Rating: 
Summary: A Promising Author To Keep Your Eye On...
Review: A book that defies the crime fiction mold. From page one, you know you're in for a different kind of read. Forget the doughnuts, stale coffee, stakeouts and nicotine-addicted cynics. Private eye Chase Dagger ferrets out leads with the aid of his unseasoned, yet bright and enigmatic partner, Sara Morningsky - who draws on mystical shape-shifting powers passed down through generations of Native American ancestors to investigate leads. This murder mystery is full of twists and turns and red herrings that keep you guessing till the end. The first Chase Dagger novel, I understand Lee Driver really hits her stride with the next in the series, 'Full Moon, Bloody Moon,' which won a Book of the Year Award.
Rating: 
Summary: A slick hit
Review: A handsome detective, colorful sidekicks, and great writing make for a wonderful read. Chase Dagger has a past not fully shared with his readers. The cases he works are ones not usually taken by your everyday P.I. Couple this with some Native American mythology and a quirky paranoid computer geek and you've got one entertaining read. THE GOOD DIE TWICE basically refers to someone who dies twice. She was assumed dead the first time and the puzzle is in who tried to kill her the first time and where has she been hiding out for five years. The Native American lore is in Sara's ability to shapeshift. (Native Americans believed that elders could shapeshift into animal forms to spy on their enemies.) I love mysteries with a bit of fantasy, sci-fi, psychic phenomena, you name it. By reading the cover or reading the book description on Amazon, anyone can tell that this is what the book entails. So for readers who can't suspend disbelief, it's your own fault if you are disappointed. Stick to the Oprah picks!
Rating:
Summary: Exciting and interesting series starter
Review: Author Lee Driver offers the first in the series of mysteries starring private investigator Chase Dagger--The Good Die Twice. Also on hand are his assistant (and landlady) 18-year-old Native American shape shifter Sara Morningsky and his scarlet macaw Einstein, who, through his sometimes inappropriate repetition of words, often knows more than he appears to. Driver (who also writes Sam Casey mysteries under the name S.D. Tooley) starts the series with a bang as Dagger and Sara investigate a woman's murder that Sara witnessed during an outing as a hawk. She later recognizes the woman from a photo at a party as one Rachel Tyler, wife of Robert Tyler. The problem is that Rachel Tyler already died, five years ago. So Dagger and company are off and running to find out the truth. Along the way, we meet Dagger's cadre of friends and associates--like Padre the seminary-student-turned-police-sergeant, Skizzy the paranoid jeweler, and Simon the mailman (who predicts something besides friendship in Dagger and Sara's relationship)--and learn more about Sara's unique history and abilities. These asides enhance the reader's feeling for the characters, enhancing the story instead of taking away from it. The relationship between Dagger and Padre is well-drawn and believable and Skizzy offers terrific comic relief through his mistrust of any and all public institutions, including doctors and grocery stores. In addition to murder and humor, The Good Die Twice contains plenty of sexual tension, and the author is an equal opportunity ogler, offering as many (if not more) vivid descriptions of Dagger's fit physique as of Sara's various attributes. Living in such close quarters makes for some consistent effort on the part of both Sara and Dagger towards keeping their relationship platonic, and Driver lets us in on every inappropriate thought, however brief. Chase himself seems as if he was lifted straight out of a romance paperback, with his long hair, all black wardrobe, single earring, and motorcycle-riding tendencies, and Driver has placed around him an appropriate plot, with enough family and relationship melodrama to fill a full season of any daytime drama. Dagger's ex-fiancee, Sheila (who just won't seem to catch on that she is his ex-fiancee), is a terrific source of this, but the Tyler family has their own eminently readable faults to serve up as well. Having the macaw lead to the solution of the crime is forced but cute, and the rest of the book more than makes up for it with engaging characters, realistic dialogue, fast pacing, and a more than satisfactory conclusion. This is a combination of mystery, thriller, adventure, and mythological elements like nothing I've read since F. Paul Wilson's Repairman Jack series. I was even surprised by my own eagerness to continue reading. I really wanted to know what was going to happen; I cared about the characters. I applaud Driver for her efforts and, after the exciting tidbits she gives regarding Dagger's past (and likely future) at the end of The Good Die Twice, I am even more eagerly looking forward to reading the next installment in the Chase Dagger/Sara Morningsky series, Full Moon, Bloody Moon.
