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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
I saw this at my local library before COVID and recently went through my book list to find something else to read. I am glad I chose this book. I was hooked from the very beginning, however, I knew who the suspect was about halfway through. At first, I kept going back and forth with who it could be and then it just sort of clicked. However, after the crime was solved - it was almost as if the author just rushed to find another twist to give the reader. I was shocked, but it was kind of unbelievable. However, I will definitely be adding this author to my list of must reads and try her other books because I really did like the writing and set up of this one. 10/10 would recommend.
UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. And not in a good way. First of all there were so many plot holes I could have used this as swiss cheese. What happened to the Xanax? Speaking of cheese...the writing and diction choices were just plain cheesy. Now I know that some Karen's get offended by the tossing around of a swear word or two but who is buying fully grown police/detectives saying "gosh darn" and "effing"? It's not like Jackson didn't drop the F-bomb several times in this book but the choice to use it in one of the 66,000 internal monologues or the killer's speech and NOT with these grown men just seemed obnoxious to me.
I finished this book ONLY because the premise of the murders was tolerable. I kept expecting a plot twist and it didn't come until the last like 10 pages. God knows it wasn't the characters that kept me going. Rachel was whiny, intolerable and mostly a C U Next Tuesday throughout the whole book. She didn't even come across as "Paranoid" just a poorly written Mary Sue with a dark past. *Yawn* The kids were just as bad. Especially the daughter. Don't get me wrong, I am not the kind of person to hate on woman MC's but objectively, every woman in this book was written as shallow, petty, and frankly brainless. ESPECIALLY HARPER. Det. O'Meara had such strong potential but never got a fighting chance as her entire character was reduced to "oh I'm in love with this married man who I've only made out with but I still kind of like my ex".
And the END? Disgusting. I cringed my way through the last chapter when we find out who Lucas's real father was. Grooming much? Lila was as bad as everyone else in this book. I've seen so many people saying that the end really made the book for them but the only thing it made me was sick.
After having read Jackson's novel Close to Home this was a serious let down. So glad this was given to me and I didn't waste my own money on it.
I finished this book ONLY because the premise of the murders was tolerable. I kept expecting a plot twist and it didn't come until the last like 10 pages. God knows it wasn't the characters that kept me going. Rachel was whiny, intolerable and mostly a C U Next Tuesday throughout the whole book. She didn't even come across as "Paranoid" just a poorly written Mary Sue with a dark past. *Yawn* The kids were just as bad. Especially the daughter. Don't get me wrong, I am not the kind of person to hate on woman MC's but objectively, every woman in this book was written as shallow, petty, and frankly brainless. ESPECIALLY HARPER. Det. O'Meara had such strong potential but never got a fighting chance as her entire character was reduced to "oh I'm in love with this married man who I've only made out with but I still kind of like my ex".
And the END? Disgusting. I cringed my way through the last chapter when we find out who Lucas's real father was. Grooming much? Lila was as bad as everyone else in this book. I've seen so many people saying that the end really made the book for them but the only thing it made me was sick.
After having read Jackson's novel Close to Home this was a serious let down. So glad this was given to me and I didn't waste my own money on it.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A refreshing thriller that actually deserves that name. It's unbelievable the time that had passed since I had last read one as good as this one. I'm really glad I bought this book, clearly all my fears about it were groundless.
The way Jackson can change the mood of a scene so fast is insane and probably one of the best things (if not the best) about this book. There were chapters or scenes I started and I knew it's gonna be thrilling, but there were others that caught me off guard - everything is nice and calm and suddenly I'm feeling this chills and I am not even sure why yet but they are already being felt. And that's really great because I was never sure what to expect.
It's also amazing the amount of action lines Jackson runs at the same time. Rachel's motherhood struggles, Rachel's fears, nightmares, paranoia and trauma, the murders, the police investigation, Cade's life, the kids' lives. It's absolutely unbelievable the way Jackson managed to put them all in the book and pay attention to all of them.
