Deep Freeze

Northwest #1

by Lisa Jackson

Her Biggest Fan. . .

When she wakes up, she's very cold. Colder than she's ever been in her life. She can't move or speak. And then she sees him. The one who took her. And before she dies, she wishes she could scream. . .

Is About To Become. . .

Former movie star Jenna Hughes left Hollywood for an isolated farm in Oregon to get away from fame. But someone has followed her--an obsessed fan whose letters are personal and deeply disturbing. And while Jenna's already shaken up by what she's seen on paper, she'd be terrified if she knew what Sheriff Shane Carter is investigating. It's a shocking case that started with the discovery of a dead woman in the woods. Now two more women are missing, one of whom bears a striking resemblance to Jenna. . .

Her Worst Nightmare. . .

Genres: Mystery, Romance, Romantic Suspense, Suspense, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery Thriller

512 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Lisa Jackson is the number-one New York Times bestselling author of over ninety-five novels, including the Rick Bentz and Reuben Montoya Series, the Pescoli and Alvarez Series, the Savannah series, and numerous stand alone novels. She also is the co-author of One Last Breath, Last Girl Standing, and the Colony Series, written with her sister and bestselling author Nancy Bush, as well as the collaborative novels Sinister and Ominous, written with Nancy Bush and Rosalind Noonan. There are over thirty million copies of her novels in print and her writing has been translated into twenty languages.

Before she became a nationally bestselling author, she was a mother struggling to keep food on the table by writing novels, hoping against hope that someone would pay her for them. Today, neck deep in murder, her books appear on The New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly national bestseller lists.

With dozens of bestsellers to her name, Lisa Jackson is a master of taking readers to the edge of sanity—and back—in novels that buzz with dangerous secrets and deadly passions. She continues to be fascinated by the minds and motives of both her killers and their pursuers—the personal, the professional, and the 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.

Visit http://www.LisaJackson.com where you can find a Media Kit with photos and more information.

Reviews

[Cassidy Queerface · Rating 1 out of 5]

Jesus holy god this book was painful to read.
I don't know what I really expected, and it's my own fault for not being able to quit reading a book once I've started, no matter how awful the writing. It came with a high recommendation. I think I shall ignore further recommendations from this person haha.

The story idea is good. Stalker that is making mannequinns out of live people as a shrine to an actress he's obsessed with. It could have been so interesting had it been better played. Like, in the moments where the abducted women awake and realize they're naked in a strange place after being drugged and can't feel their bodies is a GOLDMINE. There is so much potential for an amazing, tense, frightening scene as we are in these women's heads. Instead, the best Jackson offers is, "What kind of sick crap is this?" as an inner monologue. Shit man. What the hell.

OH, and if I highlighted every overused disgusting cliche in this book, I'd have more yellow space than white. "Out and out," "hell freezing over," all those ugly little fillers. I wouldn't recommend reading this book EVER but if you must, don't read it while you take a writing class, because all those awful cliches just pop out at you more.

Oh, and Jackson spends about 500 pages leading up to the dramatic confrontation between the protagonist and her would-be killer, only to give you a 2 page, scanty little deus-ex-machina resolution.

Ugh. Ugh. Ugh.

[Luvtoread (Trying to catch up) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very enjoyable and entertaining mystery.

I really enjoyed deciding who the mysterious stalker was and if Jenna would possibly be killed by this crazed fan. I also enjoyed the little bit of suggested romance without it being overdone and the cold, scenic atmosphere was a big plus. All in all, a really enjoyable story to settle down on a cold night with a nice hot cup of tea or hot chocolate and I would definitely recommend to any mystery readers.

I've given a rating of 3 1/2 CHILLY 🌟🌟🌟❇ STARS!!

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

You know what really pisses me off? When I love the premise of a book, when the blurb on the cover leads me to believe that I'm in for one sort of story when really I'm in for a basic grocery store romance thriller.

What I really really hate is when a book isn't all that good but somehow you have to finish it just to see how things get wrapped up. And, I'm not even sure everything did get wrapped up. There were a couple hints earlier in the novel that I don't think were referred to ever again...or maybe not so much hints as important background about the psychotic.

In the end there were just too many writing devices and cliches that made me grind my teeth. No less than four characters were described as having "blue/brown/green eyes that seemed to miss nothing". It's like she found her favorite phrase and couldn't resist driving it into the ground. If she described the lead character as "the lawman" one more time it would have been a world record. And while in real life people do wallow in their miseries constantly, hearing about the lead guy's friend dying every chapter and the lead woman's sister dying every OTHER chapter, in the EXACT SAME WAY made me wonder if I'd misplaced my book mark and I was actually reading the same pages over and over again.

This could have been a dark, creepy, bleak stalker/psycho novel but ended up being a Lifetime movie in print.

[Luke Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why do I buy books in the grocery store? Are there little voices that tell me to, little whispers of hope, promising a diamond in the rough? Am I tempting myself with the smell of paper just by walking past the wire racks, going starry-eyed like some anime otaku just to gaze at all the pretty covers? Well, it doesn't always work out for me. Good use of the Northwest setting as character, very atmospheric and consistently well-textured. Great suspense. The rest was nasty and flat and not for me.

