This book was a riveting read with lots of twists and turns. Just as a good thriller should. It has been quite some time since I was impressed by a thriller and when requesting this title, I had no idea this would be the one.

I enjoyed taking this journey with the protagonist. She was one interesting character to follow. I was glad there wasn't a romantic subplot in this book which in my personal opinion can bog down the thrilling aspect of a thriller. The narrative kept me on the edge of my seat, biting my nails in anticipation of what's what was next was a true page-turner.

A good, enjoyable read with writing that was simple but hooking to follow. Liked this one and would widely recommend it.

4 stars

I haven’t read Frasier in quite a while, and after reading this book I wonder why? She really can write a great thriller/mystery. The suspense was high, the twists were around every corner. It was fast paced and quite a satisfying read.

Wow this book had a lot going on. There was a lot of dramatic twists and turns that kept you guessing. At times it could be a bit hard to keep track of the action. But was interesting to say the least.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review

"Private investigator Olivia Welles had died five times so far in her life". With this amazing opening sentence, THE NIGHT I DIED captures the reader's attention and with the story's various twists and turns keeps it.

SUMMARY:
Private detective Olivia Welles has no memory of the world before the car crash that killed her mother and best friend. She has no memory of coming back to life in the morgue. In fact, Olivia doesn't remember anything about her hometown, Finney KS. So when her fellow survivor, Bonnie Ray, the baby sister of her late best friend, Mazie calls from jail begging for help, Olivia feels compelled to check out what's been happening in Finney.

Bonnie Ray has just lost her third child under suspicious circumstances. Nearly everyone in town thinks she's murdered the children but the evidence is circumstantial. Olivia agrees to investigate - not because she necessarily thinks Bonnie is innocent - but because of all the unanswered questions surrounding their deaths and the mystery of her own.

Will LaFever, a 'journalist' and Truman Capote wannabe, is determined to get Olivia's help in getting the real story whatever it is. As Olivia is pulled deeper into the mystery of what really happened to Bonnie’s children and her own forgotten past, she and Will have to count on each other if they’re going to find out what’s really been going on in Finney.

OVERALL
Olivia Welles is a strong, compelling character with enough flaws to feel like a real person not a 'know-it-all/seen-it-all PI. The lasting effects of the car accident have shaped her life and her ongoing issues that resulted from it play a role in the story. She finds it hard to connect with or trust other people. Her interactions with Ezra, Will, and Bonnie all ring true amid the threads that make up Olivia's backstory. Will is a less likable character initially and while he exists to push the story forward, it's difficult to understand why Olivia connects with him at all. Bonnie on the other hand is interesting - readers will want to understand why she's in the situation she's in - but are never quite sure how reliable she is as a narrator. The Kansas landscape is thanks to Anne Frasier's writing style a character all on its own which also helps to ground the story in place and time.

THE NIGHT I DIED is a twisty, engaging, and entertaining mystery. While some of the twists seem unnecessary, they never take the attention away from the central story. The ending is not as strong as expected given the tight narrative of the book but THE NIGHT I DIED is nevertheless a recommended read.

Thanks to #Netgalley for providing access to this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

#THENIGHTIDIED
Pub: October 24, 2023
#THENIGHTIDIED

I've always loved murder mysteries, especially when the main character's are female... so this book had me intrigued from the start just by having read the book's description. Anne Frasier writes from a 3rd person perspective and it had me feeling like I was the "fly on the wall" and watching all the scenes play out. A lot of the story takes place in Kansas over a two week time period, and then several revelations of past memories from Olivia Welles (the main character) and from things told to her by others. I spent most of the night up reading because I had to find out what was going to happen... I kept thinking I had it, and then something else dramatic would happen which kept me turning the pages! Several references made throughout the book about The Wizard of Oz which I always enjoy! This was my first book from Frasier but I will certainly be looking for more from this author!

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this ARC!

I absolutely adored this book and I was hooked right away! This was full of twists and turns, interesting characters and had a captivating storyline. I especially loved the relationship between Will and Olivia. I was finding myself laughing out loud at some of their banter and I also love that their relationship wasn’t over romanticized.

This book had a good mix of everything—Thrilling moments, mystery, love, humor, drama and suspense. I highly recommend this one and I truly didn’t want it to end!!

Great edge of your seat type of book. I could not stop reading. The Night I Died follows Olivia Welles, a private detective who hasn't been to her hometown since a horrible accident happened. Now, under some circumstances, she has to go back to Finney, and with the help of an unusual individual, Will LaFever, she will uncover so many secrets from her past life while trying to figure out a horrible crime.

The book was really well thought out. I love all the references to the wizard of Oz as well as the small-town vibes it gave out. There's no romantic interest in this book, which I loved since its main focus was the mystery of solving a "case."
And when I tell you I was in shock! I was not expecting that twist! Great book, really great author.
Thank you so much for this ARC NetGalley it was amazing!

