Member Reviews
Cass has a terrifying gift where she can see and feel what a murder victim experiences during their final moments whenever she comes upon the spot where the murder occurred. When Cass stumbles across information about a probable serial killer, she, along with cynical Detective Ed Dyson, feels compelled to help the police solve the case.
Hindsight by Melanie Casey is an intriguing paranormal psychological thriller. The premise of Cass's ability adds a unique twist to the genre and while I felt the book offered an interesting plot and well-developed characters, I did feel the ending was slightly rushed.
I would like to thank Pantera Press & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review
Cass Lehman has a gift or maybe it’s a curse she has hindsight into someone’s death and what they went through. Cass has to leave the house under a carefully planned route so she doesn’t encounter any places someone has died.
Detective Dyson is investigating cases of missing women and It takes Cass to see what all the victims have in common and this is where cass comes in.
This was a solid start but don’t think it’s a series I would read. Thank you to netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review
This is a very enjoyable crime mystery with a little bit of a paranormal or supernatural twist. Action packed and engrossing. I highly recommend this one.
When I see a book of available for read now on Netgally I always think it’s going to be a bit naff but this wasn’t to bad at all. This is a police procedural with a supernatural element and is very much like the tv shoe Medium where we have a woman with a supernatural ability helping the police to uncover a killer. We meet Ed who is the leading police officer is the murder of a woman found in a dumpster, as Ed and his partner dig deeper it becomes clear that this murder may be one of many related to disappearance of a few woman over a few years, including his own wife and unborn child...when the police draw a blank the help of a physic is called in that’s when we meet Cass, a woman with supernatural abilities, Cass can witness someone’s death (in past tense) if she is the exact spot where it happened. Together Cass and Ed have to solve these crimes before the clock runs out.
I did enjoy this book but I had a few gripes, I think this book would definitely have been a four star if there was a little more plot and character development, the book was quite short and lacking in these things and it made the writing almost simplex. I didn’t like the ending that much I felt it was a rip of of a movie I won’t mention here because of spoilers but it was almost exactly the same.
Issues aside I think this author and series has a lot of potential and I will definitely read the next book in the series.
Hindsight by Melanie Casey
The Cass Lehman Series Book 1
Publisher: Pantera Press
Thanks to NetGalley and publisher Pantera Press for the ebook ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Cass Lehman is a young woman who lives with her mother and grandmother in a small town; Jewel Bay, Australia.
The women in Cass's family are what people would call 'gifted'. Her mother can touch someone and see glimpses of the future. Her grandmother is a hands on healer. And Cass got her gift at the early age of 8 years old; she experiences the death of a person when she occupies the space where they died, and also feels what they felt as well. Also called retrocognition.
Cass considers her "gift" more of a curse as she spends most of her time living and working from home.
A woman, Janet Hodgens was found in a box on Stuart Lane, and Detective Dyson and partner, Phil are on the case.
Cass decides she wanted to help the police solve the case.
This book had me hooked from the beggining, it was well written. I had a hard time putting it down. I give it 5 stars and would highly recommend it. I cant wait to read the next book in the series and see how Ed and Cass's relationship develops.
Detective Ed Dyson’s wife Susan had vanished two years ago – she had never been found and Ed wasn’t coping with not knowing what had happened to her. His forays into the bottle were becoming more frequent and he knew he should stop, but couldn’t work out how. It was the anonymous call to alert police to a murder in an alley way which gave him purpose once again.
When Natalia, Superintendent at the Fairfield Station, called the Lehman household and asked for Cass’ help, it was to be the beginning of a series of horrific events that terrified Cass. She had a gift, but the nature of it was terrifying. Since she was eight years old, Cass had been able to see violent death. For the past decade she’d been a recluse, living with her Gran and Mum, too scared to venture outside in case she experienced the death of someone who’d been killed in a traumatic fashion.
