Rating: 4.5/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
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After loving the Inland Empire books a few years ago when I saw this was available on NetGalley, I knew I was going to have to read this one. Was super stoked to receive an eARC to be able to read.
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The Night I Died follows the story of a private detective and a journalist as they head to Kansas to help investigate three suspicious children deaths. This story is mostly told from the POV of Olivia, but there are chapters that are from the POV from other characters like Ava and Will and Bonnie. I think how the shifting of POV occurs and how there is no rhyme or reason to it makes the perspective of each character that much more important and special. I really enjoyed getting a glimpse into the minds of other characters.
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Anne Frasier has a way of gripping you right from the start with a mystery that needs to be solved and a group of characters that are not only lovable but also suspicious as hell. I never knew who to trust. There were a bunch of great twists thrown in this one and the one twist was just *chefs kiss* perfection. I love where she went with this one and I wasnt expecting that at all. The ending was packed full of karma and my petty ass was HERE FOR IT. I absolutely loved it!
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I definitely want to go back and read more of her work because I have found her stories to be so intriguing!
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The Night I died was just released on 10/24 and its available on KU! If you are a fan of a good popcorn thriller / mystery be sure to check this one out!
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Huge thank you to NetGalley, Anne Frasier and Thomas and Mercer for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I’d like to read this book because it has a good rating and sounds interesting. I must not have realized it was about the murder of children though when I requested it and that’s one of the topics I just cannot read about, so I will be rating this three stars.

This is the second book in the series which I thoroughly enjoyed after finding out if I missed a prior book.
Anne Frasier has crafted a well written novel with some amazing characters.
I’ve been a fan for a number of years and will continue to do so. I highly recommend her books.

Anne Frasier's 'The Night I Died' follows private detective Olivia Welles, who hasn't been to her hometown since her childhood due to a mysterious car crash that she barely survived. However, a call from a fellow survivor, Bonnie Ray, who's in jail and accused of murdering her own son, brings Olivia back to the unsettling past.

Returning to the town where her life took a dark turn, Olivia teams up with journalist Will LaFever to unravel the truth about Bonnie and her troubled family. The two discover more secrets than they bargained for.

It is a straightforward and accessible read, making it a suitable choice for those seeking a quick literary escape. However, it is not without its shortcomings. 'The Night I Died' ventures into predictability at times, where the plot unfolds in expected ways, and some moments lack the gripping excitement that often defines thrilling reads. The pacing, too, is a bit uneven, causing the narrative to feel at times rushed or unnecessarily drawn out. Despite my best efforts, I found it challenging to form a deep emotional connection with the characters, which can be crucial for a reader's engagement in the story.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

For the most part, I enjoyed this one. There were times throughout where it almost seemed like someone else was doing the writing, It got a little bit silly. But for the most part I liked the characters and the dialogue. I enjoyed the plot although one of the big reveals was kind of breezed over. It kept you guessing until the end.

I love Anne Frasier's books and this is another great story with surprising twists. She kept me guessing on who was the villain. Just when I would think I figured it out a new twist would keep me guessing again. Even though it didn't end with loose ends I hope to see more of these characters. A very intriguing story which I recommend to read.

When several people from this small Kansas town died in a train wreck, the survivors would live with questions the rest of their lives, or so they thought. Olivia Welles lost her mother and sister in the wreck and almost lost her life too. The aftermath has left her with so many physical problems that it's a daily question of whether she'll survive now.

She's a private investigator who has been contacted by another of the train wreck survivors asking for her help. Another of Bonnie's children have died, this makes #3 and she has been arrested for the death. This and the train wreck serve as the principle story lines but there are some smaller ones that will wind into these as the story goes forward. The children's deaths have stirred public interest enough to pull other investigators and journalists into the town too.

The town itself will become a character in the story. It starts as a typical small town but quickly morphs into a dark place full of questions no one wants to answer. This is a story so full of twists and turns and many dead end alleys that when the end comes, it's a relief. Read for yourself and try to keep up.

Wow! This was a totally wild ride and I was totally here for it! So many dead kids and people getting away with murder in this book! And man does Olivia need to quit dying! This was my 1st book by Anne Fraiser but it is definitely not going to be my last!!

