Still Alive

A Lily Dawn FBI Suspense Thriller #1

by Ava Strong

FBI BAU Special Agent Lily Dawn, half Dutch, half Hispanic, raised in the Caribbean, knows the isles like the back of her hand. When a surge in serial killers in the region prods the FBI to assemble a task force, Lily is the natural choice. But Lily is reluctant to face the demons of her past, including her missing sister, and when a new serial killer strikes, leaving a string of victims tied to buoys, Lily knows she is heading right into the darkness.

“The plot has many twists and turns, but it is the ending, which I did not see coming at all, that totally defines this book as one of the most riveting that I have read in years.”
—Reader review for Not Like Us
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

STILL ALIVE is book #1 in a long-anticipated new series by #1 bestseller Ava Strong, whose bestseller NOT LIKE US (a free download) has received over 1,000 five star ratings and reviews.

When a bloated body is found floating in international waters, twenty miles out at sea, Lily Dawn is called back to the Caribbean. But this is not a happy homecoming. She hasn’t seen her parents since moving to Miami ten years ago, and now her sister has been declared legally dead.

Can Lily stop the killer before he strikes again?

Or will she sink under the weight of her past?

A complex psychological crime thriller full of twists and turns and packed with heart-pounding suspense, the LILY DAWN mystery series will make you fall in love with a brilliant new female protagonist and keep you turning pages late into the night.

Books #2--#5 in the series—STILL HOPE, STILL AWAKE, STILL HERE, STILL MAD—are now also available.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Audiobook, Suspense, Crime, Ebooks, Mystery Thriller

187 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 18, 2022

About the author

Ava Strong is author of the REMI LAURENT mystery series, comprising six books (and counting); of the ILSE BECK mystery series, comprising seven books (and counting); of the STELLA FALL psychological suspense thriller series, comprising six books (and counting); of the DAKOTA STEELE FBI suspense thriller series, comprising six books (and counting); of the LILY DAWN suspense thriller series, comprising five books (and counting); and of the MEGAN YORK suspense thriller series, comprising five books (and counting).

An avid reader and lifelong fan of the mystery and thriller genres, Ava loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit her website.

Reviews

[Kade Gulluscio · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I had a long review typed out, and goodreads glitched out on me when i submitted it. ;l so here's take two.

Still Alive is a thriller about a FBI agent Lily Dawn. This is book one in the series.
In this book, Lily is paired up with another agent by the name of Xander. The pairing doesn't start out great, as their personalities slightly clash. Xander frustrates Lily to no end. .... an dhe frustrated me.

To be honest, Lily frustrated me too. She is good at her job, clearly... but her arrogance is ..annoying.
So to recap, we have a thriller about two fbi agents tracking down a potential serial killer in the Bahamas..... but we have two unlikeable characters, haha.

I doubt I'll read the other books in this series, but I'll likely give the author another chance. Don't let my review deter you if you've enjoyed her other books.

[Gary Howard · Rating 1 out of 5]

So not Alive

Really needed a group of beta readers and an editor. Poor details in several places, ie: motor bike chase, boat use ( like at dock yet dropped anchor), the jump to constellations with no reasoning, setting locations blurry, little character development or resolution. Read much like my middle school students attempts at fiction. Showed very little knowledge of FBI methodology or of the Caribbean. Truly a waste of readers time.

[Bec | Read with Bec · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoughts: “Still Alive” is the first book in the A Lily Dawn FBI Suspense Thriller series! I downloaded it last week during Stuff Your Kindle Day. I found the book interesting and was super intrigued to read the ending of this suspense thriller! It was a short book, but I felt it was a good length for the story. I am looking forward to reading book #2 of this series.

Synopsis: When a bloated body is found floating in international waters, twenty miles out at sea, Lily Dawn is called back to the Caribbean. But this is not a happy homecoming. She hasn’t seen her parents since moving to Miami ten years ago, and now her sister has been declared legally dead. Can Lily stop the killer before he strikes again? Or will she sink under the weight of her past? A complex psychological crime thriller full of twists and turns and packed with heart-pounding suspense, the LILY DAWN mystery series will make you fall in love with a brilliant new female protagonist and keep you turning pages late into the night.

Please check trigger warnings before reading this book.

