Customer Reviews

Death Pans Out

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Her mortality hammered at her mental well-being from two fronts. Forty-five years old Willamette Current reporter Jeneva "Neva" Leopold's mother recently died while she battles breast cancer with a double mastectomy. Needing to emotionally recover perhaps more than physical, Neva hides at the cabin of her Uncle Matthew Burt, who went missing fifteen years ago in desert town Billie Creek, Oregon.

Besides healthy outdoor activity, Neva keeps her mind off of the stress of grief and cancer by investigating her uncle's disappearance after he claimed a gold mine and why he and her mom abruptly stopped talking to one another. Neva questions the locals, but soon uncovers the corpse of miner Roy DeRoos. Another miner whom Neva befriended Reese Cotter is accused of the homicide; an allegation that the newcomer refuses to accept as true. However, as she keeps digging, Neva finds strange phenomena while someone wants her to cease and desist or else.

This is a terrific investigative thriller whose setting, the Oregonian desert, adds suspense to the tale. Neva is a fine person who turns to her experience and skill (inquiries) to help her regain a lust for life after taking two emotional blasts. The locals add regional eccentricities to a delightful "cold case" mystery, but Neva is the headline star of Ashna Graves' DEATH PANS OUT.

Harriet Klausner

Many mysteries follow a well-known formula as they spin their plots, but Death Pans Out succeeds not only in telling a superb, well-crafted story but also in exploring its characters' spiritual sides. This is an unhurried mystery, which allows Graves ample time to dig deeply into the life of her protagonist, a depressed woman who is recovering from cancer. Neva's investigation becomes part of her own healing process as she gradually re-emerges into the world and re-connects with other people. While I enjoy many mysteries, Death Pans Out moves beyond a "good mystery" into a book that is truly satisfying.

Reporter Jeneva Leopold, faced with a life-altering decision, takes a leave of absence from her job to recover from surgery. Breast cancer has claimed part of her body and she wants time to recover in relative peace. Not just from the debilitating effects of the surgery itself, but she wants to be in a place where she can think about her life and her existence. This is a novel about an unusual woman with an unusual plan to rehabilitate herself.

There are great stories surrounding the searches for precious metals from California, South America and the Yukon, as well as the production of gold from less well-known regions, and this one takes its cue from those stories. Fact or fiction, we are never quite sure, but here is a story which may well become a part of that so interesting body of literature.

Jeneva's family has long owned an idle gold mine in the mountains of Southern Oregon, a harsh, vastly rural region of high deserts, mountains, isolated communities, wild animals and, legends. One legend surrounds the mysterious disappearance of Jeneva's uncle, Mathew. Mathew disappeared one night from the cabin at the mine almost twenty years before the story opens, and his mining partner has retreated into a silent years from which he may never emerge.

Jeneva takes a long leave of absence and moved to the cabin at the mine where she intends to spend several months of the summer physically and mentally recovering from her trauma. Almost immediately, a parade of compelling characters begins to invade her peaceful existence, from a weird self-styled "artifact hunter," who insists that he always camps on Bureau of Forestry land and visits the area regularly, to a hearty sheriff who seems at times too good to be true, to a taciturn former model and beauty queen turned rancher, to assorted miners, a tall funeral director and other assorted characters. They all make for some fascinating scenes and while the action is never of a high order, the rising tension and sense of danger to Jeneva and her friends, is well-handled.

I enjoyed the story, learned some things about governmental land management and local attitudes toward government, and found the ending quite a surprise. If there are small problems with this debut novel, they stem from an experienced reporter acting entirely too trusting and naive to serve the story, and a couple of the rants are a little too long. That said, I look forward to another adventure with Jeneva Leopold.

I picked up this book because I have a fascination with old ghost towns and gold mining during the "gold rush years." The setting is ideal and Ashna Graves uses it to great advantage, driving plot and the character drama/development (much like I do in Last Chance Rescue). I immediately identified with the heroine of the story. She's the woman I think I am: she's strong but she struggles. She's not perfect but she's doing the best she can. She's had some lumps in her life, but she's her own person. You find yourself rooting for her. Supporting characters are sometimes a bit sparse, but mostly believeable. And the climactic scene...I wouldn't want to ruin it for anyone, but wow! - Tracey Cramer-Kelly, author, Last Chance Rescue

Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (11/06)


Uncle Matthew's cabin is empty; he owned a cabin and a gold mine, but he simply disappeared with no trace. Neva needs a place to recover from breast cancer, a place of solitude, a place where she can heal. The abandoned cabin seems the perfect spot. After three weeks of hiking and swimming she is golden brown from the sun and she's becoming more comfortable with her body. The scars are still pink but they are healing.

Skippy Dooley shatters her solitude when he arrives with the announcement that he and his German Shepherd Cayuse will be camping at the creek near the cabin. He knew she didn't trust him and the feeling was mutual.

Things are not always as they seem. Oregon's desert holds secrets, some of which are deadly.

From the moment I read the first page I was hooked. The characters are so real. Neva is not a young woman; she's the kind of woman that will appeal to many of us that no longer consider ourselves young. Neva has faced struggles in her life--raising a child alone, facing breast cancer and chemo have made her stronger. She is a woman that we can relate to, cheer for and like. Suspicion surrounds all the other characters in the book. You want to shout watch your back Neva! The plot is extremely interesting and very well written. Eagerly I turned page after page escaping into the mountain hikes along with Neva, awaiting the adventure that lay ahead. "Death Pans Out" has it all, suspense, thrill, romance, and a good story. I highly recommend this book. Ashna Graves, I expect your name to be on the bestseller list and the tips of reader's tongues.

Received book free of charge.

Some great character development. Example: Skipper Dooley who lives in a camper. Darla Steadman the mysterious horsewoman. I look forward in reading Ashna Grave's next novel. She has talent but needs to raze up her story lines.