And it really worked in her favour, because there was so much going on that it was hard to focus on one thing at the time - I wanted to know who the murder was, but I also wanted to know what the hell Rachel's kids were up too and I somehow ended up invested in the relationship between Cade and Rachel, wanting to know exactly what happened there. It's just like real life, messy and complicated, and I loved it.
The twists were also great. We can talk about two twists and a discovery - I mean, it was no secret there was a killer, we just don't know who that is. One of the twists was obvious that was going to happen and I also guessed how it would work - I just didn't have the reasons for it (and oh gosh I want to hurt someone so badly right now). The other twist I definitely saw it coming way too late. I found it out before it was revealed but I'm really mad at myself for not realizing it sooner (although I am aware the chances of doing that were almost zero). The discovery... that is the real star of the book. I was so damn sure of who wasn't responsible for the murders, but I just couldn't understand who it was. And I'm mad at myself for that too. Because damn it, it was so obvious!
AND THE ENDING! WHAT A FREAKING GOOD ENDING. TRUE PERFECTION FOR A BOOK LIKE THIS. A final shiver running down your spin.
A really, really great book. That will make you almost as paranoid as Rachel, because you'll find yourself suspecting of everyone. Except the real murderer. And damn it. It was so obvious.
Full review coming soon!
The way Jackson can change the mood of a scene so fast is insane and probably one of the best things (if not the best) about this book. There were chapters or scenes I started and I knew it's gonna be thrilling, but there were others that caught me off guard - everything is nice and calm and suddenly I'm feeling this chills and I am not even sure why yet but they are already being felt. And that's really great because I was never sure what to expect.
It's also amazing the amount of action lines Jackson runs at the same time. Rachel's motherhood struggles, Rachel's fears, nightmares, paranoia and trauma, the murders, the police investigation, Cade's life, the kids' lives. It's absolutely unbelievable the way Jackson managed to put them all in the book and pay attention to all of them.
And it really worked in her favour, because there was so much going on that it was hard to focus on one thing at the time - I wanted to know who the murder was, but I also wanted to know what the hell Rachel's kids were up too and I somehow ended up invested in the relationship between Cade and Rachel, wanting to know exactly what happened there. It's just like real life, messy and complicated, and I loved it.
The twists were also great. We can talk about two twists and a discovery - I mean, it was no secret there was a killer, we just don't know who that is. One of the twists was obvious that was going to happen and I also guessed how it would work - I just didn't have the reasons for it (and oh gosh I want to hurt someone so badly right now). The other twist I definitely saw it coming way too late. I found it out before it was revealed but I'm really mad at myself for not realizing it sooner (although I am aware the chances of doing that were almost zero). The discovery... that is the real star of the book. I was so damn sure of who wasn't responsible for the murders, but I just couldn't understand who it was. And I'm mad at myself for that too. Because damn it, it was so obvious!
AND THE ENDING! WHAT A FREAKING GOOD ENDING. TRUE PERFECTION FOR A BOOK LIKE THIS. A final shiver running down your spin.
A really, really great book. That will make you almost as paranoid as Rachel, because you'll find yourself suspecting of everyone. Except the real murderer. And damn it. It was so obvious.
Full review coming soon!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book grabbed my attention from the start! I really liked the characters in this novel. The writing was good too. The only thing I didn’t like was the fact that Lisa used the same word throughout the whole book. For that, I took a star off.
3.75. A little repetitive and overstated in parts (like Kayleigh’s obsession).
Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
Great trilogy!! I wasn't aware going in that this was a romance series. I started reading Lisa Jackson's work when they took on a more suspenseful side.
I finished the first book and enjoyed it, but will be finishing the rest when I'm looking for a lighter read. Was enjoyable just not what I was looking for.
Great trilogy!! I wasn't aware going in that this was a romance series. I started reading Lisa Jackson's work when they took on a more suspenseful side.
I finished the first book and enjoyed it, but will be finishing the rest when I'm looking for a lighter read. Was enjoyable just not what I was looking for.
I would’ve given 4 stars if Rachel had actually killed Luke and had something to feel guilty about. As it was, this “guilt” was hard to buy. He was at the same party she was, she had no gunshot residue on her, she had a pellet gun. If she had been traumatized by seeing him get shot and bleeding, etc maybe I could’ve bought that but not the way Jackson chose to write it. She missed the mark on that.