★★★★☆

[Lori (on hiatus, life is crazy busy)) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good quick read. It's the first book in a detective series. The story was good and easy to follow.
Lily was my favorite character due to her independence and determination to find the killer.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story yet pretty dull. I doubt I’ll continue the series.

[Satangan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Source: Hoopla Digital (Free Bonus Borrow)
Format: Audiobook
Length: 5hr 4m
Language: English

Rating: 4.5

[Cassandra Doon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book: Still Alive
Read By: Ebook and Audio
Author: Ava Strong
Narrator: Tim Alexander
Genre: Mystery, Crime
Main Characters: Lily Dawn and
Recommend: Yes
Spice: 🌶️️
Age recommendation: 18-30+ Years
My feelings:

“We are equals, Agent Jackson,” Lily uttered, her tanned cheeks flushing.
I really enjoyed this book.”

The dynamic between the two detectives was great.

“Club Rammer Jammer. The club’s owner, a man named Charles Langle, will know who hangs out there, I’m sure.”

I love how annoying Agent Jackson was. It brought that tension to the couple that I love.

“This would make his third kill. His third star. She was a perfect addition to the map he was creating.”

The mystery with her sisters disappearance was really intriguing and makes you want to keep reading the next book to see if they ever find out what happened.

“Uhh . . . we don’t have much, just a name.” The officer looked nervous. “Her ID was in her purse. She’s Megan Frost—a UK resident.”

I also wonder if the slight sexual tension between the two detective will ever pan out or die out.

“What should I do? Lily asked herself. He seems so genuinely scared and confused, but if he’s lying to us, I can’t let him get away with it.”

Super enjoyed this book, will be reading the next.

[Eliza Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author: Ava Strong

Genres: Fiction/Mystery/Suspense/Thriller

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Summary: When a bloated body is found floating in international waters, twenty miles out at sea, Lily Dawn is called back to the Caribbean. But this is not a happy homecoming. She hasn’t seen her parents since moving to Miami ten years ago, and now her sister has been declared legally dead.

Tropes and Themes: death, grief, perseverance through family trauma, childhood trauma.

Character: Lily as she created a strong female presence within the book.

Thoughts: I listen to this audio while working. I often love to listen to short stories while working as it helps me to focus more and this is just what I needed. For this to be a short story, I enjoyed that plot and storyline. I love how there was a strong female lead within law enforcement and the book, which demonstrates that women are able to be in positions of power. Furthermore, the plot remained consistent, and the details created a strong ending. I enjoyed following Lily and her partner's relationships (I forgot his name), but I could tell that he was not used to working with a woman. I love how she created boundaries with him, and he began to have respect for her. Overall, this was a really great read. I would love to listen to more of these while working.

[Kaila · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't even give a true review because I stopped paying attention very shortly after I started this book. The characters kind of suck and the storyline is giving middle school thriller. It was a quick read but no one is catching a serial killer that quickly and that easily or else we'd all be FBI agents. I might give Ava another chance but this series will not be completed. Meh.

[Jeanine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to the audiobook. It was ok but nothing great. Lily Dawn is a young FBI agent partnered with Xander who calls her darlin and sweetheart. She is smarter than him and the serial killer is an idiot.

[Hollie Dixon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I decided to read this as I'm trying (and failing) to get through more of my kindle books.
The book was fine, it was short and for me lacking in detail and suspense for a thriller. I won't be continuing with the rest of the series, but it was a nice quick read.

[Cindy B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting series with a capable female lead (not unfeminine). Always well narrated. Usually clean.

[Sanrizz · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

They partnered Agent Lily Dawn with Agent Xander Jackson to investigate murders in the Bahamas. They might have a potential serial killer on their hands. This is the first book I've read by Ava Strong, and I have to say that I liked it.

I don't like Xander's character; he comes across as infantile & I can't figure out how he landed in the FBI. Lily seems like the smart one. He's just there to be her hot partner/romantic interest. Some of his dialogue also seemed juvenile and unconvincing.

Lily... I don't know what to say about her. I think she's the cocky one, but she thinks Xander is. She's a little too 'brilliant' , if you know what I mean. She went undercover for two weeks and caught a human trafficker. It even takes undercover agents in movies longer than that to get close to criminals and bring them down. Lily finds out things because she's so... 'gifted'.

