2015 Reading Challenge [Closed] discussion

I'm late to this challenge. Thankfully, I was already reading a book with a number in the title so I can knock out a week I missed.

I picked this book because it was one of the few first books in a series that was available on OverDrive. I was looking for a thriller by a well-known writer in the genre. It's not a surprise that James Patterson was at the top of the list. (Also chose/read Private by James Patterson.)

My expectations for this book weren't high. I enjoyed Private, but realized that 1st to Die was much older. I expected the strong female characters I'm used to seeing in today's day and age. Instead, we have Lindsay Boxer, a whiny/emotional woman who feels brought down by the man and wants to stick it to him.

Overall, I was not impressed with this book. I have a hard time with whining, especially when I don't understand the culture or the context in which this book was written. I don't have experience in a time or a job field where women were/are put down for their gender. Because of this limited experience, Lindsay simply seems overly sensitive and resentful - nothing like the strong, take no sh*t women characters we see today on tv and in similar type books.

It's hard to enjoy a book when you're not a fan of the main character. Unfortunately, the majority of other characters were not relatable either.

On a side note, I listened to this book as an audiotape. It always seems to detract from my experience. Overall, do you tend to have a better experience listening or reading a book?

Thanks for reading. I'm not used to these kinds of posts.