I really enjoyed The 19th Christmas which I only read about 10 days ago,  so after a couple other books, I headed into The 20th Victim.  These are the first James Patterson books I’ve read since that book he did with Bill Clinton which I very much enjoyed. I thought this would be disappointing at first but after I got far enough into it I found myself engrossed.

The 20th Victim 
by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
2020 / (513 pages in print)
Read by January LaVoy  8h 26m
Rating:  A- / crime-thriller 

It’s the same characters mostly, involved in a case of very organized vigilantes going after drug dealers.  And then the good friend of a main male character is accused of killing his own father while he’s accusing a doctor.  That has the overall story going for awhile.  

Cindy, the Chronicle crime reporter, is so aggressive she’s annoying and has teamed up with someone named Serena.  Lindsay, the detective, is getting involved in too many directions resulting in an emotional overload. And while Yuki, a prosecuting attorney, is mostly in the background,  there is a complex legal case which understandably bothers her – good courtroom drama. This part got me hooked but it was about 3/4 through the book.  Claire, the Medical Examiner, is quiet, has her own troubles.  

And the sniper-type killings go on, and tension builds masterfully. January LaVoy does an excellent job narrating. So I kept at it and finished and will likely go forward to the next book, 21st Birthday, or back to the first – 1st to Die.