Author: Lisa Jackson
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The fourth book in the New Orleans Series
EVERY SERIAL KILLER IS SEARCHING FOR THE PERFECT VICTIM….
A serial killer is stalking the streets of New Orleans. The victims are killed in a ritual fashion, a series of numbers tattooed into their bodies. There are no clues, no connections except one: a crumbling old asylum that was once the scene of unspeakable madness – and is now the calling card of a new kind of fear.
Even Renner knows Our Lady of Virtues Hospital well. As the daughter of one of the doctors, she spent her childhood exploring its secret chambers, hidden rooms, and forbidden passageways. Now, somewhere in the decaying asylum lies the key to a betrayal from the past whose echoes are being felt with a vengeance – a crime beyond imagining that seems to lead to Eve herself.
As each new body is found and forgotten, memories surface, and Eve must race to put together a deadly puzzle, one terrifying piece at a time. A killer is watching, planning, luring her back to the ruins of Our Lady and the shocking truths hidden there. For the sins of the past must be revealed, and the price paid – in blood…
Official Summary
I just love Lisa Jackson’s books. I have not read them in order and when you look at my reading list you will see that to date, I have read nine of her books. Of the New Orleans series, I have read Hot Blooded (audio), Absolute Fear, Lost Souls, Malice and Devious. I am adding the missing titles to my TBR right now.
Absolute Fear is a brilliant suspense mystery that is guaranteed to keep you guessing. I love trying to guess where the story is headed and who the villain will turn out to be. This book had me stumped, and surprised in the last chapter.
Lisa Jackson is a master when it comes to hiding the identity of her villain. About halfway through the book I was convinced that I knew exactly who was responsible, everything pointed to one character. But Lisa Jackson managed to turn things around and deliver a surprise right at the end of the story. Just one of the reasons why I love her books.
If you are one of those readers who enjoy a who-did-it kind of novel then this book will keep you turning the pages, as long as you do not mind being very wrong in your assumptions.
Absolute Fear is a book that you can easily get lost in if you have read other books in the series you will be happy to find a lot of familiar characters. This book was my bedtime reading for the last couple of days and I found myself reading a little later than usual because putting it down was not that easy.
Eve Renner, the focus of a serial killer in New Orleans, is forced back to Our Lady of Virtues, the asylum that was her childhood playground. Hidden in the ruins of Our Lady of Virtues are shocking truths that Eve needs to piece together to help the police find a vengeful killer.
I loved this book. Eve Renner is a character that resembles your typical leading lady in a romance novel. She is confused, battling with her memory, injured and not trusting her instincts. While I am not a romance fan, this story is fast-paced and full of surprises and dead bodies along the way. What’s not to love?
The usual characters are present in this book, Rick Benz and his daughter Kristi, Montoya and Abby. There is even mention of Father James. I find myself enjoying Kristi, she is a young woman trying to find her way in the world and has no problem challenging her dad when he does not agree with your choices.
I have no problem recommending this book, I would suggest reading the series in order, especially if you enjoying having the complete back story on all the characters, but there is no reason not to read this as a stand-alone book. The author does not leave you unsure at any point, and even if you never read the rest of the series you will enjoy this book.
Books in the New Orleans Series:
- Hot Blooded
- Cold Blooded
- Shiver
- Absolute Fear
- Lost Souls
- Malice
- Devious
- Never Die Alone
Author Lisa Jackson – ISBN: 9780821779361- Publisher: Kensington Publishing/Zebra Books – Pages: 494 – Source: Private Copy
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Author bio from author’s website
Lisa Jackson is the number-one New York Times bestselling author of more than 85 novels, including Afraid to Die, Tell Me, You Don’t Want to Know, Running Scared, Without Mercy, Malice, and Shiver. She is also the co-author of the Colony Series, co-written with her sister, Nancy Bush. There are over 20 million copies of Lisa Jackson’s books in print in twenty languages.
Before she became a nationally bestselling author, Lisa Jackson 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, the USA Today, and the Publishers Weekly national bestseller lists.
With over thirty 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 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.
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