Book info

• Title 1st to Die
• Author James Patterson
• Year 2001
• Genre Mystery

As the only woman homicide inspector in San Francisco, Lindsay Boxer has to be tough. But nothing she has seen prepares her for the horror of the honeymoon murders, when a brutal maniac begins viciously slaughtering newly wed couples on their wedding nights. Lindsay is sickened by the deaths, but her determination to bring the murderer to justice is threatened by her own personal tragedy. So she turns to Claire, a leading coroner, Cindy, a journalist and Jill, a top attorney, for help with both her crises, and the Women's Murder Club is born.

Thoughts

This is the first book in a lengthy series about the Women’s Murder Club, a collection of professional women who meet and bring their various expertise to the table (usually a cafe or wine bar table) to solve crimes. In this first book, the club is gathered together, instigated by Lindsay Boxer, as they try to solve a particularly gruesome wedding killer.

I didn’t get on very well with this book at all, and actually gave up halfway through for a while. In the end, I read through to the finish because I wanted to see the crime solved, but I wasn’t that bothered about any of the characters within. I didn’t find our main protagonist Lindsay very believable, her actions and emotions were all over-described, in a sort of “this is how women behave, isn’t it?” way. Her battle with a potentially fatal disease was interesting, but knowing the series continues for a long time sort of put the worry out of it.

The crime was also intriguing, the reason I pushed on through to the end, but I didn’t really understand the need for the women to form this club. There wasn’t the traditional “you’re off the case” and it seemed highly unlikely that a journalist would be welcomed in so warmly, particularly without any grounds for trusting her more than just a random feeling. Overall, this just wasn’t a book that kept me hooked and I won’t be diving into any more of the series.

Rating: 2 / 5