Karen D. (Kraduate) reviewed on 8/4/2008 + 35 more book reviews

1st to Die is the first James Patterson novel I've read. I had been dragging my feet for the last few years, never venturing beyond the first few paragraphs of any of his books but I finally made myself give him a chance. I'm not really sure why this guy is a bestselling novelist, his writing style is atrocious and his characters are insipid. I'll give him this; he's a marketing genius, short chapters (in some case less than 2 pages each) and simplicity. It's a shame, really, because the story itself had a lot of promise and to say I didn't enjoy it at all would be a lie. However, I couldn't get past the fact that I felt like Patterson wrote an outline first and then went through and wrote a few sentences per heading topic.
I really wanted to like the four women who make up the Women's Murder Club but the writing was so flat and the dialog was at times painful. Let's start with the fact that they would have chosen a way cooler title for their club. âWomen's Murder Clubâ, how uncreative can you get?
A homicide detective, medical examiner, newspaper reporter and an assistant district attorney working together and therefore, jeopardizing their careers. The friendship between the ladies was not realistic; they didn't know each other long enough to form such a close bond. And the bond that ties them all together is that they are professional women who are struggling to make it in male dominated careers. But the whole I am Woman, hear me roar thing just doesn't work here.
The concept of the serial killer was the coolest part of the book, killing off newly married Brides and Grooms. But the final twist was straight up blah.

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