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    1st To Die: A Women's Murder Club Novel
    Unavailable
    1st To Die: A Women's Murder Club Novel
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    1st To Die: A Women's Murder Club Novel
    Audiobook8 hours

    1st To Die: A Women's Murder Club Novel

    Written by James Patterson

    Narrated by Suzanne Toren

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    1st To Die: Booktrack Edition adds an immersive musical soundtrack to your audiobook listening experience! *

    Imagine a killer who thinks, “What is the worst thing anyone has ever done?”–and then goes far beyond it. Now imagine four women –a police detective, an assistant DA, a reporter, and a medical examiner –who join forces as they sidestep their bosses to track down criminals. Known as the Women’s Murder Club, they are pursuing a murderer whose twisted imagination has stunned an entire city. Their chief suspect is a socially prominent writer, but the men in charge won’t touch him. On the trail of the most terrifying and unexpected killer ever, they discover a shocking surprise that turns everything about the case upside down.

    *Booktrack is an immersive format that pairs traditional audiobook narration to complementary music. The tempo and rhythm of the score are in perfect harmony with the action and characters throughout the audiobook. Gently playing in the background, the music never overpowers or distracts from the narration, so listeners can enjoy every minute. When you purchase this Booktrack edition, you receive the exact narration as the traditional audiobook available, with the addition of music throughout.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHachette Audio
    Release dateApr 10, 2018
    ISBN9781549173356
    Unavailable
    1st To Die: A Women's Murder Club Novel
    Author

    James Patterson

    James Patterson is the CEO of J. Walter Thompson, an advertising agency in New York. He has written several successful fiction and nonfiction books, including The New York Times best seller The Day America Told the Truth.

