Customer Reviews

14 (Taylor Jackson)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm a big fan of Ellison's, and of her three offerings, 14 creeped me out deliciously. While the plot is wonderful, what makes Ellison's stories so special is the level of intimacy (good and creepy) the reader is able to achieve with her characters. By the time you have finished 14, Taylor, the main character, will feel like a close friend.

And you would want her ON your side.

I'd recommend 14 to anyone, but reading All The Pretty Girls first would be helpful. 14 stands on its on just fine, but since there is a trilogy, I'd recommend reading all three in order.

Prepare to be scared.

I remember enjoying All the Pretty Girls - the first in the Taylor Jackson series, but it's been awhile. However it will not be awhile before I read Judas Kiss, the third in the series. 14 was just that good. Taylor is now engaged and dealing with her wedding coming up but also with this Snow White Killer case. More insight is given into her fiancee, her father and her co-workers. I really enjoyed her co-workers, their banter and how well they worked together. Romance figures into this but I would say it is suspense first and foremost since the couple is already involved. Taylor continues to grow as a person and as a detective and I look forward to seeing how well she does in Judas Kiss. If you enjoy suspense and continuing series, I fully recommend getting started with this series. You won't regret it.

In the 1980s in Nashville, the Snow White Killer murdered ten women who looked similar with their dark hair and the red lipstick painted haphazardly all over their lips. The serial killer was never caught, but taunted the police with a note claiming mission accomplished. At the time of the murders, preadolescent Taylor Jackson was fascinated by them; she hoped, if the predator was not caught then, to one day have the opportunity to catch the psychopath when she became an adult police detective.

Two decades later, the case remains unsolved, but Taylor knows that was the impetus that turned her to law enforcement. The homicide lieutenant is stunned when the Snow White type murders begin again. She and her fiancé FBI profiler John Baldwin investigate planning to bring the killer, whether he is the original or a copycat, to justice.

The second Taylor Jackson police procedural (see ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS) is a gritty urban serial killing thriller with strong plausible twists. The story line is fast-paced and filled with action as Taylor got her tweener wish as she goes after the deadly effective and efficient psychopath. 14 is a tense and intense thriller throughout.

I like Taylor Jackson, and I like her team. The serial killer they are hunting in this book is suitably creepy. However, I much prefer my thrillers not to stray into bodice ripper territory--and there is a big helping of that here. It's most frequently female mystery writers who are tempted to do this. Maybe it's intended to lure female readers. But whatever the case, I want my thrillers sans graphic sex. Just plain serial murder and mayhem will do nicely for me. I wish Ellison would trust her plot and dispense with her detours into soft porn.

Other than that, I found this book to be pretty exciting, though with a lot of plot threads that were sometimes hard to keep straight. This series reminds me a lot of Cody McFadyen's Smokey Barrett series. It's not yet as good, but it shows a lot of promise.

This is the second in a series by this author and both have been very good books. There is of course a serial killer on the loose that likes to slash the victims throats. Is this a killer from the past or a copy cat ? Romance and murder, what more can you want?
I bought all 4 of her books by just reading the reviews and they were right on, these are great books, at least I do still have 2 more to read in this series.

J.T.'s done it again! This is even more intense and well done than ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS. I love Taylor Jackson! She's a real woman with a real job that she obviously loves and is good at. The reader just can tell that Ellison loves her characters and tries to make the reader love them too. She's so totally human and real. Not a super hero, just a woman who's good at what she does. A great love story woven in adds to the joy. I dare you to put it down!

This book is perfectly paced, full of suspense, and creepy as all get out--I liked it even better than ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS. Ellison proves once again that she not only knows how to keep the reader turning pages, but how to create characters that stay with you long after you've finished reading. Taylor Jackson rocks, plain and simple.

If you have to be asleep at a certain time to get up for work, don't pick up "14" by JT Ellison, because you will NOT be going to sleep! In her second (can you believe only her second?!?!) novel, JT Ellison once again takes us to places we may not ever have wanted to go, but makes us want to go there so badly we will risk losing a job to get there! Lieutenant Taylor Jackson leads us intrepidly into the dark side of life in Nashville and New York in pursuit of a serial killer who just CAN'T be back again - or can he? At the same time, in a manner only Ellison could pull off, Taylor is wrestling with family issues and is trying (?) to get married! This blend of Taylor's professional and personal life makes her such a multi-dimensional character that the reader feels as if she is a personal friend. The drama and terror are so well written that this book is best started in the early morning hours, so that it can be finished well before dark. Only two books in, and Ellison has a true fan here. Watch for more from this terrific new author (this is not a paid advertisement, no matter how it sounds!)

This is the second book I have read by this author and she gets better and better with every key stroke. If your looking for edge of your seat suspense, police procedures that bring you along for the ride, and a killer that makes you look at your neighbors sideways....this is the one for you. I highly recommend this book as well as All the Pretty Girls.

This is the first time I have read a book by this author. This is the type of genre I like the best. After I purchased this book "14", I purchased all the rest of her novels. Also read "Where all the Dead Lie". I am now reading "So Close the Hand of Death" and it's very hard to put it down in order to get some work done. I hope she keeps on writing; I am beginning to run out of authors that I normally read; they just don't write as fast as I can read their novels. I usually go by the synopsis that is on the back of the books. But since there are no book stores by me anymore since Borders closed, I have been purchasing thru Amazon and most of the time their descriptions are to the point and true to the storyline.