#TheNightIDied
#NetGalley

Going Home Reveals Unsuspected Truths

Private Investigator, Olivia Welles, has died five times. Once in an accident when she was very young and survived. Since then, she died four times during surgery to correct problems arising from that accident. She receives a collect call from the Finney County Jail, Kansas. The caller was Bonnie Ray-Murphy. Bonnie Ray and her older sister, who was Olivia's best friend, were in the car with Olivia when it hit by a train. Olivia did not have a many personal memories of Bonnie-Ray. Since then, Bonnie Ray had married and had three children. In recent years, two of the children have died. There was not enough evidence to indicate that Bonnie Ray had killed them. Recently, the third child died, and she now is in jail. She was calling for help, but she does not have much money. From this start, Olivia Welles rushes off to Finney County.

The main storyline has two threads. The first is Olivia Welles trying to find out what happened to her all those years ago as her memory is very sketchy about those events. The second is her looking into what caused the death of Bonnie Ray’s third child. There are many obstacles that she must overcome. There is an online newspaper crime reporter, the town marshal, and her deteriorating condition that may be corrected by her impending surgery. As she unravels her past and what happened to Bonnie Ray’s child, each fact she discovers just leads to more questions. My interest was quickly captured and maintained. One of the last facts discovered is at a level that I describe as a literary tsunami because it changed my entire understanding of what had happened long ago and still leading to murders to the present day.

There are three threads that help define the character of Olivia Welles. The first is the relationship with her assistant who remained in Venice, CA. The next is her changing relationship with the reporter. Sometimes she is a partner and sometimes she is a mentor. Sometimes, he is helpful, and at other times he is annoying. The last is her relationship with a dog she finds in Finney County. These major contributors with her actions, words, and thoughts provide a robust character. There is a noticeable C-storyline. The relationship of Olivia Welles with the reporter changes throughout the course of the novel. The background treads and the C-storyline increased my reading enjoyment of this novel.

The aspects are objectionable to some readers. There are no intimate scenes, but that are some references to them. There are not any vulgar words and minimal rude words. Also, impious language is also very minimal. Violence is described both after the fact and more as it occurs. Taking all of these into account, most readers should not have any problems with reading this novel.

Personally, I could not find any issues with this novel. All my criteria for a high star rating were met in this novel. Besides quickly captured and kept my attention, I had to read until late at night because I didn't want to stop reading. The ending brought a smile to my face. I have a history of reading this author. I have read and reviewed five of her novels. As a result, I have purchased five previous novels of hers to read. She is solidly in my Must-Read category. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel and recommend reading it. I rate this novel with five stars. I am looking forward to reading more books by this author.

I received a free prepublication e-book version of this novel through NetGalley from Thomas Mercer. My review is based solely on my own reading experience of this book. I wish to thank Thomas Mercer for the opportunity to read and review this novel early.

So, I found this one to be an okay book for me. I was expecting a bit more and found it disjointed and odd at times.

It was my first book by this author, but I think I will check out the backlist and try something else!

The Night I Died by Anne Frasier was a fun thriller filled with twists from beginning to end. From the first chapter to the last, I couldn't stop reading about the small town and mysterious townfolk. If you've ever questioned a mother's love and power than this is the book for you. Detective Olivia Welles travels to Kansas to help the sister of her childhood best friend, but is she really the one who needs the help? With traveling reporter Will LeFever by her side, they take you on an intriguing journey through Finney and you'll see just how far a small town will go to keep their secrets.. the twist at the end will have you questioning every assumption you made throughout the book and you'll be left with your jaw on the floor! 4 ☆. #TheNightIDied #NetGalley

I really enjoyed Frasier’s Inland Empire series, so I was anxious to read her newest suspense novel.
The Night I Died by Anne Frasier is a gripping, intense and completely engrossing mystery.
The writing is very engaging -it's almost impossible to put this compelling book down.
The protagonists are well-written characters who I thought were very interesting.
A well written read that is cleverly crafted and massively entertaining.
I love the author's writing and how she seems to set scenes and paint pictures so cleverly.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I loved how well Will and Olivia worked together. They made an amazing duo. The story however, was not always fluid and that took away from my enjoyment of the story. All in all, the book is great and I will he looking for more books by Anne in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Thomas & Mercer for the ARC. All opinions are my own

The title of this book, The Night I Died, immediately grabbed my attention. This is a murder mystery novel and I usually am not a fan of this genre. I was pleasantly surprised and I definitely enjoyed this story.

