Cause of Death

Cause of Death by Sheri Lewis Wohl is one creepy and well-written murder mystery. It is one of the best psychological thrillers I’ve read in a while.

The story revolves around Bavilla (Vi) Akiak and Kate Renard. Vi is a young woman, originally from Alaska, who is moving to Spokane, Washington to begin medical school to eventually become a pathologist. During her schooling she is also working as an assistant with the Medical Examiner’s Office in Spokane. She rents a small house next door to Kate, a farmer and search and rescue handler, and her dog Lucy. The two women become friends quickly with an attraction that hints there could be more in their future. But Vi has a secret involving the death of her mother. That secret involves a serial killer that the two of them must work together to find before he or she comes after them.

This is a great story premise, and I must say I was kept interested through the entire novel. We get to be in the minds of the two ladies as well as the serial killer in third person POV. The POV covers all three characters in every chapter. I have to confess that I was rather creeped out when I was reading the serial killer’s thoughts. That is a good thing though, since it shows how well the author developed the killer’s persona. The secondary characters are also well written and add depth to the overall story.

I really enjoyed reading this rather chilling murder mystery, and if you are into reading these types of thrillers, I think you will enjoy it as well.

Reviewed by Betty Harmon

That was INTERESTING!! So I really didn’t know what to expect from this book because I’ve never read the author and never cared for this genre before!
So this is a story of spirits, murder and serial killers. It is not a lesbian romance ! Yes the characters are mostly lesbians but there was no romance (just a scene or 2).
Having said that, I actually really liked the storyline! It was very intense, very entertaining and thrilling!

So if you are in the mood to change a little bit, refresh from the “norm”, I highly recommend this! Don’t expect any sex scenes, fluffy stuff or angst! But expect to be blown away with a very exciting crime drama!

Reviewed by corporate slave

Another reviewer has described this book as CSI meets Ghost Whisperer, and that's a spot-on description! Throw in one of the main characters being from Alaska, and I already had high hopes for this story. The cover was eye-catching and crisp, and I appreciate that. The author did not disappoint me, either. The chemistry between the two main characters was well-written and made complete sense to me. Throw in a super smart and super loveable dog and there was no way I was putting the book down without a fight...

The pace was brilliantly done, the suspense was just enough, and I'm not ashamed to admit that I had no idea who the serial killer was until almost the end. Something that doesn't happen often. I would be a very happy new fan of Ms. Wohl if a sequel were to emerge in the future.

I enjoyed this one that I'm not only giving it five stars, but it's one I can see reading over and over again.

Reviewed by Carolyn McBride

I never thought I would use the word "refreshing" in a review of a book about a serial killer, but I am going to and I will tell you why. The main character of this book is not only a lesbian, but she also happens to be an indigenous Alaskan. Both of these details were refreshing to me because there is not much representation in the literary world for either lesbians nor indigenous peoples. So, thank you Sheri, for representing them both in Vi. I believe she was a beautiful character, inside and out.

I do not typically care for books with spiritual storylines, or POVs from more than one character, but this book changed my opinion on both fronts. The spiritual aspect was not overdone and the POV switching back and forth from three different characters was not hard to keep up with and I was actually a fan of it.

There are quite a few storylines woven together and while some authors have a hard time making that flow, Sheri Lewis Wohl does it effortlessly. Everything captivated my attention, it flowed together perfectly, and I did not feel like I was missing any answers at the end of the novel.

Cause of Death gets 5/5 stars from me. I look forward to reading more from this author!

Reviewed by Nikki Morrissey