Ripper

Ripper by Isabel Allende,
478 Pages

 If you read the description the book is about a group of teenagers, led by Amanda Martin trying to solve a spate of murders in the San Francisco area through an internet quorum or game know as Ripper.  However it's not.  The story is more about Amanda's mother Indiana and her clients and boyfriends and past and the murders are incidental to the story.  But they are not. Because Indiana is targeted by the serial killer and only Amanda and her cohorts can solve the crime before she is killed.

Allende is a talented writer but her attempt at a mystery fails big time.  There are too many characters and character building chapters for the book to be considered a mystery and the plot plods so slowly you'll find yourself wishing the serial killer would hurry and put everyone out of their misery.