Ponder Post: 1st to Die

James Patterson is a very prolific author but 1st to Die is the first work of his that I've read. In it, a serial killer victimizes bride and groom pairs, either at their wedding or shortly thereafter on their honeymoon. Following the clues to figure out "whodunnit" was intriguing. A budding romance introduced a bit of sexual tension. The unexpected plot twists sustained interest. As contradictory as it sounds to call a book about brutal murders light reading, it was! And I enjoyed it.

This murder mystery is Patterson's first in a series called the Women's Murder Club. To date there are fourteen books in the series. That is why I chose this work to read  - besides curiosity about the author. I reasoned that if I were to like the first book in the series, I would have a ready supply of easy reading options that I could be pretty confident I would like. Plus, with a series, the number of character names I would need to recall should be fewer, since theoretically, the core characters should remain constant for the most part. As an added bonus, 1st to Die was set in San Francisco and I have been to many of the locations where the actions occurs. I am a bit curious if the others in the series are also set in and around San Francisco.

There is another reason I liked this murder mystery. It reminded me a lot of the Castle television series which is my favorite TV show. I suspect the outline for the show Castle, if not based on this novel, was at least heavily influenced by it. At the very least I am convinced that the show's black, female, medical examiner was modeled after the one in Patterson's book. In 1st to Die, Lindsay Boxer, the detective and Claire, the medical examiner are best friends. In  Castle, counterparts Kate Beckett, the detective and Lanie, the medical examiner play those roles.

I was also clued in to the book/show correlation by a vague recollection I had of Rick Castle playing a poker game with his fellow writer buddies. Upon investigation I learned my memory had not failed me. According the Castle Wiki, "Every now and again Richard Castle gets together with his literary friends to play poker and talk shop. Real life authors James Patterson, Steven J. Cannell, Dennis Lehane and others. All the episodes featuring writers' games have "Death/Dead" in the title." There is James Patterson right smack dab in the center of this scene from the Castle show.

I am definitely going to check out the next book in James Patterson's Women's Murder Club series. After looking at this photo I have incentive to check out novels by the writers Steven J. Cannell and Dennis Lehane as well.