Cause of Death by Sheri Lewis Wohl is one creepy and well-written murder mystery. It is one of the best psychological thrillers I’ve read in a while.

The story revolves around Bavilla (Vi) Akiak and Kate Renard. Vi is a young woman, originally from Alaska, who is moving to Spokane, Washington to begin medical school to eventually become a pathologist. During her schooling she is also working as an assistant with the Medical Examiner’s Office in Spokane. She rents a small house next door to Kate, a farmer and search and rescue handler, and her dog Lucy. The two women become friends quickly with an attraction that hints there could be more in their future. But Vi has a secret involving the death of her mother. That secret involves a serial killer that the two of them must work together to find before he or she comes after them.
This is a great story premise, and I must say I was kept interested through the entire novel. We get to be in the minds of the two ladies as well as the serial killer in third person POV. The POV covers all three characters in every chapter. I have to confess that I was rather creeped out when I was reading the serial killer’s thoughts. That is a good thing though, since it shows how well the author developed the killer’s persona. The secondary characters are also well written and add depth to the overall story.

I really enjoyed reading this rather chilling murder mystery, and if you are into reading these types of thrillers, I think you will enjoy it as well.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

This one is more crime than romance. In fact there is very little romance. There is crime, some vague paranormal stuff and stumbling-upon-a-sibling-never-knew-the-existence-of with paranormal abilities running in the DNA.

Vi Akiak moves from Alaska to Spokane as an intern medical examiner and to complete her studies. Her new landlady is Kate Renard, a burnt-out computer whiz now managing a farm and also a volunteer K9 handler. On the very first day of Vi’s internship, a murder victim turns up. And then another. And another. All with missing eyes. And one of them has been arranged exactly like Vi’s murdered mother was. A couple of the bodies are found by Kate.

Here is the strange thing. In the scenes between Vi and Kate, there was great chemistry and very well written attraction. Yet, in the overall narrative, the romance track just didn’t flow. And the weirdest thing was that we never see their first kiss. We know it happened when the MCs are thinking back about it. Why?

The crime track was chilling at first, soon repetitive and the big discovery and solution were flat. And yeah, towards the end, Kate and her bumbling PI efforts were terribly irritating.

Overall, this is not something to grab and sink into.

3.5 Stars. I liked this but it wasn’t as great as I was hoping for. This was a crime-suspense book with a light paranormal flare. Parts of it were really good and I was glued to the book, but I also found a few parts to bog down a bit which was odd for a suspense book. If you have read Necromantia, you will recognize the characters of Circe and Diana who are the main secondary characters in this book. You can read this book without reading Necromantia first. I could be wrong but I think the character of Circe also showed up in the The Talebearer. That is another serial killer/slight paranormal book that I liked better than this one. If anything I thought this book was a little too close to that one as I kept getting a sense of deja-vu.

I thought the two mains were interesting and I loved the dog, how could you not. The POV of the book would follow both main characters and also the serial killer. I don’t know what it was but I found the serial killer scenes to be boring. Usually, that kind of thing creeps me out but I found myself almost dreading those parts because I was bored instead. There were a lot of scenes with the killer so I found myself wishing for less time with them and more time spent on the possible romance.

There is a romance but it is very light. I have to say I was a bit disappointed. I would have enjoyed it more to just have the characters getting to know each other and a few sparks, instead of trying to push it farther when there was not enough time. Also, which is something that really bothered me, the first kiss happened off screen so to say. I actually flipped back in my Kindle to make sure I didn’t miss it but nope not only do we not get to witness the first kiss but we don’t get to witness the second kiss either. To me this is building a romance 101 that you have to show the first kiss!

While this book had areas that bothered me, I did like the excitement of trying to catch a killer. As I noted above this has a light paranormal tag on it. I do not think you have to be a paranormal fan to enjoy this. The paranormal aspects were so light that I actually thought they were not really needed. I love paranormal anything but Wohl didn’t really dig far enough into the paranormal part to make those scenes really shine.