Ed was sceptical – and he wasn’t the only one. But they needed all the help they could get as they were running out of time, sure the killer would strike again soon. What would happen? Would Cass be able to identify the killer? Or was he too smart for them all? And was Cass putting herself in grave danger?
Hindsight by Aussie author Melanie Casey is the first in the Cass Lehman & Detective Ed Dyson series, and I was completely enthralled. Set in and around Adelaide in South Australia, it was intense, gritty and fast-paced, and I sped through the pages with my heart racing, wondering what would happen next. Thoroughly entertaining, Hindsight is a thriller I highly recommend. I’ll be picking up book 2 soon!
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital copy to read and review.
This novel offers an interesting twist on the standard 'crime' novel, which I believe will make it appeal to readers who enjoy both 'paranormal' and 'crime' genres. It is written and plotted well - it launches straight in with tension and suspense, the characters are believable despite also being flawed, and the twists kept me reading until the end. Highly enjoyable read! I look forward to the next books in the series.
In a nut shell the story follows Cass who has an extraordinary gift; being able to see death Cass assists Detective Dyson. But will this put her in to the killer path?
I really liked the fact that this book was ordinary thriller. As a prolific thriller reader of thrillers I was originally a bit dubious. But it worked brilliantly. I really enjoyed the paranormal aspect and found it to be in perfect measure.
This was a really quick and easy read with great lovable characters. I did find Detective Dyson a tad bit predictable, he was the unusual ‘troubled police officer who drinks too much’ but this wasn’t enough to put me off reading the rest of the series.
With the suspense building right from the beginning this was a great fast paced thriller and I will no doubt be reading more of the series.
I found this book just okay. The story was okay. I enjoyed the slightly different take on the psychic family but at the end of the story I could barely remember it.
I thought the premise of this book was very interesting. Book duos that deal with crime usually consist of detectives but this one brought together a psychic and a detective. I know it reminds people of tv shows like The Mentalist, or even Castle, but this one was different. For one, the psychic in question was not the know-it-all male character who, no matter what the procedure is, got what he wanted in the end. Not to mention they’re always right. I liked those shows but sometimes the smartass attitude got on my nerves. Here though, Cass was nervous and wary. Probably this was due to her psychic ability which was to experience the death of someone when she came across the exact spot they were killed. And the deaths have to be murders so you can imagine the kind of torture it is to live in a world full of violence. Her gift-or curse depending on from where you looked at it- makes her feel exactly what the victim did in those last minutes of their lives, so any innocent outing can be dangerous and traumatic. And so Cass has become a recluse for many years.
The detective in question, Ed Dyson, is a man who’s struggling with his own demons. Not as bad as experiencing death, sure, but his wife has gone missing and for years he’s been living in limbo, that destructive and painful path where you just don’t know what happened to a loved one. Together they made a not so cheerful crime solving duo you see. But that was actually the good part because no matter the different traumas they were still living through, they were trying to hold on. And the difficult situations that come from having to speak to someone with their problems were not so difficult for these two. I’d like to think they had a sort of understanding that came from terrible experiences.
While the characters were so interesting and challenging, and the plot quite intriguing, I think the book felt only slightly rushed. Circumstances brought them together, personal details were shared, a reluctant balance was achieved but all felt like they could’ve taken more time to do so. I realize this was a debut novel, and it was pretty good for a debut, but perhaps if more world building was done with the current case, it would’ve been better. This is going to be a series so there’s enough time to delve into Cass and Ed’s relationship in the coming books, so more could be detailed in this one. Especially considering too many psychological issues were present for both characters.
I’m hoping the second book and onwards will not have these issues, and more interesting criminal cases await because let me tell you, this book was satisfying in its crime aspect.
I’m adding three spoonfuls of this story into my hodgepodge, and going for hunting the rest of the series.
Interesting plot. Fast action. You don't want to put it down.
I recommend this book!
If Cassandra Lehman walks over the spot of a violent death she experiences it as if its happening to her. That's her 'gift'. Her mother has esp and her grandmother can heal. Cass decides to help the police solve some serial murders by using her gift.
