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Charlie D #2
One Fine Day You're Gonna Die
Charlie D is back doing his late-night radio call-in show. It's Halloween—The Day of the Dead. Not a day filled with good memories for Charlie, but the show must go on. His studio guest this evening is Dr. Robin Harris, an arrogant and ambitious "expert in the arts of dying and grieving," who also seems to be auditioning for her own radio talk show. Charlie and Dr. Harris do not hit it off. Things go from bad to worse when the doctor's ex-lover, Gabe, goes on air to announce that he's about to end his life. Dr. Harris is entirely unsympathetic until she learns that Gabe also has her daughter Kali and plans to poison her too. It will take all of Charlie D's on-air skills to save both Gabe and Kali.
128 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2010
12 people are currently reading
145 people want to read
About the author
Gail Bowen
58 books178 followersGail Dianne Bowen (née Bartholomew) is a Canadian playwright and writer of mystery novels. Born in Toronto, Ontario, Bowen was educated at the University of Toronto, the University of Waterloo and the University of Saskatchewan. She subsequently taught English in Saskatchewan, and is currently a professor of English at First Nations University of Canada. Bowen's mystery novels feature Joanne Kilbourn, a widowed mother, political analyst and university professor who finds herself occasionally involved in criminal investigations in various parts of Saskatchewan. Many have been adapted as Canadian television movies by Shaftesbury Films.
Series:
* Joanne Kilbourn Mystery
Awards:
Arthur Ellis Award
◊ Best Novel (1995): A Colder Kind of Death
Series:
* Joanne Kilbourn Mystery
Awards:
Arthur Ellis Award
◊ Best Novel (1995): A Colder Kind of Death
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
January 21, 2020
2.5 is a more realistic rating.
Too much happened for this novella - the near death experience for a main character, and then the near death experience on the radio show. Plus, for readers like me, who only read this novella, it was also a revelation to know that there was some kind of disfigurement - a birthmark that covered half of the face, a romance that spontaneously spurts out of nowhere . Now, tell me this is not too much for a tiny novella.
There are some things that the author does well - he limits the list of characters in the novella, and he chooses the setting of the radio talk show; thus, limiting the time frame for this novella, and the format of the show matches the climactic development of the novella. Despite this, the novella is mostly average - it is neither breathtaking, nor agonizingly slow. Wording per se is not bad, and some metaphors and tropes are interesting, but the structural part of writing - what happens, when it happens, how it happens is somewhat sub par. the ending is obviously quite weak and very anticlimactic. Thus, it barely made it to three stars.
On the other hand, it was nice to read something written by a Canadian, not American; alsthough, in the wake of the most recent development, I could possible call John Irving - one of my favorites - a Canadian author.
Too much happened for this novella - the near death experience for a main character, and then the near death experience on the radio show. Plus, for readers like me, who only read this novella, it was also a revelation to know that there was some kind of disfigurement - a birthmark that covered half of the face, a romance that spontaneously spurts out of nowhere . Now, tell me this is not too much for a tiny novella.
There are some things that the author does well - he limits the list of characters in the novella, and he chooses the setting of the radio talk show; thus, limiting the time frame for this novella, and the format of the show matches the climactic development of the novella. Despite this, the novella is mostly average - it is neither breathtaking, nor agonizingly slow. Wording per se is not bad, and some metaphors and tropes are interesting, but the structural part of writing - what happens, when it happens, how it happens is somewhat sub par. the ending is obviously quite weak and very anticlimactic. Thus, it barely made it to three stars.
On the other hand, it was nice to read something written by a Canadian, not American; alsthough, in the wake of the most recent development, I could possible call John Irving - one of my favorites - a Canadian author.
November 12, 2023
What a rollercoaster ride!! This was a heavy read, but such a good one. You get to feel so many emotions for these characters in such a small amount of time. I loved everything about this story.
August 13, 2016
AudioBook Review:
Stars: Overall: 5 Narration: 5 Story: 5
The second short form mystery from Gail Bowen in the Charlie D series again has us spending time with Charlie during his hour long radio talk show. A few months have passed since the first story, and it is now Halloween Night, and the show topic is Death – in celebration of the Day of the Dead. Charlie’s got a guest speaker, Dr. Robin Harris, a specialist in the study of death psychology. She is also looking to get the station owners to give her a show – so her time with Charlie is also serving as an on-air interview.
Bowen uses Robin’s ex-husband, and a fellow doctor to create the stories main conflict. Aside from her ice queen persona, she is unwilling to admit to any of her own missteps in her approach, and nearly walks out of the show when Charlie takes her to task for her cutting off a caller in distress. When her ex-husband comes on, the vitriol from her is amazing, until she is paralyzed with fear when it is clear that her daughter is not safely at home with the nanny.
