Maxine Paetro

Maxine Paetro is an American novelist best known as James Patterson's long-running co-author on the Women's Murder Club series, which follows San Francisco homicide detective Lindsay Boxer and her circle of friends — a prosecutor, a reporter, and a medical examiner — who trade case notes over dinner and crack crimes together. The first three books were written by Patterson with Andrew Gross; Paetro took over as co-author from 4th of July onward and has carried the series through decades of entries since, giving her one of the most consistent single voices behind any of Patterson's collaborative franchises. Her contribution is often credited with the series' emotional throughline and its attention to Lindsay's personal life alongside the procedural plotting.

Before partnering with Patterson, Paetro worked in advertising and wrote her own suspense fiction. She has also co-authored standalone thrillers with Patterson outside the Women's Murder Club.

A reader new to the series is generally fine starting wherever Paetro's run begins — 4th of July — since the earlier Gross-co-written volumes work as effective, skippable prequels; the series has also been adapted for television. Paetro continues to publish new entries most years, keeping it one of the longest-running collaborative crime franchises in print.