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New Orleans #5
Lost Souls
The suspense is relentless in #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jackson’s gripping thriller featuring the daughter of New Orleans Detective Rick Bentz—a resilient young woman whose two-time survival of a serial killer has left her fascinated by the criminal mind, determined to become a true-crime writer—and drawn her once more into a twisted psychopath’s unspeakable crimes . . .
All twenty-seven-year-old Kristi Bentz needs to fulfill her writing dreams is one case that will take her to the top. When she learns that four girls have disappeared from All Saints College in two years, Kristi decides to enroll and re-trace their steps. The once-stodgy Catholic school now boasts edgy professors and provocative classes, and there are whispers of a campus inner-circle whose members engage in dark rituals to which only the elite have access . . .
All four girls were “lost souls”—troubled, vulnerable, with no one to care or come looking for them when they disappeared. The police think they’re runaways, but Kristi senses there’s something that links them—something terrifying.
As Kristi delves deeper into her investigation, she gets the feeling she’s being watched, followed—studied, even. Then the bodies start turning up in ways that frighten even hardened cops like Bentz and his partner, Reuben Montoya. And Kristi realizes she is playing a game with a killer who has selected her for membership in a cult of death from which there will be no escape . . .
All twenty-seven-year-old Kristi Bentz needs to fulfill her writing dreams is one case that will take her to the top. When she learns that four girls have disappeared from All Saints College in two years, Kristi decides to enroll and re-trace their steps. The once-stodgy Catholic school now boasts edgy professors and provocative classes, and there are whispers of a campus inner-circle whose members engage in dark rituals to which only the elite have access . . .
All four girls were “lost souls”—troubled, vulnerable, with no one to care or come looking for them when they disappeared. The police think they’re runaways, but Kristi senses there’s something that links them—something terrifying.
As Kristi delves deeper into her investigation, she gets the feeling she’s being watched, followed—studied, even. Then the bodies start turning up in ways that frighten even hardened cops like Bentz and his partner, Reuben Montoya. And Kristi realizes she is playing a game with a killer who has selected her for membership in a cult of death from which there will be no escape . . .
448 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
1323 people are currently reading
14793 people want to read
About the author
Lisa Jackson
272 books9,620 followersLisa 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 562 reviews
November 19, 2014
My, my! Such high-brow critics we have here! This is a romantic suspense novel, under the category of fiction. The book is like many of it's genre where you have a protagonist who always finds her/himself involved with killers, namely serial killers and comes close to being killed themselves, every time. There's always a romantic interest, with the main characters lustfully attracted to each other, yet constantly fighting those feelings of lust, several murder victims, usually murdered in a heinous manner, and plots that would never happen in real life. The book is what it is. Those who read this type of genre, shouldn't expect anything more from this book. I liked it and I enjoy the author. When I read these type of novels, I'm not looking for a thought provoking, true-to-life suspense. I'm looking to be entertained. I found the book entertaining. Those who are expecting more are obviously going to be disappointed.
December 1, 2015
Lost Souls is the 5th book in Lisa Jackson’s New Orleans Series.
Story has vampires….not from the Twilight world but from evil in our world, mysterious disappearances, romantic heroes, dark and moody atmosphere of Baton Rouge, serial killers which keeps you in suspense and intrigued until the very end.
Kristi Bentz wants to be a crime writer and against her father’s wishes….the
Detective Bentz from the previous books…enrolls at Lost Souls College after she hears about the mysterious disappearances of co-eds.
She enrolls in the same courses as the missing girls and discovers that Jay McKnight, the boyfriend she had broken up is presenting one of her courses. They team up to uncover the evil vampire cult in the campus.
The story has some gory details but the love story between Kristi & Jay is really fabulous.
Enjoyed reading this book. A great romance thriller
Story has vampires….not from the Twilight world but from evil in our world, mysterious disappearances, romantic heroes, dark and moody atmosphere of Baton Rouge, serial killers which keeps you in suspense and intrigued until the very end.
Kristi Bentz wants to be a crime writer and against her father’s wishes….the
Detective Bentz from the previous books…enrolls at Lost Souls College after she hears about the mysterious disappearances of co-eds.
She enrolls in the same courses as the missing girls and discovers that Jay McKnight, the boyfriend she had broken up is presenting one of her courses. They team up to uncover the evil vampire cult in the campus.
The story has some gory details but the love story between Kristi & Jay is really fabulous.
Enjoyed reading this book. A great romance thriller
June 6, 2009
This book was absolutely RIDICULOUS! I can't believe I wasted my time with it. My problem was even though the entire book was absurd, I still wanted to see what improbable scenario Jackson had planned for the ending.
I love a good romantic suspense/thriller, but this had way too many flaws. First, the main character, Kristi, had previously been kidnapped and tortured by two other serial killers. No explanation given. Is this book part of a series? If it is readers still would like some explanation of these prior events to help understand the character. Why would any normal person who's been kidnapped by not 1 but 2 serial killers attempt to involve herself in the hunt for another serial killer, without seeking police help? She's not a professional; she's a college student. STUPID!
Oh and the killers........beyond belief. I can handle vampire cults and the like, but this was too over-the-top. The female accomplice wanted to bathe in blood to rejuvenate her skin. She was upset with the other killer because she believed he was odd for wanting to have sex with the girls he killed, so he could drain the blood for her. And she didn't want to reverse the signs of aging through botox, chemical peels or other cosmetic surgical procedures because that was toooo drastic. Murdering someone, draining their blood and bathing in it is not considered drastic? Oh and the blood had to be from an intellectual not a low-life prostitute.
And what was the deal with the main character seeing people's faces in shades of gray? She thought she was psychic and it was a sign of impending danger or death. Give me a break!!
By the way, when was the last time a Catholic priest referred to everybody as "my child"? I've attended Catholic church for 18 years and have never heard a priest refer to someone as "my child". They speak normal like everyone else. Get real.
Please Ms. Jackson, read your manuscript. Kristi brings her ex-fiance/current professor/soon to be reunited lover back to her apartment. Her refrigerator is practically bare; she can't offer him a beer, only a hard lemonade. The next morning, she can't offer him breakfast, only one tea bag or two beers. I guess the beers just miraculously appeared. I get annoyed when I see little errors like this, but even more so when the entire book is one big sham.
I'm done with my rant. :(
I love a good romantic suspense/thriller, but this had way too many flaws. First, the main character, Kristi, had previously been kidnapped and tortured by two other serial killers. No explanation given. Is this book part of a series? If it is readers still would like some explanation of these prior events to help understand the character. Why would any normal person who's been kidnapped by not 1 but 2 serial killers attempt to involve herself in the hunt for another serial killer, without seeking police help? She's not a professional; she's a college student. STUPID!
