Dead Witness is the best kind of rollercoaster ride in the park! A slow ominous beginning rolls forward, building tension as the bumps ahead come into view.

By the time our heroine Valerie McCormick is on her vigilante mission to take down a cartel boss where the FBI had failed, sub-plots keep us rocketing along.

From her husband's potential betrayal and her brother's brave search for her - to the continuing mystery around her parents' death - Valerie's life is spiraling towards a dark conclusion.

Author Joylene Butler has crafted a skillfully woven narrative around a simple question: How far would a mother go to protect her children?

Valerie's actions answer resoundingly in her heroic journey into the dangerous world of psychotic career criminals, armed only with passion and tenacity.

In the face of certain death, she discovers the full extent of her physical and emotional capabilities.

Dead Witness is highly recommended for mystery lovers and anyone from BC who would enjoy reading their own small towns threaded into an international thriller.

DEAD WITNESS by Joylene Nowell Butler.

When Canadian Valerie McCormick won a trip to Seattle , she could never have imagined the bizarre twist that fate had in store for her. She had promised to take pictures of a boat one of her husband's client wanted to buy, and she was determined to keep her promise. What she saw instead was a gang-style execution in progress; and the killer saw her. In her desperation to get away she dropped her camera and her life took a sharp turn that couldn't be reversed.

The killers are members of the DeOlmos family, a drug cartel operated by charming but deadly brothers. Valerie is the eye-witness who could put them away forever, and they knew who she is. Once Valerie is placed into the witness protection program, things go haywire. Somehow the DeOlmos know her every move. Mike "Candyman" Canaday is the special FBI agent assigned to protect her, and he will do anything necessary to do his duty.

Dead Witness is an adventure/mystery novel with enough twists and turns to keep the pages turning. Will Valerie's family be safe? Will she ever see her daughters again or will the DeOlmos gang take their revenge on them? Or will they find her before the FBI can take them down. This is a terrific novel with a strong female lead and an equally strong male counterpart. Great entertainment.

J. F. Gump
Author of:
"Siam Nights"
"Thailand , Cold Rain"
"Tears For The Thai Girl"
"Blame It On Bangkok "

Valerie McCormick witnesses the murder of two FBI agents while visiting in Seattle, Washington. When the FBI lose track of the killer and not only her safety but also that of her family is jeopardized, Valerie escapes from their witness protection program and gets personally involved in the search with a tenacity that mothers everywhere will relate to.

The advice writers are frequently given -- to write what they know -- doesn't always work to their advantage. For author Joylene Butler, however, it's helped her produce believable characters who function in credible locales. This debut novel, "Dead Witness", features a wife and mother from Prince George, a small city in western Canada, where Butler also lives. In the story Valerie's brother is an ex-RCMP officer and PI; Butler's real life brother is also a PI. It all provides a familiarity that makes it easy for readers to get and stay involved in the story.

"Dead Witness" has good storytelling and a well paced plot. It's a suspense-filled page-turner right to the end!

Dead Witness, the exciting break-out novel from a talented new author - Joylene Butler, is a non-stop roller-coaster of suspense and intrigue.

Joylene does a masterful job of creating an "Every-Woman" protagonist, Valerie McCormick, that at first you will feel compassion for when she is forced to abandon her beloved family to save their lives. But as the story progresses, you will find yourself rooting for Valerie as she learns that she is much stronger that she ever imagined

The story is tight and well crafted. The villains are pure poison but the author doesn't fall in to the trap of so many others who make their evil characters two dimensional stereotypes.
Author Butler's villains are evil to be sure but the author gives us a back story which helps we the reader, to comprehend their actions without necessarily sympathizing with them


The action is fast paced and intense, as is the transformation of Valerie; from a bored, and beleaguered wife and mother - to a woman who finds that when the worst happens and her family lives are in danger, she has the inner strength to transform herself from an insecure and vulnerable housewife, to a brave and strong woman.

I highly recommend Dead Witness as a "Must" for your reading list !

Ric

Ric Wasley - Author

•The Scrimshaw - 2008
•Shadow of Innocence - 2007
•Newport Blues (limited Edition)
•Acid Test - 2004

Short Stories:
At my Window with a Broken Wing
Embers
The Night
Baby Boomer article series: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ric_Wasley