Already Dead in Aussie Readers

Jan 25, 2022 Helen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: review-copy-from-author

This is a compelling page turner of a story, when out of work reporter Miranda Jack, Jax to her friends, who is on her way to starting a new life for herself and her six year old daughter Zoe, has her life changed again when Brendan Walsh steps into her car with a gun.

Jax is determined to go forward with her daughter Zoe and make a fresh start living by the beach in Newcastle with her aunt, after losing her husband Nick in a hit and run accident that has left her searching for answers to why thi This is a compelling page turner of a story, when out of work reporter Miranda Jack, Jax to her friends, who is on her way to starting a new life for herself and her six year old daughter Zoe, has her life changed again when Brendan Walsh steps into her car with a gun.

Jax is determined to go forward with her daughter Zoe and make a fresh start living by the beach in Newcastle with her aunt, after losing her husband Nick in a hit and run accident that has left her searching for answers to why this has happened, her relationship with the homicide detective on the case is not good at all and now a man with a gun steps into her car at a set of traffic lights and forces her to drive on up the motorway.

Although terrified Jax is doing her best to calm this man in her car and asks him his name he replies already dead. As she asks more questions of this man who seems to be bouncing from a paranoid world of his own and back to nearly normal she learns a lot from him and knows that part of the reason he has her driving him away from Sydney.

It is two hours of driving for Jax before the ordeal is finally over in a terrible way but this leaves Jax with more questions than answers and the journalist inside her will never give up on trying to find out what really was happening in this man’s life, a man who served his country in some terrible places, a man who has a wife and child.

Jax wants answers and has many questions to ask, even if these questions and her digging puts her in more danger. I have never met a more determined character one who has so many questions, I loved her strength and courage after all that she had been through in her life. There are many fabulous characters, good and bad that add to this story. This is must read story that had me engrossed from start to finish, I loved getting to know Jax and was on the edge of my seat through this suspenseful thriller, this is one that I would highly recommend, I loved it.

My thanks to the author for my digital copy to read and review.
...more

21 likes · Like · see review

Jul 04, 2014 Brenda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: own-read, thriller, suspense, aussie-authors, sent-by-publisher, 2014-release

Miranda Jack (Jax to her friends) loaded the final boxes into her car ready for the journey to Newcastle where she hoped to make a new life with her six year old daughter Zoe. Zoe was with her Aunt Tilda in the Newcastle suburb of Merewether where she was excited to be having a sleep-over; Jax needed the time and space to get the home she’d shared with Zoe and husband Nick in Sydney cleared out; the home she’d spent the past twelve months in without Nick. She still hadn’t received the answers sh Miranda Jack (Jax to her friends) loaded the final boxes into her car ready for the journey to Newcastle where she hoped to make a new life with her six year old daughter Zoe. Zoe was with her Aunt Tilda in the Newcastle suburb of Merewether where she was excited to be having a sleep-over; Jax needed the time and space to get the home she’d shared with Zoe and husband Nick in Sydney cleared out; the home she’d spent the past twelve months in without Nick. She still hadn’t received the answers she was desperate for and the grief and sense of loss was never-ending. She was determined that their move would start to ease the pain.

As she headed to the freeway for the almost two hour drive which was ahead of her, the tears still lingered. But at a set of traffic lights where she waited for the green, she was suddenly shocked and terrified when a total stranger leapt into the passenger seat and ordered her to drive. The sight of the vicious looking gun pointing at her caused her breathing to hitch in fright. And with the gun on her she was having trouble concentrating – with the traffic all around her, all doing 110 kph, she knew the dangers. But as she listened to him rant and rave, go silent then yell and scream, she wasn’t sure where the biggest danger lay.

When her ordeal was finally over, Jax found she needed answers. Why had it happened? Who was Brendan Walsh; the few things he had told her – were they real or imagined? With Jax being a journalist, the questions came easily to her – but the answers were not so forthcoming. And was she asking the wrong people her questions? Suddenly her terror returned; danger was surrounding her once again. Who could she trust? But she would not stop now…

This amazing and suspenseful thriller grabbed me from the very first page with the pace full on until the very end. Gripping, breath-taking and terrifying, Already Dead is everything you want in a thriller. It was unputdownable! I found myself thinking about it when I wasn’t reading it, and anxious to get back to it. The plot is incredibly believable, with car-jackings a horrible truth. I loved that it was set in my area as well, as I could visualise where the author was taking me all the way through the book. In my opinion this is Aussie author Jaye Ford’s best yet – she is most definitely at the top of her game. I have no hesitation in recommending Already Dead extremely highly.