Oh and the killers........beyond belief. I can handle vampire cults and the like, but this was too over-the-top. The female accomplice wanted to bathe in blood to rejuvenate her skin. She was upset with the other killer because she believed he was odd for wanting to have sex with the girls he killed, so he could drain the blood for her. And she didn't want to reverse the signs of aging through botox, chemical peels or other cosmetic surgical procedures because that was toooo drastic. Murdering someone, draining their blood and bathing in it is not considered drastic? Oh and the blood had to be from an intellectual not a low-life prostitute.
And what was the deal with the main character seeing people's faces in shades of gray? She thought she was psychic and it was a sign of impending danger or death. Give me a break!!
By the way, when was the last time a Catholic priest referred to everybody as "my child"? I've attended Catholic church for 18 years and have never heard a priest refer to someone as "my child". They speak normal like everyone else. Get real.
Please Ms. Jackson, read your manuscript. Kristi brings her ex-fiance/current professor/soon to be reunited lover back to her apartment. Her refrigerator is practically bare; she can't offer him a beer, only a hard lemonade. The next morning, she can't offer him breakfast, only one tea bag or two beers. I guess the beers just miraculously appeared. I get annoyed when I see little errors like this, but even more so when the entire book is one big sham.
I'm done with my rant. :(
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 24, 2013
Lisa Jackson, what is happening with you? You’ve made me sad, very sad. I have been a fan of this series, and another of hers too, from the first book. The last book in this series disappointed me but it still had a few strong points. This book not only was disappointing, there were no strong points. Every sentence of this book reminded me of every other book in the series so far. And Kristi just irritated the living hell out of me. However, I am getting ahead of myself.
Let’s address Kristi first. In the beginning I liked Kristi quite a bit. She was intelligent, sassy, street savvy, and one of the better characters in my opinion. But somewhere along the way Kristi lost her brain. It might have fallen out her ear when she was abducted by a serial killer in the last book. I’m just not sure what happened. First, she seems to have trouble remembering whether she likes her stepmother or not. In one paragraph she says that she likes her and just a page later she says that they don’t really get along too well. Well, which is it? Then she moves and becomes obsessed with missing girls at her college. Gee, that sounds smart! Next thing you know, she’s running around doing all those TSTL things that make me despise so many YA heroines. For the record ladies, it is NEVER a good idea to walk home in the dark when you know someone is watching you just because you’re too stubborn to let your ex drive you home. Things like that made her really get on my nerves. Also ignoring her instincts. Her instincts are excellent for sensing trouble, unfortunately she’s too stupid to listen to them. She actively recognizes that her instincts are correct and then disregards them.
The plot has been done so many times in this series. Kristi must have a serial killer attractant tattooed on her ass, because she seems to be the perfect victim type for every serial killer on the planet. Which brings me to another plot point. The actual whodunnit was not that great of a reveal. One part of it was painfully obvious, to the point where the characters were making observations about how obvious it was. The other two were so obscure that not a single clue was given through the entire book over who it was. But in the end there was nothing about the plot that was different or new and exciting. It was just like all the other books in the series except more boring.
One last annoyance, isn’t this series about Bentz and Montoya? We hardly saw either of them at all. Kristi should never have been a main part of this series because she just isn’t interesting enough. All the good people got taken out and the book suffered for it.
This and other reviews at Stefani's World of Words
Let’s address Kristi first. In the beginning I liked Kristi quite a bit. She was intelligent, sassy, street savvy, and one of the better characters in my opinion. But somewhere along the way Kristi lost her brain. It might have fallen out her ear when she was abducted by a serial killer in the last book. I’m just not sure what happened. First, she seems to have trouble remembering whether she likes her stepmother or not. In one paragraph she says that she likes her and just a page later she says that they don’t really get along too well. Well, which is it? Then she moves and becomes obsessed with missing girls at her college. Gee, that sounds smart! Next thing you know, she’s running around doing all those TSTL things that make me despise so many YA heroines. For the record ladies, it is NEVER a good idea to walk home in the dark when you know someone is watching you just because you’re too stubborn to let your ex drive you home. Things like that made her really get on my nerves. Also ignoring her instincts. Her instincts are excellent for sensing trouble, unfortunately she’s too stupid to listen to them. She actively recognizes that her instincts are correct and then disregards them.
The plot has been done so many times in this series. Kristi must have a serial killer attractant tattooed on her ass, because she seems to be the perfect victim type for every serial killer on the planet. Which brings me to another plot point. The actual whodunnit was not that great of a reveal. One part of it was painfully obvious, to the point where the characters were making observations about how obvious it was. The other two were so obscure that not a single clue was given through the entire book over who it was. But in the end there was nothing about the plot that was different or new and exciting. It was just like all the other books in the series except more boring.
One last annoyance, isn’t this series about Bentz and Montoya? We hardly saw either of them at all. Kristi should never have been a main part of this series because she just isn’t interesting enough. All the good people got taken out and the book suffered for it.
This and other reviews at Stefani's World of Words
January 24, 2010
In spite her being a multiple NY bestselling author, this is the first time I’ve read her work that I know of. The library has multiple books by her and after this, I will not be racing to get them. It starts out interesting enough. Kristi Bentz is going back to school to be a crime writer. Her dad is New Orleans Super Cop. Kristi ignores his concerns about All Souls College where four women have gone missing. When she gets there, as an English major, taking one forensic class being taught by Jay McKnight, her former high school sweetheart (gee wonder where THIS is going to go). Naturally Kristi has to look into the case to get her first big true crime story.
This thing hinges on coincidence, way too much really. I did try to see if Kristi was in other books by Jackson (goodreads has this as book #6 in the New Orleans series but the names weren’t the same in 4 or 5…) because she’s been the target of a serial killer not once but twice already and she’s only 27. Setting her up as a waitress and taking vampire in literature classes with a vampire cult on campus that all four girls belonged to, just telegraphs ‘hey Kristi will be caught by the vampire dude by the end.’ Three times a victim? The coincidences get worse, she ends up renting one of the missing girl’s apartment. The apt manager, a young man, Hiram, knew Tara the missing girl and is in all Tara and now Kristi’s classes. Next coincidence, naturally is Jay taking a night job at the college while working days in the crime lab in N.O. Next coincidence, Kristi’s former college roommate is now teaching at the college and warns her about the cult and the list goes on.