The Night I Died
A Thriller
by Anne Frasier


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this novel. Without spoilers, I can say it was a bit creepy but very worth the read. I could not stop reading until the last page.

This was a great suspense read for sure! Olivia is a private investigator who is brought back to her small home town to look into a woman from her past who is accused of murdering her child… along the way she meets and befriends a journalist also in town investigating the same incident.

Olivias past is fuzzy at best. She was in a train wreck when she was younger and doesn’t have any memories from before it.

Slowly Olivia’s past begins to get clearer when she gets more and more involved in the child murder.

There were a lot of twists in this that I did not see coming up to the very end. I was hooked from the beginning and read this one quite quickly as I had to know what was going to happen next.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. Definitely pick this one up you won’t be disappointed.

Really enjoyed this book. The pot twist had me on the end of my seat. Its been a few years since I read anything by Anne Fraiser and now I'm wondering why I waited so long. Highly recommended.

Big thanks to both Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of The Night I Died, by Anne Frasier.

The Night I Died is an intriguing look at a mother’s unthinkable crime and an investigator’s forgotten past. Seeking closure, Olivia agrees to return to Finney. Thanks to unforeseen circumstances, Olivia finds an unexpected ally in Will LaFever, a journalist with his own motives for uncovering the truth.

I have to admit to being a bit confused when I started this book by all the "This person died and came back to life this many times. That person died and came back to life that many times," etc. It was a hook I could have done without. However, I persevered because I've read a couple of other books Ms. Frasier has written and have enjoyed them. I'm glad I kept reading! The twists kept me on my toes.

I laughed when Ezra said to Will: Olivia is scheduled for surgery in a week. It's something she needs to have done. And instead of resting and walking along the beach, she's flying to Hellhole Hillbilly Redneck, Kansas, risking her life for some woman who probably killed her kids and she's being assisted by some guy who thinks he's Truman Capote! (I've paraphrased.)

All I can say is if I'm ever driving and see a sign that says "Now entering Finney County" I'm going to keep my foot down on the gas pedal! Hard!!

What a wild ride! This is an awesome thriller. It was so crazy; you think you know what's going to happen and BOOM everything changed. I hope that we get to read more about Olivia Welles in the future!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Olivia Welles is a survivor. After dying and coming back to life 5 times this story follows her journey and the friends she makes along the way as she gets involved in trying to solve the mystery of why a woman’s kids keep dying in a little town in Kansas. Olivia is from the town called Finney where the tragedies all occurred. The first night Olivia died was when she and her mother along with her friend Maizie, Maizie’s mother, and sister Bonnie were all stuck in a car on the train tracks when a train hit their car. The story breaks off into many complicated twists from there. When Olivia returns to Kansas many years later to look into the mystery of the dying children, both of the stories of the train accident and the children’s deaths collide. Olivia meets some lifelong friends along the way including a 4 legged free aptly named “Dorothy”.

This was a solid 4 star read for me. Overall the plot was great and well planned. It had many well developed, likable characters including Olivia who was not written in a cliche female detective part, but was instead scarred, flawed, and quirky in her own ways. Her friend Will is equally quirky and the author did a great job describing him and Olivia so detailed it was easy to create a picture of them in my mind as I read through their roller coaster journey. The plot definitely had me hooked by the second chapter. It was fast moving and although cheesy at times the story was engaging. The author does a wonderful job describing the back drop of the story taking place in the farm lands of Kansas. I enjoyed her descriptions of the setting sunsets and the small town vibes Finney had with the ghost like feel of the town in the evening times.

My only criticism of the storyline is that some of the plot twists were a little out there. When I read thrillers I like to imagine the story lines are believable or could actually happen. This story over all was good, but some of the details got a little too far out for my taste; like letting the marshal out who was accused of murder to help the town during a crisis. That just doesn’t happen. The twists were a bit predictable, but still enjoyable. The continuous Wizard of Oz references were cute at first, but by the end of the book there were almost too many. By the time the blue frilly dresses and red shoes were discovered at the morgue, I was tired of the movie references. It seemed a good chunk of the book was written to reference the Wizard of Oz, and while it was cute at times it was overall a bit excessive. Again, a solid 4 star read. Great plot, Entertaining read.

This was well-written with enough things happening to keep me reading and invested in the story. I hope there's more books starring Olivia and Will in the future.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Did I read a different book from everyone else?? I’m thoroughly confused. The Night I Died, much like its title, is poorly written and lacks subtlety. There are a couple of layers to the so-called mystery, but the “twist” involving the main character was fairly obvious (the most shocking part was how anyone thought this made sense as a twist? It propagates SO many plot holes.). I was shaking my head in disbelief at how amateur this read. The reveal(s) involving the child murders were unsatisfying because there was no real explanation/motive. It didn’t have that snap of OH my gosh I didn’t see that coming but it makes SOMUCHSENSE! It was just like… yup, ok.

