Best Maxine Paetro Audiobooks

The best Maxine Paetro audiobooks — 18 titles ranked by listening experience across Mystery, Thriller, averaging 4.22 ABR stars.

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Maxine Paetro is best known as James Patterson's longtime co-author on the Women's Murder Club series, a partnership that has produced one of crime fiction's most durable franchises — numbered entries from 4th of July through 12th of Never and beyond, each built around San Francisco detective Lindsay Boxer and her circle of sharp, capable women. The books move fast, with short punchy chapters, rotating perspectives, and plots that stack personal stakes against procedural ones. Paetro's fingerprints are most visible in the emotional texture: the friendships feel real, the relationships carry weight, and the female characters never feel like window dressing in their own stories. Readers who want propulsive thrillers that don't sacrifice character for pace — and who have the discipline to stop before book fifteen — will find this series deeply satisfying.

Maxine Paetro's highest-rated audiobook in our collection is 16th Seduction, narrated by January LaVoy (4.33 ABR stars). Performed by January LaVoy, Carolyn McCormick. Rankings here weight the listening experience — narrator performance and Audible ratings factor alongside reader scores.

Where to Start with Maxine Paetro

  1. 1
    16th Seduction cover

    16th Seduction

    Women's Murder Club • Book 16

    by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro

    Narrated by January LaVoy

    4.33 ABR Score (48.4K ratings)
    ★ 4.12 Goodreads (44.3K) ★ 4.53 Audible (4.0K)
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    Detective Lindsay Boxer investigates mysterious heart attacks while dealing with her husband's betrayal and a new threat to San Francisco.

  2. 2
    22 Seconds cover

    22 Seconds

    Women's Murder Club • Book 22

    by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro

    Narrated by January LaVoy

    4.39 ABR Score (42.1K ratings)
    ★ 4.11 Goodreads (38.9K) ★ 4.54 Audible (3.2K)
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    Lindsay Boxer hunts weapon smugglers while a killer targets former cops with personal messages, threatening both her badge and her life.

  3. 3
    The 17th Suspect cover

    The 17th Suspect

    Women's Murder Club • Book 17

    by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro

    Narrated by January LaVoy

    4.23 ABR Score (43.7K ratings)
    ★ 4.03 Goodreads (40.3K) ★ 4.48 Audible (3.4K)
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    When a mysterious sniper terrorizes San Francisco, Lindsay Boxer faces her most personal case yet as victims pile up without pattern. January LaVoy's crisp narration captures the urgency perfectly.

  4. 4
    15th Affair cover

    15th Affair

    Women's Murder Club • Book 15

    by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro

    Narrated by January LaVoy

    4.29 ABR Score (47.3K ratings)
    ★ 4.14 Goodreads (44.2K) ★ 4.49 Audible (3.1K)
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    Lindsay Boxer investigates a hotel murder that threatens her perfect marriage and career, with January LaVoy handling the San Francisco cop drama and domestic tension equally well.

  5. 5
    The 9th Judgment cover

    The 9th Judgment

    Women's Murder Club • Book 9

    by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro

    Narrated by Carolyn McCormick

    4.30 ABR Score (63.7K ratings)
    ★ 4.15 Goodreads (60.8K) ★ 4.49 Audible (2.9K)
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    A mother and child are gunned down in a mall garage while an actor's wife receives death threats, forcing Lindsay Boxer to connect seemingly unrelated crimes.

  6. 6
    10th Anniversary cover

    10th Anniversary

    Women's Murder Club • Book 10

    by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro

    Narrated by Carolyn McCormick

    4.24 ABR Score (61.4K ratings)
    ★ 4.14 Goodreads (58.2K) ★ 4.43 Audible (3.2K)
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    Detective Lindsay Boxer's wedding day turns into a missing baby case that threatens to destroy everything she holds dear.

  7. 7
    7th Heaven cover

    7th Heaven

    Women's Murder Club • Book 7

    by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro

    Narrated by Carolyn McCormick

    4.30 ABR Score (75.8K ratings)
    ★ 4.12 Goodreads (73.1K) ★ 4.51 Audible (2.7K)
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    Arsonist-murderers target wealthy couples while Michael Campion's disappearance takes a devastating turn. McCormick handles Patterson's rapid-fire plot twists and the Women's Murder Club's collaborative investigation with crisp efficiency.

  8. 8
    11th Hour cover

    11th Hour

    Women's Murder Club • Book 11

    by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro

    Narrated by January LaVoy

    4.23 ABR Score (56.6K ratings)
    ★ 4.1 Goodreads (53.8K) ★ 4.45 Audible (2.8K)
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    Lindsay investigates murders linked to weapons stolen from her own police evidence locker, making every colleague a suspect while racing against time in her most personal case yet.

