The 9th Judgment

The ninth installment in the Women's Murder Club series follows San Francisco Homicide Sergeant Lindsay Boxer as she juggles two deadly cases: a high-profile celebrity murder and a serial killer targeting mothers and young children.

The novel opens with Sarah Wells, a high school English teacher who secretly moonlights as a cat burglar, breaking into the Nob Hill mansion of famous actor Marcus Dowling and his wife, Casey, during a dinner party. Sarah cuts through a bedroom window, finds the closet safe unlocked, and fills her bags with Casey's jewelry. When the party ends early, the Dowlings enter the bedroom, argue, and have sex while Sarah hides in the closet. She escapes through the window but knocks over a console table, waking Casey, who discovers the emptied safe. Marcus aims his .44 handgun at Casey and shoots her twice, killing her.

That same day, Peter Gordon, husband of schoolteacher Heidi Meyer, follows a young mother, Barbara Ann Benton, through the Stonestown Galleria into its parking garage, shoots her and her infant son with a suppressed handgun, writes "WCF" on the windshield in lipstick, and leaves undetected.

Lindsay is pulled from drinks with prosecutor Yuki Castellano by Lieutenant Warren Jacobi, her former partner and current boss, who sends her and her partner, Inspector Rich Conklin, to the Benton crime scene. Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Claire Washburn notes an unfamiliar gunpowder stippling pattern suggesting a rare weapon. That night, the pair is redirected to the Dowling mansion, where Marcus claims he was downstairs when he heard gunshots. Lindsay notices his hair is wet and catches inconsistencies in his account.

Jacobi orders Lindsay and Conklin to prioritize the Dowling case. Claire confirms Casey was shot with a .44, unusual for a burglar, and finds evidence of recent sexual intercourse. Meanwhile, Sarah, the cat burglar whom San Francisco Chronicle reporter Cindy Thomas has dubbed "Hello Kitty," stashes her stolen jewelry at the apartment she shares with her abusive husband, Trevor. She fixates on a ring with a large, pale-yellow stone she identifies as a citrine, keeping it as a trophy. Her fence was recently killed, leaving her unable to sell the goods. When Sarah hears Casey was murdered, she deduces Marcus killed his wife after Sarah's escape, framing the burglar.

Sarah is in a secret romantic relationship with Heidi Meyer, a fellow teacher, and the two women dream of escaping their abusive husbands and building a new life together. Heidi's husband is Pete Gordon. At home, Pete fantasizes about killing his wife and children, rehearsing a plan tied to his refrain, "WCF, people."

The Lipstick Killer, as the press dubs Pete, strikes twice more at parking garages, killing mothers and children. Each crime scene bears rearranged versions of the initials. Claire concludes the killer is taunting investigators. Sergeant Jackson Brady, a new transfer from the Miami Police Department with Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) profiling expertise, characterizes the killer as highly intelligent, organized, and likely possessing military training. An FBI ballistics report confirms the unusual stippling is caused by a professionally tooled suppressor of foreign origin.

On the Dowling front, Yuki learns from a friend of Casey's that Casey suspected Marcus of an affair and planned to leave him. A wiretap reveals Marcus's two-year relationship with Caroline Henley. The detectives conclude he had motive to kill rather than face a costly divorce. Sarah calls Lindsay's tip line, describing details only the real burglar would know and insisting Marcus killed Casey. Lindsay finds her credible but cannot act on an anonymous tip.

Claire, shaken by the child killings, publicly urges mothers to carry handguns, sparking a firestorm. The Lipstick Killer demands $2 million through the Chronicle to stop the killings. Henry Tyler, the Chronicle's associate publisher, provides the money. Lindsay goes undercover to deliver the ransom, but the killer recognizes her by name and directs her through an elaborate route, forcing her to discard her gun, clothing, and tracking devices before dropping the money off the Golden Gate Bridge. The man who retrieves it, Roger Bosco, is an unwitting dupe hired for $250, carrying a business card reading "Anthony Tracchio. WCF Productions," a taunt using the police chief's name.

Sarah burglarizes the Morley mansion, and when Lindsay interviews the homeowner, Jim Morley, he reveals the intruder was a woman, the first lead on Hello Kitty's identity. Sarah also discovers that the yellow stone she gave Heidi as a birthday pendant, believing it to be a citrine, is actually the Sun of Ceylon, a 20-karat canary diamond worth $1 million with a history of bringing misfortune to its owners. After a final burglary goes wrong, forcing Sarah to flee on foot and abandon her loot, she meets Heidi at Crissy Field and confesses everything: her life as Hello Kitty, the burglaries funding their escape, and the cursed diamond. Heidi returns the necklace, stunned but grateful.

Pete kills again at the Pier 39 garage. The lipstick message reads in full: "WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST. GET IT?" Surveillance video and fingerprints from cash bills partially match Peter Gordon, a former Marine with two tours in Iraq. At school, Heidi sees the footage on television and recognizes Pete. She contacts the FBI. Agents surround Gordon's house, but he demands to speak to Lindsay, claiming the home is wired with explosives while holding his infant son, Stevie, hostage. Lindsay approaches unarmed, and pressing the doorbell triggers two bomb blasts. She and Conklin survive, but Gordon drives out holding Stevie at gunpoint and escapes. He leaves the boy alive at Lindsay's home with a message demanding $5 million.

Heidi and the children enter the FBI's Witness Protection Program; at Heidi's insistence, Sarah is included. Sarah anonymously sends all stolen jewelry, including the Sun of Ceylon, to Lindsay at the Hall of Justice with a letter insisting Dowling killed Casey. Conklin discovers publicity photos showing Dowling received a Ruger Blackhawk .44 revolver from a co-star, matching the murder weapon's caliber. The team finds the gun hidden in a dryer exhaust hose at Dowling's mansion. Dowling claims self-defense, but Lindsay dismantles the story: Casey was shot twice from at least five feet away with a single-action revolver requiring the hammer to be manually cocked each time. Dowling is arrested.

Claire proposes a decoy operation: Undercover agents push strollers through malls while surveillance teams watch. On the third night, a real mother, inspired by Claire's televised advice, recognizes Gordon stalking her and shoots him when he draws his weapon. Lindsay reaches the dying Gordon and asks why he killed those people. He smiles, says "Why not?" and dies.

Lindsay and her fiancé, Joe Molinari, a former deputy director of Homeland Security, host a celebration dinner. Joe is suddenly called to Washington for a crisis. Shortly after, news breaks that a charter jet has crashed in California. Lindsay collapses, believing Joe is dead, but he returns alive: The crash was unrelated. While the couple spends two quiet days with their phones off, Jacobi leaves messages offering Lindsay a promotion to lieutenant and head of Homicide, since Chief Tracchio is resigning and Jacobi is moving up to captain. The position will go to Brady if she does not respond. Having missed the deadline, Lindsay drives to the Hall of Justice, uncertain of what Jacobi decided or where her life is heading next.