With thanks to Random House and NetGalley for my copy to read and review.
...more

13 likes · Like · see review

Sep 03, 2014 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc-are, netgalley-reviews, aussie-author, provided-by-publisher

"She was waiting for traffic lights at the start of rush hour on a Monday afternoon when a man opened her front passenger door, got in and pointed a gun at her chest...
'Drive'."

Miranda Jack (Jax) is stunned when a strange man climbs into her car and forces her to drive north on the highway at gunpoint. He is highly agitated, pressing the gun barrel into her ribs while looking frantically over his shoulder, and when Jax asks what he wants, who he is, he roars at her; I'm already dead. That's my
"She was waiting for traffic lights at the start of rush hour on a Monday afternoon when a man opened her front passenger door, got in and pointed a gun at her chest...
'Drive'."

Miranda Jack (Jax) is stunned when a strange man climbs into her car and forces her to drive north on the highway at gunpoint. He is highly agitated, pressing the gun barrel into her ribs while looking frantically over his shoulder, and when Jax asks what he wants, who he is, he roars at her; I'm already dead. That's my name now. That's what they called me. That's me. Nice to meet you. I'm Already Dead."
Two hours later, Jax stands trembling on the roads edge, the man's gun in her hand, surrounded by police, and trying to understand what just happened. Brendan Walsh, her abductor, is dead, and Jax is wondering how much of what he told her during their crazed journey is true. The investigating detective seems certain that Brendan's ravings can be dismissed as the paranoid delusions of a soldier suffering PTSD but Jax, a journalist, isn't so sure. She needs answers... but the questions she is asking may prove deadly.

Thrilling from the very first page, Already Dead, is an exciting tale of suspense. I read it in a single sitting, absorbed by the intensity of emotion, the fast paced action and the complex characterisation.

Jax is an interesting protagonist. Still struggling with her husband's unsolved murder barely 12 months earlier, it is because she has no answers about his death that she becomes obsessed with investigating Brendan's. Ford brilliantly captures Jax's vacillating emotions through out the story creating a believable and appealing character who draws on her instincts and inner strength to expose the truth.

Ford's exploration of the issues associated with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Already Dead gives added depth to this work of crime fiction. Walsh has struggled to readjust to civilian life after two tours in Afghanistan and people are quick blame PTSD for his accusations. Jax, in the wake of the abduction, is also suffering from the disorder's symptoms - nightmares and anxiety, exacerbated by her still fresh grief and a history of tragedy. After her ordeal Jax, and Detective Aiden Hawke, are quick to dismiss her continuing sense of unease as a reaction to the stress, allowing events to quickly spiral out of control.

Well crafted with page turning appeal, Jaye Ford's fourth novel, Already Dead, is a gripping psychological thriller. You will never feel safe idling at traffic lights again.

...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Mar 25, 2015 Paula Phillips rated it really liked it

On what started off as a normal day for Miranda, a day that was supposed to be a fresh start for her - away from the limelight and from those who knew of her husband's death, became a day that would change her life forever when a random guy hopped into her car with a gun and told her to drive and keep on driving. Miranda has been carjacked by Brendan who has told Miranda that he has been followed and that he must get to his wife and son one last time and say goodbye because he is "Already Dead" ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Jan 02, 2015 Kira rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mystery, aussie-author, library, drama, crime-fiction

This book hooked me and I held on tight. I empathised with Brendan, I felt Miranda's distrust of the police, and I understood her desire for the truth. On top of everything that was happening to her, Miranda wanted to protect her daughter, and help another woman in need. The mysterious Aiden had me wondering, probably as much as Miranda, and it took me a while to warm up to him. Kate's reactions felt believable and I thought it a nice touch that she didn't immediately trust Miranda.

I loved the w ...more

2 likes · Like · see review