What an absolute ride The Night I Died was. Perfect read for spooky season, as most Frasier books are. Been a hardcore fan for a couple decades now and she's one of my favorite authors! I loved Olivia, she's got guts and grit. She gets a call from her hometown in Kansas after a mother is jailed for killing one of her children.... all but one has mysteriously died. Who is killing her children and why? So many mysteries regarding Olivias's childhood and trying to figure out who was killing and attempting to Kill her childhood friend Bonnie's children. Expertly woven leaving all questions answered. I soooo want more Oliva, Will, Ezra and of course 🐾 Dorothy!!! Thank you Anne for the galley

SUMMARY:
olivia has died 5 times in her life, the first being in a car crash when she was little, which also killed her best friend and mom. after the accident, her dead moved her away from the small town for the medical care she requires. now as an adult, one of the survivors of the crash she was in, her best friend’s little sister, has been accused of murdering 3 of her children. the sister calls olivia to try to investigate and figure out what’s going on in this small town, and why so many children have died.

MY THOUGHTS:
this was nuts! i love fast-paced books like this. this author has immediately moved onto my auto-buy list. the twists were unexpected, the dialogue was funny, and the entire situation was heartbreaking but still interesting. cannot recommend enough to thriller lovers!

The Night I died is a twisted psychological thriller.

Olivia Welles is a private investigator and receives a phone call from Bonnie Ray asking for help. She agrees to come and help but admits she doesn't think she can do much to change Bonnies circumstances. Bonnie is in jail for possibly murdering her young son.

Olivia and Bonnie are both survivors of a car/train accident when they were little in Kansas. Olivia has required multiple surgeries since the accident. She doesn't remember anything before the accident. She was believed to be dead and woke up in the morgue. Her heart stopped beating multiple times and she keeps track of how many. She is scheduled to have another surgery but postpones it until she can return. The Dr. warns her that if she doesn't have this surgery, she will die again only it will be the last time.

There are multiple stories that are woven into the main story. Olivia rescues Bonnie's dog "Dorothy" from being euthanized, he was labeled as a biter. Olivia meets Will who is an aspiring writer who wants to team up and solve the mystery surrounding Bonnie. Will has his own reasons for being there which he does not disclose to Olivia.

The story primarily revolves around what happened to Bonnie’s kids, as well as what’s going on in her house. Ava is Bonnie's mother, who is a successful baker, well known for her apple pies that are mass produced in a factory on her property, is also taking care of Bonnie's youngest child, a newborn. Bonnie and her mother Ava, as well as Olivia, are the only survivors of the train wreck; Olivia’s mother and Ava’s other daughter, Mazie, were killed.

There are many questions and secrets regarding the car/train accident. As Olivia investigates, she becomes certain that the whole town is hiding secrets. Olivia will find herself the focus of someone's wrath and will need to find the answers before she dies a final time.

This was an intense story with many twists and turns. The more we learned the more intense it got. Olivia is a likable character but has a healthy mistrust of most of the people in town. Having lived there while she was young, but has no memory of having lived there, she has no bias about anyone. One surprise for me was Will. Early on he seems to be a shady character, but he manages to redeem himself in the end. I really liked this story. The writing really drew me in right from the beginning.

I really enjoyed this one . It was a little different than my usual read but overall well plotted and had excellent believable characters and really like the setting
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

To be honest, I never read the book details, the title alone had me intrigued.

And HOLY WOW!!! My first read by this author and it truly was an incredible experience. Yes, experience… the way the story is told, truly had you in the minds of the main characters …feeling everything that they did and feelings / emotions of all that was going on. I absolutely adored Olivia and Will. They were such real, raw and beautifully crafted characters.

The story to me, was truly one of a kind. Something I have personally never came across. I was sucked in within the first few sentences and did not want to put it down. It was just as twisted as it needed to be! It has an unknown edge that keeps you craving for the rest of the knowns… that kept coming. (Side note : those don’t stop until the very end… which I loved. I never felt a bore throughout the whole book and it did not have fluff! HUGE PLUS on my scale.)