I was on the edge of my seat for a good 75% of this story: Robin was a class A bitch and easy to dismiss – but Charlie and Nova’s management of her, and of the ex-husband caller was genius. You will barely breathe as the time comes close to the ‘hour’ of death, and when the little girl stops responding, your heart will too.
Daniel Maté again manages to infuse Charlie’s radio voice with that “dark honeyed smoothness” while keeping his own interactive voice laden with appropriate scorn and rebuke for the recalcitrant guest. The contrast in voices used for the flat affect of Dr. Knight, Kali’s exuberant 5 year old self, the accent-heavy caller with the tip and even the young boy who is mourning the death of his brother were spot on and clear to the ear: you could almost picture people who inhabit those voices.
I’m NOT a huge mystery fan: I tend to like the BBC productions and the older style ones, but Bowen’s stories as narrated by Daniel Maté are not to be missed.
I received an audio download from the publisher via AudioBook Jukebox. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
Stars: Overall: 5 Narration: 5 Story: 5
The second short form mystery from Gail Bowen in the Charlie D series again has us spending time with Charlie during his hour long radio talk show. A few months have passed since the first story, and it is now Halloween Night, and the show topic is Death – in celebration of the Day of the Dead. Charlie’s got a guest speaker, Dr. Robin Harris, a specialist in the study of death psychology. She is also looking to get the station owners to give her a show – so her time with Charlie is also serving as an on-air interview.
Bowen uses Robin’s ex-husband, and a fellow doctor to create the stories main conflict. Aside from her ice queen persona, she is unwilling to admit to any of her own missteps in her approach, and nearly walks out of the show when Charlie takes her to task for her cutting off a caller in distress. When her ex-husband comes on, the vitriol from her is amazing, until she is paralyzed with fear when it is clear that her daughter is not safely at home with the nanny.
I was on the edge of my seat for a good 75% of this story: Robin was a class A bitch and easy to dismiss – but Charlie and Nova’s management of her, and of the ex-husband caller was genius. You will barely breathe as the time comes close to the ‘hour’ of death, and when the little girl stops responding, your heart will too.
Daniel Maté again manages to infuse Charlie’s radio voice with that “dark honeyed smoothness” while keeping his own interactive voice laden with appropriate scorn and rebuke for the recalcitrant guest. The contrast in voices used for the flat affect of Dr. Knight, Kali’s exuberant 5 year old self, the accent-heavy caller with the tip and even the young boy who is mourning the death of his brother were spot on and clear to the ear: you could almost picture people who inhabit those voices.
I’m NOT a huge mystery fan: I tend to like the BBC productions and the older style ones, but Bowen’s stories as narrated by Daniel Maté are not to be missed.
I received an audio download from the publisher via AudioBook Jukebox. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
October 3, 2019
Absolutely terrible.
August 19, 2018
I like the idea for this story, and the setting of a radio show gives it a small timeframe to work. Something feels a little off with the story though. I’m trying to find words to explain it. It isn’t as tight and brief as a short story, and the plot definitely packs a punch. I think I would’ve liked a couple more pages of detailed toward the end to give us some idea of what happened to the characters in this situation. Did the troubled man get help? Or was he sent to prison with no help at all? It is possible that my reaction is colored by the fact that I’m used to reading this authors books in much longer form. Maybe I’m just not used to the short novel format yet.
April 19, 2018
A tense night on the air with Charlie D, Halloween night and a guest who is estranged from her husband. Nova agrees to let the husband on the air and they learn that he has their daughter with him in an unknown place and he plans to inject them both. Short but gripping read.
May 24, 2023
This is the 2nd book in this series and I am amazed at these books! Even though it's a novella the characters are wonderfully developed and the stories are very thoughtful. When your reading it, it doesn't seem short or rushed at all.
January 30, 2018
Audio. Short story.
February 13, 2018
A good, quick read. Nothing mind-blowing, but the story did make me want to keep turning the pages. It was a quick lunch break read that let me escape in the story.
October 29, 2022
A very interesting book, about death. If you interested in shorts stand alone this you yourr book. Read it.
January 27, 2023
This is a great quick read. It has my heart racing from the beginning to the end. I also love that it mentions Saskatoon, a place in Saskatoon that I used to live many years ago.
March 19, 2025
3.5 stars, this probably wouldn't have held up as a longer novel but was an engaging novella
February 4, 2020
I didn't realize this was a novella when I checked it out of the library. Good story. Now I am going back to find out about Ariel.
