When someone dies, they’re dead, right? Well . . . maybe not. And when someone dies at the hand of another, that’s a murder, right? Well . . . maybe that’s true, or maybe not.

Sure, there are various degrees of murder, ranging from intentional to unintentional homicide—and those include legal terms such as first degree or second degree murder, negligent homicide, etc.

But what if the dead person simply wakes up and walks out of the morgue? Is that considered a murder, or is that an “almost murder” if the person wakes up the next day and recovers from that dastardly deed?

Legally, people are either dead or not! Is an “almost murder” called an assault? What if the person was not technically harmed, nor remembers any such event? What is that called?

Three years ago, I published a murder mystery novel that featured my favorite detective duo—Homicide Detective Rosie Young and her partner Detective Vince Mendez. Rosie is tough, single-minded and a no-nonsense investigator. Vince, on the other hand, is more laid back. He kicks back and analyzes more than Rosie. She’s inclined to power her way through a case and pull out all the stops to find the bad guy.

In my Novel ALMOST DEAD, these detectives encounter the true challenge of their lifetime when, not one, but two murder victims wake up within 24-hours of their “murder” and simply move on with their lives as if nothing had happened. So, that can’t be called a murder, right?

Well, these victims appear dead with all the diagnostic clues of end of life—no muscle, corneal or gag reflexes, no detectable heartbeat or breath sounds. They were pronounced dead by the coroner beyond a shadow of a doubt!

Impossible, you say? Maybe, but there is science to explain such events. And, of course, drugs do exist that, when administered in the proper dosages, can create a situation that mimics death. In my novel I use both the science of physiology and some interesting pharmaceutical agents to make that very thing happen.

There is a long list of drugs, both from ancient times and the present, that can mimic death, and I’ve blogged about them in the past. The problem with most is that they are short-acting, and larger doses that can prolong a deep comatose state either produce violent side effects or lead to a truly lethal outcome.

In ALMOST DEAD, I create the plot and the perfect combination of drugs to produce unique and believable death scenes that prove to be only temporary with the victims not staying dead.

The chase to find answers and uncover the person responsible for such craziness leads Detectives Rosie Young and Vince Mendez on a multi-faceted, fast-paced hunt of this elusive villain and leaves a body count of truly dead people in their wake.

ALMOST DEAD is the first in my detective series. Book two is my current work in process and will be published toward the end of this year.

Almost Dead – A Murder Mystery Novel

“Intriguing and Great Entertainment!”

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