The master of fast-paced who-dunnits is back again. James Patterson, best known for his novels about the character Detective Alex Cross, is bringing us into a whole new world with his new novel 1st To Die.
Alex Cross, portrayed by Morgan Freeman in the movie Kiss The Girls, and in the upcoming Along Came A Spider, is an African-American criminal psychologist. His creator, James Patterson, is a white male, formerly in the advertising industry.
Remember the Toys 'R' Us song, "I don't wanna grow-up, I'm a Toys 'R' Us kid?" Well, in his former life in the advertising business, James Patterson worked on that little jingle himself.
My point is, Patterson is a genius at creating characters he knows nothing about.
Now the author is back, this time writing as a woman.
Actually, not just one woman -- four.
They each have become successful in their respective fields.
Lindsay Boxer is a San Francisco homicide inspector, Claire Washburn is a medical examiner, Jill Bernhardt is an assistant D.A. and Cindy Thomas is an up and coming reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle. The ladies are drawn together in the search for a horrible psychopath who has made his claim to fame by picking off newlyweds right after they get hitched.
Patterson was recently asked how he managed to write as four different woman since he is male. He claims that women are much more open and like to talk about things with much more depth. Patterson himself likes to talk about more than sports and weather like the average guy, so the many hours he has spent in conversation with women qualifies him to write as one.
The main character of the story is Inspector Lindsay Boxer. She is the only character in the first book of this new series that shares any background with us.
Written from her point of view, she invites the other ladies to join her for drinks and to help her solve the murders. This, in turn, is the start of the woman's murder club. The other characters aren't left out, they just aren't as revealed as Boxer.
The story is extremely fast paced. Patterson's ability to tell a story will help any reader get through the 424-page book briskly. I read it in two sittings.
The characters are all unique and after something different in their careers. Cindy, the reporter is new and trying to out-scoop the old guys on her beat. Jill, the assistant D.A. of course doesn't want to be the assistant forever and Claire, the African-American medical examiner is a family woman as well as a career woman.
The bad guy is notoriously evil. You wouldn't expect less from a Patterson novel, however as the story unfolds you find yourself more wrapped up in Lindsay's sub-plot than you do the main thrust of the story. (She actually has two sub-plots surrounding her. I won't spoil them both; I will just say that one involves a romance.)
I would imagine that the next in the series will focus more on one of the other girls. It was unfortunate the other three main characters didn't get the page time that Lindsay did.
As usual though, James Patterson has left his readers hoping for a new book really soon.
1st To Die is being made into an NBC mini-series that will air during the sweeps period in May.
He is currently working on a new Alex Cross story, the follow-up to the cliff-hanger Roses Are Red and a new book involving the ladies of 1st To Die.
Book Grade: B-