December 13, 2023
In this second Charlie D Rapid Read, Bowen once again has all the action take place within the two-hour radio program of her talk show protagonist. This time it's Halloween and the subject is death. His guest is an expert on all things death-related. Unlike Charlie, though, this person lacks empathy which ultimately makes their situation tenuous as a disturbed caller threatens violence. I like how these short stories make Charlie, a recurring character in Bowen's Joanne Kilbourn series, more three-dimensional.
March 14, 2017
Didn't realize until I started this that it was a very short story, which I don't see the point of reading.
May 25, 2023
I want more! That was too rapid!
July 11, 2013
A few years back I picked up the first book in this series Love You to Death because when Mr. Turning the Pages and I first started dating I kind of went into a big reading slump that lasted months and that one helped get me out of the slump. A few years went by and in May of this year I realized there were two more books in this series and One Fine Day You're Gonna Die looked good and I wanted to read more about the protagonist Charlie D so I had to read it.
I wasn't expecting a lot from this novella because as much as I enjoyed the first book in the series it was only a three star read for me and this one turned out to be not as good as the first.. While I was happy to revisit Charlie D I found myself to be a little let down by the fact that we didn't learn anything more about him as a character. I was hoping that despite the crime aspect of the story that more of his past would be revealed but I was sorely disappointed.
The plot line of this one just didn't seem to flow together as well as the one in the first novella in the series. While I was reading it I often found my mind wandering and I would struggle to stay focused on the story. I think much of this was because the characters were so one dimensional. There was very little character development and with a lackadaisical plot line things just didn't mesh well. I found all the characters to be rather annoying because they weren't explained enough. I understand that with a novella things have to be condensed but this one seemed as though everything of importance relating to the story line had be edited out and we were left with a shell of a book.
I was unconvinced by Dr. Harris. I've might my fair share of narcissistic doctors but this lady really took the cake. Everything was about her even other people's grief and she tried to tell them that people put them through grief and can basically turn that off by moving on as if it was the simplest thing in the bloody world. She made me so angry and every time she became the focus of the book I cringed. Even the fact that the man kidnapped her daughter it didn't seem to shake her all that much and I found that to be so wrong I just wanted to reach through the book and strangle her.
I also was unconvinced by the idea of Gabe kidnapping the doctor's daughter just because she slighted him. This was supposed to be a crime novella and most of the book wasn't even about the crime and it seemed like the author just kind of let things slide a little too much and then was rushing to bring the story together but for me it simply did not work.
Overall, I found that One Fine Day You're Gonna Die was a bit of a disappointment. When I finished the book I originally gave it 3 stars because it didn't seem so bad. But, as I started writing this review and really analyzing the book and how I felt about it I think it deserves a much lower rating. I just expected more from it and for it to be on par with the first book in the series. However, just because I didn't enjoy this one it does not mean I will not be picking up book three to read soon just to see how things progress with Charlie D and I also plan on picking up another of the author's other books to try out as well.
I would recommend this to fans of novellas who are looking for a darker sort of read perhaps for a day at the beach or for someone trying to get into the genre or back into reading. Reading the first book isn't necessary to read One Fine Day You're Gonna Die but I do recommend it so you get a bit of a feel for Charlie D.
I wasn't expecting a lot from this novella because as much as I enjoyed the first book in the series it was only a three star read for me and this one turned out to be not as good as the first.. While I was happy to revisit Charlie D I found myself to be a little let down by the fact that we didn't learn anything more about him as a character. I was hoping that despite the crime aspect of the story that more of his past would be revealed but I was sorely disappointed.
The plot line of this one just didn't seem to flow together as well as the one in the first novella in the series. While I was reading it I often found my mind wandering and I would struggle to stay focused on the story. I think much of this was because the characters were so one dimensional. There was very little character development and with a lackadaisical plot line things just didn't mesh well. I found all the characters to be rather annoying because they weren't explained enough. I understand that with a novella things have to be condensed but this one seemed as though everything of importance relating to the story line had be edited out and we were left with a shell of a book.
I was unconvinced by Dr. Harris. I've might my fair share of narcissistic doctors but this lady really took the cake. Everything was about her even other people's grief and she tried to tell them that people put them through grief and can basically turn that off by moving on as if it was the simplest thing in the bloody world. She made me so angry and every time she became the focus of the book I cringed. Even the fact that the man kidnapped her daughter it didn't seem to shake her all that much and I found that to be so wrong I just wanted to reach through the book and strangle her.
