My thanks to Netgalley for my audio copy of Death Warrant, a most unusual, chilling and yet intriguing story set, I think, in the next century where a person who is sound of mind and body can self select euthanasia which is televised for the financial benefits of named recipient!
The narrators were both excellent and the story was interesting, I was however, astounded by the use of the word 'spaz' which I thought we had already all bit annihilated from the english language.
I am of two minds about Frankie's repeated allusions to what are, in our time frame, popular, current, or sometimes pretty old films and musical stars and albums. She even used the term 'Chaplinesque'. On the one hand it quite reassuring to hear and relate to various Pink Floyd songs, for example but on the other hand was Blade Runner (already 41 years old in this time zone) really that memorable? I don't know.
All criticism aside, I did enjoy listening to this futuristic story.

" I think when you pick up a book with the description of “Death Makes Great TV” and its about a reality TV show, you go in knowing it will either be a terrible book, or a great one. I was pleasantly surprised it was the later. While this book was slightly predictable, I enjoyed it so much. The main character made the decision to sign her life away and be murdered on live TV. Her story, and the way it will be done is set to have record breaking ratings. I don’t want to spoil it but I will say the ending is what I expected and am so happy with it. It ended in a perfect bow and gave us what we wanted with few, if any, questions left. Such a fun fast pace read. Tons of older movie references & quotes, a great show of work / life balance, and the signs on a healthy relationship. It deals with loss, grief, and so much more.
I am so happy to have received an ALC for this title on NetGalley. I can honestly say I don’t think I would ever picked up this title, or seen it otherwise.
Official rating is 4.5/5

I absolutely loved this book! I listened to it on my drive to and from work and I wish I could have had more time to listen to it. It always left me wanting to find out more!

Death Warrant is a show where people are killed on t.v. However, there is no set date and time for each episode. Whenever someone gets a "ping" on their optic they know that a new episode is starting. You never know who or how until the episode starts.

Francis "Frankie" Percival is a mentalist whose career is about to hit the big time. However, what Frankie doesn't know, or should I say doesn't remember, is that she has signed up to be on Death Warrant to help her brother. The he way Death Warrant works is the victim's beneficiary receives quite the pay out based on the ratings of their loved ones' episode. While you must sign up to be on the show and go through quite the interview process, they wipe your memory before you leave so you have no idea that you are about to be killed for the entertainment of those who watch around the world.

This book goes back and forth between Frankie's initial interviews to be on the show, her life currently, as well as the point of view of the producers, writers, etc. who put the episodes together and watch during the interview process to determine if someone is a good candidate to make great television. The way the main character is built you really find yourself wanting to find out what happens. I found myself rooting for Frankie so much and wanting her life to be amazing. I'm also a HUGE fan of magic so I really enjoyed the description of her "acts" as a mentalist.

This was such a great listen for me and I'd LOVE to read or hear more from this author. It was fast paced and had me on the edge of my seat. The ending was phenomenal

I would DEFINITELY recommend this one!

I honestly did not expect to like this book as much as I did! The premise was super weird, but also kind of drew me in. The narrator kept me listening as much as the story itself. What a strange world this was, I'm not sure I'd want to be a part of it, but it made me think.

3.5*

I wanted so badly to like this book!! The plot was very John Marrs “Passengers” combined with the 2011 sci-fi/thriller/comedy The Cabin in the Woods, typically everything that makes me love a story. But I just don’t feel like the plot was taken far enough. There was a lot more room for character development and the storyline in general. I also felt the “twists and turns” were unfortunately foreshadowed quite clearly so as long as you’re paying attention, the main plot points feel obvious.

WOW! I am not even sure what genre this fits into. It felt a little sci-fi(ish) with a mystery and a little thriller. I did not want to put this audiobook down for anything! Thankfully it was a fast paced story with a lot of twist and turns!

I LOVED the premise of this book. It was so intriguing and unique. The narration was really good and this book has stuck in my head. And I read it almost a month ago. I am already looking into getting the physical book so that I can re-read it. I have discussed this book with so many people who aren’t even readers because it really just blew my mind. Not to sound morbid, but I would love to see this as a tv series based off the book….not people actually getting assassinated in real life.

I will definitely be looking into more books by this author.

I really enjoyed this wild ride.

Set in the near future, Death Warrant is the most popular show, with huge ratings and millions of dollars of ad revenue with each episode. People sign up to be killed on live television, and their dependent reaps the benefit of a big payout. The catch? With a combination of drugs and hypnosis, the subject doesn't remember that they signed up for it. Frankie Percival is a mentalist with a brother struggling after suffering from a brain injury. The debts are massive and Frankie decides that Death Warrant is her way to dig him out and set him free.

The premise is intriguing and as Frankie goes through the interview process, all of the questions and holes I could pick in the process were answered. I liked Frankie and getting to know her life and how she prepared her mentalism shows. It gave a bit of an inside track on how some of these types of tricks are accomplished and I loved that part.

