1st to Die by James Patterson (Women's Murder Club Series #1)

Overview from Barnes and Noble:

1st to Die is a dazzlingly powerful new thriller by master suspense novelist, James Patterson, the #1 bestselling author of Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider.

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. Full of the breathtaking drama and unforgettable emotions for which James Patterson is famous, 1st to Die is the start of a blazingly fast-paced and sensationally entertaining new series of crime thrillers.

My thoughts:
I had a copy of this book, but finally donated it as it didn't seem like I was ever going to get around to reading it.  Last week I listened to the audio book from the library while running and doing housework and I enjoyed it.  I liked this group of women who supported each other and were there for each other both professionally and privately.  They were all driven to succeed in their careers, but also valued their attachments to each other.

It starts with a prologue where Lindsey is considering killing herself, then jumps into the case and the events that brought her to that point.  Someone is killing couples on their wedding night or on their honeymoons and is taking their rings, nothing else is missing.  Lindsey is a detective, who taps into her friend Claire, the medical examiner, for clues to the killer.  They meet Cindy, a journalist who is in the right, or wrong pace, at the right time and then the DA joins their group.  Brainstorming together over lunch or drinks and putting the evidence together, they come up with suspects and likely candidates for the murderer.  The suspense in the book was good for keeping me going during my long run last week!

Product Details

• ISBN-13: 9780446610032
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
• Publication date: 2/28/2002
• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Edition description: Reprint
• Pages: 488