Still, it was interesting enough until about just past the halfway mark then it goes entirely off the rails. Everyone has to act like an unprofessional moron in order for this plot to work. (and since it’s such an obvious plot that makes it even worse). Jay doesn’t go to the cops with the stuff Kristi has found out, the cops never even bother to look into the disappearances etc. It hurts the story’s case as well that at this Catholic college, the priest has suddenly hired nothing but hunky men for the English department (has this ever happened on a campus anywhere and they might ALL be in on it??). Not to mention that this college doesn’t function like a real college at all in fundamental ways that like 10 minutes of research would have fixed. (as a professor myself, I’d like to see a school where the teachers have time enough to deck out the room in proto-vampire style or has a schedule that has NO professor names on it and you get whatever time slot the computer says you do. Stuff like that, annoying).
I started skimming when it was obvious the villains were recreating Elizabeth Barthoy’s Blood Countess stuff. Then they made eye-rollingly bad connections to the actual countess and I started skimming in earnest just to get to the end. Which was predictable, stupid and made worse by an epilogue that promises another book with these people. There were so many clichés and plotlines needing fools to push it forward that by the end it’s painful.
This thing hinges on coincidence, way too much really. I did try to see if Kristi was in other books by Jackson (goodreads has this as book #6 in the New Orleans series but the names weren’t the same in 4 or 5…) because she’s been the target of a serial killer not once but twice already and she’s only 27. Setting her up as a waitress and taking vampire in literature classes with a vampire cult on campus that all four girls belonged to, just telegraphs ‘hey Kristi will be caught by the vampire dude by the end.’ Three times a victim? The coincidences get worse, she ends up renting one of the missing girl’s apartment. The apt manager, a young man, Hiram, knew Tara the missing girl and is in all Tara and now Kristi’s classes. Next coincidence, naturally is Jay taking a night job at the college while working days in the crime lab in N.O. Next coincidence, Kristi’s former college roommate is now teaching at the college and warns her about the cult and the list goes on.
Still, it was interesting enough until about just past the halfway mark then it goes entirely off the rails. Everyone has to act like an unprofessional moron in order for this plot to work. (and since it’s such an obvious plot that makes it even worse). Jay doesn’t go to the cops with the stuff Kristi has found out, the cops never even bother to look into the disappearances etc. It hurts the story’s case as well that at this Catholic college, the priest has suddenly hired nothing but hunky men for the English department (has this ever happened on a campus anywhere and they might ALL be in on it??). Not to mention that this college doesn’t function like a real college at all in fundamental ways that like 10 minutes of research would have fixed. (as a professor myself, I’d like to see a school where the teachers have time enough to deck out the room in proto-vampire style or has a schedule that has NO professor names on it and you get whatever time slot the computer says you do. Stuff like that, annoying).
I started skimming when it was obvious the villains were recreating Elizabeth Barthoy’s Blood Countess stuff. Then they made eye-rollingly bad connections to the actual countess and I started skimming in earnest just to get to the end. Which was predictable, stupid and made worse by an epilogue that promises another book with these people. There were so many clichés and plotlines needing fools to push it forward that by the end it’s painful.
February 21, 2016
It started out promising, a good book to read on the bus, but then it began to lag at around page 100. I ended up skipping 190 pages after reading up to 266. Didn't seem to miss much. I was even right about who the killer was.
Some reviews said Kristi was too stupid to live. I don't know about that, but she was certainly too uninteresting to read. Actually, the only interesting and believable character was Houdini the cat. The serial killer was so annoying. You could make a drinking game for how many times his erections are mentioned. Well, they can't all be Hannibal (and they shouldn't of course).
There was one entertaining line "he had an ass tight enough to hold in his bad ass attitude". LOL, WTF?
Anyway, this book wasn't good enough to put into my "decent trash book" tag. I have other Lisa Jackson books, but now I don't know if I'll read them. Especially if they are part of this series.
Some reviews said Kristi was too stupid to live. I don't know about that, but she was certainly too uninteresting to read. Actually, the only interesting and believable character was Houdini the cat. The serial killer was so annoying. You could make a drinking game for how many times his erections are mentioned. Well, they can't all be Hannibal (and they shouldn't of course).
There was one entertaining line "he had an ass tight enough to hold in his bad ass attitude". LOL, WTF?
Anyway, this book wasn't good enough to put into my "decent trash book" tag. I have other Lisa Jackson books, but now I don't know if I'll read them. Especially if they are part of this series.
October 4, 2018
Ik had al veel reacties gehoord over dit boek maar ik laat me daar niet door leiden en dacht het boek een kans te geven . Kristi Bentz dochter van een bekende politie agent besluit na haar revalidatie na een ernstige aanslag op haar leven en 2 maanden in coma te liggen terug les te volgen aan All Saints te Baton Rouge waar 4 studenten vermist zijn en waarover zij een crimineel verhaal wil schrijven en ondertussen verder uitspitten wat er met de meisjes gebeurd is. Maar het verhaal is zo langdradig en de spanning was er gewoonweg niet, het verhaal "slabakte" = Ina woord . Maar zoals in ieder boek wil ik altijd weten hoe het vehaal zal eindigen. Maar voor mij was het zeker geen topper.
December 31, 2011
I found this plot really silly and, frankly, hard work. Vampires, college professors apparently involved in some sort of cult, four missing students and the police/FBI aren't all over it? I also found the heroine really irritating in places. She did such crazy things. Yes, I know she's supposed to be feisty but she went beyond that and was just plain silly at times.
There was also a lot of repetition - almost as though trying to make up the word count. How many times were we told that she didn't love the hero - a man from her past - or that her father was anxious about her? Ditto with his introspective thoughts. Get over yourselves! Readers know you're going to finish up together so credit up with some intelligence and don't labour the point.
I'm trying hard to think of something positive to say. Okay, I've got it. I persevered and got to the end of the book, just to see if it improved. For me, it didn't, but this is a popular author so perhaps I just didn't 'get' where she was coming from.
There was also a lot of repetition - almost as though trying to make up the word count. How many times were we told that she didn't love the hero - a man from her past - or that her father was anxious about her? Ditto with his introspective thoughts. Get over yourselves! Readers know you're going to finish up together so credit up with some intelligence and don't labour the point.
I'm trying hard to think of something positive to say. Okay, I've got it. I persevered and got to the end of the book, just to see if it improved. For me, it didn't, but this is a popular author so perhaps I just didn't 'get' where she was coming from.
October 14, 2009
Near middle of book. Main character Kristi is a whiny tstl, so far. She has nearly been killed by crazies in two prior books. She is a killer-magnet. But, when she discovers she is living in the same apartment as the victim of a new serial killer, does Kristi move? No. Why do the young women in these books always think they know better than law enforcement (and her father is a cop). Her former boyfriend/cop/professor is not much brighter. He has sex with a student who is currently enrolled in his class, then lets her delay reporting crucial info to the police for a week.
Finished book. Kristi is a brat. At times, thought I was reading a Harlequin/Fantasy with all the romance and vampire crap. The big mystery to me, and it is not addressed at all, is what happened to the cat?
