Cin City: 5/15/11

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

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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.

The Sweatshirt

I found a sweatshirt at a really fun little boutique that I fancy. It has great low rise jeans, really cheap tees and tanks and occasionally I grab their yoga pants. When I saw this sweatshirt I fell deeply in love. It is skinny rather than large, so it doesn't make me look like borrowed my brother's shirt. It is so soft and the stitching is on the outside so it doesn't itch. It is cute and fun. I would love to have more, but frankly even time I think about it, I realize all I need is one. I wear it all the time. It can be worn on a cold day, on a windy day, on a day with a tank, with a tee. You name it and I can wear it. Oh how I have fallen hard for this sweatshirt . . . until one day -

One day, my boyfriend, Saint asked me, "Is that a new sweatshirt?"

I looked down at the sweatshirt, thinking how could he miss this? I love this sweatshirt. I wear it all the time. "No," I said, "I've had this for awhile."

"I know!" he said, "You wear it all the time!"

"Oh." I laughed, but secretly I really didn't care. I am going to wear what I want to wear, when I want to wear it.

And I have. I wear that damn sweatshirt most days I have off of work. He'll get used to seeing me in it. (smirk)

So we are going on vacation later in the summer and he is so excited that where we will be going it will be hot, too hot for the sweatshirt. Little does he know I get cold on planes, so I plan to take it!!

Wordlesss Wednesday - The "Not A" Door

I was searching for a bathroom in a tiny coffee shop with a very long hallway and came upon this. Good thing they told me or I would have thought different.

Wordless Wednesday

Hi, my name is Heidi and I am a hair snob

I grew up watching my mother and all the other mothers get their hair just right and then hairspray the crap out of it. My friends and I called this helmet head. Kind of a Jane Jetson look.

I have seen many of girls who wear their hair long and luscious and flowy.

I pretty much grew up in school watching these girls walk by and swing their gorgeous long hair. I, on the other hand, was a swimmer and if I dried my hair that was a bonus. Mostly it got pulled up in a scrunchy to stay out of my face.

As I got into college and moved into a career in retail, I realized from much pushing that I should do something with my hair. All the girls around me were part time makeup girls wearing short dresses (black of course), six in heels and makeup that would have lasted me years. They felt so much pity for me, the girl who wore white polos, khaki pants and comfortable, sensible shoes (ie: ugly).

Since then, I have come in to my own. I still have quite a few khaki pants, though now they are not only cotton, but silky, linen or with beautiful ribbons as ties. I do not own a polo anymore, sans my awesomely large and comfy UPS polo acquired at the Golf Open one year that I love to wear on those oh, so relaxing days. I do still buy incredibly comfy shoes, but have moved up in the world realizing Hans Cole has the cute, but comfy shoes with Nike Air. I still rarely wear make-up. I just hate the stuff. Why do we spend hours trying to get the natural look, when all we have to do is NOT WEAR ANY? Confusing to me.

As far as my hair goes, I am a total hair snob. I can take shower, pick out my clothes in less than 10 minutes, but I can spend hours on my hair. I like to play with it adding hair clips, putting it up in a twist or bun, then pulling it down and braiding it. Sadly, most days it ends up just being straight. I have been trying for years to redo this hairdo from the movie Bourne with all her clips and twists and beautiful tendrils falling down. Finally, I GOT IT!! Just the other day, it just worked and what's more I was lucky enough to wander into a boutique that sells feathers additions to my hair - so it looks like it has a beautiful streak or two.

I am also a huge fan of this hair style from the movie, Transformers. She wears her hair pulled back with a rubber band, but with tendrils falling around her face and ears.

Although if I am working really hard (ie: sweating) eventually it will look like this -

When I get tired of my hair and want to just be able to blow dry it and not worry too much about style, I fall back on the Sandra Bullock hair cut from the movie, Lake House. It is such a cute and simply style and I can still use basic hair clips if I want. Only problem with this hair cut is I wake up with major bedhead.