I thought the ending was a bit abrupt, I'm not going to give any of it away because it would be a spoiler, but there are some great twists although they happen really quickly and everything wrapped up too quickly for my liking. However, the conclusion is satisfactory overall and I did like how it came together.

I listened to the audiobook and although there were two narrators, it was honestly unnecessary because the second narrator (not Frankie) had very few sections, I really think the primary narrator would have been fine to carry it all. Her vocal changes with each character brought them to life.

I was entertained and by the time I got towards the end I didn't want to turn it off because I was excited to see what would happen. Definitely worth reading/listening to. As a bonus I adore when things are set in Portland and get the local landmarks correct (even though the author lives in Washington like I do.) The Gen X pop culture references might be too much for some readers, but I loved it.

Forget the tagline... that's misleading.

This is absolutely Now You See Me (the movie franchise) writ large.

While I loved many aspects if this story, as the rating shows, I did feel a slight disconnect at times. For me, there were maybe 3 phenominal short story ideas all wrapped into one book. At times, these are cohesive, and work together. At other times it feels bloated and unnecessary. Too much glitz for the story to absorb.

But, 'watch the hands', this could also have been an attempt at misdirection from what in all honesty was a fairly obvious ending.

But don't let that mislead you. There is more than meets the eye to this story, and the ending left me well satisfied. A strong recommended read from me!

My thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It was such a unique premise and execution! In a sea of predictable books, I loved listening to this audiobook, having no clue what was going on and how it was all going to play out. I was laughing a bit at the end! The audio was well narrated and made it an even better experience. Big thumbs up!
*Thanks to CamCat books and NetGalley for this advance audiobook copy

I really enjoyed this audiobook! I can almost see that this would be the direction that reality tv would go. Set about 50ish years in the future with main stream references to movies and actors that are famous now which would be considered ‘old’ in the future. With references to certain actors (Tom Hardy) and more. In the future we have the super popular television show Death Warrant. This is where someone has signed up with their consent to be killed on television. When they die, the ‘volunteer tribute’ has assigned a benefactor that gets a portion of the revenue of the show. The more people that tune in, the more money the benefactor receives.

We learn all about Frankie, whom I liked and I wanted her to somehow beat Death Warrant. We learn about her reasonings as well. I had decided about 41% in where this was going and I was partially right, but then… OMG, I was still blown away by the twists! I suspected just about everyone at some point!

I was not surprised to find out that the author, worked in television for 30 years. He definitely took what he knew and wrote a great book with surprises too! There is also some dark humor that I enjoyed in addition to the ‘Old Hollywood’ references.

The narrators are Justine Eyre and Holly Palance. I believe I have listened to Eyre before and she really brought Frankie to life for me! Both narrators did a great job. This is one I would want to listen/ read again now knowing how it ends!
Many thanks to the publisher for making Death Warrant available on NetGalley with ‘listen now’ availability. Because of that I was able to listen to and enjoy a book I had not heard of until I saw it there!

I received this through NetGalley as an ARC for my honest review.

I'll start by saying I had been in a reading rut. Everything I had picked up was Okayish, well maybe, mostly, but, okay. So, in search of something I could really enjoy I scrolled across this little gem. First, how do you pass up a book with that title, Death Warrant, let's be really you don't., even if it's just to read the description. Then, I'm not sure I even finished the whole thing before I was like, "yep, I got to have this." And it absolutely did not disappoint. I will say at the start I was a little unsure about the narration for Frankie, but it grew on me and fit just right for her character. I was interested to see how the author handled the character development. I mean Shes going to die so you can't have readers like her too much right? I think Johnston did a great job. Not too many characters each one plays a meaningful role in the end product, a few red herrings but good. The conclusion may have been a tad fast (if I am being really picky).

So glad I picked this up.

I really liked this. The premise was intriguing to me and I was curious how it would be written. Frankie was likable but also annoying at times which is refreshing to read, actually. I liked how the romance was a very very minor part of the story, too. I would be interested to see another story revolving around her brother, but there aren’t really any loose ends to tie up overall.

Usually any time I watch a mystery or read one, I can usually predict the ending or at least come close. Not with this story! This was a very entertaining read that kept me interested without losing me, all the way to the end.

I absolutely loved this book! I was intrigued by the description, short and sweet but enough to make me wanna listen and I was instantly sucked in. The premise was interesting and different from books. I would definitely say it was more plot focused than character focused, which normally I steer away from but I am so glad I gave this one a shot.
I thought I knew how it was going to end from the very beginning, which is partly why I stuck with it, to see if I was going to be pleasantly surprised or correct and I was definitely surprised. It was a quick, fun read with good narrators (I’m glad they had multiple as this made the story easier to follow without the physical book in front of me). I will say, the ending was tied into a nice bow and I can’t decide if I liked that or not - some people will be happy with that if you want most of your questions answered but I tend to like a little ambiguity in my endings. All in all, I would recommend this book to a friend l - I can’t say I’d buy it, but I’m glad I stuck with it to the end!

