Brain Storm

Angela Richman, Death Investigator, Book 1

By: Elaine Viets

Narrated by: Tanya Eby

Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

The ultrawealthy families of Chouteau Forest may look down on a woman like death investigator Angela Richman, but they also rely on her. When a horrific car crash kills a Forest teenager, Angela is among the first on the scene. Her investigation is hardly underway, however, when she suffers a series of crippling strokes. Misdiagnosed by the resident neurologist, Dr. Gravois, and mended by gauche yet brilliant neurosurgeon Dr. Jeb Travis Tritt, Angela faces a harrowing recovery.

It's a drug-addled, hallucinating Angela who learns that Dr. Gravois has been murdered...and the chief suspect is the surgeon who saved her life. Angela doesn't believe it, but can she trust her instincts? Her brain trauma brings doubts that she'll ever recover her investigative skills. But she's determined to save Dr. Tritt from a death-row sentence - even if her progress is thwarted at every turn by a powerful and insular community poised to protect its own.

©2016 Elaine Viets (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Way too Wordy

Would you try another book from Elaine Viets and/or Tanya Eby?

Yes. I like Tanya Eby

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Not really

Any additional comments?

The story line wasn't bad but the author is way too wordy and repetitive. For example: the cost of something was $3,212.22 and that is repeated over and over rather then saying the cost was more then $3,000. Or a person is drunk and stumbles and falls off the side of a boat and then the reader tells you that all over again immediately following the event happening like you didn't just listen to it happen or the way I took it as I was smart enough to understand so it was said again. It became annoying pretty quick.

Narrator sometimes distracted me

Tanya Eby may be trying to keep her voice young sounding or something. But her careful, almost prissy, pronunciation plus the high, light tone she uses is distracting. It would be appropriate if she were portraying a juvenile instead of the 40 something professional in this story. I’m a fan of Elaine Viets’ writing and liked the characters (except the unnecessarily rough language of Katie) very much. Having lived in the vicinity of St Louis most of my life, I like the setting, too. I’ll always grab Ms Viets’ books when they’re offered at a good price. I recommend them all to my fellow readers/listeners.

Death investigator confused by stroke-interesting

What about Tanya Eby’s performance did you like?

I thoroughly enjoy Tanya Eby's performances and she did an excellent job with this book as expected.

Any additional comments?

This was certainly an interesting book, a slightly different storyline gives this book the edge it needs to make it less predictable and more enjoyable. The protagonist Angela Richmon is the death scene investigator for a well to do community. When two of the county sweethearts get into a horrible accident she is sidetracked with a stroke, misdiagnosed and then another. When the first doctor has a heart attack Angela proves it was actually a murder. In her state of confusion she then sets out to find the real murderer and motive, exonerate the innocent and save herself as well.
This was not the most suspenseful book I've ever listened to but is definitely worth a listen.
If you found this review helpful please indicate so.
Thank You.

Well Written

This is a well written and suspenseful book with multidimensional characters and a well developed plot.

so disappointed

I really wanted to like this story. The description sounded great. I work in health care and really enjoy mysteries in such familiar settings. I did not like this book. The story was not plausible. You cannot inject potassium into people quietly. it is so incredibly painful that people have pulled IVs out just to stop the pain. The smaller the vein the more painful

- in the dark, without waking a person up, the bad guy was able to find a tiny vein in a foot (painful, painful site) then inject an incredibly painful solution and not one victim yelled, screamed, cried or even woke up? and despite the telemetry that is monitoring the heart - no one noticed those huge wave spikes or the sudden asystole?

-A person is injected by an untrained person (in a room full of people who are intently watching the victim) - an incredible painful substance that will cause your heart to seize and yet with a mild sedative this occurred with no one noticing.

Often I read errors, it's fine. I don't expect perfection but the basic premise was so far off that I couldn't really get into the characters and their relationships b/c I was constantly distracted by the unrealistic method.