Cass and Ed as main characters were solid. I liked them both and really liked the Lehman women. The murders were predictable and somewhat boring. I knew what was gonna happen before it happened and that left thse story flat.
I received a copy from NetGalley for my honest review.
I really enjoyed this book. Cass can see and feel what a murder victim sees and feels during their final moments whenever she comes upon the spot where the murder had occurred. Cass does not see this as a gift and has made herself housebound rather than deal with with these seizures that can be very dangerous for her. When Cass stumbles across information about a probable serial killer she feels compelled to help the police and this is when she meets Detective Ed Dyson. I really liked Cass and her family and hoped that she and Ed would wind up together at the end. I look forward to reading the next book in this very engaging series.
Cass Lehman, along with her mum and gran, live on the edge of town. They aren't just any normal family though. They all have different supernatural talents. This book is focused on Cass and her talent for seeing and feeling how others died. Because of this she tends to isolate herself and stay at home on the edge of town - that is until a killer strikes in her town and she offers to help out the local police detective, Ed, who's wife and unborn baby went missing 2 years earlier................
I'm always on the lookout for the next series of paranormal fiction and I think I've found it. This book was very easy to read and the characters believable and likable. I generally tend to steer myself away from books set in countries other than the US but even though I knew it was Australia I kept on reading (one sitting was all it took).
Will definitely recommend this and will be off out to buy the other 2 in the series.
This was a very good novel with the acceptance of a family of gifted or cursed women depending on your viewpoint. A twisted serial killer is loose and the Detectives working the case have personal ties. This was a riveting thriller.
Really enjoyed this book, exploring the mystery surrounding psychics and how they can be used in crime scenes and murders. A pattern of murders, maybe a serial killer but the young psychics finds the crucial link,
I did like the writing style of going from first person, to third person narrative, but I did find it a little predictable as a story line. Having said that it was a book that kept me reading well into the night to find out what happened next. It was a great first effort and I certainly will be looking out for the next book
Hindsight by Melanie Casey.
Cass Lehman had the misfortune of being born into a family of extraordinary women with supernatural talents. Her mother sees the future, her grandmother is a healer and Cass has the less sexy talent of seeing the past… but not just any past events… Cass’s terrifying gift is triggered when she walks over a spot where someone has met their end in a sudden and brutal way. Not only does she see their death, but she feels it… she relives it.
So, for years, she’s hardly set foot outside… until now.
Spurred by a desire to have a life of her own, Cass decides to take her first tentative steps towards freedom only to find herself confronted by murder and mayhem in her sleepy hometown of Jewel Bay.
Taking a chance she offers to help the local police track down the killer and finds herself thrust into working with the tormented and emotionally charged Ed Dyson.
Together they battle to overcome his prejudice and her fear of using her talent in time to stop a killer who has been operating quietly and systematically in their midst for years...
Can Cass save herself and the killer’s latest victim?
This was a fantastic read with brilliant characters. I loved Cass and Eddie.
They were my favourite characters. I was really hoping the killer wouldn't get Cass. I loved the ending. Can't wait for next part. 5*. Highly recommended. Netgalley and pantera press.
The concept of the book is very good but the execution lacked. Although Cass wants to help she has an excessive laid back attitutude while people are dying. I understand why she hesitates but would have thought her desire to stop a killer was the priority. I would have liked her to pursue helping quicker and with more determination. Besides if she gets the killer then that simply means she had less places to worry about where her gift haunts her.The skepticism of the police is understandablem however I think she could have proved her skill by a quick test of her skill to the cops. They could have visited a murder site they knew well and she could have passed a test. Anyway, thanks for the story
Semi unique, seems like a concept I have read from another one of my favorite authors and she has an entire series based on this concept. The book was really well written and executing of plot good as well. I will be looking for more from the author.... my review is up on Amazon under my name Kimberly-Aisha Hashmi