I liked the book enough to keep reading. I also liked that it's a short and easy read & the cover is magnificent. I will definitely read the other books in this series. I just hope Agent Jackson comes off as more intelligent and mature than in this one.

[Dianna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m always drawn to novels about missing people so this sounded like a book I’d enjoy. STILL ALIVE by Ava Strong, and narrated by Tim Alexander and is the first book in the Lily Dawn series and is relatively short at just 5 hours.

Lily is an FBI agent that been sent to the Bahamas to partner with another agent to investigate a string of murders. She’s originally from this area and her sister that went missing on her watch leaves her conflicted about returning. She’s able to solve the current crimes but is still left empty handed about her sister.

I had a lot of issues with this book. So many. I think I only finished it because it was so short for an audiobook. If someone is looking for a mystery book with nothing graphic then this might be a good pick for them. My issues were with the extreme sexism and condescending attitude of her new partner, the complete lack of FBI protocol of them both, and jumping to an impossible conclusion but of course that solves the case.

2 stars because I did finish it but I was literally yelling at the book at about 1.5 hours from the end for being so unbelievable.

[Kayla Nelson · Rating 1 out of 5]

This absolutely was NOT a thriller… I don’t mean this in a bad way but possibly one of the worst books I’ve ever read. I felt like a high schooler wrote this. Found grammatical errors, I found it extremely odd that we went from the main characters point of view to the partners in the beginning then never back to him again… the killers point of view was just weird. It was not suspenseful at all. Just overall was super hard to read and was hoping for so much more. Definitely will not be reading anything else from this author after this book.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not very good for me. Too short for a well-developed plot, immature interactions between the two main characters who are seasoned FBI agents, every person of interest was berated in interrogation, certain to be the killer, only not. I think this is a YA suspense thriller, and I'm about 50 years past those days. I see the author writes a lot of books, but I won't be reading any more of them.

[Suescottmath · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just soooo far fetched! Hard to fathom even. At most, 3 deaths form a triangle ( or they could be in the same straight line), but to make the LEAP to it being a constellation just blows my mind! Just had no respect for the premise, so the entire book just seemed stupid.

[Davebaxter2006hotmail.Co.Uk · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't normally give bad reviews but this book was awful. The FBI agents jumped to conclusions based on no evidence whatsoever then harangued suspects to admit to murder with nothing to show that they did it. Will certainly not be reading the follow up

[Rachel Girdler · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually don’t write reviews but there’s so many issues with this book that I’m not sure where to start. With the exception of some cursing, the book is clean which is a nice change of pace from most contemporary fiction. But…The plot and characters both have some gaping holes in them.

Let’s start with the protagonist. First, her name- Lily Dawn. As a daughter of a Dominican father and Dutch mother this name is unrealistic at best. Second, that her first native language would be English is odd. The Dutch Caribbean (including the islands Aruba, curaçao, etc ) have the national languages as Dutch and Papiamento. Many children do learn English and Spanish as well, but the random interjection of her comments that she’s “thankful for her dad’s willingness to learn Spanish” in the one random chapter where it was used, was weird since that would have been his first language and I’m sure she would have known it. Third, a non US citizen just ups and moves to the USA at 18y/o and is immediately accepted into the FBI academy without issue? Hmmmm. Lastly, her internal monologues are just annoying, immature, and repetitive.

The male detective and secondary protagonist of the story, lacked any sort of depth. Yes- he is meant to be portrayed as arrogant, macho, and condescending. But nothing about his backstory or character is developed throughout the book. All we learn was that he use to be a SEAL before becoming FBI.

Now for the plot…were we supposed to be amazed at the insight of these two detectives that they both decided it was smart to go to the hotel of a recently murdered tourist? That’s not detective work that’s common sense. They also seem to bring in every person and question them for long periods of time without evidence or arresting them. They’re adamant that 3 different men are the killer, and they just happen to stumble across a guy who kidnapped a girl? The random chapter with concerns about it being related to human trafficking was messy and not very accurate. As some who works in the Anti-trafficking field- I’ll concede that the Caribbean is a hotspot for sex tourism and people do travel to the islands with the intent of purchasing as was implied in the book, but it’s usually locals and underage minors so killing rich tourists is a weird jump point. Same with the beginning commentary about the possible cartel connection. It was a focal concern but then the author just drops the topic all together.
Then there is the fact that this case is “cracked” by a single 5 minute phone call with a retired detective who gets Agent Dawn to understand that the girls are acting as buoys and by looking at a map one time she determines that it HAS TO BE a constellation but doesn’t know which one, why, how, etc. It’s just poor writing.


