Review: Paranoid by Lisa Jackson

Author: Lisa Jackson
Publisher: Kensington
Publication Date: June 2019

There are people in Edgewater, Oregon, who think that twenty years ago, Rachel Gaston got away with murder.

Rachel still has no idea how a foolish teenaged game turned deadly—or who replaced her soft pellet air gun with a real weapon. When a figure leapt out at her from the darkness, she fired without thinking. Too late, she recognized her half-brother, Luke, and saw blood blooming around his chest.

Despite counseling, Rachel’s horrifying dreams about that night continue. Her anxiety contributed to her divorce from Detective Cade Ryder, though he blames himself too. But as Rachel’s high school reunion nears, she feels her imagination playing tricks, convincing her that objects in her house have moved. That there’s a hint of unfamiliar cologne in the air. That someone is tailing her car. Watching her home.

She’s right to be scared. And as connections surface between a new string of murders and Luke’s death, Rachel realizes there’s no escaping the past, and the truth may be darker than her worst fears 

Paranoid is another recent thriller that I was excited to read, but was kind of let down in the end.  The premise of the book was promising...someone is killing classmates of Rachel Gaston's just in time for their class reunion.  Each of them were involved in a nighttime game in an abandoned factory when the game turned deadly.  Now as her friends are dying, someone is stalking her.

On the one hand,, I did enjoy the mystery part of the book.  I didn't call the killer or any of the twists in the end.  There were some very creepy scenes.  The big lesson to learn here? Don't meet your lover in an abandoned school at midnight.  The pacing was good and I wasn't bored.

What I didn't like were some of the characters.  They weren't memorable and most of them were horrible people.  Rachel's kids needed to have their attitudes majorly readjusted.  As an aside, why do authors keep writing teens like this?  I have two and I would never put up with attitudes like theirs.  I was also disappointed with the way Rachel and Cade both kept having inner dialogue with themselves about how much they missed the other, but it was never followed through with.  I would have loved a bit more romance in that area.  Ultimately, I would recommend it, it just wasn't as good as I was hoping.

You Don't Want to Know by Lisa Jackson

Author: Lisa Jackson
Publisher: Kensington
Date of Publication: August 2012

 Almost everyone, including Ava’s semi-estranged husband, assumes the boy drowned after falling off the dock near their Church Island home.  Ava has spent most of the past two years in and out of Seattle mental institutions, shattered by grief and unable to recall the details of Noah’s disappearance. Now she’s back at Neptune’s Gate, the family estate, her strength slowly returning. But as Ava’s mind comes back into focus, she can’t shake the feeling that her family, and her psychologist, know more than they’re saying. Are they worried for her well-being—or anxious about what she might discover?


 I thoroughly enjoyed You Don't Want to Know.  I will readily admit that I didn't figure this one out until Ava did. I thought I had it figured out in the beginning, but I was so wrong!  I think this book would make a great movie.  It reminded me of the 1944 movie Gaslight with Ingrid Bergman.  You know the main character is sane, but things keep happening that you start to wonder if she really is slowly going crazy. I really don't want to say much more about the plot.  Aside from making her look crazy, someone is trying to set her up as a murderer.  Ms. Jackson throws so many twists and turns into this book that you will not know who to trust. 

I loved Ava's character.  I felt for her every time she thinks she sees or hears her missing son.  I think losing a child would be enough to make her go out of her mind.  All of the other characters in the book seem a little shady.  All of them have a motive to want to drive Ava out of her mind and back into the hospital.  I was so rooting for Ava to get back on track and figure out what was going on.

The only thing I didn't like about the book was the "romance" between Ava and Austin Dern.  I wasn't exactly sure when they were supposed to have fallen in love.  Aside from an attraction, I just didn't see it.  Everyone kept mentioning that she looked like she was in love with him.  How and when did it happen?  Honestly, I think it would have been fine to leave out that whole side plot. While it was a nice addition to the ending, the book really didn't' need it.  

I know fans of Lisa Jackon's books will enjoy this latest stand alone novel.  Want to know if Noah is still alive?  Is Ava going crazy?  Read the book and find out!

Throwback Thursday: Secrets & Lies by Lisa Jackson

Author: Lisa Jackson
First published in 1993 by Harlequin
Audio-book by Brilliance Corporation


"He's a bad boy"  Famous criminal defense attorney Jackson Moore thought he had left his bad-boy past behind him--but his childhood sweetheart had different plans for him.


