Customer Reviews

When the Dead Speak (1st Sam Casey Mystery)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Detective Sergeant Samantha Casey has a "gift" from her Native American heritage. She is able to speak with the dead. Not words, but images. When a man's body is found encased in a cement pillar in a burb of Chicago, she is called in. The dead man has a golden pin shaped like a lightning bolt clutched in his hand.

Sam, with a little help from Jake and Tim (a boy computer genius/hacker), she unravels a complex case which dates back to the Korean War. The case gets worse as it connects to the death of her own father years ago.

I did not think this one would be good. A detective that is able to speak with the dead? Never work! I was wrong! This was an interesting book from the first page. The case gets more complex than I let on. Very good reading here!***

I bought this book based on the reviews - of 11 reviews 9 judged this book to be 5 stars. I cannot believe this to be right! Is it the author herself that has reviewed her book? Or her friends?

I found the book to be difficult to follow at times. I kept having to go back and re-read sections to understand the storyline. There were several "big" events that were not explained. Towards the end of the book a person were shown to be involved in the main plot but there was no explanation of why or how - it was just revealed in a few words and then that was the last of that. The plot and the characters were not well developed. It is a nice enough book to read to pass the time - but a 5 star it is not!

I notice that on Kindle the 1st book is ranked number 677 on the sales rank list while the 2nd book is ranked number 38,704. I would think that might be a sign that the 1st book was not interresting enough to buy the 2nd in the series?

Sandra Tooley has created a great heroine in Sam Casey. Multi-faceted because of her Indian heritage, Sam faces the challenge of a mysterious murder and a new man in her life in a startling way. This book has so many twists and turns it was hard to take a break from it.

The summary as written on line prepared one for this book. No great surprises. Enjoyable to read if this is your taste in literature

If you don't happen to have a couple of free evenings try not to start reading S. D. Tooley's, "When the Dead Speak." From the very first page to the last this is one mystery novel that holds the reader in a tight grip of intrigue and mysticism. Move over Sam Spade, Sam Casey is now on the literary scene.

keep em comng. i like the intgegration of indian mysticism in a real world setting..

I picked this book up at the NYC Book Fair. What a surprise. If you like NBC's The Profiler, you'll love Samantha Casey. Her mystic abilities will make your hair stand on end. This book has everything -- humor (Alex is a deadpan stitch), wisdom (everyone should have a Native American mother like Abby), mystery (you'll never look at politics the same, or you'll think "politics as usual"), romance (every book needs it). This one's a keeper.

This book is absolutely impossible to put down. The pace is fast and the characters unforgettable! I can't wait to read the next book. Sam Casey is my new hero.

This is the first book I ever started to read that I have not stuck with. The characters were so bland and generic and the prose style so stilted and unnatural I just couldn't be bothered. It was unengaging, boring and predictable. I wonder if the other reviewers were reading the same book?

This book cost me 49p and that is 49p wasted. Artless, awkward, disjointed - the story is a disappointment. The fact that it's listed under 'Fantasy' is a joke. It's nothing other than a below average mystery where the author has leveraged 'visions' to plug holes in her story. People have no character, they behave like straw people. It's like watching a puppet show where the strings can be clearly seen when you thought you were going to a well-made 3D movie. But I blame myself for being a sucker. One must ALWAYS ask oneself - why is this book selling for 49p?