Rating:
Summary: A mystery to die for
Review: Cross-genre mysteries are becoming more and more popular. The Good Die Twice introduces us to a new team of detectives: Chase Dagger and Sara Morningsky. Sara is a shapeshifter, she can shift into a hawk or a wolf, a talent not new to those familiar with Native American lore. Sara witnesses the murder of a woman believed to have died five years ago. A fascinating crew of characters are cleverly drawn and memorable. Einstein is a scarlet macaw with a photographic memory. Simon is a street-wise mailman who knows everything happening around town. Skizzy is by far the most colorful -- a paranoid who believes "big brother" is always watching. It takes a gifted writer to pull this off and Driver succeeds. I just read FULL MOON-BLOODY MOON, the second in this series, and it is a notch above, taking it a step further, combining mystery with horror. For those who easily suspend disbelief, you will find this a tantalizing addition to the mystery/fantasy genre.
Rating:
Summary: A mystery to die for
Review: Cross-genre mysteries are becoming more and more popular. The Good Die Twice introduces us to a new team of detectives: Chase Dagger and Sara Morningsky. Sara is a shapeshifter, she can shift into a hawk or a wolf, a talent not new to those familiar with Native American lore. Sara witnesses the murder of a woman believed to have died five years ago. A fascinating crew of characters are cleverly drawn and memorable. Einstein is a scarlet macaw with a photographic memory. Simon is a street-wise mailman who knows everything happening around town. Skizzy is by far the most colorful -- a paranoid who believes "big brother" is always watching. It takes a gifted writer to pull this off and Driver succeeds. I just read FULL MOON-BLOODY MOON, the second in this series, and it is a notch above, taking it a step further, combining mystery with horror. For those who easily suspend disbelief, you will find this a tantalizing addition to the mystery/fantasy genre.
Rating: 
Summary: Might be good for teenagers
Review: I couldn't get past the first third of this book. I tried, but to me it read like a book written for a teenager by a teenager. Good heavens, a young woman who turns into a hawk (and apparently a wolf as well, but I didn't get that far), the most stilted dialogue imaginable, cliche after cliche, and character development apparently not something the author chose to consider. I would have given it only 1 star, but I think Lee Driver deserves some credit for at least trying. Needless to say, I don't recommend this book, unless perhaps you're under the age of 14 and very gullible.
Rating: 
Summary: Maybe for Younger Readers
Review: I must agree with some of the other reviewers -- the concept was intriguing, but the execution was poor. Actually, the execution was VERY poor since I'm still trying to fight my way to the end of the book. Normally I'd finish a book like this in a few days. But it's simply a boring book and so it's difficult to find the time to finish it. The basic idea was interesting; a typical hard-boiled detective and a young, naive teenager with paranormal abilities team up to hunt down the bad guys. In this case it was a mystery of a double murder. Not two people murdered, but the same person murdered twice. Kind of catchy... Not. I did not read the initial book of this series which evidentally explains where Sara -- the teenager with the abilities -- meets Chase Dagger the hard-boiled detective. Nor am I going to read that book. "The Good Die Twice" has almost done me in with Sara's over-sickly-sweetness and naitivity. She's apparently been so sheltered that she gets along better with a bird than people. Her attempt to dress up and walk in high heels was insipid and added nothing to the story. She's so naive that she follows a drunk to his bedroom, then panics and has to beat the snot out of him and change herself into a hawk to boot. The difference between her actions -- one minute the shy, sweet young girl and the next minute Rambette -- might have been interesting if explored properly. In this case it was just a "switch-on-switch-off" type thing. Chase Dagger, apart from his name, isn't any more riviting than his young partner. He spends a lot of time fighting off his ex-fiancee because he's busy thinking of Sara, a girl young enough to be his daughter. So he's torn between being a dirty old man and a protector of the innocent. When he isn't angsting over Sara in some form or another, or chasing his bird around, he's playing in his "secret room" which is stuffed with weapons -- of course. Geez, how corny can you get? The only member of the team who is tolerable is the bird, Einstein, and he's merely annoying. I don't know if I'll ever get to the actual "whodunit" part of the book. I'm having a hard time caring.