If you are new to Wohl I think I would suggest The Talebearer over this one. Still this was a pretty good read that had some excitement. If you need a change of pace over all the romances of late, this might be a good choice.

Another reviewer has described this book as CSI meets Ghost Whisperer, and that's a spot-on description! Throw in one of the main characters being from Alaska, and I already had high hopes for this story. The cover was eye-catching and crisp, and I appreciate that. The author did not disappoint me, either. The chemistry between the two main characters was well-written and made complete sense to me. Throw in a super smart and super loveable dog and there was no way I was putting the book down without a fight. Unfortunately, sleep won out. Still, I finished this in two sittings.

The pace was brilliantly done, the suspense was just enough, and I'm not ashamed to admit that I had no idea who the serial killer was until almost the end. Something that doesn't happen often. I would be a very happy new fan of Ms. Wohl if a sequel were to emerge in the future.

I enjoyed this one that I'm not only giving it five stars, but it's one I can see reading over and over again.

I think I’ve read enough serial killer thrillers to last me a lifetime. So when I started reading Cause of Death, I was not completely ready to enjoy it. I liked the introduction to the MCs and the MCs themselves from the start. Vi’s backstory intrigued me and I felt the chemistry with Kat immediately. That was enough for me to like what I was reading at first. Then I realized that while I’d been reading the first serial killer scenes distractedly, I was getting more involved in them as I read on. And then I began appreciating them as well, and the way they are woven in with the romance (and more) aspects of the novel.

After her grandmother’s death, Vi leaves Alaska for Spokane, Washington to become an autopsy assistant while she studies to be a forensic pathologist. Kat is her landlady but also a K9 handler (Lucy sounds like the sweetest dog) and a computer genius. Her best friend Circe is married to a cop, Diana, and also has unexpected links to Vi. I really liked these characters, all of them, and wouldn’t say no to a sequel, or more. I'd love to spend more time with them.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.


Vi meets Kate who is a dog handler that does search and rescuse when she rent her house on Kate ranch.

Vi is from Alaska who moves to Spokane to become a forensic pathologist it became her calling when her mother was murder. Vi has a secret she can see the dead and she always believes that the person who killed her mother is still out there and the person in jail isn't the killer and she may be right because her first time at her job at the ME office she finds similar crimes that mirror her mother's.

With the help of Kate her dog Lucy and Kate friend Circe and her dog Zelda and Circe wife Cynthia team up to find the killer and we also find out the surprising connection Vi and Circe share.

This isn't a romance story but do see that Kate and Vi like each other this story deals with spirits and finding justice for the victims and finding the killer. I have to say this is one book I didn't mind seeing different point of views.

That was INTERESTING!! So I really didn’t know what to expect from this book because I’ve never read the author and never cared for this genre before!
So this is a story of spirits, murder and serial killers. It is not a lesbian romance ! Yes the characters are mostly lesbians but there was no romance (just a scene or 2).
Having said that, I actually really liked the storyline! It was very intense, very entertaining and thrilling!
So if you are in the mood to change a little bit, refresh from the “norm”, I highly recommend this! Don’t expect any sex scenes, fluffy stuff or angst! But expect to be blown away with a very exciting crime drama!

“I received an ARC for an honest review.”

Bavilla Akiak "Vi" moves from Alaska to Spokane to be a medical examiner and eventually a doctor of forensic pathology.

Kate "Kat" Renard is her landlord and a rescue dog handler and has rented Vi a home on her ranch just outside Spokane.

Circe Latham, a rescue dog handler and her wife Diana Erni, a Spokane police officer.

Vi travels from Anchorage, Alaska to Spokane to work in the ME's office and attend school there. Vi also has the ability to see spirits, particularly that of her grandmother, and the spirits of the departed.

There have been a series of grisly murders in the Spokane area lately and Vi, Kat, Circe and Diana, along with Lucy and Zelda the two search and rescue dogs, start to put the clues together.

This was a creepy book, but a really good creepy book. This author knows how to keep you guessing and to keep the suspense at DEFCON 1!

I was given an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.