Almost Dead (Comfort View) [Large Print] [Paperback]

Lisa Jackson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2008

A Woman Who Wants To Get Even - The first victim is pushed to her death. The second suffers a fatal overdose. The third takes a bullet to the heart. Three down, more to go. They're people who deserve to die. People who are in the way. And when she's finished, there will be no one left. Will Do Whatever It Takes For Revenge. Cissy Cahill's world is unraveling fast. One by one, members of her family are dying. Cissy's certain she's being watched. Or is she losing her mind? Lately she's heard footsteps when there's no one around, smelled a woman's perfume, and noticed small, personal items missing from her house. Cissy's right to be afraid--but not for the reason she thinks. The truth is much more terrifying - Including Murder. Hidden in the shadows of the Cahill family's twisted past is a shocking secret - a secret that will only be satisfied by blood. And Cissy must uncover the deadly truth before it's too late, because fear is coming home - with a vengeance.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'In a word: clever' -- The Herald Sun '[ALMOST DEAD contains an] excellent subplot revelation that few readers will see coming' -- The Sydney Morning Herald 'ALMOST DEAD holds the reader's attention from page 1 - a very readable thriller.' -- Launceston Examiner As a beach read, this is a cracker. Read it at night and it certainly will keep you up. For after the prologue, Jackson slips into her real agenda, and out of your comfort zone. -- Courier Mail, Brisbane - DEEP FREEZE 20070115 'A fast-paced and surprisingly complex story... . The depiction of the protagonist... reaches an unusual depth, and the crisp, skillful language infuse every sentence with suspense...will keep readers riveted.' -- Publishers Weekly- DEEP FREEZE 20070115 'A spine-tingler.' -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer- DEEP FREEZE 20070115 'Spine-tingling ... turbo-charged.' -- Publishers Weekly - ABSOLUTE FEAR 20090102 'Suspenseful ... shocking ... will leave readers on the edges of their seats.' -- Booklist - ABSOLUTE FEAR 20090202 --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Lisa Jackson has been writing romantic fiction for fifteen years. Over sixty of her books have been published and reprinted in more than a dozen foreign languages. A single mother, she is a native of Oregon, where she still resides with her two teenage sons. Lisa is often asked what is the key to her success, and her unfailing answer is a keen imagination, incredible friends, loving family, and always, loads of laughter. As Oscar Wilde is purported to have said, "Life is too important to be taken seriously."

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation (May 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0758229119
• ISBN-13: 978-0758229113
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,541,941 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

#1 NYT and USA TODAY bestselling author Lisa Jackson started writing after her sister read an article in TIME Magazine in 1981 about how young mothers were making money writing romance novels. Both Lisa and her sister, Nancy Bush, began their writing careers right then, and lo, these many years later Lisa has published seventy-five plus novels and has no plans to slow down anytime soon.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 3.5 stars, August 10, 2007

By 

iheartjackbauer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Almost Dead (Paperback)

Lately Cissy Cahill has been asking herself if life could get any worse. While in the middle of divorcing her husband, her psycho mom escapes from prison. Just when Cissy thinks nothing else could possibly go wrong, she finds the body of her grandmother, dead from what looks like a fall down the stairs. When more members of her family are murdered, the Police are sure it is Marla Cahill, her mother. Even though she knows her mother is crazy, Cissy can't believe that she could murder members of her own family.

Jack Holt will do anything to get Cissy back in his life. When her mother escapes and her grandmother turns up dead, Jack insists on moving back home to protect Cissy and their 18 month old son, BJ. In between fighting over what went wrong and protecting the family he loves, Jack tries to convince Cissy that she made a terrible mistake in giving up on their marriage.

This is a great addition to my Lisa Jackson collection. While the mystery is strong in this book, Jackson has gone back toward her romance roots. Romance suspense fans should be happy with this latest Jackson release.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not so great follow up, December 17, 2007

By 

Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Almost Dead (Paperback)

Heiress Cissy Cahill-Holt's murderous mom Marla Cahill has escaped from prison and suddenly members of Cissy's family are being murdered. Her estranged husband moves back in with her to provide protection and hopefully get back into her good graces, while the police put a tail on her - not so much to protect her but to make sure she isn't in cahoots since she is the few beneficiaries of the Cahill estate. Cissy's worst nightmare comes true when the killer targets her 18 month old son, BJ.

You really need to read the precursor to this story, "If She Only Knew," as readers might be confused. Unlike most writers, Jackson doesn't rehash and summarize her previous story, so very little about Marla and her crimes comes to light. I found little chemistry between Jack and Cissy (and Cissy was a bit whiny and annoying after awhile), in fact, I was hoping the story would veer off in the route Jackson was steering. One thing I thought odd was that the "heroine" from the previous novel is never referred to by name. She is always "Nick's wife." The writing is good, but the plotting is below average, and the plot, particularly the revelation of the killer is far too familiar to its predecessor. On the whole, it's merely an average story, which was a huge disappointment considering what it could have been.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars not horror at all, February 13, 2008

By 

Maryssa (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Almost Dead (Paperback)

Although there were several plot twists, I found the characters to be lacking depth and it was hard to finish the book when I really didn't care what happened to them. This book is NOT horror but instead a romance novel with a murder mystery. The sex scenes really weren't necessary and only added a trashy element.
I found the "heroine" Cissy to be dense and annoying, and her young son was a spoiled brat. I found myself getting a headache as the child threw fit after fit and everyone thought it was just so cute, and they bent over backwards to accomodate him. I found myself hoping that he's become a victim and fast. Cissy comes from a rich, high society family, but little else is explained besides her mother being a convicted killer. She takes everything for granted and whines constantly to herself about her traumatic life and her cheating husband who she just can't resist. The good point of the book is that you are kept guessing until the end, but some of that is due to huge plot holes. The story is told in such a way that the killer occasionally narrates, and it skips ahead to the future or present in an anonymous hospital patient's entry. You get more details and clues as the story progresses, but many of these are false clues. It was never explained why the killer called her mysterious boyfriend by his son's name rather than his own name in a cheap effort to mislead you. Had the boyfirend's identity really been his son rather than him, would have made much more sense and would have made for a much better story. Minus several stars for going for the obscure and misleading ending.