I could say so much more but I’ll end it with I listed to this book in audiobook and the reader’s pronunciation of the word “Caribbean” made my skin crawl every time.

[(Grace) Kentucky Bohemian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing New Here
I hate to say it, but I found this a very pedantic story. The only "thrilling" part of this was the location, and it fought with the concept of the main character working with the FBI. Sure, our glorious FBI agents met with some resistance as to their jurisdiction when working in the Bahamas, but not as much as one would expect.

The storyline was okay, just a bit predictable. What wasn't predictable was the main character Lily's responses. One moment she was a self-assured agent who had confidence in her ability. The next moment she was questioning everything. I got a strong "fake it 'til you make it" vibe from her even though she was actually competent (if a little thin-skinned).

I could have dealt with a less-than-stellar storyline and characters that weren't well-developed. However, the dialogue at times just knocked me over with its simplicity. Every suspect they found was "the one." They never referred to a person of interest as a suspect. They dove in with both feet, convinced this person was the killer, then found themselves depressed that they spent so much time on the wrong guy. At one point, Lily finds something interesting and says, "This could be really important! Or nothing at all." If this had been said as ironically as it sounds, it would have been funny. But there were similar incidents of immature responses by both agents.

I felt like I was listening to a modern-day Nancy Drew Mystery; as though this was a Jr. Detective read for teens. While the concept of the author directing the reader in a specific direction is standard in the genre, I had the feeling the author was taking me by the hand to lead me to the right place- as though she doubted I would be able to make the trek of logic on my own.

In short, this novel is interesting, but not the intelligent tightly written thriller I prefer to read. Others will enjoy this read I'm sure. But if you want well-developed characters with whom you can engage and a whip-smart storyline that tests your mettle, you might want to skip this one.

[The United and the Irish States set me Wild · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lily Dawn is a pescatarian. Having lost her sister Kara as a child, she decided to go to the US from the Caribbeans and join the FBI. She gets many partners to team up with during her time there. One is retired now but Lily thinks of him as a father figure.
In order to solve the mysterious deaths of two brunette American women, rich heiresses,the case takes Lily Dawn to Freeport, near Aruba which is home to her. She succeeds in gunning down the obsessive fifty-something man who lost his daughter Janie. He claims to have nailed down the star - his daughter- down from the sky to the earth. In order to direct her - she who is dead- back to him, he is making a constellation for her in the sky. But this ocnstellation is made of american girls as stars. It's called the Little Dipper and has six stars altogether. By the time they get comfortable with the island, Special Agent Lily Dawn and her partner, Agent Xander jackson realise that now it's not two but three women dead.
Lily maps the three stars with the constellation Dipper. And then since there are three spots left, they map the locations down and set on an independent journey to each of these spots with the help of a coastal guard.
Lily sees the man on her spot and cuffs him after an exhausting duel just as he attempts to tranform a beautiful girl into a beautiful star.

[Maryann Hornbaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rookie Takes Charge

Lilly gets paired up with Xander a former Seal and now an agent. Lilly on the other hand has only worked out of Quanico but has great instincts. Xander thinks he’s in charge but he soon finds our that Lilly is no pushover and not only stands her ground but pretty much takes over.

There are 2 young women found floating off the coast Aruba. They are sent to investigate because of the rarity that 2 would be drowned within days of each other yet has no connection. Lilly was chosen to go because was raised on the nearby islands and would have a great invite as to the surroundings.

While they are there, a third girl is found floating. The actual investigation is rather haphazard as far as I’m concerned. At lot of normal investigative procedure we’re skipped. But a lot of leaping to conclusions were done.

Lilly takes over and comes up with a scenario that ultimately solves the case. The ending comes and goes. Lilly and Xander finally decide they can get along.

My take on the book is that is more about relationships than a mystery.

[Debyi Kucera (Book&BuJo) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still Alive, part of the Lily Dawn FBI series by Ava Strong was available as a Bonus Borrow from Hoopla and I needed a Mystery Thriller to fulfill a prompt for a readathon I was participating in. It sounded really interesting and I was excited to give it a try.

