Thursday, March 26, 2015

Review: The 5th Horseman by James Patterson

The 5th Horseman (Women's Murder Club, #5)

The 5th Horseman is the fifth book in the Women's Murder Club series.  In this installment, Lindsay, Claire, Yuki, and Cindy are working together to solve a suspected medical malpractice case.  Dozens of patients admitted to a local hospital through the ER with minor injuries and illnesses have died from apparent medication errors.  The director of the ER explained the increase in deaths with the quote "sometimes a bad wind blows".  SERIOUSLY?  Something is clearly amiss at this hospital and the ladies are determined to get to the bottom of it. 

Lindsay is also working on a case involving the murders of girls in their early twenties.  All of the women were found posed in luxury cars wearing designer clothing and an unusual perfume.  There doesn't appear to be a connection between any of the victims or a motive.  Just a crazy killer on the loose.  

I needed an audio book while I was traveling over spring break, so I picked this up from the library.  Even though this is a series and the characters' history and personal relationships develop with each book, they can be read as stand-alone novels.  Each book is about a new set of cases and there is a definite conclusion.  I really enjoy these murder mysteries, but they are not for younger readers.  I quickly discovered that I couldn't listen to this book with my 10 year-old son in the car.  There is graphic content and quite a bit of adult language that is not appropriate for even a PG-13 audience.

As a nurse, I was mystified by the explanations that were given for the medication errors.  There is no way those things could have happened if the nurse or doctor was checking the patient arm band and verifying the medication and dosage before administration.  If an error did occur, it certainly shouldn't have happened several dozen more times.  The hospital's administration should have caught onto the fact that there was a serious problem well before the women's murder club took on the case.

Overall, this was a fast read and an entertaining story.  One of the main characters was greatly impacted by one of the cases in this book, so it will be interesting to see how her character will progress in the sixth book. 

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