Dead Witness

By Joylene Nowell Butler

Valerie McCormick is a wife and mother from small town Canada. While visiting Seattle, she becomes the only witness to the brutal seaside murder of two FBI agents. When she flees to the nearest police station to report the crime, she becomes caught up in a web of international intrigue and danger. Suddenly, she and her family are in the sights of ruthless criminals bent on preventing her from testifying against the murderer. Even with FBI protection, Valerie is not safe. Whisked away from her family and all that is familiar to her, Valerie fights back against the well-intentioned FBI to ultimately take control over her life with every ounce of fury a mother can possess.

• Language: English
• Publisher: MuseItUp Publishing
• Release date: Dec 28, 2011
• ISBN: 9781927361078

Joylene Nowell Butler

Joylene is Métis from Canada. She began her first novel in 1984 to honour her father’s memory. Today she and her husband spread their time between Canada and Bucerias, Nayarit. Her first novel Dead Witness was a finalist in the 2012 Global eBook Awards. Suspense thriller Broken But Not Dead won the 2012 IPPY Silver Medal for Canada West. Mâtowak: Woman Who Cries was released on November 1, 2016. Maski was released on April 18, 2017. The audiobook version of Matowak was released in the summer of 2017. Today Joylene is applying the finishing touches to a new suspense thriller and an epic political novel. She's also working on her first children’s book.

Reviews for Dead Witness

[ajpohren · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Imagine being on an innocent vacation - one that has been won, no less, and suddenly being the unwitting witness to a murder. To top things off, this is not just any murder, but the murder of two undercover FBI Agents, the gunman one of the highest on the most wanted lists and the leader of a powerful Latin drug cartel. Murder is horrible enough, but with these dangerous circumstances, it can be deadly to the witness. Valerie McCormick, a wife and dotting and loving mother of three precious girls, lives in a small Canadian town. After winning a trip to Seattle, Valerie is alone when she encounters a seemingly heated conversation between several men. Before she knows it, one of the men pulls out a gun and kills two of men, right before her eyes. As she turns to escape, she drops her camera, which just happens to have one picture of herself in front of the hotel that she is staying at. Being the honorable person that she is, Valerie goes to the police with what she has witnessed, and her life is never the same again. Imagine being a mother whose one true purpose and reason for living is her children. Then suddenly being told that you will never again be able to see your children and if you do not cooperate, you will be putting those precious and cherished lives in grave danger. This is just one, but the most vital heart wrenching circumstance that Valerie must come to deal with. Until the murderer is found, her life is no longer her own and it does not take long for Valerie to take matters into her own hands. Invoking on a dangerous and life threatening quest, Valerie comes face to face with horrors that would break the average person. However, finding a deep inner strength and courage unlike any other, Valerie does what must be done to save her family and regain her life. I loved the character of Valerie and felt easily connected to her. The development that she goes through, as she engulfs upon this life threatening journey, is heartwarming and makes the reader want to cheer her discovery of inner courage and strength. Ms. Butler does a superb job of bringing the story of Dead Witness and her characters to life. I found it difficult to put this book down and though greatly satisfied with the ending, I was left wishing for more. Dead Witness is an excellent story of suspense with just a dash of romance thrown in. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a great read - you will not be disappointed. From the first word, until the last, there were never any dry spots, over-wording, or story lagging. I, for one, cannot wait to read more by this author and hope that the wait is not long!

[miyurose_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was pretty good! Really, much better than I expected, as it’s the first book I’ve read published by Lulu.com. It took me a while to warm up to Valerie and get into the story, but by the time she went to Mexico I was hooked! I didn’t like her husband, Ed, from the start, and was pleased to see him get his just desserts. Canaday is an interesting character, and I found the relationship between him and Valerie to be intriguing. My one complaint is that I didn’t feel like I connected to him enough. You know he’s the big bad Candyman, but sometimes he feels like just a rock in the corner. You also never really get the full story about Valerie’s parents… maybe this is explained in a novel to come? Overall, this was an enjoyable read.