' worth of precious jewels. In just seconds there is a nearly empty safe, a lifeless body, and another mystery that throws San Francisco into hysteria.

The most exciting Women's Murder Club novel ever

Lindsay spends every waking hour working with her partner, Rich--and her desire for him threatens to tear apart both her engagement and the Women's Murder Club. Before Lindsay and her friends can piece together either case, one of the killers forces Lindsay to put her own life on the line--but is it enough to save the city? With unparalleled danger and explosive action, The 9th Judgment is James Patterson at his compelling, unstoppable best

As with most James Patterson novels, this one was completely enthralling. The cases remained mysterious and exciting right up until the end. We also continue to follow the lead character, Lindsay Boxer, and her friends. This novel, unlike most in the Women's Murder Club series, lacked a certain relationship with the characters. The plot was good, but I felt as though I needed a little more from the Women's Murder Club characters themselves. I wanted to follow their personal lives and relationships a little more than Patterson delivered in this novel.

Overall, I highly recommend this as a read for anyone who is going through this series. If you haven't been following the Women's Murder Club series, you might want to consider it--they're fabulous! I would recommend reading them in order.

As previously mentioned, this book was my first one of the year (I know, I'm 3 months behind...). Here's where it started me for the year:

The 9th Judgement by James Patterson 
Rating: 4/5          
Pages: 355           
Page Goal: 355/21,500

Books in this series:
1st to Die
2nd Chance
3rd Degree
4th of July
The 5th Horseman
The 6th Target
7th Heaven
The 8th Confession
The 9th Judgement
10th Anniversary
11th Hour
12th of Never

Questions for my readers:

1. Is there a series you won't give up reading, even if you didn't like a novel or two? If so, what series is it?
2. In a good thriller, what kind of ratio of "thriller" to "personal" do you prefer? Personally, I like when the thrilling part of the novel is the detective/main character as a victim or closely related to the victim.