Left to Die by Lisa Jackson

This is the first of the Selena Alvarez and Regan Pescoli novels. This one featured justice and vengeance, though that’s not evident until the end. Hopefully, that’s not a spoiler. The story is set in the mountains of Montana during the winter when they are getting heavier than normal snowfall. A serial killer is leaving women to die tied to a tree in Granite Falls, a small mountain town.

It’s a good thing I read Born to Die, number three in the series, before this or I would not have read any more of this series or possibly any more of Lisa Jackson’s books. It’s suspenseful and the mystery carries it along. I didn’t remember that much about Alvarez and Pescoli, but in this book, I really didn’t like either main character. They are not likeable people. Opposite ends of the spectrum. One way out there, the other way too reserved. I found myself unable to root for either one. There were two likeable characters. I don’t want to get into them as it would be a spoiler.

I’m also not a fan of thrillers that give a first-person point of view from the killer. It didn’t add anything to the suspense as far as I’m concerned. And it made the book too long. Like Born to Die, this book is at least a hundred pages too long. It clocks in at 498 pages. Stephen King, she’s not. And here’s my biggest complaint about this book. It didn’t end. I read 498 pages to find out the final mystery and Jackson leaves me out in the cold with a major cliff hanger. That’s a gimmick to buy the next book. Won’t work, because I’m done with this series.

I also felt the author unfairly manipulated the reader with another gimmick. I don’t want to reveal it, though, as it would be a major spoiler. Finally, this book is full of sex. To the point of ad nauseam. Some profanity. A little violence. Nothing over the top. This is the worst book I’ve read this year. It’s well written, I just didn’t like the gimmicks, the excessive length, and the way too much sex and thinking about sex. On to other authors.

1. Through Thorny Ways by Jennifer Q. Hunt
2. The Seven Day Resurrection by Chevron Ross
3. Justice by Jeff Hill
4. Already in the Kudzu by Hannah Hood Lucero
5. The Shocking Truth by Steve Rush
6. Daughter of Darkness by Ed Gorman
7. Left to Die by Lisa Jackson

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