1st to Die: A Novel

Book One--A newlywed couple is murdered on their honeymoon, and Inspector Lindsay Boxer of the San Francisco Police Department is assigned to the case, along with a new partner: Chris Raleigh, who becomes Lindsays love interest.

Book Two--Another two newlywed couples are killed. Lindsay organizes a womens murder club to help her solve the three murders, consisting of her best friend (Claire Washburn, a medical examiner) and recently-made friend (Cindy Thomas, a newspaper reporter). How these latter two women become friends is a bit unbelievable--Cindy finds Lindsay crying in the bathroom, and Lindsay just decides to befriend this random reporter. I would have expected more caution from Lindsay, but there it is. Also in this second part, a suspect is fingered--prominent novelist, Nicholas Jenks.

Book Three--Jill Bernhardt, the assistant district attorney, is added to the "club," and the investigation gets into full swing. Book Four, of course, reveals the true identity of the killer--which I wont give away. Even though I wasnt able to guess the killer, I did suspicion something about him/her during the first murder investigation (despite the name of the killer thats given), mainly because of the type of sexual deviance performed on the bride. (A clue.) Nevertheless, the ending is certainly surprising; I wasnt expecting it. This is my first Patterson book (though I have seen a couple of his movies), and if his others are as suspenseful and quick as this one, then Ill probably continue reading his mysteries.

The book captured my attention immediately and I could not put it down until I finished. I burned a whole day in Hawaii on this book---beware! (it was that good!).