Member Reviews

Thanks # netgalley for this book in exchange for an honest review. I listened to the audio book and the narration was excellent. This is a fun and delightful story. Highly recommend.

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*** ARC audiobook provided by NetGalley via the publisher in exchange for an honest review. ***

Set in a not too distant future, this book looks into where reality tv might go next! Frankie is a mentalist whose life is on an upward trajectory after performing in front of an majorly impressing the richest man in the world. We also learn about the public obsession with a tv show called Death Warrant where members of the public putting themselves forward to be killed in all manner of strange ways for the entertainment of the masses. The trade off being that their families are the beneficiaries of the ad revenue bought in when the death is 'televised'.

Interesting concept, though the main character did feel a but manic pixie dream girl but we'll blame that on having a male author. Definitely kept me interested and I though the narration was good.

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Frankie Percival agreed to be assassinated on live television. Once she signed her Death Warrant, her memory was wiped clean. Anyone could be her assassin.

I would be interested in a print copy of this book. The narrator is so bad and the pacing is so off that I could not listen to it.

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Many thanks to NetGalley and CamCat Publishing for the free audio book in exchange for an honest review. This was narrated by Justine Eyre, who did an exceptional job!

In the not to distant future, the next reality TV show is people agreeing to be executed in exchange for a lump sum for their loved ones and the network gaining the ratings. One network has it all covered and down to a science, even shutting down all telecommunications in the area until the hit is finished. Frankie Percival signs up to be executed so that her brother can pay off his debt. He was in a tragic car wreck that left him with more bills than he can pay and hundreds of thousands in student loan debt for a college education he cannot finish or use. He was a smart kid who now has the mind of a 70 year old with dementia.

After meeting with the network and getting the job, Frankie has the mandatory mind wipe and goes about her business until the date of execution. You see, it will all be a surprise to her as well!

Despite the morbid plot, this is a VERY entertaining and WELL WRITTEN novel! The characters are extremely likable, well developed and suck you into the story. I loved Audrey the "rent a friend" of Frankie! I thought I had guessed the ending but was shocked by the last minute twist.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!! Super fun, fast read!!

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In a not so distant future, death is a hit commodity. Participants can consent to being killed on air in order to secure a monetary reward for their surviving beneficiaries. Frankie, a mentalist performer signs up to ensure her brother (who lives with an acquired brain injury) is set up for life.

Thanks to a mix of drugs and hypnosis, participants are completely unaware they have consented to the show, so Frankie continues through life unaware that her ultimate showstopper is imminent.

Really nicely paced, I enjoyed the tension and the building. There were a few descriptors I thought were a bit off; the vague hint of biphobia, the weird descriptions of women. I’m not a huge fan of women written by men, for the reasons you see in this work. But the plot and story carried it through enough. It would’ve been nice to believe Frankie as a character and not a caricature.

Taking into account some of the odd writing, it should be a lower rating. But I’m giving the benefit of the doubt that these just played wrong and thus giving the 4 stars.

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Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for providing me with a free digital copy in exchange for my honest rating and review.

The premise of this book was so incredibly interesting. The idea of a Death Warrant show somehow seems very far-fetched yet not that unrealistic in the future setting in which this story takes place.

The story didn’t have me totally hooked from the get-go, but by about halfway through I couldn’t stop reading until I’d finished it. I was kept guessing right up until the very end. Some pieces became fairly clear as the story progressed, but enough details were uncertain that I gasped out loud several times.

Favorite thing: I didn’t have it all figured out before it happened.

Least favorite thing: The story takes place in the future and the way references were made to modern times was a little corny and overdone.

Overall, I did enjoy it! 4/5 ⭐️

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This was one of my favorite stories that I encountered this year by far! Johnston has crafted a phenomenal novel that offers a scathing indictment of our reality TV- / other people's train wrecks-obsessed Society, combined with a really touching and beautiful brother/sister narrative and a fabulous coming-into-her-own story all in one. The characters are fabulous and jump off the page. The quirkiness and detailed descriptions of the characters personalities were spot on and wholly believable. I want to go to the Zombean and sit down with each and every one of them for an afternoon of conversation and coffee!

The narration definitely helped in this regard. I am not normally a fan of more than one narrator, but the two women did such a fantastic job each presenting their character's perspective in not only words but tone and timing and tenor, in a way that really added a depth to the story for me.

This was a brilliant tale and I did not see the twist coming at all - and I can almost never say that these days.. I definitely will recommend it enthusiastically in both audiobook and regular book format! I've already told my local library (where I work) we have to stock a copy...

A little research indicates that Johnston has primarily been a writer of nonfiction to date. I will definitely be checking those out, but I also sincerely hope he continues to create fictional worlds because he has done an exceptional job here... Sign me up for whatever he drops next!

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TV Assassination by Consent? High-concept, clever, entertaining.

What an idea, and so so scary that I could easily imagine this on TV at the weekend.

We very quickly feel immersed in a society where individuals sign a contract with a TV company to allow for their own on-screen assassination, over the next year, by persons and methods unknown, forgetting all about it once the contract is signed. And money based on their TV ratings going to loved ones.

