I was thankful to be able to read an advanced copy of this book. I found it fascinating that this book used handwriting analysis to have the mystery solved. I had never read a book about that before.

I really was intrigued when I read the description for this one and thought the premise was excellent. A woman with a mysterious past learns handwriting analysis to unlock secrets for the FBI (and other willing to pay parties). I felt like the story dragged a fair bit and got completely unbelievable at times. This was one I had to force myself to keep reading, not one that kept me on the edge of my seat. Anna gets involved with the kidnapping of a young boy and murder of his nanny. This case either brings up a lot of her unresolved trauma or she’s been barely functioning for.a while. I would give this author another chance because I did like some of the ideas that went into this one, but overall this was not the thriller I was hoping it would be.

Thank you to William Morrow, through The Scene of the Crime, and Netgalley for giving me a copy of this book to review!

"Anna Winger can know people better than they know themselves with only a glance—at their handwriting. Hired out by companies wanting to land trustworthy employees and by the lovelorn hoping to find happiness, Anna likes to keep the real-life mess of other people at arm’s length and on paper. But when she is called to use her expertise on a note left behind at a murder scene in the small town she and her son have recently moved to, the crime gets under Anna’s skin and rips open her narrow life for all to see. To save her son—and herself—once and for all, Anna will face her every fear, her every mistake, and the past she thought she'd rewritten"

This wasn't a bad read, but it was a little slow for my personal tastes. I skimmed a little to catch up with some other books because I wasn't hooked like I wanted to be. I did like the premise, however, and the writing was good, and I'd probably check out this author again in the future.

Requested book when I first got netgalley and forgot about it. Didn't get time to read before it was gone.

This book by Lori Rader-Day is about Anna, a hand writing analyst for the FBI. Anna is afraid to stay in one town for very long so she is always moving with her son. Anna is always running because someone from her past tried to kill her and she is terrified they will catch up with her if she stays to long in one place. This was a very good book. Thanks to Netgalley for my ARC.

I really enjoy Lori Rader-Day's books. Overall I liked this one. The first half was a little hard because she tried so hard not to give anything away. The second half made up for it.

I really enjoyed this book. I found myself cheering on the main character. Some parts got a little confusing when the story jumped around in time but this only happened a few times.

Anna Winger has reinvented herself. She and her son have spent most of his young life moving from place to place. They selected their most recent home because she spotted a familiar ice cream stand from the town where she grew up. Anna has a secret. The reason she keeps moving is that someone from her past nearly killed her and every time she thinks he might find out where she is, she moves on.
Anna works as a handwriting analyst. She mostly works on FBI referrals and has a sideline as an analyst for lonely hearts correspondents wanting to know if their intended is all that they say they are. Anna has made a habit of not getting involved in the community she lives in, but when a small boy goes missing, she finds herself drawn into the community and is eventually asked by her FBI contact to help the local sheriff by analyzing a note found at the scene. When a woman’s body turns up, the missing child is now considered to have been abducted.
As Anna is drawn deeper into the case, she starts to see connections with her former life and returns to her old hometown. Old enemies become allies if not friends, and she finds herself at the very heart of the case and also uncovers some very bad people who were hiding in plain sight.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Anna Winger, a hand writing analyst, is involved in the investigation of a kidnapped little boy and the murder of his nanny. As the story unfolds, you learn that Anna is hiding a secret about her past. A secret that makes her minimize developing relationships with others, being always on alert and keeping her and her teenage son on the running, moving from location to location. I found myself frustrated with Anna's past because the author only provided minimal clue that kept me guessing (intentional?). Anna creates a very isolated world for her son that makes his life very challenging that leads him to try to understand his family tree.

As the story unfolds, I understood some of why the isolation was originally necessary but questioned if it was truly needed long term - from a outsider's perspective.

Overall, I enjoyed the book but it wasn't one I loved.

It was riveting and easy to understand flow. I would recommend it to people who are in to fast paced beach read novel or just chilled flow.

What an interesting title day I died this had a lot of twist and turns and this 11 could project peoples that's or or she needs a very troubled life Sunday Joseph and they had to keep moving around because she was afraid of her past and somehow somehow she ended up back in her Hometown because of this so called murder but actually it was her son who prompted her to go back because he ran away he was just tired of always I'm going to different places to different places in this guy named Ross who was like a detective kind of kept following them around until thand I'm around until I let it back to her Hometown which had a lot of tragic consequences in the book She was also abused by her husband and was talked back lute and struck about domestic violence in a direct wand then direct away and it's a really good book

I received this copy early, but didn't get it to the top of my TBR before publication, so my review is not a preview. Thank you for the chance to read this book. I struggled to get into the storyline as in the beginning there was a lot going on that didn't seem to click together for me.