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    Reviews for 1st To Die

    3.5/5

    1,798 ratings95 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I liked it well enough to go on to the second one.
    • 3/5
      A deliberately misleading mystery (which I do find annoying), a predictable ending (also a bit annoying), but I would still read the next in the series. I like that the Women's Murder Club itself wasn't super self-congratulatory. They argued, disagreed, and stood their ground. The story got a little complicated with all of the various points of view, and I'm not seeing the point of integrating in the medical problem faced by one of the main characters--it seems there was enough to the story without adding that into the mix.
    • 4/5
      This is a fun book - good for when you want something kind of lightweight, but smart. My biggest complaint is with a twist thrown in at the very end. I don't want to spoil anything, but if Patterson felt the twist was necessary, there were a number of ways he could have done it better - the way it's written, it - IMO - takes something away from one of the characters. All in all, though, I can easily recommend it.
    • 5/5
      this is a really good book
    • 2/5
      I had hopes for this book. I thought the idea sounded right up my alley. It had a lot of potential. Four powerful women in traditionally male professions-- a detective, a medical examiner, a reporter, and a prosecutor-- forming a friendship/support group/crime solving network in San Francisco. Four female protagonists! Be still my heart!In practice, this was an awfully weak example of writing. I initially wondered if it was just that James Patterson didn't write female characters very well, but he had a female coauthor for this one, so there shouldn't have been any excuse for it. Plus, it's not like he's never written female characters before. He has. Plenty.This book opens with the main character about to commit suicide, and then backtracks to lead you to that point-- a point which is never actually addressed. It's literally just glossed over briefly as a side-note at the very end of the book. After that flash-forward scene, she gets a diagnosis for a fatal blood disease, which she went to the doctor for because she'd been feeling extremely weak and exhausted every day by afternoon. That could have been really interesting, if they had ever mentioned it anywhere else in the book ever. But no, not once in the course of solving the case does she ever feel tired or weak at any time. It would have been so easy to slip in! She spends lots of time working on this case, at all hours, missing sleep, running herself down. She should have been exhausted! It would have been so easy to mention! But they didn't do it. They would occasionally reference the illness, but always as some abstract, incidental thing. Occasionally she would fear for her own mortality, but she never seemed to suffer from any real symptoms except for a single, very brief incident at the very end.Also, there was some seriously phoned in character development in this book. The characters would just say things like "I don't trust men because of my failed marriage" or "I always have to win because my parents never thought I was good enough." Those are the kinds of things you might write on a character's bio outline, but in the actual book, you have to expand on them and show them, not just say them once and call it a day. Even if someone is self-aware enough to recognize that they have a problem and is self-reflective enough to find the roots of that problem, it's not something you just say, definitively, to whoever. That's not how people talk or act, James Patterson!Also-- and this is a weird, minor point-- they're in the city of San Francisco in the modern day, and all of the dozens of main and side characters are straight? Maybe it's silly, but that kind of bothered me as I was reading. I kept waiting for some guy to say "my ex-boyfriend" or some woman to say "my wife" or whatever. Just a casual mention. Or even-- gasp-- one of the four main characters! Again, it just would have been so easy to do. Visibility in a mainstream book like that would be a great thing. But they didn't do it. Fine. Whatever. It's not my book.Another minor nitpick: the chapters were stupidly short. The print version of the book probably has more between-chapter blank space than it does actual text. I like short chapters in mysteries, but there's a point where it gets ridiculous.Have I mentioned the plot yet? Do I need to? Does it matter? The plot was generally fine. I do wonder if it was written in unconnected chunks, though, because parts of it didn't seem to line up very well. Knowing James Patterson, I tried to call the twist from pretty early on, and I did end up guessing right. But there wasn't really any foreshadowing or buildup or motive of any kind that would have suggested who it was. I was just going off of what would be a typical James Patterson twist-- a side character who was mostly nonthreatening, but related enough to the case to be an outside possibility. Although I do seriously doubt that a woman described like her could have disguised herself to be indistinguishable from a man described like him. Honestly, now.I was surprised at who the "first to die" was, I'll at least give them that. I even kind of liked it. It's not the person I would have expected. It's not the kind of person who usually dies in these stories. So there's one point to you, James Patterson. Don't let it go to your head.You know, I've got a lot of complaints here, but I do have to give it this much credit: I did finish the book. After the second disc ended (I was listening to the audiobook), I briefly considered just giving up on it. But in the end, I wanted to see where it went. Granted, it went nowhere, basically. I had been hoping it would get better as it went, and that the friendship between the women would play more of a role. I thought Lindsay's ties to Cindy and Claire both had a lot of potential. (Jill wasn't really in the book enough to do much, but maybe she is in the sequels.) I just wanted to see more of them interacting. You know, like the series name implies.This review is now embarrassingly long. I guess I was just disappointed. I hate unfulfilled potential. And I've read at least two other James Patterson books that were actually pretty good. They at least had better character development and writing than this. I guess I wish that this series had been written by a different (better) writer, if that makes sense. Oh well. You can't always get what you want.
    • 3/5
      I'm glad I started reading this series.
    • 4/5
