The newest addition to James Patterson’s “Women’s Mystery Club” series was released this week, entitled 12th of Never. The twelfth in the run of books, the series details the stories of Lindsay Boxer, Yuki Castellano, Claire Washburn and Cindy Thomas, friends who solve crimes together around the city of San Francisco. Boxer is a police officer, Castellano a lawyer, Washburn an autopsy technician, and Thomas, a reporter.

With each book, Patterson attempts to create bigger and badder villains. The pattern continues with this release, as he presents several complications: a 49ers’ girlfriend is killed and her body stolen from the morgue, an English professor repeatedly sees shootings before they occur, a man who may have killed his wife goes on trial while being backed by a cheating and perjuring lawyer and Boxer gives birth to her baby, which causes her to face her fear of losing her newborn as health problems arise.

In typical Patterson style, the book has many short chapters, each consisting of approximately three to four pages. This does make 12th of Never easy to read quickly and makes the plot feel as if it progresses at a faster pace than it actually does.

Unfortunately, the short chapters also result in an inability to provide good visual imagery as the book works to develop characters by their actions rather than their descriptions. Throughout the entirety of the book, physical depictions of the characters were very rarely used, but very intricate explanations of the characters’ actions were utilized, providing explicit facts of what occurred and why.

Patterson must work to create a killer and plot more captivating than the last with each one of his books. As a result, there are several antagonists who are very confusing in the context and complexity of the story.

There is an unidentified villain in the murder and body theft of the 49ers’ girlfriend, while the story of the English professor grows more encompassing as he continuously predicts murders.

Boxer, the only character written in first person, is forced to face a villain from her past in order to ease the minds of grieving families, all while dealing with the health problems surrounding her newborn child.  Castellano, the lawyer of the group of four, is working on the biggest case in her entire career, futilely attempting to send a wife killer to jail while her witnesses are being discredited at every turn.

It is always difficult to captivate your readers once you have written so many other books with the same plot points. Yet Patterson manages to work through this tricky situation, providing very enthralling stories. Granted, they are not entirely original, but for the most part, these devious deeds are different than their counterparts in the crime genre.

These plotlines are actually relatively realistic, with likeable and well-developed female characters. Every inch of the crime and evidence is explored in that it is presented from every possible different viewpoint: those of the cop, the lawyer, the autopsy technician and the journalist.

12th of Never proves to be an enjoyable read for fans of Patterson and the crime genre, but may be confusing and overdone for readers not used to the style of writing. Though the book is one of the later installments in the series, it makes sure to include memories of the past so that the actions and motives of previous characters are clearly explained.

Since such development was made, the book could actually be read as a stand-alone, as these details make it understandable for readers who have not read the earlier books in the series, but first-time readers will need to pay very close attention. With the innovation that Patterson often uses within his writing, it is likely that he will continue to produce novels just as interesting as 12th of Never proved to be.