Wow. Sick, twisted, and impossible to resist reading about one such 'willing victim'. Frankie Percival, 30-something mentalist, with no boyfriend, a job she loves but that isn't going anywhere, and a brother damaged by a car accident and needing specialist care. She signs up for Death Warrant, and the reader then watches, fascinated and worrying, as we see potential TV actors enter her life, TV executives plan her demise, the set-up for her own gala performance which could also be her own denouement slowly come to fruition.

Knowing more than Frankie knows is an excellent conceit, she sees those we see as friends (BFFH - Best Friend For Hire is such a good idea!), new lovers, potential employers - we know they might be there to move Frankie towards her demise. Or are they? The reader can never be sure.

Her own occupation is explored in a fair amount of depth, certainly enough to fascinate. The audiobook is an excellent method of exploring this novel, giving Frankie a chirpy, likeable voice, and giving you hope throughout that things work out, wanting to see her stage show, and vacillating between wanting her to outwit her own planned-but-unforeseen death and still managing to keep her hard-won fame and new happiness.

Sped through this in a few days, just had to know what was going to happen!

Please be to all the gods that this is never read and taken seriously by an TV producers out there...

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample audio copy.

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3.5 stars rounded up

Overall, I really enjoyed the plotline of the story, where we meet Frances "Frankie" Percival, who agrees to be a contestant on the dystopian yet freakishly popular reality tv show called "Death Warrant"... The twist? Contestants are killed by the show - ON AIR - with their assigned dependent receiving a large payout once the episode has aired.

A twisted, but still poignant, view of society, there were a few gripes I had about character development of our girl Frankie. Most of these I feel I tend to have more frequently with male authors writing female leads, but mainly I wish she had received a more fulsome character development (the ending felt a bit crammed, like it could have used an extra 20 pages or so just to avoid such an abrupt ending) and I didn't <i>love</i> the one LGBTQ reference. It felt forced and extremely awkward, it could have been left out entirely if it was going to be handled in that way.

The cover art is spot on, and the audiobook narrator was fantastic. A quick and easy read, great for fans of dystopian fiction and sci fi. Big thanks to the author, CamCat, and NetGalley for sending me a copy!

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“Death makes great TV.” That is what the creators of the hit tv show Death Warrant believe. And it’s been proven to them by the record breaking views and revenue they get from their show.

Set in the not so distant future, the premise of the show is people volunteering to have themselves assassinated on live television in extreme and dramatic ways. In doing so, the person they name their beneficiary becomes a millionaire, making profit off how well the episode does with its viewing audience. The better the backstory, the more extreme the kill, the higher the payout.

In comes Frankie Percival. She has decided to become a participant on the show in hopes of alleviating her disabled brother’s massive medical debt. Frankie is a mentalist and says she wants to go out with flair. The Death Warrant team gets to work immediately planning their most intense and dramatic episode ever. How successful will the episode be this time??

This storyline is unlike anything I’ve ever read before. It was very interesting to think that this is where entertainment could be headed in the future. The author for sure gets points on creativity.

I also like the little nods to the past throughout the story to remind you that it’s set in the future. And the ending did surprise me. However, I felt at times like the story kind of drug on with a lot of talking and backstory. The characters were interesting and fun to get to know, but there was just a little lacking for me. Overall though, I still really enjoyed this book and love that it’s not the typical suspense novel.

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In the not so distant future there is a television show that features public assassination's on live TV.

I found the premise to be interesting and I really enjoyed the main character. Frankie Percival is a mentalist. In short, she reads people. I found Frankie's profession to be the catalyst for me looking for clues everywhere. I had a suspicion that Frankie's suggestions and insinuations might play out on the "Death Warrant" stage. I won't say whether I was right or not, that is something you'll have to see for yourself. But, I will say that I wanted a bit more of a payoff at the end of the story.

As for the bulk of the novel, I was captured mostly by Frankie's personality: she was witty, kind of quirky, and her verbal filter was semi-broken, which made for some comedic slips that were entertaining. I liked how Frankie's motivations were driven by her love and care for her brother. She was interesting all around and so full of life that you are rooting for her throughout the story.

I would have liked to see a bit more drama and tension around the television show and the motivations of the people behind it's origins. The story starts with a fantastic level of tension and then it drops off a bit. It didn't necessarily make for a thrilling read, but it was an intriguing read nonetheless.

I read the audiobook, narrated by Justine Eyre. I thought Justine did a fantastic job depicting Frankie's humor, delivering inflections at the right moments, and she was just overall enjoyable to listen to.

This book would bring up some great topical discussions around assisted suicide and how capitalism infiltrates our media. I would recommend this story to readers who are interested in stories that think a bit out of the box and make for great conversational pieces.

3.5 ✨'s

I read and reviewed an advanced copy of this audiobook thanks to CamCat Books via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

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A great premise, very original, fast paced, loved it!
Thanks to NetGalley, the editor and the author for the opportunity to access this ARC.

