Breathless

Death Viewers #1

by Christine M. Butler

My name is Lacy McAdams and I am a Death Viewer, an agent of the highly trained Homicide Viewing Squad, otherwise known as the Death Squad. When a person dies suspiciously I get called in to view their death. Actually, I get to rewind their memories up to 12 hours before their death.
You'd think that would make solving murders a no-brainer, but there's a catch. When people are about to be murdered, they get that whole "life flashing before their eyes" thing going on, and suddenly what really happened is mixed with what they remember from their twelfth birthday party.
In other words, a dying person's mind is a jumble of reality vs memory. It takes training, experience, and a lot of trial and error to get things right. I've been at it for quite a few years, learned a lot, and I have a natural talent for filtering out the realities from the memories.
It's a good thing, because the most important case of my life just landed in my lap while I was at dinner with Brad. It was our third date and judging by how fast he took off, not to mention leaving me with the bill, I'd say he wasn't too thrilled to be dating a Death Viewer. Maybe I should have mentioned that on the first date?
Chances were good that I would never see Brad again, but the case that I got called in for was one that could make or break Homicide Viewing Squads nationwide. No pressure or anything...

ebook

First published March 17, 2015

About the author

Christine M. Butler writes under several pen names. The Christine M. Butler name is being retired in 2023 and all books will be shifted to publication under Christine Michelle and/or Anne Storm.

If you want to learn more about Christine, her books, or her crazy adventures into the wilderness, you can find out more through the following links:

Universal links to everything
(social media, book links, and more)
https://linktr.ee/christinemichelle


WEBSITE & Newsletter signup:
https://www.moonlitdreams.org

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Reviews

[Barbara Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of this author! She writes fantastic books, and this one is no exception!! I've never read a book about this particular subject matter, and I was very intrigued by the idea of Death Viewing as part of crime solving. This book made me laugh (out loud), giggle, swoon, nail bite (literally for me), and kept me guessing the entire time! I'd compare this a bit to CSI meets Medium meets Ghost Whisperer meets Tru Calling (all shows that I personally love). While the who-done-it of this mystery thriller was solved by the end of this book (and thus no cliffhanger ending), there are hints at an upcoming romance that I can't wait to see happen in the next book. I've read all of the authors other published works, and let me tell you... I'm very impressed by the fact that she can jump from paranormal to sci-fi to dystopian to suspense to a mixture of everything, from YA to NA to Adult, and still be able to tell such a compelling story every time. Definitely recommend!

[Clair Keenan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was brilliant I thought the story was very good haven’t read one similar only annoying thing is I can’t buy the second book inferno I use iBooks but I’ve checked internet and can’t find it anywhere

[Iva Beth DiLoreto · Rating 5 out of 5]

20 stars

This book isn't your typical psychic book. There is no mind reading. There's viewing, its extremely interesting, and keeps you on your toes the entire time.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was instantly intrigued when I stumbled across this book on Goodreads. The blurb caught my attention and left me wondering about the possibilities for this story, so I did the only thing a book lover can do to get over something like that... I one clicked and started reading.

The overall premise of the story is great! The idea of viewing someone's last moments to help catch their murderer is unique. At least I haven't heard of a story similar to this yet. I loved the realistic approach to the main character's occupation, because we all know that most people fear what they don't understand. This definitely came through in the reading. However, as unique as I found the story, the writing wasn't the greatest. All the author/story needed was a great editor to really bring this story to life.

I am not usually one of those nitpicking readers that always grumble over simple grammar and/or punctuation mistakes, but unfortunately some of the mistakes in this novel made it harder to comprehend what exactly was happening in the storyline. For instance, quotation marks were left open in the middle of paragraphs that contained both thoughts and spoken statements, therefore requiring the reader (well, me) to have to go back and reread to make out what was thought to herself and what was spoken aloud. Again, not usually something that I grumble about, I could have dealt with that.

However, I think I read about the long grueling hours of a death viewer and their accommodations due to the long hours at least three times, two of which were mere pages from another. The statements/paragraphs were almost exact in nature. An editor would have pointed out a smoother way of explaining the ins and outs of death viewing without the repetition.

As I stated, the story was unique. I enjoyed it. There were just a few hiccups with sentence structures throwing me off and repetition that was not necessary.

The story was good enough to make me want to know more and possibly read the next book in the series.

[Sue]

I'm torn on the star rating with this book mainly because of editorial errors.
The story itself is good, it's interesting and flows well, there's no slow build up to the story like a lot of books have, instead you are thrown straight into it and because of that it grabbed my attention from page 1 and never let go.
I love Lacy's character as well as the interaction and relationship between all the characters.
Being able to read the dead takes its toll emotionally and physically and that comes across well.
All in all I love the story the Author has created here and would easily give 4+stars.

The downside was that there were quite a few errors, words missing, extra words, punctuation. several times I had to re read bits to work out what it was supposed to be saying, also the description of what a death viewer does was repeated within a few pages of each other practically word for word , I'm still not sure if repeating it was an error or intensional ? This for me affected the enjoyment of the story somewhat and because of that I'd be reluctant to give it more than 3stars.

With that said, I will be watching for book 2 because I think this is going to be an excellent series, I'll just be keeping my fingers crossed that the editing has improved.

[Book Banshee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I ended up with a book hangover that lasted 5 days. It was so good that I read it twice and was fully immersed both times, which rarely happens with me. Christine M. Butler did a phenomenal job executing the unique story within a story aspect.
This paranormal suspense has a little bit of everything; mystery, crime, a budding romance, and it made me giggle out loud on more than one ocassion. One of my favorite lines of the book wasUnless you'd like me to poke you in your sleep, I suggest you stop doing it to me.”
I am so thrilled that this is book 1 in the series, it means that there is more!! I can't wait!!!

[Patricia Burleson]

Great

This is a great book. It has an awesome story line and the characters are fantastic. The main character is a feisty strong woman . Lots of friendships, mystery,and in the end maybe a love interest. I will be getting the next one to find out. So grab your copy and enjoy reading.

[Heather Hungate-Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. You get sucked in wondering what's going to happen next & who done it. The characters are awesome. Poor Lacy, the stuff she has to threw because of her job, you find yourself rooting for her. Love her attitude. I can't wait to read the next book.

[Steph Parks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny and mysterious

This was a great book. A nice on the edge of your seat mystery with a bit of sizzle thrown in. Can't wait to read the next one.

[Vilde Finstad · Rating 2 out of 5]

I actually found the plot to be quite interesting and unique, but the spelling is awful (and very noticeable, which constantly made me question; who edited this book???), which is very unfortunate as it could have been excellent.