Victoria Jenkins

Thanks to NetGalley for this reviewer’s copy!

The premise of THE ARGUMENT is simple – teenage girl goes out to a party, parents disapprove, teenager tells parents she hates them and refuses to talk to them any more. If it only were that innocent!

Hannah is the stodgy, no-fun mother of Olivia and Rosie. Olivia is a normal 15-year-old testing the boundaries of parental control. Rosie is still young and is the favored child, much to Olivia’s chagrin. Everyone appears to be a reliable narrator so far, despite the titular argument. The book flows along with minimal ups and downs until about 60% gone – then the first twist is uncovered and Hannah becomes a sympathetic character while Olivia becomes a selfish, annoying little girl, still believing that if her parents didn’t treat her the way they did, she would not have had to sneak out to that party. Soon after that, the second twist happens – hold onto your book, because it’s a doozy! My sympathies changed ever so slightly towards Olivia at this point, despite the fact that she was still a selfish teenager. At this point, I was not putting the book down until it was finished; it was that good! Then the author drops another twist into the mix, making Hannah even more sympathetic.

Hold those emotions close, though, as from here on in they will be changing and spinning out of control. By the end of the book every character but one is deserving of pity, more or less. Each character (except Rosie, who is quite the innocent throughout) has their demons and their false beliefs. One is a narcissist, another is a control freak, and the other is selfish. Actually, they are all selfish and broken in their own way.

THE ARGUMENT is an unputdownable psychological thriller that starts slow, but ends with multiple jaw-dropping twists. The author is adept at creating simmering tension that boils over midway through the book – and the ending will have you shaking your head at Hannah’s final words. I look forward to reading more of the author’s work.… (more)

Wow! This book had me on edge from the start!
The Playdate is told from Dani, a young single mother and Adele an older married mum’s points of view. Meeting at a playgroup they become fast friends even though there is a significant age gap between them, but all is not as it seems...
Both characters were likeable at the beginning even though they both had secrets, however, I did change my mind about one of them later on in the book.
It had me feeling sorry for both of them in different ways. Obviously, I was led down the garden path with one of them.
Lies and deceit and revenge, this was a page-turner like no other I had read. I did not see what was coming at all.
This is the first book I have read by Victoria Jenkins, it was fantastic and I will definitely be looking out for more of her books in the future.… (more)

This is a review of the advanced copy “An Unattended Death” by Victoria Jenkins for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

In this captivating third novel by Victoria Jenkins (Cruise Control, 2002, etc.), a rural Washington state sheriff’s detective named Irene Chavez believes that a murder has been committed in her jurisdiction.

A body is discovered floating in the slough on the property of a wealthy family’s vacation home, and Irene receives the case by default. Everyone else in the department is on another assignment, so it pretty much falls to her to investigate.

Chavez and her son have moved back to her childhood home from Los Angeles, where following the death of her husband, she found it more and more difficult to raise her son, Victor, in a safe environment. The current case she is dealing with turns out to be one that involves an unattended death that she is pretty certain is murder.

Twenty-nine-year-old psychiatrist Anne Paris, the golden girl in a prominent family of physicians, was last seen going out in her brother’s boat before a violent storm. Now, her body is found, and the probable cause of death is a blow to the back of the skull—and it is not likely that it was made by the boat’s boom.

Irene must investigate and interview the usual list of subjects: Anne’s broken father, her half siblings and their families, Anne’s boyfriend and best friend, the rich neighbor, a colleague and her landlord from Boston, the location of the mental institution where she worked. It seems that many had motive and opportunity, but there’s little evidence to connect any of the suspects to a crime.

Jenkins’ deft use of plot and character skillfully advances the story, and her all-too-human protagonist, Chavez, is credible and identifiable as she strives to solve the case and reconcile her duties as a law enforcement officer and a single parent.

A product of working-class parents, she is not your typical glamorous heroine but someone who’s low key, trying to balance work and home life while being all too aware of her limitations and slightly uncomfortable around those who’ve had more advantages than she has.

Looking forward to her next book, this reviewer is recommending this book and rates the book with 4 out of 5 stars.… (more)

I thoroughly enjoyed reading my first book by this author, as a matter of fact I simply couldn't put it down. I thrived on her fast pace of writing, the winding twists and turns that I didn't see coming and was just blown away by! I also was intrigued & impressed by the series of very meaningful topics that were touched upon such as sexual preference among teens, teen pregnancy, single teen parenthood, hit and run accidents & parental pressure. I thought a pivotal part of the plot was that Secrets just grow more toxic by the day week month & year, it was fascinating to see this fabulous author weave throughout the story the toll keeping secrets takes not only on you but eventually on the person you were keeping them from and that entire circle of friendship. Is anyone in this wedding party innocent? Trust me you won't be disappointed if you read to find out. This was my first but definitely not my last read by VICTORIA JENKINS I've already Google searched her and put her on the top of my to be read list!… (more)