Brain Storm (#1)
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.
Reviews
“[Elaine Viets’] complicated heroine deserves a return outing.”
“Angela’s endearing, spirited, and resilient humanity resonates on the page. Viets takes an entertaining detour from her usual cozy territory.”
“There is certainly much to like about this first in series crime novel. The characters are well-drawn, from Angela Richman and her experience recovering from her strokes, to her close friend, pathologist Katherine Kelly Stern, who assists Angela with her investigation. The murder mystery storyline is intricately crafted, and with Angela not quite sure what is real and what is a consequence of her hallucinations, the reader is kept in the dark, guessing as to whodunit and why. A strong start to this series.”