20 years ago a carefree, teenage game in an abandoned cannery warehouse turns deadly. The group of teenagers were supposed to be shooting pellet guns, no one was supposed to get hurt. So how did Luke end up dead?
His half-sister, Rachel, was initially blamed for the shooting but with no gun shot residue evident on her hands the case never made it far. Although she was never found guilty, Rachel has lived with the guilt of Luke's death for the last 20 years. With no one held accountable, that night remains filled with unanswered questions. How did Luke end up shot by a real gun? Who killed him and why?
On the 20th anniversary of Luke's death things begin to take an eerie turn for everyone who was in the warehouse on the night of his death. Witnesses are suddenly found dead, killed in a brutal manner. Rachel's house is vandalized, she receives eerie texts from an unknown number and can't help but feel as if she's being watched all the time. Is she being paranoid or is someone out to even the score for Luke's death all those years ago?
Paranoid is a tale of secrets, lies, paranoia, guilt and ultimately revenge. Although I was fully engaged with the story from the beginning, I was able to figure out the current timeline's culprit very early on. That had me feeling a little disappointed but then Jackson completely threw me with the past timeline's whodunnit! I definitely hadn't figured out the who and why surrounding Luke's death and was pleasantly surprised by that twist! It actually took my rating from 3 to 4 stars!
Thank you to Lisa Jackson, Netgalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read and review an arc of this thriller! If you're looking for a fast-paced, exciting thriller definitely pick this one up.
His half-sister, Rachel, was initially blamed for the shooting but with no gun shot residue evident on her hands the case never made it far. Although she was never found guilty, Rachel has lived with the guilt of Luke's death for the last 20 years. With no one held accountable, that night remains filled with unanswered questions. How did Luke end up shot by a real gun? Who killed him and why?
On the 20th anniversary of Luke's death things begin to take an eerie turn for everyone who was in the warehouse on the night of his death. Witnesses are suddenly found dead, killed in a brutal manner. Rachel's house is vandalized, she receives eerie texts from an unknown number and can't help but feel as if she's being watched all the time. Is she being paranoid or is someone out to even the score for Luke's death all those years ago?
Paranoid is a tale of secrets, lies, paranoia, guilt and ultimately revenge. Although I was fully engaged with the story from the beginning, I was able to figure out the current timeline's culprit very early on. That had me feeling a little disappointed but then Jackson completely threw me with the past timeline's whodunnit! I definitely hadn't figured out the who and why surrounding Luke's death and was pleasantly surprised by that twist! It actually took my rating from 3 to 4 stars!
Thank you to Lisa Jackson, Netgalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read and review an arc of this thriller! If you're looking for a fast-paced, exciting thriller definitely pick this one up.
I honestly wasn't sure what to expect going into this one lol. I was pleasantly surprised. The writing is good, the story engaging and the characters well rounded. I was pulled in from beginning to end and while I had my theories, and I did guess the murderer, the rest was a surprise.
I love when that happens and definitely recommend this one if you're in search of a good psychological thriller.
I love when that happens and definitely recommend this one if you're in search of a good psychological thriller.
Twenty years ago, Rachel may have accidentally killed her half brother in a teenage game gone wrong. Now she's a divorced mom of two teenagers who test her and still living with the guilt of Luke's death. Things start happening to Rachel on the 20th anniversary of the death and she's becoming paranoid with all that is going on.
Who is behind the paranoia Rachel feels and why? Her ex Cade, who is a police officer, takes on the case as new murders start taking place. Is it all connected to that fateful night 20 years ago? Who else is feeling the guilt of that night?
Lisa Jackson does a very good job of scene setting. You feel the paranoia along with Rachel and it makes you question everything.
Who is behind the paranoia Rachel feels and why? Her ex Cade, who is a police officer, takes on the case as new murders start taking place. Is it all connected to that fateful night 20 years ago? Who else is feeling the guilt of that night?
Lisa Jackson does a very good job of scene setting. You feel the paranoia along with Rachel and it makes you question everything.