Reviews

One Good Deed by David Jackson

jesskreads's review

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adventurous challenging dark

4.0

Dual POV: Elliot, the 'nice guy' and Darren, the crazy ex boyfriend
Short chapters
Very easy plot to follow, read pretty quick as it was gripping to see how Elliot would resolve the situation with Darren and Rebecca and get Heidi back

Elliott has never thought of himself as a hero. Until one dark night he meets Rebecca, who has a man following her; would he mind pretending to be her boyfriend, just while she walks home, to put him off?

It's just a favour for a stranger - until there is a knock at Elliott's door. It's Darren, the man who was following Rebecca. He claims he's her ex-boyfriend, but it's clear that he's been stalking her. He's obsessed, dangerously so. He wants Rebecca, and he will do anything to have her.

When Elliott eventually tries to tell him the truth, Darren doesn't believe him. The only way to save himself is to get Rebecca to explain. There's just one problem: Rebecca is nowhere to be found. And now it looks like one good deed will cost Elliott everything...

feeltheread's review against another edition

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mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

swept_up_in_books's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

kellyvandamme's review

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5.0

One Good Deed is the fourth David Jackson novel I’ve read, and by now, it has become something of a summer ritual to look forward to. I always have a great time with his thrillers and One Good Deed was no exception.

They say no good deed goes unpunished and well, Elliott is about to find that out for himself when he meets Rebecca on the street at night. She is being followed and begs him to walk home with him, pretending they’re in a relationship. Elliott is exactly the kind of guy you’d ask to do that. A bit shy, modest, the quintessential good guy. Little does he know that Rebecca’s stalker is a bit unhinged to say the least, and this one small favour will escalate completely.

And that is exactly what this author does best: he takes a small action, an unnoteworthy event, and runs with it. The result is perhaps a teensy bit too extreme to be entirely plausible but who even cares when it’s this entertaining?! I sure didn’t, I had a ball! If I were a nail-biter, my nails would have been bitten down to the quick by the time I’d finished it!

David Jackson has been dubbed the king of one more chapter and the master of the unputdownable thriller, and both are spot on. The short chapters and their unrelenting pace continuously invited me to read just one more chapter, but I could never stop after just one. (It’s a small miracle I made it to work on time!) At night and nearing the finale, I had to force myself to put it down and get some sleep, for I’m not the best sleeper at the best of times and I was afraid the adrenalin of the last sixty or so pages would keep me up all night.

One Good Deed is an addictive, fast-paced and suspenseful thriller. If you like your thrillers action-packed and nail-bitingly tense and/or you love a cat-loving antihero to root for, One Good Deed should be at the top of your shopping list. Recommended.

Massive thanks to Viper Books and NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

nixbix_reads's review

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2.0

This was a hard story for me to rate. There’s no denying that this is a gripping read - the villain of the story is gloriously unhinged & this makes for great reading. The story is also very easy to read; the pacing was great & I thought everything flowed well.

What makes this hard to review is the main character, Elliott. Elliott seems to have a blindness to certain aspects of life and due to many experiences with bullying, is very non-confrontational. He’s taken in by a pretty face when he aids Rebecca in avoiding her stalker, but when the stalker attacks him, Elliott refuses to get help. Yes, you have to suspend belief in varying degrees when you read fiction, but I couldn’t do it in this case.

Thanks to Viper & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

_p0ssum_'s review

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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bookstarreviews_'s review

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tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

nickikendall's review

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dark mysterious tense

4.0

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.  This was another very enjoyable thriller this author.  It was well paced, suspenseful with some dark characters, everything I love in a thriller. Elliott is a likeable, kind man, living a quiet life between managing a charity shop and caring for his much loved cat Bill. One evening, a trip to the corner shop for emergency cat food, brings Elliott and Rebecca together as she asks for his help, he comes to her aid unknowingly setting himself onto a course of deception and not only his life but the life of his very best friend Heidi also being put at risk.  The tension whilst reading this book was palpable and it will definitely leave you second guessing whether good deeds are always worth the risk. #onegooddeed #davidjackson #netgalley #tea_sipping_bookworm #goodreads #thestorygraph #getlitsy #thriller #bookqueen #bookstagram 

faloneran's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

salowlbooks's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

5.0