I also was unconvinced by the idea of Gabe kidnapping the doctor's daughter just because she slighted him. This was supposed to be a crime novella and most of the book wasn't even about the crime and it seemed like the author just kind of let things slide a little too much and then was rushing to bring the story together but for me it simply did not work.
Overall, I found that One Fine Day You're Gonna Die was a bit of a disappointment. When I finished the book I originally gave it 3 stars because it didn't seem so bad. But, as I started writing this review and really analyzing the book and how I felt about it I think it deserves a much lower rating. I just expected more from it and for it to be on par with the first book in the series. However, just because I didn't enjoy this one it does not mean I will not be picking up book three to read soon just to see how things progress with Charlie D and I also plan on picking up another of the author's other books to try out as well.
I would recommend this to fans of novellas who are looking for a darker sort of read perhaps for a day at the beach or for someone trying to get into the genre or back into reading. Reading the first book isn't necessary to read One Fine Day You're Gonna Die but I do recommend it so you get a bit of a feel for Charlie D.
September 16, 2014
For a more in depth review, please visit my blog, Chorley Chronicals!!
I think that this was one of my favorite stories in the Charlie D Rapid Reads series! I thought that it helped build up Charlie D's character even more from the first story, Love You To Death but it still stood out and told it's own story.
Again, I felt like the length suited the story perfectly! It didn't feel like it was rushed or prolonged, it just fit together perfectly! The narrator, Daniel Maté, again delivers a stellar performance, probably making this series as good as it was for me!
Each story can be read separately as a stand alone or together without you feeling lost or out in left field. I think they are solid stories that are put together well!
Overall, I wouldn't hesitate to pick up another book by Gail Bowen because I found her Charlie D series to be rather entertaining!
I think that this was one of my favorite stories in the Charlie D Rapid Reads series! I thought that it helped build up Charlie D's character even more from the first story, Love You To Death but it still stood out and told it's own story.
Again, I felt like the length suited the story perfectly! It didn't feel like it was rushed or prolonged, it just fit together perfectly! The narrator, Daniel Maté, again delivers a stellar performance, probably making this series as good as it was for me!
Each story can be read separately as a stand alone or together without you feeling lost or out in left field. I think they are solid stories that are put together well!
Overall, I wouldn't hesitate to pick up another book by Gail Bowen because I found her Charlie D series to be rather entertaining!
January 6, 2015
I read this book today and from the very beginning to the very end I was drawn in.
It starts with the radio host Charlie D. getting hit by a hearse on Halloween night.
The man drives him to the radio station where he sits with Dr. Robin Harris.
The calls are difficult because Dr. Harris does not necessarily have great communication skills.
Then a call from her ex-husband turns their world around.
It starts with the radio host Charlie D. getting hit by a hearse on Halloween night.
The man drives him to the radio station where he sits with Dr. Robin Harris.
The calls are difficult because Dr. Harris does not necessarily have great communication skills.
Then a call from her ex-husband turns their world around.
August 17, 2015
Fast read, short story. A radio talk show host has a special programme for 31st Oct Day of the Dead. A caller says he has the daughter opf the guest speaker as hostage and will kill her at midnight. They keep him talking as the host and guest try to find out where they are. I read the book but wasn't compelled to keep reading. Something perhaps about the way it is written.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 14, 2016
This particular series with Charlie D are really good. I like him as a person from just these few short books. This one has a special guest Dr Robin Harris who is a specialist in the area of grief and dying. She isn't very nice and very arrogant who is also getting a divorce and doesn't want her husband allowed to call in and talk on the show. It was quite a story!!!
February 27, 2022
I read Gail Bowen's first story in this series before this one, and enjoyed it. I was looking forward to this one but found it kind of went no where. I just didn't believe the story as much as in the first one.
Still think I would try the third and fourth of the series. But this one was not my favorite.
Still think I would try the third and fourth of the series. But this one was not my favorite.
December 16, 2010
I thought I'd try out this "Rapid Reads" series, but this was thoroughly underwhelming.
July 15, 2011
Another good choice for reluctant readers as it has few characters with little depth.
Read
March 28, 2013I have finished this book. I thought it was a good book. At one part i didnt read and lost track. But got back once i started to read it again
May 2, 2013
The beginning was very boring. You have to keep on reading to get into the book. I would reccomend this to someone but they have to continue with the reading.
July 23, 2014
Another great short story.
June 28, 2015
When this book was ordered at the library, I didn't know it was a novella/short story. Short stories are not my favorite genre.
Read
December 2, 2015That was an odd little book.
April 23, 2016
Good but terrifying story.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews