1st to Die Author: James Patterson | Language: English | ISBN:
B000FA5Q2M | Format: PDF
1st to Die Description
Four women-four friends-share a determination to stop a killer who has been stalking newlyweds in San Francisco. Each one holds a piece of the puzzle: Lindsay Boxer is a homicide inspector in the San Francisco Police Department, Claire Washburn is a medical examiner, Jill Bernhardt is an assistant D.A., and Cindy Thomas just started working the crime desk of the San Francisco Chronicle.
But the usual procedures aren't bringing them any closer to stopping the killings. So these women form a Women's Murder Club to collaborate outside the box and pursue the case by sidestepping their bosses and giving one another a hand.
The four women develop intense bonds as they pursue a killer whose crimes have stunned an entire city. Working together, they track down the most terrifying and unexpected killer they have ever encountered-before a shocking conclusion in which everything they knew turns out to be devastatingly wrong.- File Size: 631 KB
- Print Length: 488 pages
- Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0446678422
- Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1st edition (March 5, 2001)
- Sold by: Hachette Book Group
- Language: English
- ASIN: B000FA5Q2M
- Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
X-Ray:
- Lending: Not Enabled
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,255 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
The killer wonders "What is the worst thing anyone has ever done?", as he sets out to do worse.
San Francisco homicide investigator, Lindsay Boxer, is called to the most disturbing crime scene, a young couple has been murdered on their wedding night, the bride still in her wedding gown. This horrifying scene lays heavy in Lindsay's mind.
As the investigation begins, another murder is committed, again another young couple on their wedding night. Lindsay knows she is up against a sick serial killer preying on newlyweds.
As the official investigation is leading nowhere, Lindsay teams up with the medical examiner on the case, who also happens to be her friend, to begin their own investigation of these murders. The two women enlist the help of an investigative reporter, and the assistant D.A. to form the women's murder club. The women will meet and discuss how they are going to stop this killer, using the information obtained through the official investigation.
The search brings the women to their first, and only suspect...a bestselling author whose first un-published novel depicts each of the murders in detail.
With no concrete evidence to pin the murders on the author, the women will be lead on a wild chase to find the killer.
Twist and turns keep things spinning out of control, until the final shocking realization of who the killer is!
"1st To Die" is the first novel in a brand new series, and what a great novel it is. The plot races along, combining the murders, devistating health issues for Lindsay, and some romance, twisting and turning all the way to the shocking the conclusion.
James Patterson uses all the key elements used in his Alex Cross series, so fans of that series will not be disappointed with this new book.
First to die: The stereotypes of professional women and how they relate to each other. The only woman in this book who was not badly written was a corpse. No character in this book had depth greater than the paper thereof. And how obnoxious it becomes when the detective comes to her conclusions from hunches and omens. "I was sure I had missed something." Why? What would lead her to feel that way? Those "dark ghosts" of the victims were just leading her on or what? "Tell me, Melanie, I am here for you." What? WHAT? Is she a detective or is she Shirley MacLaine? And then she acts like a profiler. And all of this is delivered in lackadaisical prose that makes me want to scream for my money back. As if all of this isn't enough, for some reason Patterson decided his leading lady must have a preference for a man with soft hands. Eww.
Second to die: The setting. I've never been to San Francisco and nothing in this book makes me think the place would be interesting, although I've heard from friends that SF is one great place to visit. The author rattles off place names, but that's not the same as really creating a feel for the city by the bay. There are no sounds, no smells, nothing of the city's character, good or bad, is ever revealed. He's reduced SF to a stage flat. For clues on how to connect the reader to the place, read Crais's Elvis Cole books, or Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series; James Lee Burke could teach a master class on creating atmosphere; and even the young Michael Koryta creates a Cleveland far more compelling than Patterson's cardboard San Francisco.
Third to die: Plot and subplot. The first, in this age of serial killer thrillers, is neither original nor gripping.
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