Finished book. Kristi is a brat. At times, thought I was reading a Harlequin/Fantasy with all the romance and vampire crap. The big mystery to me, and it is not addressed at all, is what happened to the cat?
May 18, 2025
3/5 ⭐
Iba completamente a ciegas con este libro ya que, es un libro que me han prestado y no sabía exactamente lo que me iba a encontrar y tampoco lo conocía. Normalmente soy yo misma que escojo mis lecturas pero, ya que me lo han prestado, le iba a dar una oportunidad.
Trata sobre un misterio que gira en torno a la Universidad de All Saints y que, han desaparecido 4 chicas y justamente las 4 estudiaban las mismas asignaturas. Kristi, la protagonista, intenta averiguar qué ha pasado con ellas porque ni la policía, ni sus propias familias se han preocupado por su desaparición.
La trama mezcla casos de desaparición, asesinatos y vampiros y es bastante extraño pero atrayente a la misma vez. También tiene una pizca de romance pero muy sutil.
La premisa del libro está bastante bien y es atrayente e incita a leerlo. Sin embargo, en mi opinión, ha ido demasiado lento. Las primeras 200 páginas, aproximadamente, no ocurre gran cosa y se dan mil vueltas a las cosas una y otra vez y, la autora, describe todo demasiado en exceso que acaba haciéndose pesado y tedioso.
Pero, apartir de allí, la cosa se vuelve más interesante y más siniestro todo a medida que vas leyendo y quieres saber qué va a suceder y quién es el responsable de todo esto.
La parte final del libro me ha dejado bastante fría, lo he sentido todo muy rápido y abrupto y, en parte, sabía quién era uno de los responsables, básicamente me lo veía venir desde el principio pero, todo lo demás, no me lo he visto venir y eso sí que me ha gustado.
Ha sido un libro que engancha por el misterio y el suspense que tiene y, para pasar el rato y entretener, está muy bien.
Iba completamente a ciegas con este libro ya que, es un libro que me han prestado y no sabía exactamente lo que me iba a encontrar y tampoco lo conocía. Normalmente soy yo misma que escojo mis lecturas pero, ya que me lo han prestado, le iba a dar una oportunidad.
Trata sobre un misterio que gira en torno a la Universidad de All Saints y que, han desaparecido 4 chicas y justamente las 4 estudiaban las mismas asignaturas. Kristi, la protagonista, intenta averiguar qué ha pasado con ellas porque ni la policía, ni sus propias familias se han preocupado por su desaparición.
La trama mezcla casos de desaparición, asesinatos y vampiros y es bastante extraño pero atrayente a la misma vez. También tiene una pizca de romance pero muy sutil.
La premisa del libro está bastante bien y es atrayente e incita a leerlo. Sin embargo, en mi opinión, ha ido demasiado lento. Las primeras 200 páginas, aproximadamente, no ocurre gran cosa y se dan mil vueltas a las cosas una y otra vez y, la autora, describe todo demasiado en exceso que acaba haciéndose pesado y tedioso.
Pero, apartir de allí, la cosa se vuelve más interesante y más siniestro todo a medida que vas leyendo y quieres saber qué va a suceder y quién es el responsable de todo esto.
La parte final del libro me ha dejado bastante fría, lo he sentido todo muy rápido y abrupto y, en parte, sabía quién era uno de los responsables, básicamente me lo veía venir desde el principio pero, todo lo demás, no me lo he visto venir y eso sí que me ha gustado.
Ha sido un libro que engancha por el misterio y el suspense que tiene y, para pasar el rato y entretener, está muy bien.
August 15, 2019
This is part of a series but can be read as a stand alone. In this one, Kristi is heading back to All Saints for some college courses. Once again, Kristi is the object of a serial killer while she is enrolled at college. This time the serial killer believes he is a vampire.
This is your basic romantic suspense thriller novel. I was interested in the idea of vampires and their popularity in society nowadays. When a book references Buffy the Vampire Slayer three different times, it will have my attention. The problem is that it could never truly capture my attention. There were a couple of factors for this. The author never truly dived into vampirism to set the scene. Another factor is the author repeated herself many times. An example was when a character was in his car and every single time he almost hit someone because he was cut off. It was so bad when he got in his car towards the end of the book I actually thought he is going to have a close call and he did several pages later. The last factor is the reveal of the protagonist. Sometimes authors will have the protagonist come out of left field trying to be shocking. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. This time it didn't work and when it was revealed I was disappointed as it was flat.
I have enjoyed this series and I know what I am getting into when I pick up a novel from this series. This time, I thought the romance was too front and center while the thriller part took a back seat. For me, I would like it to be the other way around.
This is your basic romantic suspense thriller novel. I was interested in the idea of vampires and their popularity in society nowadays. When a book references Buffy the Vampire Slayer three different times, it will have my attention. The problem is that it could never truly capture my attention. There were a couple of factors for this. The author never truly dived into vampirism to set the scene. Another factor is the author repeated herself many times. An example was when a character was in his car and every single time he almost hit someone because he was cut off. It was so bad when he got in his car towards the end of the book I actually thought he is going to have a close call and he did several pages later. The last factor is the reveal of the protagonist. Sometimes authors will have the protagonist come out of left field trying to be shocking. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. This time it didn't work and when it was revealed I was disappointed as it was flat.
I have enjoyed this series and I know what I am getting into when I pick up a novel from this series. This time, I thought the romance was too front and center while the thriller part took a back seat. For me, I would like it to be the other way around.
August 19, 2013
When I started this book, I didn't realize it was part of a series but decided to go ahead. I'm sure some things would be clearer had I read the others but it did not take away from this book. I enjoyed it but felt some parts went on too long and then the ending felt rushed. Still enjoyable and I'll be looking for the earlier books to read as well.
October 25, 2015
Blood and vampires ... not my cup of tea, but the story flowed and it was suspenseful. Figuring out who the main blood sucker was, was certainly a challenge - they all seemed guilty to me. The gruesome factor played a large part - like cutting open an illegally hunted gator and finding a body part in its stomach - gross!
Not a bad read, and the writing was good and is following the rest of the series based in the New Orleans area.
2 thumbs up 4 stars out of 5 (I don't like vampires or books about them).
Not a bad read, and the writing was good and is following the rest of the series based in the New Orleans area.
2 thumbs up 4 stars out of 5 (I don't like vampires or books about them).
March 22, 2022
Another great book to the series. This has a 'vampire' vibe to the story but it was not overly done, and it was used in a rather interesting way. Like a fountain of youth. LOL I really loved Kristi's role in this story and I also really enjoyed Jay as well. Both are great characters. I wish that Bentz and Montoya would have been more present in the book than they were. Looking forward to what the author comes up with in Malice, book #6 in the series.