The teaser for this book had me instantly hooked! The premise of the "game show" was fascinating - just as addictive as the popular TV series Survivor, but with a unique twist - a non-survivor ending. The author, Johnston, masterfully builds suspense throughout the story, leaving readers desperate to urge Frankie to make better choices with each passing chapter.

The gripping intensity of Death Warrant is so strong that it compels readers to finish the book in one sitting, eager to discover when the next episode of Death Warrant will air and how the show (and its participants) will ultimately conclude.

If you're a fan of suspenseful reads, this is an absolute must-read!

As the story began, it was somewhat difficult for myself to gather what was going on, however around chapter 5-6, I began to better grasp the situation.

After her brother's world, has been turned upside down by a freak car accident, Frankie decides to make the ultimate sacrifice by applying for her to appear on the TV show, Death Warrant. A tv show, that has become a big hit by killing people in unusual ways.

Listening to the audiobook I found I disliked the person reading for Frankie. Nothing wrong necessarily, I just felt her voice was no suited for the voice she was portraying. It's not how I pictured Frankie to sound like.

Otherwise, very intruing storyline. It always seems as though Frankie knows about her role with Death Warrant, but doesn't at the same time, which makes sense as that's the whole premise of Death Warrant. I will say, without giving away spoilers, I enjoyed the twist at the end.

Special thanks to Netgallery and CamCat Books for allowing me to read an advance copy of the novel.

review/summary
I'll be honest I needed an audiobook and this one was available to listen on NetGalley so I 100% went in blind. Death Warrant is a show where someone agrees to be killed but for a large sum of money to be left to someone after they pass. The subject meets with someone on staff and has an interview providing a lot of information about themselves. Towards the end of the interview, the company puts a chemical in the air so that the subject completely forgets all about the interview. Even the trips to and from the building are erased from their memory.

In this case, Frankie's brother was in med school on track to become a doctor while racking up a ton of school loans until one day he got a flat tire and was in a terrible accident. He had a brain injury and was unable to complete med school. He was unable to hold down a job consistently to attempt to pay the loans back. This is where Frankie signs up for the show. It would give her brother enough money to get out of debt and live a comfortable life.

Like I said, I went into this blind and I am so so happy I did. I thought I had an idea of what would happen, and I got it kind of right. But the ending definitely wasn't what I expected. I won't say anything, so I don't ruin it for anyone, but it was definitely worth a listen.

It was told from two different POV. Primarily Frankie's POV, but also Sheila's POV. Sheila worked for the company. I think the narrators were both great. Sheila's voice was kind of mysterious, which I think was perfect. But, I just realized it was 1 narrator! BRAVO for convincing me it was at least 2 different narrators!

Read This Book If:
📺You like reality tv
📺You like books set in the future

On the Scale of Buy, Borrow, Bargain, Bud, or Bust, I rate this one a BUD!

Thank you, @netgalley, @camcat_books & @bryanrjohnston for an audioARC of this book!

The beginning of this was so good. I absolutely loved the blurb and the premise. I enjoyed the first quarter. The narrator was a bit slow, so I had to speed up to 1.25x but I wasn’t annoyed. However after the main character met the team the story fizzled. Great attempt, but after the awesome opening idea, the story drags a bit. Going to keep going to see if it redeems itself. Have gotten to 50% and am afraid this is too much of a drag. The writing style is good, but the plot isn’t engaging enough to keep going. I just don’t really care about the main character. She keeps talking about how much she loves her brother, and she’s willing to die for him. Yet, we haven’t even met him yet. If she loves him so much, why hasn’t she visited him at all? I just can’t get on board with the theory behind it all. There are some fun pop culture references which has been nice. The story finally picks up at 60% where we get a slight glimpse into the death warrant. I am not saying it’s a bad novel, but there are just so many scenes that while adding to the backstory, just feel unnecessary and make the whole thing drag. I clearly cared enough to keep going, but I can’t say it’s more than 3 stars. Definitely a cool premise though, I may not have continued if I was reading. The audiobook helped keep me listening while I did daily life tasks.

The storyline here is unique. A reality show where you choose to die broadcast for all the world to witness. Participants willingly sign up to be assassinated in exchange for their family receiving a generous payout.

Oh, and you won't know when you will be killed because after you sign up you are administered a mix of hypnotherapy and drugs. You won't even remember applying for the show.

The main character is Frankie, a stage mentalist who applies to be on death warrant for the money to help her brother out of a pretty dire financial situation. That’s a dedicated sister!

The many side stories made the book a bit long and caused it to drag at times. For example…The brother’s issues, a love interest, Mentalist career in too much detail…

All in all, a good well written story set in the future. TV is always looking to wow it’s audience but can you imagine the real possibility of a show like this ever existing?

3.5

I LOVED the premise of this book. While it was a well-written, interesting story, it was more character-driven than I expected. I wanted more about the TV show and its logistics. Definitely worth the read.