Here’s a radical idea for a TV series: Base it on a series of best-selling novels.

Debuting at 9 tonight on ABC, “Women’s Murder Club,” based on the novels by mystery writer supreme James Patterson, features four working women in San Francisco who join forces to solve murder cases.

Each of the quartet has her own problems with which to deal. Homicide Inspector Lindsay Boxer (Angie Harmon) is great at her job but lousy with outside relationships, and her ex-husband (Rob Estes) is about to come back into her life in an uncomfortable way. Medical Examiner Claire Washburn (Paula Newsome) has a disabled husband at home who is slipping into depression. Assistant District Attorney Jill Bernhardt (Laura Harris) has just hesitantly moved in with her doctor boyfriend. Overeager reporter Cindy Thomas (Aubrey Dollar) is trying to ease her way into this “Women’s Murder Club.”

Yeah, this can be a little girly, with the women regularly chattering about one another’s relationships. Harmon’s Lindsay is a delight, especially in tandem with her veteran partner Jacobi (Tyrees Allen). “Women’s Murder Club” is also a well-designed, if not flashy, police procedural.

It stacks up pretty well against its time slot competition. It’s not as nuanced as “Friday Night Lights” but it has more bite than “Moonlight” and beats pro wrestling or the rerun du jour (already!) on Fox.