      You can't tell a book by it's cover! The Women's Murder Club sounds like an old school whodunnit?, with shady alley ways and a distinct film noir setting. Thankfully none of those tired mechanics are in play here. Instead Patterson uses his usual frenetic approach to offer an intriguing story featuring a quartet of successful women who work together to stop a serial killer. 1st to Die creates an interesting killer, a clever and twisting story and works hard to create a main character to bring the Club together, as well intrinsically linking them to the story. It works too and Patterson's first novel in the series is a success with emotional elements as well as the crafting of an ingenious killer. The impact is weakened with the twists in this one, although it's still a decent and entertaining read.
    • 4/5
      James Patterson is one of my favorite authors. He is very good at writing unexpected endings, there are always tons of plot twists in this novels and this book had these traits. The thing that has always bugged me about his writing is the short chapters. I find it anonoying and it breaks the plot up too much - plus it is a waste of paper. I liked the story, I thought it was well written. I really enjoyed the characters. They are all strong, independant woman, with their careers being the main focus of their lives. I would have liked to see a little more detail into the personal lives of Claire, Cindy and Jill. What they did away from their jobs. Because this book is a series, perhaps the characters will be more the focus in the books to follow. I was not impressed with Chris's fate, but I think it was necessary considering what was revealed in the epilogue. When the killer was revealed, Lindsay had to be alone for that scene to play out right. The best part of this book - in my opinion - the ending. It was a big surprise and there is no way you can not read the next book in the series, 2nd Chance
    • 3/5
      The women's club was interesting but they lacked logic when it appeared the suspect didn't commit the crime. The group was still adamant about moving forward against him full of hate and anger. When everyone wants the "real" murderer to be put away not just any suspect. Plus too quick to 'Love" and to correct her neediness, kill him off. Just not my cup of tea.
    • 5/5
      Sharp, independant Lindsay is on the police force excelling but she has ran into a brick wall professionally and personally. Her determination and intelligence combined with her best friends same traits (who happens to be the Examiner) leads these to women down a suspensefull hunt for a serial killer. You would think all serial killers are odd...this one is VERY odd. James Patterson manages to get you interested in the first small chapter and it's a book I could not put down...even when scared! Has a bit of shock value so hang on tight. My heart may need to rest before book two of this group.
    • 5/5
      About The Murder Club; a man is a murder suspect but his wife is the killer; a cops boyfriend dies.
    • 5/5
      This is the first book in the Women's Murder Club series and stars Linsdsey Boxer, a homicide inspector, and three other professional women in San Francisco who are pitted against a serial killer who is murdering newlyweds on their wedding night. When we first meet the killer early in the story, he is thinking, "What is the worst thing anyone has ever done?" In answer, he begins a murderous plot to kill newlyweds that takes him from California to Ohio. The book takes you on a wild ride with twists and turns from beginning to end. Just when Lindsey and the Women's Murder Club thinks they have solved the cases of the murdered newlyweds, along comes another twist! It is a very realistic story of a dedicated, hard working police officer who, in spite of serious personal problems, is focused on solving the gruesome murders. If you enjoy a good mystery with great character development, read First To Die.
    • 4/5
      First To Die is a book about a detecive after a killer who kills newlyweds. Along the way she becomes close with three women and they form a club to try to solve the murders "outside" the system. A great first book for the series.
    • 4/5
      Fantastic! An intense thriller with a plot that will make your head spin. As a bonus, Patterson seems to be one of those rare male authors who can write a first-person female protaganist who isn't intensely annoying. I loved the characters, especially the women of the "club." The extra characters manage to sprinkle just the right amount of humor and romance to break up the creepy (and graphic, be forewarned) storyline.*Spoiler alert* I knocked this down from 5 stars because the ending was sad. Patterson is definitely not one of those "safe" authors you can count on not to kill a character you've gotten attached too. I personally hate sad endings, but the book is still a great read.
    • 4/5
      Brides and Grooms are being murdered on their wedding day! What a horrible way for a book to begin - but I was caught as soon as Lindsay Boxer began investigating.Lindsay has a new partner and isn't too happy about Chris Raleigh and his PR roots. His polish is the opposite of her gritty, tough woman persona. And then the pesky reporter, Cindy Thomas gets in the way. She is trying to make a name for herself in order to move from the Metro section to crime. And she has a way of figuring out what is going on.So, Lindsay takes a chance. She invites Cindy to accompany her to drinks with her biggest support network - Claire Washburn, the coroner. And that is the beginning of the Women's Murder Club. Three ladies who are tough and smart and on top of their careers and putting their heads together helps the investigation.That would be enough for the club - but they need legal help. Bring in the assistant District Attorney, Jill Bernhardt. And the club is complete.The club is only one side of the story though.This story is also told in first person by the killer - which is creepy! And as you find in all crime shows and novels - there are missteps on who this suspect is. All eyes focus on the author of a book about bride and groom crimes. Is it really him though??Then there is a final confrontation between Lindsay and the killer.There is also a sad love story and a bunch of female bonding.This was the perfect book to read on the beach! Quick page turner without having to put tons of energy into figuring out the story. I loved it!!Costa Rica book #3
    • 5/5
      This is the first book I read by james Patterson. I loved every word of it. It's fast paced, keeps your interest and is over all a really great mystery. I started reading the Alex Cross books after reading this, But the Womens Murder Club will always be my fav.
