Enjoyed the book. Kept me interested in the plot. I would definitely read another book by this author.

A solid 3 star novel

I'm not really sure how to classify this one. Thriller? Suspense? Drama? I feel like it falls a bit into all those categories. The "mystery" of why Anna is running wasn't really a mystery and quite irritating that it kept being such a "secret". If it was any kind of secret or mystery for anyone reading this novel, I would be extremely surprised. I didn't care much for Anna. She was quite self-absorbed and distracted. The thrill of finding out what would happen in the end is what kept me reading. I didn't find any empathy or connection to a single character, and that was a bit disappointing.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for a free and unbiased review.

Anna Winger has been running from her past for 13 years. She and her son, Joshua, are constantly on the move. She has now settled into a small town in Parks, Indiana. Anna is a handwriting expert, and because of these skills, her FBI friend, Kent, has asked her to help on the abduction case of a 2 year old boy, Aidan Ransey.
The sheriff is skeptical of Anna and her skill, but he lets her look at the case. He continues to ask her assistance on other cases. Anna is getting involved in the town, which is very unlike her, as she likes to keep her distance.
Her son, Joshua, is starting to ask questions about Anna's past and his family. This terrifies Anna.
This all leads to a terrifying clash of situations, Anna's past, and the many people she never wanted to face again. Additionally, there is an underlying story of drugs and seediness that needs attention.
I thought the book went on a bit too long, and the ending was a little far-fetched, but all-in-all, it was an enjoyable read and one that kept you interested. The author did a nice job tying all the threads together.

"The Day I Died" by Lori Rader-Day offers readers a solid mystery novel with a mix of strengths and weaknesses. While the character development is decent, with protagonist Anna Winger being fairly well-rounded, some of the secondary characters feel underdeveloped and lacking depth. The atmosphere and setting are effectively portrayed, with the small-town setting adding to the sense of claustrophobia and suspicion that permeates the story. However, the writing style can be somewhat dry at times, lacking the lyrical quality that often elevates mystery novels.

Ehile the plot of "The Day I Died" unfolds at a steady pace, with enough twists and turns to keep you engagedbe engaging, some readers may find the pacing a bit sluggish in parts. The central mystery is intriguing enough to hold interest, but it lacks the complexity and depth found in some other novels in the genre. While the relationship dynamics between characters are explored to some extent, they don't feel fully fleshed out, leaving readers wanting more in terms of emotional depth and connection. Overall, "The Day I Died" is a decent read for fans of mystery novels, but it may not stand out as a standout example of the genre.

Unfortunately, I am in the minority. This book seems to have received lots of great reviews, but I struggled to get through it. I found the first part of the book was slow moving and the main character was annoying. The book plot summary drew me in and had so much potential. I would try this author another time just based on the idea of what this book could have been.

Thanks for the chance to read this one.

The premise of this tale is Aiden Ransey gone missing. It turned out to be quite a bit more than I was expecting. This is also the tale of Anna Winger running from her past. There were hints that were continually scattered through the first part of this book which left me wondering what happened in Anna’s past to make her run. I kept wanting to know the answer.
Anna also has a son, Joshua. I was intrigued with Anna and Joshua’s story in that Anna didn’t seem to know how to reach Josh, after all he was just beginning his teenage years. Enter a homework assignment about a family tree. Enter Anna not knowing how to answer his questions.
Also intriguing to me was the fact that Anna didn’t want anyone looking too closely at her for fear of them finding out about her past which would make her want to run again.
This is also a story of hope and forgiveness, a story of family, a story of finally being able to feel safe. After a couple of false starts, I’m glad I was finally able to sit down and give this one a read.

The Day I Died was a story about Anna, running from something (hinted at, but not fully disclosed until the latter parts of the book) a handwriting expert that is called upon to help find a missing person in her own town. While the premise of this book is great, and really drew me in, the execution of the actual writing left me a little cold. First, this book was draggy and slow (in parts) and was a lot of internal dialogue of Anna. There was not much "action" to speak of. Anna ran hot and cold with a lot of things in her life, and her whimsical choices really grated on me. Finally, there were some HUGE coincidences to this book that didn't feel set in reality. The missing child just happens to be taken to Anna's home town, at least 3-4 states away (a VERY small town in Northern Wisconsin) where Anna just happens to be looking for her own son whom she thought ran off there to find his father? It just seems so coincidental and implausible that it was difficult to take much of the book seriously after that.

The Day I Died deals with Anna who can tell all about a person just by analyzing their handwriting. When asked to help find a missing child using a ransom note left at a murder scene she feels herself drawn into a situation that hits way too close to home for her. Another great mystery by author Lori Rader-Day!

