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

Years ago, Olivia was in a horrific car accident that killed her best friend and severely injured her. She soon left Kansas and hasn’t returned since. However, when her best friend’s sister calls for help, she decides to go back. Bonnie (the best friend’s sister) has been accused of killing her children and she wants Olivia’s private investigator expertise to help prove her innocence.

I really enjoyed this one! It was engaging and full of lots of good twists. I didn’t give it five stars because I felt like I was given an incomplete backstory on Olivia. Like it’s referenced that she used to be a detective, but we’re not given much on that. It didn’t overall detract too much from my enjoyment of the book, but it was just things like that that made this feel almost like a sequel. However, if you’re looking for a good twisty thriller, this one is good to pick up!

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book has an intriguing premise. Olivia is a detective who survived, but has no memory of a car crash she was in as a child. The car crash ended up with two fatalities, Olivia’s mother and her best friend. She ends up going back to her childhood town, when she is enlisted to help Bonnie Ray, another survivor of the crash who is charged with killing three of her children.

What I didn’t really care for, was the character Will. He is a journalist with delusions of grandeur, who seems to be using Olivia to get insider information. However, for some reason, against her instincts she teams up with him even though he is very little help, and a liability. Honestly,this lack of good judgement decreased my respect for her character.

Overall, this book was well written and interesting, with many twists and turns. However, I would have rather seen Olivia go it alone than team up with Will.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book to read and review.

** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Copy received through Netgalley

~

The Night I Died, by Anne Frasier
★★★☆☆
283 Pages
3rd person, multi-character POV
Content Warning: mentions of: PTSD, child death, child abuse, postpartum depression, drug use/addiction, death of a parent, death of a pet, Munchausen syndrome, overdose, car-train collision, corrupt police, grooming of minors, sexual assault of minors



After reading Anne Frasier's Jude Fontaine series, I was stoked to try another of her books. The Night I Died has an incredible premise, and one of the best opening lines of a book I've seen in years:
“Private investigator Olivia Welles had died five times so far in her life.”

Sadly, all of that couldn't save this review. It all kind of went downhill from there, actually.

~

Let's start with the positives, and what made me give this a 3* review rather than anything lower. First off, Olivia was an interesting main character, quite complex and with the same stubborn grit as Jude Fontaine, and I loved that. She had a great journey throughout the novel and didn't pretend to be something she wasn't. Whenever she stepped in to take over or overstepped her boundaries it was with genuine concern for justice and because she was suspicious of everyone in this tiny little Kansas town. And she had a right to be.

I also really liked Will. He wasn't one of your perfect, well rounded characters, but his relationship with Olivia reminded me of Uriah from Jude's series, in that they had a great partnership but it never felt forced or pushed into becoming romantic just because. If there was a hint of romance or an emotional connection it was because it worked in that moment and felt natural to the progression of their relationship.

And yes, I liked the plot concept. While it had faults, it was an interesting case and I did finish the book. I'm a picky reader, so if I'm really not enjoying it or I feel it's all too contrived, I'll stop reading. The fact that I found problems with the story but finished is a credit to Frasier's writing ability.

~

Onto the negatives...
First off, I'll admit that it didn't live up to the quality I had expected, after reading the Jude Fontaine series. If this book had come first, I actually would have understood that better, as for a long time it didn't even read like it was written by the same author.

Unfortunately, The Night I Died has the hallmark of bad choices for a mystery – it's predictable, cheesy and not well paced. While being all over the place for about 50% of the book, it also suffers multiple pages of unnecessary info-dumps, repeats itself endlessly and relies on stereotypes that just felt uncomfortable and cheesy.

Overall, the whole thing feels disjointed and unbalanced.

When it comes to the multi-character POV's, I could have easily cut out about 3 of them without it affecting the story. We get Olivia's POV which is the main one. Then we get Will, which eventually proves to be important though I'd say the first 2 are unnecessary and probably only added for balance. Then we get the suspect Bonnie; her mother Ava; a single POV for Bonnie's husband Conrad Murphy, the sheriff.

Mostly, the story relies on the strength of having unreliable narrators and I quite honestly would have deleted Conrad, the first of Will, the first of Ava, and probably all of Bonnie's except the first. None of them added enough to the story that wasn't told in other ways later on, to have the kind of strength that made them important. I actually think it would have added a whole lot more intrigue to the story to have them deleted and leave things open to speculation.

The story-telling also relies heavily on the time jumps, in particular showing events and then jumping back to show what led to them. Half the time that second re-telling wasn't important, but sometimes it did clarify a few things, especially at the end. But, it did get a little confusing and annoying to constantly jump around. Overall, I marked five big time jumps in the novel.

I wasn't a fan of some of the decisions made, such as the endless repetition of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. I was quite honestly sick of it, after about the third time it was mentioned. It's also a bit frustration that when someone didn't know who Truman Capote was that the book was the first answer because he's more than the sum of one novel, but also when speaking to someone young enough not to know him, a more obvious answer would probably have been that he wrote Breakfast at Tiffany's. Surely that would be a cultural reference more likely to resonate with the younger character?

The utterly endless repetition about Kansas' landscape got to the point that I skimmed multiple pages throughout the novel, because I got the point really early on that it was just a flat expanse for miles, that there were people-tall corn fields (which kind of negates the first statement anyway) and that the place was awash with The Wizard of Oz references. I got all of that within the first chapter of Olivia arriving in Kansas, it DID NOT need to be repeated to me at least once in every chapter – although it was. Often multiple times in a chapter and by various characters.

I found some of Olivia and Will's conversations to be quite odd and entirely irrelevant, such as the talk about water towers that took about an entire page, and the comparison between movies, the long travel pages of nothing of interest, and the odd bathroom break scene.

I also really didn't like the stereotypical aspect of the small town. The fact that a funeral descended into violence – fine, I could understand the character motivations. But for the entire town to become mob-like, cultish and goad someone into violence, even offering to falsify witness statements to somehow 'justify' murder was too much. It felt far too cartoonish and stereotypical, like a hick town where everyone was prepared to commit murder at the first provocation, no one could be trusted and 'we take the law into our own hands here' kind. The fact no one could then accept that their sweet, cherished members would dare commit a crime was no surprise, if they were quite willing to be accomplices, but it also made the entire town seem like dumb idiots with no moral compass.

~

Overall, while the story had a strong female lead, a great buddy-cop dynamic between the two main characters, and an intriguing story concept, there were certain editing and plot choices that really put me off. If the story hadn't been so strong, I would definitely not have finished reading.

In the end, it was quite cliché, predictable and full of stereotypes. I had to really push past those problems to let my enjoyment of the mystery/police element shine through. I'm sorry to say that I feel like it just tried too hard to make the entire town seem crazy and like viable suspects or accomplices, willing to cover up any and every crime, so that Olivia and Will truly were all alone, in this together against the world.

While it was, at times, engaging and intriguing, I'm sad to say that I guessed the killer/s very early on, that I guess the huge Olivia secret almost from the very beginning and none of the big revelations of the story took me by surprise. I'm rounding this off at a 2.5, but bumping it up to 3* for the rating system simply for the fact that it was a strong concept and parts of it were really well done. It was just badly let down by the other choices that were made throughout.