1st to Die

Infobox Book |
name = 1st To Die
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = Cover of the book "1st to Die" by James Patterson.
author = James Patterson
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series = Women's Murder Club
genre = Crime novel
publisher = Grand Central Publishing
release_date = December 2001
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages = 462 pp
isbn = ISBN 978-044661003
preceded_by =
followed_by = 2nd Chance (novel)

"1st To Die" is the first book in the "Women's Murder Club" series, written by James Patterson. The series is about four friends who pool their skills together to crack San Francisco's toughest murder cases. The women each have different jobs: Lindsay Boxer, a homicide inspector for the San Francisco Police Department, Claire Washburn, a medical examiner, Jill Bernhardt, an assistant D.A., and Cindy Thomas, a reporter who just started working the crime desk of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Plot summary

The prologue introduces main character Insp. Lindsay Boxer, San Francisco P.D., who is in a depression and holding a gun to her head as a result of losing a love interest on a case called "The Honeymoon Murders".

Book One begins with David and Melanie Brandt, freshly married, in their hotel room at the Grand Hyatt. A man outside the door calls "Champagne" and David opens the door. The man, Phillip Campbell, then violently kills the bride and groom and brutalizes the corpse of Melanie. The book then cuts to Inspector Lindsay Boxer in her general practitioner's office. The doctor, Dr. Roy Orenthaler, tells Lindsay that she has a rare, and deadly, blood disease called Negli's aplastic anemia. Throughout the book, Lindsay struggles with the physical side-effects of getting blood transfusions for Negli's, and the emotional aspect of having a life-threatening disease. During the appointment, she is called to the crime scene of a double murder at the Grand Hyatt. At that scene she is introduced to Cindy Thomas, covering the story. A second pair of bodies are found, and after Lindsay is told she has a new partner due to the sensitivity of the case, Cindy, Lindsay and medical examiner Claire Washburn join forces to attempt to solve the case.

A third pair of bodies is found in Cleveland, Ohio, which are thought to be connected to the San Francisco cases. As Lindsay and company go through the case they acquire a fourth friend, Assistant D.A. Jill Bernhardt. Together, the four friends attempt to pin down a suspect, leading to the shocking conclusion. A subplot features Lindsay's attraction to Chris Raleigh, her new partner.