December 19, 2021
yeah that was weird. anyways my first dnf!
December 25, 2020
This is not a book you want to start when your schedule is extremely busy; it is just too difficult to have to sit it aside.
Kristi Bentz has a knack for getting involved with things she should stray away from, particularly serial killers. At the age of twenty seven, she has barely escaped them with her life, twice! She can't seem to leave things alone, and after returning to the small All Saints College to complete her degree, she begins investigating the disappearance of several female coeds.
The problem with these disappearances is that the girls seemed to lack families who cared enough to assure the police not only became involved, but stay involved. They are also known to just give up and disappear; so, without a body what can the police actually do?
Kristie is determined to solve this mystery, even as her Dad and her reclaimed romance try to get her to stray from the idea. She is like a a human tracker, even though she has nearly died twice because of her curiosity. When she disappears this time, will she finally succumb to a serial killer?
Kristi Bentz has a knack for getting involved with things she should stray away from, particularly serial killers. At the age of twenty seven, she has barely escaped them with her life, twice! She can't seem to leave things alone, and after returning to the small All Saints College to complete her degree, she begins investigating the disappearance of several female coeds.
The problem with these disappearances is that the girls seemed to lack families who cared enough to assure the police not only became involved, but stay involved. They are also known to just give up and disappear; so, without a body what can the police actually do?
Kristie is determined to solve this mystery, even as her Dad and her reclaimed romance try to get her to stray from the idea. She is like a a human tracker, even though she has nearly died twice because of her curiosity. When she disappears this time, will she finally succumb to a serial killer?
August 6, 2019
My first read by Lisa Jackson and it was a great Romantic Suspense novel.
Kristi Benz wants to be a true crime writer. She enrolls in a college in Baton Rouge after girls at the college start disappearing. The law in Baton Rouge and college officials believe that the girls are just college dropouts and have run off not wanting to see their families disappointment in them. Kristi believes there is something more sinister going on and she's determined to prove it.
Kristi's father, Rick Bentz, is a detective in New Orleans and Kristi's own life experiences watching her father in action only make her more curious about the missing girls. Kristi finds herself on the path of a true psychopath and serial killer and the possible involvement of a Vampire cult.
Great suspenseful, fast paced and intriguing read!
Kristi Benz wants to be a true crime writer. She enrolls in a college in Baton Rouge after girls at the college start disappearing. The law in Baton Rouge and college officials believe that the girls are just college dropouts and have run off not wanting to see their families disappointment in them. Kristi believes there is something more sinister going on and she's determined to prove it.
Kristi's father, Rick Bentz, is a detective in New Orleans and Kristi's own life experiences watching her father in action only make her more curious about the missing girls. Kristi finds herself on the path of a true psychopath and serial killer and the possible involvement of a Vampire cult.
Great suspenseful, fast paced and intriguing read!
January 15, 2020
Kristi Benz has gone back to school at All- Saints College in Louisiana, her dream is to be a journalist and suspenseful stories captivate her emotionally. She’s been on the wrong side of evils hand in the past and is very wary of strange happenings. Being a police officers daughter she’s seen and heard some of the worse situations known to exist.
When girls begin to disappear around campus, she starts believing that something more sinister is the cause. A cult maybe, but the biggest scare is all the missing lost souls took the same classes at All-Saints! She truly believes that’s not coincidence!!
An amazing book of suspenseful romance.
My first book by Lisa Jackson, but I loved her style and will read more by this talented author.
When girls begin to disappear around campus, she starts believing that something more sinister is the cause. A cult maybe, but the biggest scare is all the missing lost souls took the same classes at All-Saints! She truly believes that’s not coincidence!!
An amazing book of suspenseful romance.
My first book by Lisa Jackson, but I loved her style and will read more by this talented author.
May 6, 2024
Lisa hit the nail on the head in this one as well. It has everything you want in a book. It's all the emotional buttons, has plenty of action, and is very well written. This time the serial killer thinks he's a vampire. The body's have to puncture marks on their necks and are drained of blood. Several girl's go missing from the campus in Baton Rouge. They think one of the staff on campus may be the serial killer, Detective Bentz starts to worry about his daughter because it's her college campus. As usual Kristi Bentz can't keep her nose out of trouble and ends up smack dab in the middle of the killer's sights. I highly recommend you give it a try.
April 29, 2025
TW: explicit content, non-consensual sexual content, drugging, and mild necrophilia.
Even 3 stars. Quick read. Kristi's character is moderately annoying, and honestly, stupid. She's not stupid enough to deter you from finishing though. The sex scenes were borderline smut, but not too terrible to get through. I didn't like the shifting perspectives every few paragraphs, but this was just a personal preference. Ending was unexpectedly good.
Overall, a good book for a poolside/disposable read. I'll probably check out the sequel.
Even 3 stars. Quick read. Kristi's character is moderately annoying, and honestly, stupid. She's not stupid enough to deter you from finishing though. The sex scenes were borderline smut, but not too terrible to get through. I didn't like the shifting perspectives every few paragraphs, but this was just a personal preference. Ending was unexpectedly good.
Overall, a good book for a poolside/disposable read. I'll probably check out the sequel.
March 17, 2025
I think what primarily attracted me to this was the New Orleans setting. Lost Souls, the first Lisa Jackson book I've read, is the 5th of 8 in Jackson's New Orleans series. Very unfortunately for me, this specific story in the series happens to take place up the road in Baton Rouge - bummer, because I really enjoy the local references in books set in New Orleans.
The protagonist is Kristi Bentz, a grad student at All Saints College in Baton Rouge. Her father, Rick, is a cop in New Orleans. Kristi is taking English classes to further her dream of becoming a true crime journalist. She has specifically selected All Saints for her studies because the school has been the site of the disappearances of four women students recently, a mystery which she strongly wants to personally pursue while there. She finds that all four were English majors with several classes in common, among them a class on vampirism and literature. Kristi finds herself delving deeper and deeper into apparently secret lives led by professors and students there who are obsessed with vampires, and concluding that this is actually connected to the disappearances of the four young women. An ex-boyfriend, Jay McKnight, who is on the NOLA police force but who is currently also subbing in at All Saints teaching a night class, starts to become involved with Kristi again, and with her unofficial investigation.
I found that Jackson is a very talented writer and that Lost Souls drew me in and kept my interest with excellent pacing. We are privy to the thoughts of the killer without knowing his identity - that added hugely to the fright factor. Kristi has a back story which I'm sure is told in the previous 4 books in the series: she has been the intended victim of a killer on two occasions, and once suffered major injuries. This no doubt contributed to her serial killer fascination.