[Li'l Owl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A chilling thriller! Twists and turns keep you guessing to the last page. Will chill you to the bone. I wouldn't recommend reading it in the dead of winter with high winds lashing the windows like I did! Excellent book. And the end? How can it end? What happens next?! I guess I'll have to read the next in the series!

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no idea what I was getting into when I decided to read this book. I have it on by bookshelf as a "Christmas" book. I had anticipated that it was a Romantic-Suspense set around the Christmas time and it is that. It is also a really dark, intense Serial Killer/Stalker tale.

Jenna Hughes is a former movie star who has fled Hollywood for a farm in Oregon. She has found out that her past is harder to escape than she thought. Her oldest daughter hates the Falls Crossing rural town and her youngest daughter loves it here. Jenna is seeking to forget her last movie where Jenna's sister died in an accident. What she has gotten is a murderous stalker.

The last thing Sheriff Shane Carter needs is a Hollywood movie star with a stalker fan. He has a blizzard, a dead woman and two more missing. The last thing he absolutely does not need is this out of control attraction for Jenna Hughes.

[Samantha Strasser-Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a bit too repetitive. The author drilled into us the same bits of backstory and same descriptions over and over. I also felt that it took her forever to get to the point. Really what kept me reading was that I wanted to know who the creepy bad guy was and be done. The end of this book sets us up for another book, Fatal Burn, and though I am curious to know what happened and how it's linked to this story, I am not sure if I could suffer through it if it's as repetitive as this one was.

[Miriam still reading! HIATUS from GR · Rating 4 out of 5]

5 stars audio
4.25 stars story

[Kai · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! At the halfway point, I thought I was gonna wind up giving this one 4 stars, but the 2nd half enthralled me so much that I bumped it up a star. The suspense was awesome, and the mystery regarding the culprit was tense. This was a fantastic, solid mystery-thriller! I never want to be in Jenna Hughes' situation with such a deranged stalker. Makes me so grateful for where I live and all my many neighbors and all of the security cameras. I liked that even though Jenna was in such a scary situation that she wasn't made out to seem like a helpless damsel in distress. She was afraid, sure, but was a strong character just trying to make it through.

[Door Person · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. My little local library has a ton of Jacksons, and I was hoping I'd enjoy this enough to go delving into her backlist. Sadly, it disappointed. Overall, it felt like there were too many threads for the story Jackson was trying to weave, and many were left loose. Many more didn't seem to make any sense in terms if the rest of the story, and there were plot points relating to the main story, conversations the main characters really needed to have which were just...ignored. Additionally, Jackson writes in her author's note that the story was meant to be about a culprit who only killed in the winter, which REALLY didn't cone across. Though the reader is constantly aware of how cold it is in their Oregon town, since every single bloody character saw fit to bitch about it.

My verdict is basically that I wished I'd heeded the other reviews and read a different book instead.

[Paris (kerbytejas) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great story but long winded delivery

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started off so good. When the killers started making mannequin models of his victims by first shaving their heads and filing their teeth, I just couldn't take it. Ridiculous.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun Women of Mystery book of the month group read. Fast, tight, good characters. And excellent company reading this one with Bets and the rest of WoM.

[Mariah’s Bookshelf 🔪👻❤️‍🔥 · Rating 3 out of 5]

★★★☆☆ – Suspenseful but a bit uneven

This one had me intrigued from the start — the icy setting, the mysterious stalker, and the tension between characters all created a solid atmosphere. Lisa Jackson knows how to build suspense, and there were definitely moments where I couldn’t put the book down.

That said, some parts dragged more than they needed to. The pacing felt off in places, and I found myself skimming through a few repetitive scenes. The romance subplot didn’t fully land for me either — it felt a little rushed and underdeveloped.

Still, the core mystery kept me guessing, and I appreciated the darker tone. Not my favorite from Jackson, but worth a read if you’re into moody thrillers with a touch of romance.

[Shannon K G · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some intense and interesting moments. There were also some overly repeated moments and a whole town of almost everyone have the same eye color.

[Kerstin Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5 ✨👌🏻

[Kmmoy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I rarely give a book one star, especially a book written by an author I almost always love. This was a good premise, but this book went on and on and on and on. The story would have been more interesting in about 200 less pages. And let me just say that no law enforcement officers could possibly be this stupid. And the two teenage daughters of the main character we absolutely awful. Ugh. I only finished it because I listened as an audiobook and I wanted to see how it would end. I would NOT recommend wasting your time on this really too long book.

[L Cherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked this one! This is a serial killer mystery involving a former Hollywood actress, Jenna Hughes, who has moved to Oregon. The deep freeze is causing its complications, accompanied by complications of a psychopath that has an obsession with the actress. There are so many possible suspects and the usual good looking sheriff. I enjoyed this from start to finish.

[Read With Chey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed! It was like a Lifetime movie from the 90’s which was exactly the vibes I was going for. Pro Tip: I think audio is the way to go for her books; they’re long and tedious at times, but when you listen all the set up is cozy rather than annoying.