Rating:
Summary: Nearly a Perfect Mystery
Review: I stumbled across this book while cruising Amazon. Before I could finish I came back and ordered the other two in this series because I knew I didn't want the experience to end.(...) The first page where the hawk is introduced was the only page I had to "digest." The rest pulled me along and I read every word. In some mysteries, I skip sentences or whole sections because the writing is boring and I know it's just filler. Yes, even in the best. But Ms. Driver's writing is tight and the story is taut to the end. She reveals the culprits early, but it's still a wild ride to the last sentence. Everything is pulled together nicely. No, she doesn't wallow in the violence and I hope that doesn't change, but she describes the action sufficiently for you to understand what's happening. Violence is gratituous enough on TV and in the movies, it's nice to have a chance to use your brain to fill in the not-needed GORY details,if you must. She delivers just enough to make you feel the tension and potential. When she wants you to know a character is evil and capable of the vilest activities, you know it, believe me. Very shrewd. The bird is aptly described and becomes an interesting character. She develops the characters, gives them depth and emotion, and crafts and interesting tale. If the shape shifting seems too much, don't worry, it doesn't overtake the story. The American Indian influences are subtle, but appealing and well-done. This book does a lot and does it well: plot,dialogue,intrigue, character development, sexual tension, police procedures, animal influence. The weakest character is the fiancee, but maybe there are women like that. She doesn't take away from the book, and haven't you noticed that most stories on TV have once character you just hate. So, even Sheila serves a purpose. :)Enjoy the book. I am looking forward to many more "cases" with Sara, Dagger, and Einstein.
Rating:
Summary: super supernatural thriller
Review: Lee Driver takes you into a world of supernatural adventure that keeps you turning pages to find out what happens next and wondering if it really could, it did or it actually is! Glad to have found this new author.
Rating:
Summary: Very Highly Recommended
Review: Lee Driver's The Good Die Twice is the start of an extraordinary new mystery series featuring Chase Dagger and his Native American partner Sara Morningsky. Combining Native American tradition with the guts and gore of a solid murder mystery, The Good Die Twice is certainly at the top of my best books list. Five years ago wealthy Robert Tyler's wife disappeared and is presumed dead. Her body was never found. Five years after Rachel Tyler's disappearance, Sara Morningsky, a Native American 18-year-old with the gift of the ability to shapeshift into either a hawk or a wolf, witnesses a mysterious woman's murder in the present. When she attends a social event with Chase Dagger, Sara recognizes the woman on the wall as the mysterious woman she saw brutally murdered. Sara could not report the murder to the police since a shapeshifter could never be convincing. When she drags Dagger to the crime scene, they find a black, possibly topaz, earring the size of at least fifty carats. Little do they suspect the danger the have let themselves in for, or the dangerous story behind the earring presumed to belong to the murder victim. With a creative ingenuity seldom matched, Driver presents the reader with the sexy, mysterious, thirty-year-old Dagger and his perfect counterpoint Sara. Combine them with the rowdy Einstein, a scarlet macaw with an incredible memory. Add Dagger's fiancée wanna-be, a woman with a talent for clothes and the inability to accept that Dagger won't marry her. Complete the mix with Skizzy, the paranoid schizophrenic with a talent for creating legal documents. The results are a suspenseful blend that will leave readers clamoring for more. Driver also writes as the extraordinary Sandra Tooley, the author of When The Dead Speak and Nothing Else Matters. This author's fresh approach to crime-fiction, with an overlay of the mystical that doesn't stifle but enlivens is a rare blend of Native American tradition and crime-fiction guaranteed to satisfy. Cindy Penn, Reviewer
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