Anna is a handwriting analyst who starts helping out law enforcement in Parks, Indiana. They are trying to locate a missing toddler, and the prime suspect is his mother. While she's working on this case, Anna's own son, Joshua, thirteen and desperate to understand more about his family, disappears himself. Anna finds herself going back to Sweetheart Lake, the home she left when she was pregnant with Josh, to chase down her past and to see if Josh has made it there himself.

I think that this book would have been more enjoyable if I had been able to read it a little faster. Anna's backstory is a mystery, but I never felt too compelled to figure out what was happening. I never got super pulled into the mystery behind the missing toddler, either. The part of the book that really got me turning pages was probably the last 20%, and even that was just meh.

Overall, the book was just fine. I never cared enough about Anna or the development of her character. I wasn't pulled too deeply into the mystery parts of the book. It was fine, but not a book that I think will be memorable or that I would want to read again.

Lori Rader-Day knows how to write a thriller. The first half of the book was frustrating because you aren’t given much information but the second half picks up and you are fully invested. A mother on the run with her son gets pulled into an investigation of a missing child. The story is written concurrently with her mysterious past and eventually gets to the big surprise twist. The last half of the book picked up and makes it a rewarding thriller for me.

Lori Rader-Day is an excellent writer and her books are ones that grab you from beginning to end, this book is not an exception.
We read about Anna, a graphologist and her son who moved far away fearing for their lives because of her abusive ex. Being used to be by themselves and her sulking son Anna is being brought by the sheriff of the town to help with the case of a missing child, forcing her to confront her past and start dealing with people again.
This book is very well written, with enough suspense and drip information to keep wanting reading until the end.

Oh my gosh, what a unique mystery! I couldn’t put it down & it is one of my favorite thrillers to date,

This book was not what I expected! I thought it was good, even though it was a little long. While the first page reigned me in, the book was very slow to warm up. It took almost 200 pages before anything interesting really happened.

Really a 3.5. I think this one had the potential to be amazing, but something didn’t sit right with the ending.

LIKES:
1) true thriller. Definitely not super scary, but had me thinking the whole time and I didn’t know who did it and how it was connected until it was revealed. I really tried to guess too… so far off in all my guesses!
2) it reminded me of The Mentalist. Anna was a handwriting analyst so it’s the same kind of intuition but really fascinating how people completely changed around her when they found out what she did and also how much it consumed her even with her own handwriting
3) Small towns are creepy. It seems like everything in that happened in either small town in this book would have made most leave.
4) Margaret- she was the best grump old lady neighbor

DISLIKES:
1) The ending. I can’t go into it, but it just didn’t do it for me. I was expecting much more and it felt like too much of a stretch.
2) The romances… they were not necessary and took away from the story.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. Over all I throughly enjoyed this book. Spoiler alert....I enjoyed how the mystery was solved from the use of handwriting analysis. First book I've read by this author and I will be looking into more from her.

I've never read this author before, and the concept and the title intrigued me. From the beginning, the intrigue continues. Single mom Anna is a handwriting expert. Her son Joshua is 13. They have moved around a lot, and now finally settled into small-town Indiana. But don't you know it, as expected for a good book, her past starts to catch up with her again. The concept for this book was great. However, for me, it was a slow read. The main character, Anna, annoyed me. She seemed clueless about her situation. Things pick up eventually, but the ending was too little, too late for my satisfaction.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a free e-book of The Day I Died, in exchange for my honest review.

This novel by Lori Rader-Day features a handwriting analyzer, Anna, that works on cases both national and local. She begins aiding the government to find a missing 2 year old while we get a look into her troublesome past and present.

The book took a different angle on mystery and followed two different story lines throughout the book. It dragged on through the middle and end. The ending pulled everything together nicely but it was not very realistic.

This was a fast paced book that kept you interested, even though it was a bit too long.

From the outset we know that our main character Anna Winger faked her death and has been moving around with her son ever since. Meanwhile, in the new town where she has settled a little boy and his mother go missing. Anna, who is a handwriting expert, is brought into the investigation to analyze some evidence. Then Anna's teenage son goes missing as well. Did he run away or is his disappearance linked to the missing little boy?

The author introduces new information in just the right amount as the story progresses to keep one guessing and reassessing this mystery thriller. Though the end is not a big reveal, the intrigue is well-written in this novel.

Will review in the future, was offered as a free book with no review needed. However, as soon as I read this I will review. Thanks for offering free reads for Scene of the Crime.

Anna Winger keeps people at arms length. She resides with her son in a new community where she’s brought in to work as a consultant. When her son runs away, her present and mysterious past collide. This book definitely kept me turning the pages. I liked Anna’s character and how she ended up coming to terms with her past for her son. The mystery of who she was and what happened to her kept me reading to find out more. It’s been a few months since I finished reading and while I enjoyed it at the time, I had to refresh my memory of it because it’s not a story that stuck with me for very long.