Both Olivia and what’s-his-name’s POVs were robotic, repetitive, and frankly boring. I was honestly wondering if one/both of them were sociopaths because it would explain the complete lack of personality they both had. The dialogue was odd (why does she randomly say “bloody hell” at one point? She grew up in Kansas/California, this makes no sense and is not a catchphrase of hers because she never says it again). The sentences were so choppy, it felt like reading a child’s attempt at writing a novel. The sentence structure was short and simple and drudging through it was a joyless experience for me. The book was also light years longer than it needed to be; I thought (hoped) it was ending at two different points before it finally did. Why was the book so unnecessarily long, you ask? Perhaps due to the mundane descriptions of things nobody cares about, like VFW halls. I don’t typically pull quotes from arcs because I know the books aren’t finalized, but there were so many heinous sentences/paragraphs I could’ve pulled from, it doesn’t feel unfair to do this:
“The walls were wood paneling, the floor, those suspicious squares that would most likely require abatement if ever removed. There were gold flag stands, one with the American flag, another with a Veterans of Foreign Wars, and one of Kansas. The Kansas flag was pretty, with a sunflower and a horse pulling a plow. The building had no interior walls. Hence the word hall. Just one big room, the kitchen separated by a counter. This is where they ripped open bags of paper plates and dealt them out for quick serving.”

IS THIS A JOKE. Why do we need this level of detail on a VFW hall? The only conceivable reason I need this description is if some attack is going to occur and she’s going to use her quick wit to grab a flag pole to stab someone, preferably me, in the eyeball. But in all seriousness, this is just so unnecessary, and it happens all throughout the book. We get descriptions on how the townspeople know hoe to line up for an ice cream social. We get a description of a local beer: “it was pretty good”. We get treated descriptions of ice cream. But the problem is none of the descriptions have strong imagery, none of them bring me closer to the characters or their psyches, it’s just fluff. And boring fluff, at that.

Furthermore, Olivia has next to no skills as a private detective. She makes some calls to “contacts” of hers, but her career was largely irrelevant to her character. She literally just could’ve been a civilian without the private detective role. The book shits all over Kansas and makes it seem like another (lesser) universe. The stuff going down in Finney would never happen anywhere, it was illegal move after illegal move, and the idea that there would be no oversight beyond Marshal Murphy is laughable.

To enjoy this book I would’ve had to suspend my brain cells along with my disbelief. 1.5 stars rounded up to 2 because I’m not a monster and there was clearly thought put into this but it needs AGGRESSIVE editing to be enjoyable IMO.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Absolutely loved it. Olivia and Will were a fun duo, and I'm in need of a sequel.
Although I figured out the "bad guy" earlier on, the "Why" had me on the edge of my seat the last 40% of the book.
Full of twists and unexpected turns, Anne Frasier does it again. Forever a must read author.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book in return for an honest review.

You follow private investigator Olivia as she goes to Kansas after receiving a call from someone about three children from one family dying over the years. Olivia has her own rocky past with the city she is going to and is uncertain if she should be going at all. Along the way she meets Will and has her own suspicions about him. You follow the journey through multiple perspectives and it is done in a great way. Overall, the story was fantastic. It had a great flow and wasn’t too stagnant in the slower scenes. There were a couple twists I didn’t see coming but others I did! I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a fast past thriller/mystery.

This was my first novel from Anne Frasier and right away the blurb had me captivated! The author did a fantastic job at creating a palpable atmosphere where I could truly imagine I was in that dusty, windswept small town in Kansas. I enjoyed the gradual uncovering of the town's hidden secrets, all while delving deeper into Olivia's enigmatic story. I found the novel to be a bit slow in places, but the author hooked you in again with new developments and lots of interesting twists and turns.

Thank you to the author, Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the ARC!

Read this book in a day. Could. Not. Put. Down. This is the first time experiencing an Anne Frasier book and to say I was impressed, would be an understatement.

The setting was visceral and the characters intricate and complex. I throughly enjoyed piecing together the clues and revelled in the shock of many startling reveals (all of which were presented in a timely, sharp and punch timeline- no reading copious amounts of pages to actually find out what was happening.)

Highly recommend!

First, I loved this book. The main character Olivia has had a tragic life but pushed through and became a homicide officer and then a private detective. She receives a call from someone in her past and makes the trek home to find some answers. This book has mystery, suspense and thriller rolled into one. So much going on and I was never sure what was happening until the end pulled it all together. Highly recommend.