Lisa Jackson

He swore he’d never let her go. She should have believed him.
Right off, we are introduced to Brooke and her family. After her marriage to her husband Neal almost ended, they decided to try again, meaning that Brooke would need to end her affair with sexy Gideon who she met when she and Neal were separated. Gideon helps Brooke get back to being herself, and in the process of their sleeping together he clearly becomes more attached to Brooke than she is to him. Letting the affair go on for show more far too long after she and Neal decide to "fix" things Brooke decides to finally end it with Gideon. What she doesn’t expect though is that Gideon will be so unwilling to let her go. Vowing that they will be together and she will be his the two end their relationship in a very toxic manner.

Brooke doesn’t think that Gideon would ever carry out his threats... but then she notices that things are moved in her house and starts to feel that someone is watching and following her. It appears that he may have been true to his word after all. Throughout the book, as things progress and Brooke struggles to piece together if her nerves from hiding this secret from her family are getting the best of her and making her paranoid or if it really is Gideon trying to find a way back into her life. Mixed with issues from her teenage daughter and her deadbeat sister always looking for money, Brooke struggles to know if what is going on is in her head is really happening or not.

Judging by the blurb, the story sounded interesting, but I also thought it was a bit predictable. The "scorned lover" plot has been done in so many books, so many times before that I just wasn’t sure this would be any different...but surprise...IT WAS! I think what made it different was "unreliable" Brooke. She was a great main character but, as I said she’s unreliable. Unreliable in the fact that she really never trusts anything that she is thinks or sees, so how are we, the readers, supposed to relate to that? There was also the fact that Brooke was an "airhead". She often forgot that she was the one who invited the Gedeon relationship into her life to start with...a man she barely knew and was actively working to hide the entire affair from everyone. True, she was being stalked and treated like no one deserved to be treated, but she was the one that invited him in and kept him around way longer than she should have. Plus, she refuses to tell anyone else what is going on, or what she believes is going on, which just puts her into this tight spot where she simply drives herself crazy...along with those of us reading this book.

It was NOT a bad story in itself...when I thought I was wrong I found that I was right...especially at the end, so not everything was totally predictable. The characters could have all used an "attitude adjustment". For the most part, they were all moody, downright mean, and just terrible in the different things they did and said to one another. Brooke’s teenage daughter was the worst. She was just over-the-top blatantly rude and disrespectful. We "heard" Brooke saying over and over to her, "You need to change your attitude". I thought "you need a good hard slap up-side your head. That would change your attitude the quickest":)

I've read a lot of Lisa Jackson's works and have always enjoyed them. I would definitely recommend checking this one out if you're a Lisa Jackson fan ... or if you just enjoy a good mystery, thriller filled with explosive relationships that focus on issues of infidelity, mental health, and how far you would be willing go to try and keep things from changing. if that's "your thing" then this is your read. show less

Detective Ruben Montoya ("Cold Blooded") is back, investigating the murder of a local shock jock and a female college student headed for a nunnery. Still grieving the loss of his lover Marta, the last thing he wants is to get involved with the prime suspect - the victim's wife Abby Chastain. ackson does a great job keeping the killer under wraps (so much so that we are not aware of him until the final act); throwing out numerous possible suspects. The killer's inspired MO is clever and show more ingenious. But the revelation of the culprit was a let down after such a gripping tale, marring what could have been a perfect story. show less

Detective Regan Pescoli, twice divorced, workaholic, and typical police detective of a Montana Sheriff's department is caught by a serial killer who has been terrorizing the rural county. Add in a romance with a no-account cowboy, an ex-husband who is taking her two teenage children, a multi-millionaire, various eccentric local types and you have a great story. I liked how Jackson slowly developed the characters, revealing enough along the entire story so there is always a bit of surprise. show more Her descriptions of the area and weather ring true, bringing a touch of realism to the story. The length was long enough to bring depth and build suspense. The ending was good, effective resolving the major issue, but leaving a little on the table for another Pescoli story. show less

The Last Sinner by Lisa Jackson is a very highly recommended twisty Southern Gothic thriller which has led me to declare that I am never visiting New Orleans.

New Orleans homicide detectives Rick Bentz and Reuben Montoya are back. When a crazed killer targets Kristi Bentz, she is injured, but her husband Jay McKnight is killed defending her. Kristi has a series of true crime best sellers and one of the killer she wrote about may be after her. At the same time it appears that Father John, a show more fake priest obsessed with killing women that they though was killed and left for dead in a swamp, may be back or a copycat is at work. Several recent murders have followed Father John's modus operandi, choking victims to death by a string of sharpened rosary beads.

The set ups of the attacks happening and questions surrounding them work up to a frantic nail-biting pace that will keep you glued to the pages as they flew by. I was surprised at the page count as it felt shorter when I was reading. Is Father John back and responsible for all the murders and attempt on Kristi's life? She did write a book about him. Or is it someone else Kristi wrote about? What is happening is unpredictable and held my attention from beginning to end.

This is my first in the New Orleans series and I think I need to read the previous installments. It does work as a stand-alone for anyone who wants to start here, but you'll feel the same way and want to revisit previous novels in the series. All of the characters are great and feel like realistic, unique individuals. The plot was totally unpredictable and kept me guessing to the end. The Last Sinner is a winning summer read!
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Kensington via NetGalley.
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