  9. 9
    12th of Never cover

    12th of Never

    Women's Murder Club • Book 12

    by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro

    Narrated by January LaVoy

    4.22 ABR Score (53.8K ratings)
    ★ 4.09 Goodreads (51.1K) ★ 4.45 Audible (2.6K)
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    Lindsay Boxer returns to work just days after giving birth to face two massive cases in this thriller that January LaVoy performs with urgent intensity.

  10. 10
    4th of July cover

    4th of July

    Women's Murder Club • Book 4

    by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro

    Narrated by Carolyn McCormick

    4.25 ABR Score (102.4K ratings)
    ★ 4.12 Goodreads (99.8K) ★ 4.44 Audible (2.6K)
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    McCormick handles the high-stakes drama as Lindsay Boxer's weapon discharge triggers events that destroy lives and disgrace the force.

  11. 11
    The 8th Confession cover

    The 8th Confession

    Women's Murder Club • Book 8

    by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro

    Narrated by Carolyn McCormick

    4.19 ABR Score (64.8K ratings)
    ★ 4.08 Goodreads (62.0K) ★ 4.41 Audible (2.8K)
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    San Francisco's elite become targets in a revenge plot that strikes during the city's most glamorous party, leaving no evidence behind. McCormick's narration captures the high-stakes world of wealth and murder.

  12. 12
    The 5th Horseman cover

    The 5th Horseman

    Women's Murder Club • Book 5

    by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro

    Narrated by Carolyn McCormick

    4.04 ABR Score (87.3K ratings)
    ★ 4.1 Goodreads (84.4K) ★ 4.24 Audible (2.9K)
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    The Women's Murder Club tackles mysterious hospital deaths while newcomer Yuki Castellano faces explosive courtroom battles. Patterson keeps multiple plot threads racing toward collision with his signature breakneck pace.

  13. 13
    The 23rd Midnight (WMC #23) cover

    The 23rd Midnight (WMC #23)

    Women's Murder Club BookShots • Book 23

    by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro

    Narrated by January LaVoy

    4.40 ABR Score (1.0K ratings)
    ★ 4.7 Audible (1.0K)
  14. 14
    The 6th Target cover

    The 6th Target

    Women's Murder Club • Book 6

    by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro

    Narrated by Carolyn McCormick

    4.08 ABR Score (79.2K ratings)
    ★ 4.07 Goodreads (77.2K) ★ 4.31 Audible (1.9K)
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    A Women's Murder Club member fights for her life while the others hunt a madman targeting children and their nannies across San Francisco.

  15. 15
    25 Alive (WMC #25): A Women's Murder Club Thriller cover

    25 Alive (WMC #25): A Women's Murder Club Thriller

    Women's Murder Club • Book 25

    by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro

    Narrated by January LaVoy

    4.34 ABR Score (30.2K ratings)
    ★ 4.16 Goodreads (29.0K) ★ 4.52 Audible (1.2K)
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    The Women's Murder Club investigates a former SFPD chief's murder in Golden Gate Park for this milestone twenty-fifth installment. Patterson and Paetro return to San Francisco with familiar characters facing a case that hits close to home.

  16. 16
    The 24th Hour (WMC #24) cover

    The 24th Hour (WMC #24)

    Women's Murder Club BookShots • Book 24

    by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro

    Narrated by January LaVoy

    3.98 ABR Score (1.2K ratings)
    ★ 4.38 Audible (1.2K)
  17. 17
    Unlucky 13 cover

    Unlucky 13

    Women's Murder Club • Book 13

    by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro

    Narrated by January LaVoy

    4.16 ABR Score (49.1K ratings)
    ★ 4.08 Goodreads (48.9K) ★ 4.47 Audible (143)
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    Two corpses on the Golden Gate Bridge launch Lindsay Boxer into her most personal case yet when her ex-colleague becomes a suspect in multiple murders.

  18. 18
    14th Deadly Sin cover

    14th Deadly Sin

    Women's Murder Club • Book 14

    by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro

    Narrated by January LaVoy

    4.04 ABR Score (45.8K ratings)
    ★ 4.1 Goodreads (45.7K) ★ 4.45 Audible (77)
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    The Women's Murder Club reconvenes as Detective Lindsay Boxer and her friends recover from their latest brush with death. January LaVoy continues her strong performance in this shorter Patterson thriller celebrating Claire's birthday.

How We Rank Audiobooks

Rankings are driven by listener ratings and review counts from Audible and Goodreads. Books with high ratings across a large number of listeners rank higher — a 4.5 with 50,000 ratings says more than a 4.8 with 200.

Unlike most book lists, we weight audiobook-specific factors: narrator performance, production quality, and how well a story translates to audio. A great book with a poor narration isn't a great audiobook.

We don't accept paid placements or prioritize new releases. These rankings reflect what listeners actually enjoy, not what's being promoted.

Rankings update periodically as new ratings come in and new titles are added to the collection.

Read our full ranking methodology →