1st to Die - James Patterson

***THE AUTHOR*** James Patterson is one of the top-selling novelists of the present day. His work includes the likes of Along Came a Spider, Kiss the Girls, Jack and Gill, Cat and Mouse and Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas to name but a few. He's also had much success from film adaptations of Along Came a Spider, Kiss the Girls and Miracle on the 17th Green (co-written with Peter de Jonge). Previously he served as chairman of J Walter Thompson, North America from 1990 to 1996; he began his advertising career as a junior copywriter with the company in 1971. He went on to become the youngest executive creative director and youngest chief executive ...  Read the complete review

One of the most notable traits of James Patterson as an author is the fact that the words flow effortlessly. His books are immensely easy to read, and that is what makes his novels so popular. In 2001, the first of his series of books featuring homicide detective Lindsay Boxer was published, entitled 1st To Die. It shot straight to the top of the bestsellers list in many countries, and was a welcome break from Patterson's favoured hero, Alex Cross. Lindsay Boxer is the only female homicide detective in San Francisco, and thus has a lot of pressure heaped on her. A determined woman, she has support in the form of her best friend and the county coroner, Claire. ...  Read the complete review

1st to Die by James Patterson introduces us readers to the 'women's murder club' for the first time. Despite the corny sound name, it's actually a group of intelligent female professionals who share their expertise in order to solve murder enquiries. At the heart of it all is Lindsay Boxer, a hard faced cop who bounces ideas off her friends in the club to try to solve a difficult murder enquiry. I think she's a brilliant character and a refreshing change from James Patterson's usual detective Alex Cross. If they ever made this book into a film - Lindsay Boxer would be played by Sandra Bullock, no doubt about it. Although the book ...  Read the complete review

Hard hitting an immediately gripping, this novel evokes every emotion i knew and more. The opening is graphic and the way Patterson write, he managed to make you feel like you are right there, like a fly on the wall. Unfortunately, the opening of this book and some scenes throughout are not the type of scene where you would want to be the fly on the wall. they are graphic to say the least and would go without hesitation to rating 18 if books were rated like films. However, this can be expected of a james Patterson book, especially in the 'Women's MURDER club' series. I enjoyed this book immensely and felt that he got the characters just right and there were surprises ...  Read the complete review

I have to admit that I was already an avid fan of James Patterson having read all - yes I mean ALL his previous books. I loved the Dr Alex Cross series (and the film adaptations were not too bad). This book is the best I have read (of this genre. He has written a very emotional book that had me sobbing!). The main character is a fantastic woman who has to cope with so much in the first book. She has the most supportive friends (who we meet more of in the next book) and you can't help but get involved in her life. Yes I read the whole thing in one go (much to my boyfriends dismay). I was not the most sociable person that weekend. ...  Read the complete review