1st to Die (Women's Murder Club, #1) in WACKY READING CHALLENGES

Oct 12, 2016 Li'l Owl rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: owl-s-audible-audiobooks-own, series, medical-examiner-forensic-anthropol, owl-s-favorite-books-authors, detective-police-procedural-sheriff, mystery-crime-suspense-thriller, owl-s-favorite-audiobooks, award-winning-book-author, owl-s-absolute-favourites, bestselling-book-author

This is an audio book that I listened to many, many years ago. It's narrated by Suzanne Toren who did an excellent job. I remember that I loved it so much that I listened to the entire series back to back, or at least up until the point where I had to wait for the next one to come out. Then I listened to it immediately. This was published in 2002 and I own all of them on Audible audio books. Now, the 16th one, 16th Seduction, is out so I've decided to start back to the beginning of the series fo ...more

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Oct 24, 2014 Book Concierge rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: detective, series, mystery, audio, library, concierge, strong-women

Book on CD read by Suzanne Toren
2.5**

From the book jacket: Debut of The Women’s Murder Club. In San Francisco newlyweds are being stalked and slaughtered. Enter four unforgettable women, all friends … Lindsay, a homicide inspector in the city’s police department … Claire, a medical examiner …Jill, an assistant D.A… and Cindy, a reporter who has just started working the crime desk. Joining forces, pooling their talents, courage, and brains, they have one goal to find, trap and outwit the most dia Book on CD read by Suzanne Toren
2.5**

From the book jacket: Debut of The Women’s Murder Club. In San Francisco newlyweds are being stalked and slaughtered. Enter four unforgettable women, all friends … Lindsay, a homicide inspector in the city’s police department … Claire, a medical examiner …Jill, an assistant D.A… and Cindy, a reporter who has just started working the crime desk. Joining forces, pooling their talents, courage, and brains, they have one goal to find, trap and outwit the most diabolical and terrifying killer ever imagined.

My reactions
Patterson definitely knows how to write a fast-paced mystery thriller, with plenty of plot twists to keep the most avid amateur (reading) sleuth guessing. That being said, I did figure this out way ahead of the Women’s Murder Club, but it was still a good ride.

What I liked most about the book was how he portrayed the four women who form the Murder Club. Cindy, in particular, was a pleasant surprise. A young, untried reporter stuck on the features desk, she more than rises to the occasion and shows a great deal of imagination, tenacity and courage. She is the one who grows the most, I think during this novel. The other three start out as crime-solving professionals and certainly show their own strengths. I did get a little tired of the emotional roller coaster Lindsay is suffering – she has a health problem and is juggling a possible romantic relationship in addition to trying to solve the case and catch the killer. The book opens with her contemplating suicide and then backtracks in time to explain how she got to that very low point. I found the subplot of her health issue to be somewhat manipulative and really unnecessary padding. Besides, given her health, I found it unrealistic that she resorted to Margaritas so frequently.

The audio book was performed by Suzanne Toren, and her gross over-acting lost a half-star (well, really lost a full star, but then I reconsidered and gave a half-star back). She “growls” or turns on a particularly “smarmy” voice when performing the bad guy. She “agonizes” when performing Lindsay’s emotional struggles. She’s simultaneously annoyingly smug and irritatingly chirpy when voicing “girl-reporter” Cindy. And she’s given to taking “meaningful” pregnant pauses to ensure the reader gets the significance of certain phrases.

I am not a big fan of Patterson, but I was reasonably entertained and I’ll probably read another in this series … emphasis on READ … not listen (especially if Toren performs all of them).
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Jun 06, 2008 Nancy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: still-owned, crime, thriller

Although I am a little sceptical about James Patterson, I do really like this series. This was a re-read for me - I last read it about 8 years ago. Fortunately, I couldn't remember the plot at all so it was just like reading it for the first time. It was a page turner, as you would expect from Patterson and I really love the four main women, especially Lindsey. I do get slightly annoyed with the short chapters, but I know that that is what characterises Patterson's books. It does make for a quic ...more

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Sep 20, 2012 Connie N. rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: first-in-series, mystery, police-procedural, number-in-title

Very exciting and interesting murder mystery. The reader gets caught up in the gruesome murders right from the beginning, then becomes involved in the police work necessary to follow the clues to the killer. When things start to go nowhere, Inspector Lindsay gathers some of her coworkers together to think outside the box and see if they can solve the mystery. Her coworkers happen to be very capable women also involved in the case--Cindy the clever and creative reporter, Claire the very experienc ...more

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Apr 22, 2018 Debra Barstad rated it liked it

This was a good book. The story flowed smoothly and left me hanging until the very end. The writing was easy to read also. I would recommend this book to mystery lovers.

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