[Mary Church · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good storyline but it dragged on...used the same phrases again and again -- got on my nerves.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this book with the usual format for LJ. I have already ordered book #2 in series. If you are a fan, then this book is for you. 4 stars

[NATUI · Rating 2 out of 5]

So, I'm kind of pissed. I read this book on vacation, and the interim sections with "the stalker" were mostly just irritating. Hiding and heavy breathing. Naked, nasty shit. We get it. He's creepy, he's fucked in the head, and it's only a matter or time. Yeah yeah move it along. Once the background of the dude was fleshed out a bit, it was much more interesting. However, that should have taken place in the first quarter of the book, not saved until nearly the end.

Worst of all, when I was finally wrapping the story up, the author throws you in for a loop in the last two paragraphs. Turns out you've got to read another damned book to get to the bottom of things. I guess it is my own fault that I didn't know it was supposed to be a semi-two part story, but crap. Now I'll have to track down the next installment sometime in the future.

This book was a decent vacation read, but all the hiding in the woods nonsense could have been edited down.

[İlkim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Güzel bir gerilimdi. Eski bir oyuncunun, Jenna'nın, takıntılı hayranının yaşattığı gerilim kitabın her sayfasında sizi ürpertiyor. Katilin aljinat kullanıp öldürdüğü kadınların ölçüsünü alması, bir diş hekimliği öğrencisi olarak kendimi garip hissettirdi ayrıca. Feci derecede takıntılı olan bu katilin ise şehirde çok güzel bir gizlenme noktası var ve Jenna'nın filmlerdeki rollerini tek tek yaratmaya başlıyor. Aslında katilimiz ise Jenna'nın geçmişinden geliyor ve şehirde de kendini saklamasını iyi beceriyor. Her şey hallolup bittiğinde ise kasabadaki piano öğretmenini ölü buluyorlar, yanında da bir not var ve Jenna'nın küçük kızının en yakın arkadaşı olan Dani kayıp. Yazar resmen ikinci kitabı alın okuyuna getirttiği için biraz gıcık oldum ama yine de bir ara okurum. İkinci kitapta da aynı karakterlerle başka bir olayın içine dalıyoruz. Bakalım o nasıl olacak?

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never read a Lisa Jackson novel before this. I sometimes shy away from the million seller type books. I only decided to read this particular one because I won book 2 in a Goodreads giveaway. Yes, I wasn't paying close attention when I entered. So I decided to find the first in the series so I could give the second an honest chance in its review. So back to this book-- it was enjoyable even though it followed the suspense/ thriller formula popular in the afore mentioned million sales type books. However, it flowed nicely and kept me engaged throughout. If I have to throw in a nitpick the author did get on my nerves a bit by overusing certain phrases and words. (Lawman instead of policeman, cop, anything really! and she kept referring to all vehicles as "rigs"). Other than that the book did exactly as I wanted... Simply entertain me for a few stolen hours during a hectic week.

[Alyssa Botte · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'll be honest, this is book is sneaky. It made me think it was a thriller, when in really it was a dollar romance book with some "suspense" scenes. The plot of the story was excellent, but the delivery could have been so much better. Jackson relied on cliche sayings throughout the whole book. If I hear the "lawman", "macabre", "conjuring", "congealed", "icy blue eyes", or "oh god" one more time, I would lose it.

Jackson, expand your vocabulary, cut out the unnecessary erotic scenes, and work on character development in your next novel and you'll have yourself a great book. You just gotta clean it up more.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate it when women write women to be stupid, and for most of this story, that's pretty much Jenna in a nutshell. The girls are written as spoiled brats and Jenna can't seem to handle them at all. She is a disaster walking and it's hard to see how she can walk and chew gum at the same time.
There's a stalker, probably a killer. You know the person was in your house and yet you have cabin fever and just MUST get out and leave your kids behind the very next day when you KNOW the kids can't be trusted to have enough sense to stay inside. Give me a break! Nobody does that.

[Davíð Sigurður · Rating 1 out of 5]

it started out well enough, but as it went on it felt more and more like I was reading a bad tv movie. Very unoriginal and the main characters make stupid and less than believable choices. For instance why is the sheriff of some hick town such an expert on the psychology of stalkers.
The more I learned about the serial killer the more ridiculous he became.
In conclusion I'm throwing this at the wall filled with poisonous rage

[Rosalind · Rating 1 out of 5]

I usually like Lisa Jackson but this book just draaaaaaagggggged on and on. Its a great premise to a story but I just couldn't get into it. I did want to see how it wrapped up, so I literally skipped 200 pages right in the middle of the story (from page 270-470) and I picked up the story just the same as if nothing was skipped. What does that say about a story? Anyway glad I didn't go through the whole thing as the end disappointed just as much as the rest of the book.

[Danielle Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Deep Freeze” by Lisa Jackson, has such a surprising uniqueness about it. A psychological thriller different from the rest, it puts you in a world that keeps you on your toes and makes you wonder what is lurking in the cold. This is a book I can highly recommend. Also, there are triggers: stalking and un-alive being the main two.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This suspense thriller had me absolutely sitting on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. If you love suspense thrillers, this is one book that you need to read!