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Tracee Gleichner
, August 11, 2008
(view all comments by Tracee Gleichner)
Paperback: 484 pages
Publisher: Zebra August 1, 2008
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1420102761
ISBN-13: 978-1420102765
To purchase, click here.
Book Synopsis:
One by one, the victims are carefully captured, toyed with, then subjected to a slow and agonizing death. Piece by piec, his exquisite plan takes shape. The police can't yet see the beauty in his work - but soon, very soon, they will...
In the lonely woods around Grizzly Falls, Montana, four bodies have been discovered. Detectives Selena Alvarez and Regan Pescoli have been hoping for a career-making case but this is a nightmare. Even with the FBI involved, Selena and Regan have nothing to go on but a killer's cryptic notes, and the unsettling knowlege that there is much worse to come...
When Jillian Rivers opens her eyes, she's trapped in a mangled car. Then a stranger, claiming to be a trail guide named Zane MacGregor, pries her free. Though she's grateful, something about him sets Jillian on edge. And, if she knew what lay out there in the woods of Montana, she'd be truly terrified. Because someone is waiting...watching...poised to strike and make Jillian the next victim...
I reviewed Lost Souls a few months back and that was the first Lisa Jackson book that I had read. I knew after reading it that it wasn't going to be my last as I just loved her style and content. I also was shocked when I walked into Wal-Mart and saw the hardcover right in front of me. It was then I told my hubby, see, that's one of the books I just reviewed for Pump Up Your Book Promotion - it was really pretty cool! So, needless to say, when I was asked whether I would be willing to review Left to Die I jumped at the chance. I wasn't sure if it was going to be as good as Lost Souls but let me tell you, it was even better.
Let me first start by saying I was thrilled to see that the two lead characters are female detectives. Selena Alverez and Regan Pescoli couldn't be more different in both their personal lives and the way they approach the cases they are handed are also very different. But they fit together like two puzzle pieces and their drive and work ethic is what is sorely needed in their department to catch the sadistic serial killer that is on the loose. They were hoping to make a name for themselves but this case is quickly turning into a nightmare, with a killer that is calculating and flawless in all of his actions.
The serial killer in this book is chilling...no pun intended. He sets up his victims by shooting out their tires as they are driving through a ravine. They loose control of their vehicles and crash, causing them to be totally helpless. So, when a nice stranger rescues them and nurses them back to health, who would think that he would then lead them to an icy death, tied to a tree, naked, left to brave the elements, and essentially succumb to them.
This book had me on the edge of my seat, literally. I am so thrilled to have been given the opportunity to review two of Lisa's books and can't wait for the sequel - Chosen to Die. This is a must read for anyone who is interested in suspense and truly not being able to guess the ending.
About the author:
Lisa Jackson canât keep away from murderers, especially serial killers. Sheâs been killing people everywhere from Savannah and New Orleans to San Francisco and the Pacific Northwestâand itâs been worth it. Her readers come back again and again, and her novels are fixtures on national bestseller lists. In fact, her book Fatal Burn was a number one New York Times paperback bestseller, and the first two of her novels to be published in hardcover, Shiver and Absolute Fear, were in the top five on the New York Times Best Sellers list. Next, readers will be looking for LOST SOULS, being published in hardcover by Kensington Books to go on sale March 25th.
Having made serial killing her businessâsort ofâshe has put her characters through the wringer. They have been up to their necks in danger and stared death, usually a pretty gory one, right in the face. She continues to be fascinated by the minds and motives of both her killers and their pursuersâthe personal, the professional and downright twisted. As she builds the puzzle of relationships, actions, clues, lies and personal histories that haunt her protagonists, she must also confront the fear and terror faced by her victims, and the harsh and enduring truth that, in the real world, terror and madness touch far too many lives and families.
Lisa began writing at the urging of her sister, novelist Nancy Bush. Inspired by the success of authors she admired and the burgeoning market for romance fiction at the time, Nancy was convinced they could work together and succeed. They sat down, determined to write and to be published.
They did and they were.
Initially they wrote together. Later, they moved in different directions. Lisa brought more and more suspense to her work and began writing much darker stories. Nancyâs writing expanded to include not just her own novels, including her highly praised Jane Kelly Mysteries, such as the recently published Ultraviolet. She also spent several years writing for one of televisionâs leading soap operas, even transplanting herself for a time from the sisterâs Pacific Northwest roots to Manhattan. This year, they plan to work together again on a thriller set for publication in 2009.
Meanwhile, for Lisa the killing continues as this mother, daughter, workaholic and amazing writer continues her habit of making the hair stand up on the back of readersâ necks, and landing her books on The New York Times, the USA Today, and the Publishers Weekly national bestseller lists.
Lisa Jacksonâs novels include the upcoming LOST SOULS and the best sellers Absolute Fear, which will be published in paperback for the first time in March, Hot Blooded, Cold Blooded, The Night Before, The Morning After, Deep Freeze, Fatal Burn, and Almost Dead. Last year, Most Likely to Die was written by Lisa, Beverly Barton and Wendy Corsi Staub was published and became a number three New York Times paperback bestseller. She is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, the International Thriller Writers and the Romance Writers of America.
For more information, please visit www.lisajackson.com
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