Joshilyn Jackson

With a plot that makes no sense, but holds together remarkably well, due to Jackson's writing skills and careful construction, this thriller works far better than it should. Penny is a rookie officer, sent to put out crime scene tape around a murder site, when she finds the murderer. The woman, covered in blood, says one word to Penny, and with that, Penny lets her go and pockets the murder weapon. It's a ridiculous opening, and yet Jackson carefully lays the ground in the rest of the book, show more so that this reaction makes sense, even as Penny is suspended from her job and sets out to solve the murder herself, with the help of what is now a somewhat lazy trope -- the younger relative who happens to be a skilled hacker. Penny recognized the murdered man as one of the men responsible for her twin sister's death. Along with her niece, she's helped by her sister's ex-boyfriend, and impeded by her yoga influencer older brother, as they search for the connections to her sister's death years ago, and to find that woman Penny met at the crime scene.

Jackson began her career writing literary fiction that focused on quirky Southern characters, and here she puts those offbeat characters into a thriller, a genre she's moved on to. And here it works, delivering an entertaining story that doesn't take itself too seriously, the requisite tragic backstory and a neat set-up to a sequel. show less

If I was a book club member, I would suggest Mother May I for the club. The book blew me away. There are so many serious issues that can be discussed - women's place in society and the workplace, friendship, how some can move on after their misdeeds while others get only one shot at the brass ring, misogyny, one tiny step over the precipice/the cost of making a mistake/poor judgement, carrying the burden of a mistake, "discounting" bad behavior/salving the conscience/rewriting history, show more honesty, self-worth, drugs and consent/rape, love vs loyalty, seeing both sides of a person's character and living or rejecting the conflicting characters, vengeance, denial, trust/misplaced trust, a parent's love for their child, a spouse's love for their partner, parenthood....the list is endless.

Aside from the fact that this book is thought-provoking and a taut thriller, it is an absorbing read from start to finish. Once I started, I was hooked. I was surprised by what did not surprise me and I was surprised by what did. The writing was excellent, the plot well developed. There are several sympathetic characters and some who deserved none. I thought that the author's narration offered a perspective and depth to some of the MC's reflections, where otherwise I might not have given them much credence.

I will not give anything away other than to say that a baby is kidnapped early in the story and the search for the baby, uncovering the motive for the kidnapping and the truth are everything. This was the first book I have read by Joshilyn Jackson and I look forward to reading more of her work in the future.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Harper Audio, and of course the brilliant Joshilyn Jackson for an audio ARC of this amazing book. All the stars❤️ show less

With My Little Eye starts out as a "woman in peril" thriller but strong characterization elevates the book above its genre. "I never thought I was famous enough to get murdered." B-level actress Meribel Mills has a stalker whose letters have become violent, with depictions of dismembered body parts to demonstrate his intentions. When she has a chance to move from LA to her home town of Atlanta to film a new TV series, she hopes she has escaped "Marker Man."

Meribel has enough on her plate show more without that threat. Her daughter Honor requires special care to manage her autism, and Meribel is uncomfortably aware that she is living in the same city as her ex-husband, with whom she has a complicated history. She is also dealing with hostility from her neighbor who thinks Meribel has designs on her ex-boyfriend, and Meribel's own ex back in LA is urging her to give him another shot. But when she gets a letter from Marker Man at her new apartment, she realizes she is still very much in danger.

I am not a fan of the "crazed lunatic stalker" plot, but Jackson keeps you guessing about the identity of the bad dude, serving up several red herrings. Meribel realizes the irony of working in a profession that requires her to use whatever means necessary to keep looking youthful, so she can play a woman who is "sex murdered," even as she is doing everything she can to avoid that fate in real life. When she is finally face to face with Marker Man, she realizes that, although real life is not like television, she might have learned a few tips of the trade that could save her life.

Meribel's 12 year old daughter Honor, who is on the Spectrum, has her own character arc. Her unlikely friendships with a homeless girl and a rebellious teen lead her on an unexpected journey that requires her to be as heroic as the paladins in her online Dungeons and Dragons games. My favorite chapters are the ones told from Honor's point of view. Her description of the way she perceives the world and how it feels physically to be overstimulated to the point of meltdown are very evocative. I don't know if Jackson knows people with autism or if she did a lot of research, but Honor feels very authentic even if she's not an "own voices" character.

I've already devoted too much time in previous reviews to my disappointment about Joshilyn Jackson's transformation from southern women's fiction to suspense thrillers, so I'll shut up and accept what I cannot change. FWIW, I think this is stronger than the other two Jackson books I have read since she switched genres ([b:Never Have I Ever|36679186|Never Have I Ever|Joshilyn Jackson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1546016946l/36679186._SY75_.jpg|58469223] and [b:Mother May I|55004063|Mother May I|Joshilyn Jackson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1610434653l/55004063._SY75_.jpg|84787011]).

ARC received from Net Galley in exchange for objective review. show less

Leia Birch Briggs is a comic book writer/illustrator who finds her own life in upheaval when she discovers she's pregnant after a tequila-infused one night stand with Batman. This particular Batman is black, so Leia will be raising a bi-racial baby in a somewhat conservative family. Life gets further complicated when she hears from the Birchville's grapevine (a town her ancestors established in Alabama) that her beloved grandmother Birchie is suffering from dementia. It all gets a bit worse show more when she heads to her sister Rachel's brunch to share her baby news with family and passes Rachel's husband Jay storming out the door, clothes packed in garbage bags - apparently the marriage is in trouble. Rachel needs time to get things together, so she implores Leia to take daughter Valentine with her to Birchville to see what's going on with Birchie, and figure out how Birchie's best friend Wattie managed to keep it all from her. And just when you think things could get any more convoluted, Birchie and Wattie unearth an old trunk from the attic and attempt to steal away with it in Leia's rental car. The car crashes at the end of the driveway, and when the trunk is opened, a full skeleton is revealed. Who is in the trunk and how did it end up in Birchie's attic?

This is a beautifully crafted novel, probably one of the best I've read this year and certainly one of the best LibraryThing Early Reviewers titles I have been awarded. There are more than one pair of almost sisters here. Leia and Rachel are step-siblings, Birchie and Wattie are like sisters even though Birchie is white and Wattie is black, because they were raised and nursed together by Wattie's mother. And threaded throughout this novel is the story of Violet and Violence, Leia's characters in her comic series. How these relationships work and don't work is a regular theme through the novel. We also examine the idea of racism, and how Leia both romanticizes this wonderful town of Birchville where she spent her summers as a child and how she sees the town as it is, part of the world in which her biracial son will grow up. Characters are richly drawn, people are funny, fun, happy, sad, confused, scared - in a word, real. Except, of course, when Birchie sees the bunnies, but you'll have to read the book to learn more about those. show less