Malice

I've been losing interest in this series for a while now, and this book may be the end of it for me. This is about the 6th book in the series featuring Rick Bentz and Rueben Montoya, detectives on the New Orleans police force.

Rick Bentz is still on medical leave from the force for injuries sustained in the last book. In fact, it had not been certain that he would even survive his injuries and spent several days in a coma. Upon regaining consciousness, he had a vision of his dead ex-wife in the hospital room, that he shared with his daughter but no one else. During his rehabilitation, he experienced several instances of feeling he was being watched, and of thinking he was seeing Jennifer, his first wife who died in a car accident in Los show more Angeles 12 years earlier. When he received a package of current photos of Jennifer in locations near their former home in California, he decides that he must go there and investigate. His current wife, Olivia, is becoming more and more frustrated by Rick's obsession with Jennifer and his refusal to consider her desire to have a baby. Hoping it will clear his head, she sends him to California with her blessing.

While in Los Angeles, Rick continues to have Jennifer-sightings, the LAPD is not happy to see him back (he left on less-than-good terms to go to New Orleans), some even suspect that he may be involved in several murders that occur after he arrives and which seem to be connected to his investigation. Olivia, Rick's wife back in New Orleans, begins to get harrassing phone calls about Rick.

All this is well and fine, and the mystery is actually a pretty good one. What spoiled the book for me was the repetitive thought-scenes where Rick worries that he is going crazy, that he is responsible for the deaths which have occured, that he should just go back home to the wife who is still alive and forget about the one who is dead, etc. And another whole set of similar scenes where Olivia is obsessing about when and how she should tell Bentz that she is already pregnant. They were just too much and didn't do anything but drag the story out.

I think that Jackson has inflicted enough personal hells on this cast of characters, and should consider finally letting them live happily ever after. show less

Detective Rick Bentz has come out of his coma and is back at home now, after being stuck by a tree in the prior novel Lost Souls. Something isn't right about Rick. He has changed. He says that while in the hospital that he was visited by his ex-wife, Jennifer. The funny thing is that Jennifer died twelve years ago. She committed suicide and drive her car straight into a tree.

Detective Montoya hands a package to Rick. It was delivered to Rick at the police station. Inside the package are some photographs of Jennifer and a death certificate. The photos are recent. It seems someone is sending Rick a message that Jennifer is alive. The postmark on the package is from California. Even though Rick knows someone is playing a sick joke on show more him, he still heads out for California.

Rick starts to see Jennifer everywhere. Also two twin twenty-one year old girls are murdered. Murders are nothing new but the thing about this murder is that is similar to the last case Rick ever worked while in California. That case was never solved.

Olivia is worried that Rick is chasing ghosts and nothing good will come of it. Plus she has something she wants to tell Rick and it is eating her up inside with guilt.

I liked that this story picked right up from Lost Souls. In Malice, the premise of the story line was that Detective Bentz receives a package what contents that made him think his ex-wife Jennifer is alive. What I enjoyed was that I got to know a little more about Detective Bentz and his past. Also a different location was refreshing from New Orleans to California. The pace of this book reads pretty fast. Lisa Jackson once again proves why I like reading her books. show less

Usually I don't like stalker stories but this one was very intriguing. Cop on sick leave starts seeing 1st wife who committed suicide 13 yrs earlier. He decides to return to LA to look into her death while his present wife remains at home in New Orleans and starts getting creepy phone calls. Audiobook was very well done with 2 readers for the different parts.

I have made it my mission to finish this series. I have been a fan of Lisa Jackson for many many years, in fact I have handed this series out to half of the women I work with. I love the combination of Bentz and his partner and each book is full of twists and turns that it is something i had a hard time putting down. Well done!

New Orleans detective Rick Bentz is recovering from an accident in a hospital when he smells the scent of gardenias, the same perfume that his first wife, Jennifer, wore. Opening his eyes he sees her in the doorway blowing him a kiss. But Jennifer died twelve years ago. Once released from the hospital Jennifer starts appearing unexpectedly while remaining at a distance. Rick follows a trail of information back to Los Angeles seeking answers into the unexplained appearance of Jennifer while trying to reassure his present wife, Olivia.

Maybe it’s because I listened to the audio version, but the story seemed overly long, with too many instances of Jennifer appearing, too many coincidences, too many unexplained happenings. By the time of show more the big revelation I knew the answer and when it came to the final disc I was wishing to story would finish. I haven’t read anything else by this author and I’m not sure I will. show less

After the questionable death of his ex-wife Jennifer, Homicide detective Rick Bentz slides into alcohol abuse and is devastated when he is involved in the shooting death of a twelve year old boy and unable to solve the horrific murder of twin girls. He leaves Los Angeles and takes a job in New Orleans where he gets his life back on track and marries Olivia, an independent and beautiful woman.

Fast forward twelve years.

While recovering from bruised spinal cord and upon waking from a coma, Bentz has a vision. He sees Jennifer - not once, but several times; and then he gets a manila envelope with recent photos of her and a copy of her death certificate with a red question mark written on it. Shaken, Bentz returns to California and quickly show more becomes embroiled in the old department politics while fresh bodies start turning up…all connected to him.

Lisa Jackson’s fast paced and newest thriller Malice hit the stores in April. The plot unfolds quickly and readers do not have to wait long for the thrills. This book is all about plot - not a disappointment to readers of this genre.

Although I enjoyed the novel (and it was a very quick read for me), it was not without its faults. There were quite a few typos in my finished copy which always annoys me. Also, at times the plot felt a bit contrived - things were not always believable, and the ending was wrapped up pretty neatly. In fairness to Jackson, this type of genre fiction seems to play on the edges of believability with the evil characters being really bad, the benevolent characters being really good, and the plots being a bit exaggerated. That said, Jackson writes this type of story as good as any, having written more than 75 novels and with more than 10 million copies of her books in print.

Malice is good escapism reading - a fast moving plot, lots of dialogue, and menace around every corner. For readers who like to curl up with a book of suspense and let their palms sweat, Jackson’s book is sure to please. show less

New Orleans detective Rick Bentz has a new job, a new wife and a new life, leaving behind in L.A. his past and his lying, cheating, and now deceased wife. Or at least that’s what he thought…

When he starts thinking he sees his late wife Jennifer and receives an envelope with recent pictures of her, very much alive, he travels back to California to figure out what’s going on. That’s when the murders begin.

Lisa Jackson’s fast-paced, plot-driven novel is a fun read–a little wordier than necessary, but you can definitely skim over some pages without missing anything (or is that cheating?). A good book for a couple of lazy afternoons.