Watch Me Die

May 2, 2011
At the start of this gripping romantic suspense thriller from bestseller Spindler (Blood Vines), someone bashes in the head of elderly Father Girod at New Orleans' Sisters of Mercy Catholic School and Church. The unknown killer also spray-paints the church's stained-glass windows with the words: "He will come again to judge the living and the dead." When Det. Spencer Malone questions Mira Gallier, who restored the church's stained-glass windows after Hurricane Katrina six years earlier and still mourns her husband, Jeff, who perished in that catastrophe, the police detective has to wonder why she appears more distraught by the vandalized windows than by Father Girod's death. As the body count rises, Mira becomes one of the chief suspects in the murders. Meanwhile, Jeff's best friend, Connor Scott, returns to New Orleans, and Mira, who can't stop thinking about Jeff, feels guilty about her attraction to Connor. The plot takes numerous twists and turns until reaching the startling conclusion.

This combination crime and horror story, set in New Orleans six years after Hurricane Katrina, is a fascinating whodunit. Plot twists keep the listener guessing until it becomes easier to simply sit back and let narrator Christina Delaine explain them all. It's a testament to Delaine's narration skill that she keeps the story moving. There are lots of characters, and she imbues each one with a vocal personality. Mira Gallier, a stained-glass artist whose husband was killed in Katrina, strives mightily to keep it together as friends and family are murdered. The police are little help--they think Mira is the killer. Double crosses, even triple crosses, keep the story lively. M.S. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

November 1, 2011
Stained-glass artist Mira Gallier suffers from the loss of a partner and further psychological effects of surviving Hurricane Katrina, as do the New Orleans Police Department detectives looking into the several murders that seem connected to Mira. The plot here is intricate and engaging, although Mira's numerous stupid decisions are annoying. Spindler offers no insights into Mira's psyche or into clinical psychology though Mira is under treatment. There's also little resemblance to police work conducted other than by the "hunch" method and only slight commentary on current New Orleans. Several po'boy shops have gone missing, and for all the effect of Katrina, the rich are still rich and powerful, the poor still ignored. Despite the work's flaws, Spindler's fans will keep this audiobook—excellently read by Christina Delaine—in high demand.—Cliff Glaviano, formerly with Bowling Green State Univ. Libs., OH

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