The Trial is a novella in the popular Women’s Murder Club series by prolific American author, James Patterson. It is co-written with Maxine Paetro and is released under the BookShots: stories at the speed of life banner. At a mere 114 pages, it is intended to be read in one sitting. It is set after 15th Affair, and readers should be aware there are spoilers in this story for previous books, so it is advisable to read them in order

Detective Sergeant Lindsay Boxer and partner Rich Conklin are called to a shooting where the shooter is apparently a Mexican drug lord they believed dead and buried (is this a common theme with BookShots? Cross Kill started with an identical scenario). After a shootout with SWAT that kills his two accomplices, the shooter, who indeed turns out to be Jorge Sierra aka The Kingfisher, is taken into custody. Lindsay’s last encounter with The Kingfisher featured personal threats, but now she has him: now he will stand trial. Or will he?

There is not very much of the Women’s Murder club in this short read: Yuki, Claire and Cindy make only brief appearances. The laxity of security for those involved in a case where the accused obviously commands a wide influence is little puzzling, and the reason that Lindsay gets Sierra’s first counsel to remove himself from the case is never made clear. The fast pace and a good twist at the end save this little dose of WMC from a lower rating.