Tag: New Jersey

The First to Die
by Suzanne Trauth

About The First to Die

The First to Die
Psychological Suspense
Setting – New Jersey
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Willow River Press
Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 18, 2025
Print length ‏ : ‎ 334 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1965059661
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0FQ4T189P

Connie Tucker, a free-spirited beach bartender, has been estranged from her family in New Jersey ever since her actress mother, Simone, disappeared one night during a violent storm at the theatre where she was rehearsing. Uncontrollable and in a rage at the loss of her parent, fifteen-year-old Connie is exiled to California, due to her delinquent behavior, to live with an aunt she doesn’t know.

Fifteen years later, Simone’s murdered remains are discovered at a construction site and Connie returns to the east coast for the funeral—she owes it to her mother. The cold case unit will take over now and solve the crime. But then she discovers a message her mother left behind. It feels like a dispatch from the grave.

Connie must face her tortured past, the guilt of concealing a devastating secret, and the part she played in her mother’s disappearance. Unearthing buried family history and childhood demons, she confronts the agonizing reality that she doesn’t know where she belongs, where to call home. Who to trust. When a second suspicious death occurs, Connie races to unravel the events of the night Simone disappeared. Her mother was the first to die…but not the last.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Fifteen years ago, Connie Tucker’s mother disappeared from the theater where she was rehearsing during a huge thunderstorm. Connie, just a child, was at the theater as well, and while she arrived safely home, she couldn’t handle not knowing what happened to her mother. She started acting out and was filled with rage. Her father couldn’t control her, so she was sent to live with an aunt she didn’t know and who really didn’t want her in California, but she tried to make the best of it.

Connie is now a laid-back beach bartender, and she just received a call that her mother’s remains have been found pretty close to their home in New Jersey, in a shallow grave on land that was being cleared and excavated for new construction. She does return for the funeral and learns the cold case unit will now take over the investigation into her mother’s death.

Connie finds a message left by her mother that forces her need to know what truly happened the night she disappeared. She doesn’t know who she can trust. Can a promise she made to her mother all those years ago play into her mom’s going missing? Her father and sister are ready to move on, but Connie needs to know the truth. She digs into the past, and just when she is about to confront someone to get answers, she finds their dead body. Will she ever get the answers she needs? All she knows is that while her mother was the first to die, she wasn’t the last . . . and Connie could be next?

Ms. Trauth has written an engrossing character-driven mystery that alternates between the past and the present, “then” and “now,” that gives the reader much more than an ordinary whodunit.

Connie was an easy character to latch onto. Her life was unconventional, always haunted by her mother’s disappearance. Before her mother disappeared, Connie had been hoping to follow in her footsteps, being an actor, so going to California seemed a plus. Those plans didn’t pan out, and she settled for a job with no pressure or stress with no desire to return to New Jersey. Then, when she did, she was so driven to find the truth,  seeing suspects around every turn. Could she get answers from the detective who originally had the case that went cold quickly? Would the cold case detective be open to her digging into the case, or would he tell her to leave the case to him? She couldn’t do that, and her need was apparent, and she was so determined.

The author surrounded Connie with an eclectic troupe of supporting characters that all appeared to be hiding something. From her older sister to her father, to the neighbors, to family friends, the more Connie digs into each of their connections and relationships, she finds a truly tangled mess to untangle, sending her on a heart-wrenching roller coaster.

I enjoyed the way Ms. Trauth plotted out and told this story. It has so much depth and is filled with twists and turns. Traveling with Connie was an emotional journey with a surprising ending, although not entirely satisfying.

The First to Die is a story of handling everything thrown at you, including the loss of a loved one, and how it all shapes your future. The need to find the truth so that you can hopefully find peace, wrapped into a heck of a compelling mystery that I found incredibly hard to put down.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to the author for providing me with an ARC.

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Excerpt

“They found Mom. You need to come home.”

Her older sister Gaby wasn’t one to waste words.

Connie should have been relieved, comforted, something. Unfortunately, it was fifteen years too late for that. And anguish she had buried deep in her body, and mind, erupted with a vengeance.

She cooled her heels in San Diego until the last possible moment to return for the funeral. The less time spent there, the better. New Jersey triggered chilling images tethered to that night. To the last time she saw her mother.

The plane thumped to earth, delivering Connie Tucker to the past with a bounce. Everything about this state was a rude wake-up call. She couldn’t wait to board the return flight to California. At fifteen, she left New Jersey in a rage, thrown out of the only home she’d known, dumped thousands of miles away on a relative she’d never met. Nerves twitching, her insides were a stew of anxiety and bitterness, wondering how people here would react to seeing her. Connie shook her head to tamp down the unruly thoughts and scold herself. They were the ones who should be nervous.

About Suzanne Trauth 

Suzanne Trauth is a novelist and playwright. Her novels include What Remains of Love(a first-place winner in Women’s Fiction, Firebird Book Awards; a finalist in General Fiction, American Book Festival; and a finalist for the Hemingway Prize) and the Dodie O’Dell mystery series–Show Time, Time Out, Running Out of Time, Just in Time, No More Time, and Killing Time. Her most recent novel, The First to Die, a domestic suspense novel, will be released in November 2025. She is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, the Dramatists Guild, and the League of Professional Theatre Women.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” “As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.” I am also an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.” These funds are often used for gift cards and other giveaways.