Dead Man’s Switch

The Kate Reilly Mysteries, Book 1

By: Tammy Kaehler

Narrated by: Nicole Vilencia

Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

Does Kate have the drive needed to track down the killer?

Aspiring race-car driver Kate Reilly goes looking for a full-time ride in the American Le Mans Series—and stumbles over a dead driver. When she takes that driver’s job just hours later, she also takes pole position on the list of suspects in his murder. Suddenly she’s in the hot seat with little time to clear her name and get ready to race a Corvette at Lime Rock Park.

Amidst suspicion, Kate buckles down, quickly getting to know the race car and team, bumping into plenty of suspects who might have committed murder. Clues fly at her as fast as the turns on the track, including a cryptic list of blackmail victims, unexplainable car performance at racing speed, a jealous husband with an adulterous wife, and drivers and crew who are openly happy that her predecessor is dead. Kate finds exhilaration and hazards exist on the track and off as she throttles up both the Corvette’s V8 engine and a murder investigation.

The green-flag countdown ticks away, and Kate must decide who she can trust to help probe alibis, untangle rumors of team breakups and personal betrayals, and determine whose drive to win could also constitute a willingness to kill. What’s at stake in Kate’s race to the truth is her career—only by uncovering a murderer can Kate restore her reputation and prove she belongs in the racing world.

©2011 Tammy Kaehler (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“A wild ride with treacherous twists and threatening turns. I was captured by her exquisite writing, her ability to depict that world so vividly, and her skill in weaving a complicated but believable plot.” (Joan Hansen, founder, Men of Mystery Festival, and winner of the Raven Award from the Mystery Writers of America )

Race Driver looking for a ride

Kate Reilly is looking for a “ride” at Lime Rock Park speedway in Lakeville, Connecticut on the 4th of July weekend where the American Le Mans series (ALMS) is racing its Corvettes. Kate’s level of experience means that she must become a part of a racing team in order to be taken seriously as a driver. Turning up at the track says that she is ready and willing just in case a team needs a driver.

As luck would have it, Kate discovers a body by barely hitting it when she arrived and parked her car. That body is Wade Becker, driver of the 28 Corvette on the Sandham Swift racing team. She runs for help and finds Stuart Telardy, VP of operations and communications for ALMS, 33, and handsome. When the police arrive, the detectives question her repeatedly, wondering why she had found Wade’s body. She is incredulous when they ask for her alibi for the previous night. At least she’d been with her friend Holly from Western racing team, who takes Kate under her wing after the police release her on that Saturday morning.

Jack Sandham finds Kate in Holly’s team’s paddock. He hires Kate to drive for Wade for this race with possibilities for the remainder of the series. Kate is thrilled when her dreams come true and she is hired as the second driver. The rumor mill explodes, and Kate is considered a prime suspect in Becker’s murder. However, Wade was not a popular driver, so many will not miss him. They are happy to see what Kate can do. Many others believe a woman does not make a good race driver and let her know it. She’s a 24-year-old female who has been working her way up in the racing world since she was 12 years old. But she knows she is stepping into a chaotic situation full of emotion.

Sandham Swift is a private team racing two C6R Corvettes purchased from the manufacturer, numbers 28 an 29. The cars competed in GT1 (Grand Touring 1) along with large Ferraris, Vipers, Mazaradis, Astin Martins, and Selenes. Other classes include the GT2 and Le Mans prototype classes 1 and 2. Two drivers share the car in every race, with more drivers for longer races. Kate had joined this team for the third stint at the end of Sebring’s 12-hour race the year before so knew the car, the team, the pit crew, the owner.

Kate immediately meets with the crew, learning more about the car and the track. She will only have an hour to practice in the car before the race. She needed to convince the detectives she didn’t commit murder while getting to know the car and track as best she could.

When race time arrives, we are treated to a step-by-step rundown of what goes on inside the race car. With each turn of the car, Kate describes the actions needed to navigate the turns, the straights, and pit lane. She has done this a million times before she ever attempts it in the car. It is as close to a personal tour of the track as the reader can get without being there.

This is a great narrator!

What did you love best about Dead Man’s Switch?

The narration!

What does Nicole Vilencia bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The narrator deliver's a wonderful read. This book is a great little murder mystery. If you like these stories, you will love this book.

Not For Me

This book had too much information about racing. It's one thing to build a story around racing but the reader doesn't need to know every detail. It was just too much for me.