    • 4/5
      Much like James Patterson's other books, the plot is pretty easy to figure out. I tend to like books that are a little predictable and so I often will plow through a series because of that assured direction of the plot. I like the whole series on this one but have gotten behind a little.
    • 4/5
      A well plotted who done it. Kept me turning pages.
    • 2/5
      I listened to the audio book and really didn't like the narrator. I felt she talked too slowly and didn't change voices to indicate different people. Because of this, I never really got into the story or cared for the main characters. Not sure why Patterson introduced the illness for the main character either, seemed like a unnecessary bit of distraction that didn't really fit into anything. Same thing for the romance part, which seemed contrived. Worst of all, I found there to be no plot twists at all. I was able to determine who did it very early on, although I was skeptical that I was correct until the very end.I'm going to try the next in the series with the hope that it's better.
    • 4/5
      First in the "Women's Murder Club" series. The four main characters are introduced and the informal club is formed. Fast paced and holds your interest.
    • 5/5
      outstanding. Held my intense interest until the end. 3 brides and grooms are murdered. Did the writer Jinx do them? Officer Lindsay, claire, jill, and cindy work together as tough smart women to solve the crime.
    • 5/5
      Wow, what a great book. Such a page turner! So many twists and surprises that it made my head hurt! I can't wait to start reading 2nd chance. Good ending, didnt figure who the killer was.
    • 5/5
      very fast read, short chapters,I liked it and read all the follow up books
    • 3/5
      Ok, the latest book I read was a crime/murder mystery book by James Patterson. I do not usually read that kind of book but decided to pick it up to see why people really enjoy reading his books. I did read and enjoyed a book called Zodiac a very long time ago but really it was much different than this novel and have not read any others so I thought I'd give it a try. This book was about a homicide detective in San Francisco. I don't want to give away too much in case somebody is going to read it but I will say that while reading this book it reminded me of why I don't tend to get into them. There is a lot of bad language, heinous sexual content and murders of course. Being my first Patterson book it made me wonder if I'd ever read another one. I guess it was well written in describing the characters and had ups and down, another character with personal issues, a love interest, and four bright characters that teamed up to be the Women's Murder Club-a group of women that bring together their own specialized skills to work on a homicide case. I thought the combination of those four disciplines was a brilliant idea for various reasons. On a 5 point scale I'd give it a 3, maybe a 3.5. It wasn't the best and wasnt the worst either. I'm not disappointed that I read it and maybe I'll get another Patterson book to see if he gets any better. I'd love to read what any of you thought about it.
    • 5/5
      The author grabs and holds the readers attention from beginning to end. A serial killer's grewsome activities bring together a group of women who view the case from different angles. By joing their thoughts they solve the case and form the Women's Murder club.Patterson will keep you guessing as to who the killer is and how the murders are connected.I would highly recommend this book.
    • 4/5
      Very enjoyable brain candy if you like police/mystery stories. The first book in the series, 1st to Die introduces readers to Lindsay Boxer (police officer), Claire Washburn (medical examiner), Cindy Thomas (reporter), and Jill Berndhart (assistant district attorney), as well as Lindsay's lovable Sweet Martha (the Border Collie), Lindsay's former partner Warren Jacobi and other characters that reappear throughout the series. They key to the success of this series are the likable characters - their personalities, idiosyncrasies, interactions and patter. Although, in typical Patterson style, there are always twists to the 'whodunnit' portion of the novel, the plot seems always to be a vehicle for spending time with these 'people' in the beautiful San Francisco area. These novels are unlikely to leave your mouth agape, to amaze you or to change the way you view your world, but an hour or two with one is like a conversation and coffee with a friend.
    • 5/5
      I have been trying to read this for years and I a glad I was finally able to do it. Such a gripping mystery that I couldn't stop reading.
    • 4/5
      Homicide Inspector Lindsey Boxer and three of her friends, members of the Murder Club, set about investigating the murder of newlyweds in the San Fransisco area.
    • 5/5
      An excellent plot about the murders of honeymoon couples with interesting back-ground details and interactions of the main characters. Very readable.
    • 5/5
      Incredible!! How is it that I've been missing this series? I won a contest and received the first three books in this series all in audio format. I've already started the second book 2nd Chance and have a feeling it's going to go faster than the 1st book did. The four women that make up the murder club are each well developed. I instantly liked Lindsey, the homicide detective, not only because of her active involvement, but also because Patterson made her real. Lindsey is diagnosed with a blood disorder that she is forced to deal with along with the bride/groom killings. The conflicts that Lindsey endures throughout the story make her very real. She has a life! Friends, a job, a disease, a partner and then a lover. I'm hoping that the further I get into this series that the other three women begin to develop this thoroughly I was guessing all the way through this book. Every time I thought I had something figured out, I'd be twisted around and looking in a different direction. The ending was definitely a surprise that I hadn't put together at all! This plot was something unexpected. The ending to this book made me want to start the 2nd one right away. I'm attached to the characters already and can't wait to find out how Lindsey recoups from 1st to Die.A side note here is that I hope the rest of the books are as good as this one. I liked this story so much, that I've got high expectations for the upcoming 7 books! Another note, I loved the reader! Suzanne Toren had great infliction and tone! She really made this an enjoyable listen.