The combination of the stalker, the college setting and the scenes at a dark and secluded indoor swimming pool share a vibe with the atmospheric 80's slasher film Pieces. I could almost hear the scary synth background tones.
While Lost Souls was overall a very positive reading experience for me, and I plan to read more of Jackson's New Orleans series, there were some issues. I'm not into fantasy and vampires being mixed in with a crime story. Jackson keeps us guessing as to whether there is an actual vampire or someone playing at being a vampire, but either way it was a very unwelcome feature of Lost Souls for me. Additionally, (SPOILER ALERT) writing a double set of perpetrators into a murder mystery creates an implausible situation.
The protagonist is Kristi Bentz, a grad student at All Saints College in Baton Rouge. Her father, Rick, is a cop in New Orleans. Kristi is taking English classes to further her dream of becoming a true crime journalist. She has specifically selected All Saints for her studies because the school has been the site of the disappearances of four women students recently, a mystery which she strongly wants to personally pursue while there. She finds that all four were English majors with several classes in common, among them a class on vampirism and literature. Kristi finds herself delving deeper and deeper into apparently secret lives led by professors and students there who are obsessed with vampires, and concluding that this is actually connected to the disappearances of the four young women. An ex-boyfriend, Jay McKnight, who is on the NOLA police force but who is currently also subbing in at All Saints teaching a night class, starts to become involved with Kristi again, and with her unofficial investigation.
I found that Jackson is a very talented writer and that Lost Souls drew me in and kept my interest with excellent pacing. We are privy to the thoughts of the killer without knowing his identity - that added hugely to the fright factor. Kristi has a back story which I'm sure is told in the previous 4 books in the series: she has been the intended victim of a killer on two occasions, and once suffered major injuries. This no doubt contributed to her serial killer fascination.
The combination of the stalker, the college setting and the scenes at a dark and secluded indoor swimming pool share a vibe with the atmospheric 80's slasher film Pieces. I could almost hear the scary synth background tones.
While Lost Souls was overall a very positive reading experience for me, and I plan to read more of Jackson's New Orleans series, there were some issues. I'm not into fantasy and vampires being mixed in with a crime story. Jackson keeps us guessing as to whether there is an actual vampire or someone playing at being a vampire, but either way it was a very unwelcome feature of Lost Souls for me. Additionally, (SPOILER ALERT) writing a double set of perpetrators into a murder mystery creates an implausible situation.
July 1, 2019
Full of suspense
This is the first book of Lisa Jackson that I have read and I loved every bit of it! The way she builds up the the unexpected conclusion had me on the edge of my seat. I couldn't put this book down.
This is the first book of Lisa Jackson that I have read and I loved every bit of it! The way she builds up the the unexpected conclusion had me on the edge of my seat. I couldn't put this book down.
December 12, 2021
Se supone era la lectura de noviembre, pero apenas se terminó. Lo sentí lento a veces y me daban ganas de dejarlo, pero el final hace que valga la pena. Aunque me deja mis dudas en cuanto a lo que es verdad y lo que no.
January 1, 2025
The story delivers a solid dose of suspense and intrigue, but it doesn’t quite live up to its potential. The pacing felt uneven at times, with some parts dragging while others felt rushed. That said, it’s a good read for a rainy weekend.
November 7, 2024
Didn't keep my interest and I bailed a hundred pages in. I found Kristi to be not just independent, but self-centered and rude so really didn't care about hwe outcome.
November 6, 2024
Pentru relaxare,o carte polițistă cu acțiune interesantă, alerta!
July 11, 2025
I didn’t realize this was part of a series, but continued to read. The story was about vampires, but not like ‘Twilight’ ; mysterious disappearances, serial killer, a bit of romance, and keeps you in suspense. I enjoyed it very much and look forward to reading her earlier books as well.
April 7, 2018
Stars: 4 / 5
Recommendation: Bone-chilling thriller with the touches of romance, lust and twisted minds - a perfect medley to enjoy the read despite the shivers it leaves in the reader's spine.
Lost Souls is the fifth book in the New Orleans series by Lisa Jackson with Detectives Rick Bentz and Reuben Montoya published in April of 2008. This time around Lisa has Rick Bentz's daughter Kristi Bentz in the center of the plot which begins approximately a year and a half after the fourth book Absolute Fear (https://inspirethoughts.livejournal.c...) ends.
At the end of the book Absolute Fear, Kristi Bentz wakes up from coma with visions of seeing death around her father. She somehow unlocks her ability to see people at death’s door. After a year and a half of recuperating and trying to get back to her full strength Kristi expected her visions to go away. Instead they simply keep coming back. Finally to get away from all of this Kristi enrolls herself into a Winter semester at All Saints College in Baton Rouge - same college where she had done her undergrad. And she hoped that she hone her skills to write a true crime. Little did she know that the college where she was going would give her one such case to write about. Four girls from the campus have disappeared in less than two years and no one were being serious about it. Kristi takes it upon herself to investigate the same and finds herself getting deeper and deeper into a dark world of blood and gory. Only person who believes her was her ex-boyfriend Jay McKnight. But will he help her to solve the missing persons case and also save her from being a victim of this dark world? Or will he repeat history and leave her? How will Kristi survive all this and more is what the rest of the book Lisa spins for the reader.
The book was written after the events of Hurricane Katrina, so there are a lot of references of the aftermath of it all through the book. Being so far away from New Orleans or the hurricane or the aftermath, it is hard to imagine how lives changed after Katrina for people living there. Lisa brings all that out through her characters who are going thru the motions, giving the readers a close glimpse of what people faced. However, the dark mood that left New Orleans in its wake is a perfect setting for this dark and sinister world of the plot. I think Lisa has her timing right.
Considering the disappearances happen in Baton Rouge, I did expect new detectives to be involved with in this plot. True to that we meet Detective Portia Laurent - who is convinced there is foul play, Detective Del Vernon - her colleague who has a completely opposite view and Detective Raymond "Sonny" Crawley - a ruthless homicide detective. We see less of Detectives Rick Bentz and Reuben Montoya, but the case definitely pulls them in.
With so many novels I read about Carpathians and Vampires in the Dark Series (https://inspirethoughts.livejournal.c...) by Christine Feehan, naturally when Lisa centered her main plot around vampire culture, it brought quick attention to me. However, while Christine dealt with fictional vampires and immortals, Lisa shows us the darker side of human mind and soul that believes in the very existence of vampires and puts that culture into practice. As much as Christine's books give me shivers, they give me pleasure to read as well about immortals. However with Lisa's plot I couldn’t stop shaking when thinking about vampires.