"He's just a cowboy" For six agonizing years Heather Tremont Leonetti tried to make a lie of the breathless summer when rodeo rider Turner Brooks broke her innocence and branded her heart. But now only the truth could save her most precious, cherished memento.

Secrets and Lies contains two of Lisa Jackson's earlier romances.  They are books 1 and 2 of a 4 part series.  After reading these,I have definitely begun haunting my library for the last two. Each story is split into two parts, then and now.  I liked the format because I didn't have to be told the back story in multiple flashbacks.  That made it more entertaining for me.  

The first book is He's a Bad Boy.  Jacskon Moore and Rachelle Tremont ended up sharing a night of passion the same night as the towns golden child is murdered.  Rachelle is ostracized by the town when she supplies an alibi for Jackson when he is accused of murder.  Now they have both come back to their home town seeking answers to what happened that night so long ago.  The love story in this one was very sweet.  I love lost love stories.  I was rooting for their HEA.  The murderer was pretty easy to pick out, but it didn't ruin the story for me.







He's Just a Cowboy was also pretty good.  I didn't like it was much as the first, though.  A few things bothered me.  Turner Brooks was a playboy who took Heather's innocence one steamy summer.  He leaves and she discovers she is pregnant with his child. 6 years later, her son is sick and she needs his help.  While I liked the characters and their love story, I was bothered by the lack of birth control use in this story.  I thought Turner's reaction to Heather getting pregnant again after they hooked up was a bit harsh.  You would think that 6 years later, they would both understand the birds and the bees.  At any rate, it was still an enjoyable read.


If you missed these two throwbacks, pick up the audio-book.  It was well done and worth a listen!

Devious

Author: Lisa Jackson
Publisher: Kensington April 2011 (Audio book by Brilliance Audio)

The crime scene at St. Marguerite’s cathedral in New Orleans is shocking, even to seasoned detectives like Rick Bentz and Reuben Montoya. A novice nun named Sister Camille has been found dressed in a yellowed bridal gown and viciously garroted, her body covered with an altar cloth.

Valerie Houston is devastated by her sister’s death. For weeks, she’d begged Camille to leave St. Marguerite’s, where she seemed determined to live as some kind of martyr. But Camille had a knack for making bad choices — she joined the convent in part because she’d fallen for Val’s soon-to-be ex-husband, Slade.

Convinced the police aren’t doing enough, Val begins to investigate. Slade, on a mission to repair their marriage, is determined to help her. But the deeper Val’s inquiries go, the more twisted the case becomes. St. Marguerite’s is far from the tranquil retreat many believe, and everyone, from handsome Father Frank O’Toole to the mysterious Mother Superior, has their own agenda. Despite their closeness, even Camille had a hidden life Val never suspected. But someone knew about Camille’s past — and Val’s, too. Now she has no choice but to catch a devious, depraved killer intent on purging St. Marguerite’s of all its sins — before she becomes the next victim…

Devious is the latest "Bentz & Montoya" romantic suspense that came out in the spring. I am a big fan of this series, so I was happy when I was finally able to get the audio of this one from the library. I loved it! Despite the length of the book, it went rather quickly and I was never bored with it. The killer was hard to pin down and I was a bit surprised in the end. The epilogue leaves the reader hanging with a sort of cliffhanger. I hope it is resolved in the next book.

Val and Slade were great together. It was refreshing to have a couple that actually has a past together find their way back to each other. Ms. Jackson also gives us glimpses of both Montoya's and Bentz's marriages. I always love follow-ups with past characters to see how their HEA's are holding up. My only complaint was that I wanted more of Cruz Montoya and Lucia. I felt like I was given a tiny taste of how they could be together. Hopefully, we will see them again in the future!

I definitely recommend this one, especially if you have been reading the series from the start. The audio is read by Joyce Bean, another of my favorite narrators. Pick it up, you won't be sorry!

--Kari

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By:  Lisa Jackson (apparently her website is down or I'd provide a link)

I read this book because it was available on Kindle for $.79, but unfortunately it's back up to regular price.  I've always really enjoyed Lisa Jackson and this one didn't let me down either.  To be honest, the first third of the book was kinda boring and I was wondering where it was gonna go.  I stuck with it though and I'm glad I did.  About half way through it started getting really interesting and ended with a bang.  I loved the characters, particularly Annabelle.  It amused me that the dog's name was Bella, I wondered if that was a dis on Twilight's Bella.  Anyway, the ending was a great surprise and kinda different and twisty. 

In honor of Waiting on Wednesday and Lisa Jackson my pick this week would be:

Live to Tell (July 13, 2010)