Never Say Die

by Kris Neri

Hit by a car and left for dead on a San Diego street, it is only because of her indomitable will that professional triathlete Zoey Morgan is able to fight her way back from death's door. Too bad she left behind in that nether world, not only her memory of the vehicular assault, but the events that led up to it. When the attacks against her escalate, and the police seem to regard Zoey more as a suspect than a victim, she must struggle alone to save...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0615981836
• ISBN13: 9780615981833
• Release Date: May 2014
• Publisher: Well Red Coyote
• Length: 314 Pages
• Weight: 0.93 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Danger, Mystery, Triathlon

When Zoey Morgan wakes up in the hospital, she doesn't remember the last few days. The doctor tells her she was hit by a car while out running. While she wants to dismiss it as a freak accident, something in the back of her mind makes her think it was more then that. The accident couldn't have come at a worse time. It's just a couple weeks before a big triathlon in San Diego. Since Zoey is a professional triathelete, she has to shake off the after effects of the accident quickly and get back on her training schedule. All the while, little accidents keep happening to her. Maybe the accident wasn't really an accident. But is she just being paranoid, or is someone really out to get her? The book starts with a bang that quickly hooked me. Unfortunately, the pace of the story doesn't quite hold up to that promise. While the story moves along well, the scenes dedicated to the race training tend to slow things down. Still, the book does reach a thrilling and logical solution. Zoey helps the story along. While she seems aloof at first, I quickly got past that and grew to care for her. When she faces several set backs and surprises, it effected me as well. The other major players are well defined as well. While the pacing of the story could have been a little stronger, this is a minor complaint. Overall, I enjoyed this thrill ride from start to finish.

A captivating sports mystery

In San Diego triathlete Zoey Morgan is training the Touchstone Classic when a car hits her before speeding off without stopping. The paramedics work to save her life though one believes she is a DRT, dead right there while the other continues to work frantically to save her. Detectives Lou Pena and Dale Terry arrive at the scene and are shocked to recognize the victim who graces the cover of Triathlete magazine. A witness steps forward claiming the driver deliberately tried to kill Zoey and he is someone everyone knows. As Zoey recovers in the hospital Dale asks what she remembers about the accident, but to her chagrin she recalls nothing at all. Meanwhile Doug Tomaso cannot believe the San Diego Union states his victim lived. Stunned self deprecating Dougie plans to complete the job correctly next time. Zoey ponders who truly wants her dead and why as other incidents occur leading her to trust no one not even the cop who she is attracted to and who saved her life. Combining the rigors of training for a major iron person competition with a whodunit, Kris Neri, switching from the Tracy Eaton "Revenge" tales, provides her readers with a captivating sports mystery. The fast-paced story line uses small flashbacks that tell somewhat the past of the beleaguered heroine as well as the motive for wanting her dead starting with her reaction to the CD cover of a dead musician. The twists will surprise the audience who swim, bike, and run along side of Zoey as she tries to stay alive. Harriet Klausner

A Great New Character

I highly recommend New Say Die as an addition to your mystery library. Zoey Morgan is a strong and fascinating new character from award winning author Kris Neri. This story starts with a bang when Zoey is hit by car and it never lets the reader go! As I read, I found myself trying to dissect Zoey's complex past, adding the nuggets of information to the story line as I turned the pages and neglected household chores and work. I also enjoyed learning about the world of the triathlete. I never knew there was a profession that allowed a person to eat so much forbidden food

Never Say Die

I just finished reading the first in Kris Neri's new series Never Say Die and recommend it highly. It is a real page-turner and very different from her other series. Unlike her award nominated Revenge series, which I also loved (Revenge of the Gypsy Queen, Dem Bones' Revenge, Revenge for Old Times' Sake), Never Say Die is definitely not a cozy. Zoey Morgan protagonist of Never Say Die is a triathlete who is struck down by a hit and run driver as she trains for an event in San Diego. When she awakens she finds that her memory of the recent past is like Swiss Cheese. Maybe that wouldn't be so bad if the police believed her memory loss and if she didn't suspect someone is trying to kill her. Who and why plague her as does her attacker. Zoey is a multidimensional and interesting character as are the other important people she interacts with. The background of the triathlon world is new to me and a nice change from the usual settings. The book is well-written, has lots of suspense, good use of setting and interesting characters. What more could you want?

Welcome Zoey Morgan!

Never Say Die, the new book by Kris Neri and the first in what promises to be an excellent new series [following her Tracy Eaton mysteries], opens with a bang, almost literally, when its protagonist, Zoey Morgan, is struck by a car and, briefly, declared dead - the operative word being 'briefly.' Zoey then has to discover who wanted to kill her [as, according to a witness, this was no accident], and why. Zoey is a triathlete, in training for her next big race, and has sustained memory loss as a result of her brush with death, leaving her, and the reader, with gaps as to the days preceding the incident as well as various periods of time before that. The author allows tantalizing hints as to Zoey's backstory, leaving the reader curious as to her secrets. The book is comprised of short, punchy chapters, most no more than a few pages long. Zoey is a strong protagonist, an independent woman loathe to trust anyone around her, a protective instrinct that almost, but not quite, betrays her in this suspense-filled story. Other incidents follow the auto 'accident,' other attempts on Zoey's life, which she finally realizes are quite real. Her lover-cum-sports agent Marty; her friend and co-triathlete, Cindy; Dale, the man who saves Zoey's life more than once, but who seems to be other than what he at first appears to be; Rob, who manages the events competition; various other athletes who Zoey has 'outed' as steroid users; any one or more of these in her circle could be involved. [The theme of Trust is a recurrent one throughout the novel.] And what of Willi Bogs, the singer/songwriter whose sudden disappearance and apparent death have brought instant stardom, but whose likeness causes a violent reaction in Zoey, the cause of which she cannot fathom. The fascinating insights into the lives of the competitors in this sport, and the sport itself, added to the whodunit and why of the well-written tale, make this a very good read.