We follow Special Agent Lily Dawn as she gets assigned to a new case that brings her back to the islands where she grew up as well as being assigned a new partner, Xander Jackson. Lily hasn’t been back to the islands in a long time and she is a bit reluctant to go back. Lily has to face her demons and get used to a new partner who is a bit difficult all while trying to find a serial killer before another girl loses her life.

I found this interesting and engaging but a bit slow. The partner was irritating in the first half of the book but did redeem himself a bit later in the book. I feel like everything went smoothly from start to finish and there weren’t any twists or reveals, but it was still intriguing.

3.75-stars

[Jenn4Gators · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up. The book follows FBI agent Lily Dawn as she is sent on assignment to catch a killer in the Bahamas. She is paired with a fellow agent, Xander, while in the islands. The book was pretty short so not a lot of time for character development and it is the first in a series so hopefully the author will provide more information in future books. Neither of the characters are particularly likeable. Lily is clearly supposed to be good at her job but her default is to be irritated by everyone. Xander is arrogant and probably a misogynist despite his "good old boy" behavior. There were definitely plot holes (Lily's arm injury for example) and giant leaps in her reasoning but it was entertaining enough to be a quick read that kept my attention to the end. I will likely check out the next book to see if things improve.

[Cassie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Placeholder review

I appreciated Lily's origins and am tentatively curious about her relationship to her identity and sense of home/place. As well as the potential for her relationship with her family. I enjoyed the action scene writing and the misdirections in that it proved the characters equal in footing on that level.

But I just couldn't click with this novel. her new partner has no transition from insufferable to okay guy, really. i am never a fan of someone oogling a character even as another can't stand them. And that Lily just suddenly made such a random discovery with seemingly no prompting as to what the bodies could indicated just felt like plot convenience instead of practical.

I have more in the series and will continue. It was serviceable. I just didn't love it.

[Claudete Takahashi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lily is requested to team up with Xander (an agent she did not know) to go on a special project to hunt a serial killer who is acting in the Bahamas. She is happy to do it because she was brought up in the region and her parents live in nearby Aruba. The duo has problems working together and Lily has to exercise all her patience in order to not explode with Xander. They follow leads, put suspects in the interviewing room and get nowhere until Lily puts together what is driving the murderer. Still Alive is a good and entertaining story and as the main characters mature, this series will turn up in a must-read!

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid writing. This book definitely held my attention with nicely developed characters.

Due to it being a trope in every Suspense ThrillerBook I've read this year, I'm over the subplot of the main character's "missing sister". Can some author at least make it the missing brother or child for once???

I was also pleased to not have seen, or at least caught, any misspellings, incorrect name usage or punctuation errors until the very last few chapters. That was a nice change. Now, if authors, proofreaders, editors could just be more diligent so there are no errors in a book, that would be wonderful!

[Sue Northcutt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Desperately needing an Editor

Characters are very one dimensional and unbelievable. Dialogue is forced, dull, and farfetched for anyone, especially for a law enforcement agent, much less for experienced federal agents. Even the actions of the characters have no depth or believability, again for anyone, or any experienced (or even new) law agent. Many grammatical errors though the entire book as well. It is very clear this book had no professional editor input and desperately needed one. Nothing in the way the story was told grabbed me to keep my interest piqued in the reading.

[Antigone Walsh · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Devil & The Deep Blue Sea

Two FBI agents are sent to the Bahamas to investigate the murders of two beautiful, young women. They quickly get on each others nerves. Can they set aside their differences in time to catch a killer?

This book was okay.Not crazy about know it all Lily. Her insights are not the result of good work and deduction. They just seem to happen because she is so brilliant. The dialogue is inane and her back story is not compelling. Not crazy about this one.

[Keith Withers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing

A well written and totally enthralling story from Lily Dawn FBI suspense thriller. The first of many in a series about an FBI agent who had moved up to US from there Bahamas 7 years previously to work her career in FBI. Sent back to her former childhood ground and linked with a new partner, she is tasked with finding the killer of young girls found dead and floating in open water areas. Tense, highly emotional and extraordinarily dramatic.
This is a series of books zi will be following and recommend to all suspense thriller readers.