This is a very belated review as the world has already had a chance to read and enjoy this complicated mystery. Lori Rader-Day continues her pathway of writing intensely plotted stand alone mysteries that turn on a very specific element. In this case, the use of handwriting as a tool that can be useful and problematic threads through the narrative in a compelling way. I have enjoyed the fact that reading one of Rader-Day's book is both fascinating and educational in the best way.

An interesting story dealing with a small town. There were murders, disappearances and many strange things such as the location of children and their parents. The main character is kind of a psychic.

Anna is on the run from her abusive
ex-boyfriend. She has spent the last thirteen years trying to protect herself and her son Joshua, while working for the Feds as a handwriting analyst. Anna settles in a town in Indiana where her Fed contact sets her up to help out the local sheriff on a child abdution case. While investigating the missing kid, Anna finds herself in conflict with her son, who wants to know about his father, and finds herself in a romance. When Joshua disappears, Anna takes off to confront her ex and her past and stumbles upon the solution to the missing child.
This story starts off slow and confusing, which was intentional and designed to slowly reveal Anna's past. Unfortunately it doesn't go over very well as you are left feeling a little bored and you have to read passages more than once to understand what you are reading. Once you get through the slow parts the story progresses rather quickly as you learn about the mess that is Anna's life. You feel sorry for all that she went through but you feel like she did not come out better for it because she is so annoying and unlikable.
I enjoyed the story but it was difficult to follow in parts and sometimes really slow. I think I'd have enjoyed it more if I found Anna to be someone to root for rather than someone who annoyed me.
Thanks to Netgalley, Lori Rader-Day, and Book Club Girl Early Free Friday program for the advanced copy of the book. The opinions are my own.

Thank you Book Club Girl Early Reads, NetGalley, and William Morrow Custom House, for the digital copy of this book. First of all, this was a long book! The first third or so was pretty slow and confusing. It was pretty obvious what Anna was hiding from, so if the author was trying to make it suspenseful, it wasn't. Maybe so editing down of the long inner dialogues would have helped. I continued reading and the book got better. When the action started to really happen though I got confused about who was who and what their story was. It was interesting and now that I know the ending is good I might read it again to see if I can keep the characters straight. This was a 2.5 star book, rounded up to three

Anna Winger works for the government as well as various corporations as hand writing analysis. She is following the investigation of a young boy and his nanny.
Anna is a single mom with a teenage son who lives in Indiana. However, we soon learn that she had moved many times.
This is my first Lori Rader-Day and I will read another.

In fact, this galley included an early excerpt from Lori Rader-Day’s new novel “Death at Greenway”,
which were included as a preview special~ novel is scheduled for publication October 12, 2021.

Want to thank Book Club Girl Early Read, NetGalley, and William Morrow ~ Custom House, for this eGalley. This file has been made available to me for the August book club review.

What happens when you die? Does the town you grew up in move on without you? Do the people in your life stop living? Does the world keep spinning?

Anna is a handwriting specialist living in the small town of Parks, Indiana. Hired to help with the case of a missing two-year-old, she fears her animosity may be at risk. She has been so careful, she has made all the right moves, she cannot expose herself and jeopardize all she has worked so hard to protect. Yet, when her thirteen-year-old son disappears, her worst fear comes to fruition.

Lori Rader-Day’s "The Day I Died" is an enticing thriller that will keep you questioning all the way to end. Although a little sluggish to start, Lori lures the reader in with little mysteries throughout her writing, leading to an inability to stop until the truth has been revealed.

Revolving around abduction, domestic abuse, sexual abuse, and murder this book can be triggering. Please be wary if affected by any of these events, and as Lori Rader-Day mentions in her acknowledgements, reach out for help if needed.

With borderline profanity and some slow spots within the story, a rating of 4 out of 5 stars is given.

None the less, would recommend to those wanting to be wrapped up in a mystery thriller. "The Day I Died" is perfect for anyone who knows you do not mess with a mama bear.

Anna Winger is a handwriting analyst, but when she's called in to assist on a case featuring a likely-kidnapped toddler, it ends up unearthing parts of her past that she's worked hard to keep hidden.

The book opens with Anna describing "the day I died", drawing you in and leaving you wondering what exactly happened on the day in question. The mystery definitely unfolds slowly - although I was able to guess at Anna's past, it took a while to confirm. At the same time, mystery of Aidan's disappearance was definitely surprising - there were plenty of twists and turns that caught me by surprise.

Overall, I thought this was a solid thriller that left me guessing - definitely interested in reading more books by this author!