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This was such a unique and fun read, it truly is unlike anything I've read before. Death Warrant has such an amazing premise that kept me hooked, especially with the Dual POV's between Frankie and the producers so you see this plan being made but you never know when it is going to unfold, like Frankie, so the suspense is amped up throughout the book keeping you on the edge of your seat. This was fast paced and so interesting with great twists and a shocking and amazing ending. I highly recommend this.

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This was one of the most unique books I have ever read! The story line was so clever and the dual POVs between Frankie and the producers of Death Warrant kept me on my toes the entire time. There are twists and turns that will have you second guessing everything. I never saw the ending coming and I absolutely loved it. I listened to the audiobook of this book and it was amazing! The narrators portrayed the characters perfectly and I couldn't stop listening and binged it in 2 days.

💚Thank you to @netgalley and @camcatpublishing for an ARC of this amazing book!

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The premise of this book reached out and grabbed me. I even found myself telling my family about the content o this book before I read it, as I thought that the idea was someone unique. It did seem a bit like the Mockingbird series in the nationwide viewing of danger and 'on the screen life death.' The book did not disappoint-it delivers the goods that you would expect from a thriller. The concept of televising the death/killing of an individual on national television is surprising but was never 'impossible' to imagine, given the trend of reality television in our present world. This concept also seems somehow to fit into some of the avenues that we have seen social media follow.

The novel is well written and makes for a good yarn, in and of itself, even if taken outside of the thriller realm. The twists and turns the result in the final ending were very satisfying to this reader in more ways than one. I would highly recommend this book!

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I loved everything about this book. Everything. The ending has a twist that I NEVER saw coming. I am a fan of this author.

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“You will be killed and your death will be televised”

Such an interesting premise that absolutely kept me gripped the entire time wanting to find out how the whole thing would play out.

We follow Frankie during a few months of her life and get to know the people around her. Although the character of Frankie is quite likeable there were some terms used that I feel are outdated for a novel published in this day and age. On top of that, it was quite apparent that the author was male and the female characters felt slightly flat and unbelievable at times. This ended up pulling me out of the story once or twice.

It’s a fast paced story with some twists and turns that will keep a reader entertained throughout so long as you suspend your reality for a while. The timelines of the works are choppy, e.g people have walked on Venus and yet the rest of technology is the same, we’re also led to believe Frankie is older, mid 40s or so and then towards the end quick maths reveal she’s only 32.

Regardless, it’s an entertaining fast read.

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This is a book about a magician who signs up to be murdered on live TV or is it suicide? Either way this is a great book and I thought the narrator Justine Eyre did a great job conveying the dry humor throughout the narrative. This is the kind of book I did not want to put down and found myself stealing moments just to listen to a few more chapters. I didn’t think I would like this book as much as I did I know it says mystery and thriller but they have some really funny Dialogue in the book that was a great surprise. From the great narrator Justine Eyre to the great dialogue the soulmates for one great audiobook. Not to mention the ending was quite unexpected although I almost thought what happen was going to happen just not the way it happened… If you know what I’m saying. This is a great book and the total five star listen. Not to mention the public killing is such a small part of the book that I think it really should’ve been called something else this was a fabulous book in one hour highly recommend. I received this book from NetGalley in the publisher that I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

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I listened to this book without any expectations and was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed the concept of the book and it definitely does speak to our culture of how reality tv has become a normal.

Frankie is a mentalist and decides that she wants to be killed on the reality show Death Warrant. The thing is once you sign up your mind is wiped and you have no idea that it is going to happen. That moment that you make the decision there is no going back. Frankie’s world was not going great she didn’t have friends or a significant other and her job as a mentalist was just okay. Her brother had been in an accident and had to live in a facility. All of a sudden her life changes for the good, but she’s given the show the right to kill her off.

Thank you #NetGalley for the advance copy.

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As a Big Brother super fan and someone in withdrawals from Faith Gardner's Jolvix series, there was no way I could miss this dark and twisted social experiment and dystopian technothriller.

Decades from now, in a futuristic but still quite flawed world, desperate people have a new way to make money. They won't be here to enjoy it, though, because in order to get the money, they have to agree to be killed on live TV.

Death Warrant is a morbid guilty pleasure. When an alert comes, everyone stops in their tracks. In a world full of holograms and digital assistants, people will tune in to see a real life person meet their maker.

We are following Frankie, a mentalist. She is considering going on Death Warrant to help her brother who's disabled. She just doesn't seem like the type though. She is so full of life. No one has ever survived Death Warrant. Will Frankie be their biggest show yet or will she finally outsmart the system?

It's an interesting topic right now, with the rise of MAiD in Canada, possibly moving south to the US, assisted or known suicide is on our public conscience. This is definitely a conversation starter with plenty of thought experiments, so it would be good for a book club(a serious one).

It took a while to figure out the timeline, of both the plot and the pace of the book. I prefer to hear from only one narrator per chapter. It clicked after a while and I enjoyed hearing all sides. That was my only small issue and the audiobook narration was fantastic.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to listen and review!

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