Review - 1st to Die by James Patterson

Title: 1st To Die
Author: James Patterson
Women's Murder Club Series #1
Publish Date: May 2001
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
424 Pages; eBook Copy

GoodReads
Barnes and Noble
Amazon

FINALLY!! I waited forever to get this book from the digital library. It is kind of ironic actually that I received this book to read on the same week the next book came out - 10th Anniversary.

It was everything I expected it to be and more. It was fun and exciting. It was sweet and had good romantic moments in it too. It was sad and really gruesome with the parts of the dead bodies. (serious ew!) I thought it was so great that it highlighted four fabulously smart women who get together to figure things out, together, while supporting each other.

Lindsay is a really stunning character. She is so many facets that it made me feel I knew her. She was tough and yet had a vulnerable side that I cherish. She kept so many cards close to her heart that when she does open up, it is painful to listen to. Lindsay is an inspector with the San Francisco Police Department. She is a workaholic, has no relationships and friends are even harder to come by. Her one ally is Claire, the head medical examiner that she works with on cases. Out of nowhere this nosy reporter falls into their circle and immediately shows her worth. Cindy is good at her job, when given the chance and even helps out in the tough of times coming back with information FBI couldn't find. Finally, there is Jill, the assistant district attorney who is a bit more stringent about their relationship outside of work. But together they all make a fierce team and I enjoy the girl talk too.

This book was great because it felt like a book I would read as a child, like the Babysitter Club, only it is for grown-up women. I felt a bond to this book and the women characters in it like I haven't felt in ages. Probably since Iris Johansen and her series with Eve Duncan Series. Big Fist pump for this series and I have only just finished the first book. WOHOO!! I was lucky enough to pick up Books 2, 3 and 4 at the used bookstore for only $1 each!! Nice find. If you haven't picked up this series, I highly recommend it.

Summary -
James Patterson, bestselling author of the Alex Cross novels Along Came a Spider, Kiss the Girls, and Pop Goes the Weasel, offers the first of a new series dubbed The Women s Murder Club, featuring a four-woman team that occasionally works outside the system. None of the gritty darkness or frenzied action is lost in 1st to Die, although the female protagonists offer an even deeper emotional context to this suspense thriller.

Inspector Lindsay Boxer of the San Francisco Police Department suddenly finds herself in the middle of two horrifying situations: The first is that she s just learned she has an often-fatal blood disease. The second is a double homicide case she s now heading up that involves the murder of newlyweds on their wedding night. Burdened with Chris Raleigh, a new partner reassigned from the mayor s office, Lindsay finds that she has too much to deal with and turns to her best friend, Claire, the head ME on the case. Claire offers helpful advice and human, friendly contact amid a job filled with violence, cruelty, and fear.

Soon a fledgling newspaper reporter, Cindy, makes contact with Lindsay looking for a career-making story. Although Lindsay can t officially comment on the case, the two women form a rapport, and Cindy joins Lindsay and Claire for their weekly meeting. When a second pair of newlyweds is murdered, and later a third, the investigation leads to a prominent crime writer, Nicholas Jenks, who has a history of spousal abuse and a predilection for kinky, dangerous sex games. With the help of an understanding assistant D.A., Jill Bernhardt, Lindsay tries to make a case against Jenks, who even had an affair with one of the slain women. Eventually Jill joins the Murder Club, and the four ladies share private interdepartmental information in an effort to track and stop the killer before he strikes again.

The major subplot -- Lindsay's facing up to her illness even while she learns to fall in love again -- carefully compensates for the novel s coarse scenes of brutality. Lindsay Boxer isn t merely an obsessed cop trailing a maniac; she s also a terrified woman confronting the onslaught of disease. The story lines balance out to show us the true mettle of someone who puts the safety of others before her own.

Again, Patterson s skill for producing furiously paced fiction are evident as the novel breezes by rapidly. The short chapters keep the narrative leaping with increasingly taut plot elements, but there s an emotional commitment that makes our protagonist even more amiable and involving. 1st to Die is a novel that works as an intense series of character portraits that will leave the reader touched and delighted.