The whole Etsy thing… got me too! I then was scrolling on my own learning this new information handed to us in this book and then started showing my family memebers. 😆 WE ALL MUST BE IN THE WRONG BUSINESS LOL!

I loved every piece of this beautiful yet tragic story and at points even felt I may have cried for the characters.

This WILL not be my last read by Anne and I can’t wait to read my next, already!

I want to thank Netgalley, Anne and Thomas & Mercer publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review and opinion. This book is definitely in my top 8 favorites for 2023, so far!

Publication date is set for 10/24/23 👏

This is the third book that I have read by Anne Frasier. As a fan of her Inland Empire series, I really hope she is not finished with that series and that she has a third installment in the works. Anyway, Frasier is a really good writer and storyteller and one of things that I like about the Inland Empire is that the storylines veered to the somewhat bizarre and the plots are just really out there! Frasier didn’t disappoint in this story!

The book summary pretty much lays out the premise for the two primary storylines. However, I’m kind of pissed that it also gives away a really big spoiler! Seriously??? I know that the writer has no control over a GR book summary, GR’s just pulls those off the publisher’s website, but why would a publisher do something like that?

Anyway, Bonnie and Olivia are both survivors of a train wreck, back in Kansas, when they were little kids. Bonnie has been arrested for killing another one of her kids; she had four and only one is still alive. Olivia, who is a PI, and who moved to LA with her father after the train wreck (her mother was killed in the train wreck), goes to Bonnie after getting a call from Bonnie for help. Olivia also wants to tie up some loose ends surrounding her “death” when she was a kid; she remembers so little from before the train wreck. Olivia is scheduled for yet another surgery (she’s had quite a few) to correct a condition that she’s had ever since the train wreck. Olivia’s heart has flatlined numerous times since the train wreck and her doctor tells her that if she doesn’t have this latest surgery (she’s put it off long enough), she will die, again, permanently!

I like Olivia! She’s a grieving dog mama whose beloved Cecil Hotel (nine yr old Lab) recently crossed the rainbow bridge. She rescued him as a puppy in the trash can of the hotel she was staying at while on a case. I love how her assistant Ezra bombards her with photos of dogs available for adoption. While I love his sentiment, when grieving a fur baby, the grief doesn’t go away with a new dog. I also loved that Olivia rescues another abused and neglected doggie and takes her home to LA. Olivia is good people in my book!

There are secondary storylines as well. Like the one where Olivia meets Will, an exposé journalist for some Hollywood rag, who has come to Kansas to do a story on Bonnie; her arrest is national news. There is also the storyline of why Will is really there: to prove to his dead father (a famed Pulitzer Prize writer) that he’s a good writer too and someone his father could have been proud of. There’s another storyline around Bonnie’s husband, who is the town’s Marshall and who comes off as a bullying, philandering abuser.

Most of the story revolves around what happened to Bonnie’s kids, as well as what’s going on in her house. There is also Bonnie’s mother, Ava, who is a successful baker, well known for her apple pies that are mass produced in a factory on her property. Bonnie and her mother, as well as Olivia, are the only survivors of the train wreck; Olivia’s mother and Ava’s other daughter, Mazie, were killed. There are so many questions and/or secrets surrounding the train wreck and Olivia is certain either Ava and/or the town are hiding secrets about the wreck. Don’t even get me started on the town. The town is so weird and creepy, that residents from surrounding towns as well as truck drivers, avoid driving through it and will go out of their way not to go through it.

It's early into the second half that Olivia discovers why she has so many memory issues surrounding the wreck and why so many people have kept it secret. DID NOT SEE THAT ONE COMING!!! Shortly thereafter, many of the storylines begin to merge in a collision of lies and deceit and, quite frankly, some wild and crazy madness!!! The end comes pretty quickly after that in a really scary, intense, and overall, really creepy conclusion to the Kansas storylines.

For me, the conclusion seemed like a possible lead-in to another installment. I would be really interested in hearing from others who read the story if they thought the same. If there was a sequel or second installment to the Olivia Welles series, I would definitely read it. I want to thank NetGalley and Thomas Mercer for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #ThomasMercer #TheNightIDied