Lisa also brings one of her past book into this plot. There are references to the case solved by Detectives Rick Bentz and Reuben Montoya in the first book Hot Blooded in this plot. Lisa uses that plot as a case study for Jay McKnight in his class "Introduction to Forensics". I knew that Lisa would bring back Father John - the antagonist of that plot - somewhere in future as a main subject considering she had left a hole at the end for Father John. But bringing him just as a reference didn’t satisfy my appetite. I can't wait to read the remaining books to really see the end of Father John. Dr. Samantha "Sam" Leeds also continues to be a presence in this plot as the radio psychologist and whom we met in Hot Blooded for the first time too.
Lisa also brings back a witness from one of the cases involving the Our Lady of Virtues Mental Asylum. Ophelia, one of the student at All Saints College appeared in the third book Shiver (https://inspirethoughts.livejournal.c...).
The plot is intense and filled not just with crime with the very darker and insane side of human brain. There is real chemistry between Kristi and Jay, so nothing wrong there. But the whole making of Kristi Bentz character irked me a little. Having gone through life-threatening situations in previous cases, she still doesn’t confide to her father or Jay her plans completely. Trust is something that doesn’t come natural and she has a penchant to attract trouble. Shouldn’t she be more prudent, safer and trusting with the only ones who were looking out for her? I also don’t like when women use their charm to get their way when that way is clearly the wrong one. Perhaps going thru what she went Kristi could not trust anyone but herself but I was hoping she would learn her lesson after one or two incidents, which I didn’t see happening until the very end.
She has multiple sub-plot going along-side her main plot just like her previous books, and she keeps the reader on track efficiently. However, unlike her previous plots, the detectives are a bit late to spring into action despite the gravity of the situation. As always the language is impeccable, description of the scenes and scenarios are spot on. Another bone chilling thriller with a touch of romance, love and human emotions that a killer normally doesn’t understand. Not a read for faint hearts but for those brave ones who can read it while sitting in a corner in a darkened basement too. If you are one, I would say go for it.
Spoiler Alerts:
1. Plot Reveals:
a. There is mention of Bela Lugosi - the Hollywood actor who was famous for his portrayal as Count Dracula. There is also mention of the 1897 gothic horror novel Dracula here. Although I have seen Bela Lugosi's movie, I havent read the book yet.
b. Considering that one of the top crime TV shows in 2008 were CSI and its spin offs, I wasn’t surprised to see them mentioned by Lisa as the plot centers on crime scene investigation and the science of forensics.
c. The story of Elizabeth of Bathory that Dr. Grotto asks the students to read upon is indeed real. I hadnt heard about it till now but seems to be Elizabeth supposedly bathed in young women's blood to keep herself young. More about this bizarre and cruel woman from history here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabe....
d. Lisa Jackson ends the plot with referencing to Jennifer Bentz being alive, at least in the form of spirit. Going by the way she writes this series, I would say the next book would be around Jennifer Bentz and the past that Rick Bentz has been trying to get off his back for twelve long years.
2. Grammatical / Historical / Location / Character / Geographical Errors:
a. On Pg. 10, Lisa mentions that Olivia Benchet Bentz - Kristi Bentz's step-mom - and Kristi didn’t get along very well. But again on Pg. 12 she mentions they got along fairly ok. So did they get along well or didn’t? Seems like a misrepresentation of the relationship Kristi and Olivia shared.
b. On Pg. 33, Lisa mentions that two days after Kristi moved in, she lands a job. But the scenes played after that and through the entire chapter looked like it was as if two hours after she moved in to the rented apartment she lands a job. Perhaps it was two hours and not two days, an error by the author apparently.
c. On Pg. 42, line 18, it should be "...Sooner or later she'd found out…"
d. On Pg. 341, Lisa calmly delivers the shocking statement through her character Jay that Kristi's room is bugged. However the steps leading Jay to that conclusion were not so clear in her chapters before this page. I wonder if a chapter or a few pages were removed by the editor to reduce overall length of the book.
3. Sub – Plots:
a. In Hot Blooded (https://inspirethoughts.livejournal.c...), Dr. Samantha Leeds brother Peter Williams disappears from their lives more than ten years ago. Detectives couldn’t find anything about him either. Will Lisa Jackson bring him back in a future book?
b. Although the case is closed, author Lisa Jackson leaves a big door open with regards to Father John’s character in Hot Blooded. Was he truly vanquished by the Detectives or will he re-appear in a future plot by Lisa is something we have to wait and see.
c. Norm Stowell – an FBI profiler – and Andre Navarrone – ex-cop at Houston PD - appear briefly in Hot Blooded. However they left me with an impression that they might come back as major ones in a future book. Have to wait and see if Lisa would resurrect them.
d. In Cold Blooded (https://inspirethoughts.livejournal.c...), Detective Montaya's girlfriend Marta Vasquez goes missing and doesn’t get solved at the end of the plot. Perhaps it is for another book in the series.
e. What will the fate of Sarah Restin and her no-good husband Leo Restin be? These characters appeared in Cold Blooded.
f. Unanswered questions about Bernadette and Reggie from Cold Blooded also perhaps will be answered in a future book.
g. Jennifer Bentz - Rick's ex-wife - has been murdered. Her character background is shown in both the first book Hot Blooded and second book Cold Blooded. But there is enough left off to make me feel that Lisa Jackson would bring her back in some book in future.
Recommendation: Bone-chilling thriller with the touches of romance, lust and twisted minds - a perfect medley to enjoy the read despite the shivers it leaves in the reader's spine.
Lost Souls is the fifth book in the New Orleans series by Lisa Jackson with Detectives Rick Bentz and Reuben Montoya published in April of 2008. This time around Lisa has Rick Bentz's daughter Kristi Bentz in the center of the plot which begins approximately a year and a half after the fourth book Absolute Fear (https://inspirethoughts.livejournal.c...) ends.
At the end of the book Absolute Fear, Kristi Bentz wakes up from coma with visions of seeing death around her father. She somehow unlocks her ability to see people at death’s door. After a year and a half of recuperating and trying to get back to her full strength Kristi expected her visions to go away. Instead they simply keep coming back. Finally to get away from all of this Kristi enrolls herself into a Winter semester at All Saints College in Baton Rouge - same college where she had done her undergrad. And she hoped that she hone her skills to write a true crime. Little did she know that the college where she was going would give her one such case to write about. Four girls from the campus have disappeared in less than two years and no one were being serious about it. Kristi takes it upon herself to investigate the same and finds herself getting deeper and deeper into a dark world of blood and gory. Only person who believes her was her ex-boyfriend Jay McKnight. But will he help her to solve the missing persons case and also save her from being a victim of this dark world? Or will he repeat history and leave her? How will Kristi survive all this and more is what the rest of the book Lisa spins for the reader.
