Good news – I finished another book. Bad news – It was not a part of the May TBR. This book was actually from, April, if memory serves me right. The book was an audiobook through the Libby App and I was running out of time, so I just had to quickly finish it. But hey, it’s another book done I’m happy about that. Spoiler, I will not be getting 3 books from my May TBR done before June first. But more on that later. Right now, let’s talk about this book: 1st to Die.
1st to Die Summary
1st to Die is a mystery thriller written by James Patterson. This book is the first in the series called the Women’s Murder Club. We follow Lindsay Boxer, a lead homicide investigator as she is called to a murder scene in a hotel. There had been a wedding the previous night and the bride and groom were killed in their suite. It’s an upsetting scene, and one that she has arrived at after getting bad news of her own. Over the course of the investigation, she partners with medical examiner, and best friend, Claire Washburn to try and find the killer. She also has a new partner sent from the mayor’s office, Chris Raleigh, and he’s not bad to look at either. Surprisingly, Lindsay befriends a new to crime reporter, Cindy Thomas and the three women form an off the books team.
The summary continues
As more wedding couples are killed around their wedding night in different ways, and one in different jurisdictions, the pressure is on to find this killer before he strikes again. As the women use their different resources to find evidence and try to catch the guy, evidence starts pointing to one individual. Lindsay is confident this is her guy, whom she dubs Red Beards, due to red hair found at a scene. Along comes Jill Bernhardt, an assistant D.A who is not afraid to tackle tough cases. She’s brought into the fold and the women are determined to prove that their jobs are not a man’s only world, while bringing justice to the families of the deceased. And all the while, Lindsay has her own personal battle.
1st to Die Positives
I will say, this book did keep me guessing as to who the killer was. All the way to the mind blowing conclusion. In some ways it felt like a criminal minds episode. You got the perspective of the bride and grooms, the killer, and the investigators. Most POVs were from Lindsay, as our main protagonist, but there were some also from Cindy and Claire as well. Since I listened to this as an audio book, I loved the different voices that went with each of the characters. It was easy to distinguish who was talking and I feel like they matched the characters perfectly.
More positives
Yes, there’s more. And this one is sort of surprising. None of our main characters were annoying! Crazy, I know. Now, Lindsay keeping the secret she kept was frustrating because you wanted her to have the support you knew she would get, but she didn’t know. But as she opens up and lets people in, you see her life improve, and she is happier. The relationships and friendships that are in this book are very well written and even tolerable when some romance enters the picture. Over all, I enjoyed this book.
1st to Die Negatives
Honestly, I don’t have a lot to complain about. Now, I mentioned that there was romance in this book and that it was tolerable. While that is true, it was one of those romances that you’re sitting there and saying, “Now is not the time people.” There were times I thought they were unnecessary, but as time went on, I understood why James Paterson put it in. So, I think that was my only complaint.
Final Thoughts and Rating
Overall, a really good book and I am open to finding more books in the series. I gave this book a 4 star rating on Goodreads, but it’s more like a 4.25. I had fun trying to solve the case and figure out who the killer was. It was well written. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good mystery thriller book. And if you read this, let me know if you were able to correctly guess the killer and the ending.
After 1st to Die
When I was done with this audiobook I jumped into the next one I had through Libby because I had been on a wait list, and when I got it, I was still going through 1st to Die. Now I only had a few days left. No, not from May TBR either. I’m about 73% done that one, so expect another book review next week. Although, Monday is the first of June, so that blog will be a TBR blog with the books I’m going to be reading in June. And seeing how my book club is meeting on the 8th, I have to read that one quickly. But, until then I’ll keep picking away at my current reads and I’ll let you know how it goes on Monday. Until then just remember; anything can happen if you try.