The book was written after the events of Hurricane Katrina, so there are a lot of references of the aftermath of it all through the book. Being so far away from New Orleans or the hurricane or the aftermath, it is hard to imagine how lives changed after Katrina for people living there. Lisa brings all that out through her characters who are going thru the motions, giving the readers a close glimpse of what people faced. However, the dark mood that left New Orleans in its wake is a perfect setting for this dark and sinister world of the plot. I think Lisa has her timing right.
Considering the disappearances happen in Baton Rouge, I did expect new detectives to be involved with in this plot. True to that we meet Detective Portia Laurent - who is convinced there is foul play, Detective Del Vernon - her colleague who has a completely opposite view and Detective Raymond "Sonny" Crawley - a ruthless homicide detective. We see less of Detectives Rick Bentz and Reuben Montoya, but the case definitely pulls them in.
With so many novels I read about Carpathians and Vampires in the Dark Series (https://inspirethoughts.livejournal.c...) by Christine Feehan, naturally when Lisa centered her main plot around vampire culture, it brought quick attention to me. However, while Christine dealt with fictional vampires and immortals, Lisa shows us the darker side of human mind and soul that believes in the very existence of vampires and puts that culture into practice. As much as Christine's books give me shivers, they give me pleasure to read as well about immortals. However with Lisa's plot I couldn’t stop shaking when thinking about vampires.
Lisa also brings one of her past book into this plot. There are references to the case solved by Detectives Rick Bentz and Reuben Montoya in the first book Hot Blooded in this plot. Lisa uses that plot as a case study for Jay McKnight in his class "Introduction to Forensics". I knew that Lisa would bring back Father John - the antagonist of that plot - somewhere in future as a main subject considering she had left a hole at the end for Father John. But bringing him just as a reference didn’t satisfy my appetite. I can't wait to read the remaining books to really see the end of Father John. Dr. Samantha "Sam" Leeds also continues to be a presence in this plot as the radio psychologist and whom we met in Hot Blooded for the first time too.
Lisa also brings back a witness from one of the cases involving the Our Lady of Virtues Mental Asylum. Ophelia, one of the student at All Saints College appeared in the third book Shiver (https://inspirethoughts.livejournal.c...).
The plot is intense and filled not just with crime with the very darker and insane side of human brain. There is real chemistry between Kristi and Jay, so nothing wrong there. But the whole making of Kristi Bentz character irked me a little. Having gone through life-threatening situations in previous cases, she still doesn’t confide to her father or Jay her plans completely. Trust is something that doesn’t come natural and she has a penchant to attract trouble. Shouldn’t she be more prudent, safer and trusting with the only ones who were looking out for her? I also don’t like when women use their charm to get their way when that way is clearly the wrong one. Perhaps going thru what she went Kristi could not trust anyone but herself but I was hoping she would learn her lesson after one or two incidents, which I didn’t see happening until the very end.
She has multiple sub-plot going along-side her main plot just like her previous books, and she keeps the reader on track efficiently. However, unlike her previous plots, the detectives are a bit late to spring into action despite the gravity of the situation. As always the language is impeccable, description of the scenes and scenarios are spot on. Another bone chilling thriller with a touch of romance, love and human emotions that a killer normally doesn’t understand. Not a read for faint hearts but for those brave ones who can read it while sitting in a corner in a darkened basement too. If you are one, I would say go for it.
Spoiler Alerts:
1. Plot Reveals:
a. There is mention of Bela Lugosi - the Hollywood actor who was famous for his portrayal as Count Dracula. There is also mention of the 1897 gothic horror novel Dracula here. Although I have seen Bela Lugosi's movie, I havent read the book yet.
b. Considering that one of the top crime TV shows in 2008 were CSI and its spin offs, I wasn’t surprised to see them mentioned by Lisa as the plot centers on crime scene investigation and the science of forensics.
c. The story of Elizabeth of Bathory that Dr. Grotto asks the students to read upon is indeed real. I hadnt heard about it till now but seems to be Elizabeth supposedly bathed in young women's blood to keep herself young. More about this bizarre and cruel woman from history here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabe....
d. Lisa Jackson ends the plot with referencing to Jennifer Bentz being alive, at least in the form of spirit. Going by the way she writes this series, I would say the next book would be around Jennifer Bentz and the past that Rick Bentz has been trying to get off his back for twelve long years.
2. Grammatical / Historical / Location / Character / Geographical Errors:
a. On Pg. 10, Lisa mentions that Olivia Benchet Bentz - Kristi Bentz's step-mom - and Kristi didn’t get along very well. But again on Pg. 12 she mentions they got along fairly ok. So did they get along well or didn’t? Seems like a misrepresentation of the relationship Kristi and Olivia shared.
b. On Pg. 33, Lisa mentions that two days after Kristi moved in, she lands a job. But the scenes played after that and through the entire chapter looked like it was as if two hours after she moved in to the rented apartment she lands a job. Perhaps it was two hours and not two days, an error by the author apparently.
c. On Pg. 42, line 18, it should be "...Sooner or later she'd found out…"
d. On Pg. 341, Lisa calmly delivers the shocking statement through her character Jay that Kristi's room is bugged. However the steps leading Jay to that conclusion were not so clear in her chapters before this page. I wonder if a chapter or a few pages were removed by the editor to reduce overall length of the book.
3. Sub – Plots:
a. In Hot Blooded (https://inspirethoughts.livejournal.c...), Dr. Samantha Leeds brother Peter Williams disappears from their lives more than ten years ago. Detectives couldn’t find anything about him either. Will Lisa Jackson bring him back in a future book?
b. Although the case is closed, author Lisa Jackson leaves a big door open with regards to Father John’s character in Hot Blooded. Was he truly vanquished by the Detectives or will he re-appear in a future plot by Lisa is something we have to wait and see.
c. Norm Stowell – an FBI profiler – and Andre Navarrone – ex-cop at Houston PD - appear briefly in Hot Blooded. However they left me with an impression that they might come back as major ones in a future book. Have to wait and see if Lisa would resurrect them.
d. In Cold Blooded (https://inspirethoughts.livejournal.c...), Detective Montaya's girlfriend Marta Vasquez goes missing and doesn’t get solved at the end of the plot. Perhaps it is for another book in the series.
e. What will the fate of Sarah Restin and her no-good husband Leo Restin be? These characters appeared in Cold Blooded.
f. Unanswered questions about Bernadette and Reggie from Cold Blooded also perhaps will be answered in a future book.
g. Jennifer Bentz - Rick's ex-wife - has been murdered. Her character background is shown in both the first book Hot Blooded and second book Cold Blooded. But there is enough left off to make me feel that Lisa Jackson would bring her back in some book in future.
October 29, 2020
OMG 😱 it took me ages to read this book. I persevered though it’s just not a genre I’m interested in ... at all.
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