Customer Reviews

Cold Blooded (Zebra romantic suspense)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is the story of Rick Bentz the detective from the story Hot Blooded. This story is really more suspense then romance, but it is still a great story. There is another serial killer on the loose in New Orleans and he kills the girls by saint feast days. The story keeps you guessing on who the killer is and what relationship he has with Olivia the heroine. She sees visions of the murders and feels helpless to stop them. She goes to the police and that is how she meets Rick. Rick has had issues in the past and does not trust anyone. Especially women. It will take a special someone to turn him around.

More suspense then romance you won't have to skim over love scenes that seem like filler. A great page turner until the end. Don't miss this fast paced story.

In New Orleans, the killer left behind a carved up incinerated corpse with no witnesses to the vicious homicide. No eye witnesses that is because Olivia Bechet observed every slash and burn though she was sleeping several miles away from the crime scene in her cottage. Thinking that she suffered through a particularly nasty nightmare, Olivia ignores her dream until it reoccurs a few weeks later with a different victim. She feels she is somehow connected to this "priestly" serial killer and goes to the authorities only to have Detective Rick Bentz scoff at her claims.

As the Big Easy panics with a rising death count, Olivia continues to press Rick and his younger partner Reuben Montoya into believing her even if the senior detective scornfully laughs at her assertions. However, the culprit sees what she sees through her eyes and believes Olivia knows too much. Now she dreams that she is the next victim. She pleads with the two cops to keep her safe, but Rick remains more than skeptical as he concludes that the woman he loves is a lunatic.

COLD BLOODED is an exciting serial killer thriller that stars a wonderful heroine and Rick, a secondary character from the prequel HOT BLOODED. The story line engages the reader mostly because of the interplay between Rick and Olivia. The killer is standard off the shelf stock while the graphic descriptions of the sexual crimes are not everyone's café du lait though the scenes provide the depth to what the heroine faces. Lisa Jackson provides fans of serial killer plots, police procedurals, and romantic suspense with an entertaining tale.

Harriet Klausner

A psychic, Olivia Benchet dreams about a priest who kills. Then she awakens to a horrid certainty that her dream was something more. Vivid details bear witness to an innocent woman's torture and death at the hands of a man wearing vestments, his face concealed by a black ski mask. Worse, she knows that the killer is aware of her presence and her identity. Recalling the headlines of the previous rash of killings, Olivia seeks out the detective instrumental in solving the bizarre killings.

Rick Bentz is skeptical of Olivia's claims until a burned house reveals its macabre secret. As Rick examines the site, he recalls Olivia's tale of a naked chained victim, a priest with a radio and sword, and the significance of the date. As further facts compel his belief in Olivia's story, Rick finds himself irresistibly drawn to this intriguing woman. Little does he suspect, however, the coming danger to the women in his life. Meanwhile, the Chosen One continues to pursue his mission to "rid the earth of the vile sinners on the day God had selected."

Author Lisa Jackson demonstrates extraordinary flair for creating nail-biting romance in COLD BLOODED. Picking up where HOT BLOODED leaves off and including several favorite characters and the New Orleans setting, COLD BLOODED explores a methodical and cunning serial killer's plan for redeeming lost souls. There are no easy answers for Jackson's characters where anyone is suspect, and vows of silence protect the guilty. Crisp dialogue, a multilayer plot, and a carefully measured pace build suspense in this chilling read that earns the WordWeaving Award for Excellence.

Cold Blooded Kensington Publishing Corp.,
Lisa Jackson 2002, ppg. 461, $6.99, ISBN 0-8217-6934-0


"It sounds so crazy, but sometimes I get this feeling... its like crystals of ice over the back of my neck, and I feel he's close... closer than I ever imagined..."
Several women have been murdered and their corpse have been found throughout New Orleans. The killer thinks he's sly and suspects no one knows of his killer spree, and positive the suspiciousness of the cops doesn't lead to him. But really, Olivia Bechets who is mysteriously connected to the horrific killer by her visions. Frightened and spooked Olivia turns the the police. But skeptical Detective Bentz doesn't believe her even though more bodies turn up in the same gory, ritualistic manner Olivia described in her "so-called" vision as Bentz likes to say.
As the merciless killer keeps striking and killing women in New Orleans Olivia becomes frustrated by Bentz's doubtfulness but at the same time is confused at the attraction between herself and Bentz.
But her visions turn into premonitions as she sees a murder, one yet to be committed by the killer. Only this time in Olivia's vision she sees the victim's face and recognizes it, but the most shocking thing is that she recognizes the murderer's face as well. And she is closer to the killer than she ever imagined...
I recommend this book to anyone who loves mystery and murders. This book is unbelievably awesome, and when I was reading it, I couldn't put it down. This book will have you reading at the edge of your seat. So read Cold Blooded if you want to see who's New Orleans mass murderer, and see how close Olivia really is to the killer.

Cold Blooded picks up a couple months after Hot Blooded left off. Dr. Samantha Leeds, plays only the most minor of parts in this one, leaving room for the enigmatic Olivia Benchet. Olivia, gifted like her VooDoo priestess grandmother, with the Sight, receives visions of a young woman being tortured and then set afire. Taking her concerns to the New Orleans police, she encounters Rick Bentz (a key player from the last one) and his wet-behind-the-ears but charming partner Reuben Montoya. Olivia is at first dismissed as a loony, however when Bentz gets to know her more, he starts to believe her once farfetched tales, and is convinced a serial killer is stalking New Orleans once again.
This novel is every bit as good as Hot Blooded, and better. I actually thought this one, while longer,was an easier read. And in response to a few nay-sayers, no paragraphs or descriptions in this book were unnecesary. If you want mindless police procedural and unchecked gore check out the vastly overrated novels of Thomas Harris.
Lisa Jackson provides her readers with a great sequel that is more than just a sequel. The suspense is great, the plot intricate and well-explored, and the finale is pure white-knuckle tension. The heart behind this novel, also, is astounding, and yes, Bentz finally gets the girl!
In true Jackson fashion, she leaves some questions unanswered, but as she reassures in the afterword to this book, they will be answered in her next book, The Night Before.

Randomly picking up the book and glancing at the cover blurb, I was hooked. I had to have this book. I hadn't heard of the author before but I was looking for a tense psychological thriller and this seemed like a good one. WOW! Was I ever impressed. Not wanting to miss sleep, I set it down but finished it the day after I started it. It was a real page turner with dysfunctional relationships on top of the serial killer, all blended with a romantic twist or two. I was hooked; now I can't wait to read the first one and am waiting with baited breath for the next thriller this author has to offer. A definite must-read.

I really liked this book. It is about a psychic, Olivia Benchet, who starts seeing what looks like a priest tracking down and murdering young women. She has the 'gift' to see what others don't and wishes that she didn't have it, because it has been a curse at times in her relationships with others. She feels she has to try and stop the killer, so she goes to the cops. When she had previously gone she had been treated like a weirdo so she goes to Rick Bentz who has worked on another case that was similar. At first he is of the same opinion but when they check out a murder, he finds that it happened just like she said it did and so, even still a little doubtful, he goes to her for help because he felt he should follow all leads. It doesn't take long before he is convinced. There is enough thrills, romance, etc. to keep the reader interested to the end with a hint of a start of another book.

Olivia Benchet returns to New Orleans when her grandmother dies.
She had inherited her Grandmother's house, but more importantly she had also inherited her ability to "see" things. Olivia's dreams become filled with visions of a young woman being tortured and murdered. After the first dream the police rebuff her attempts to report a possible murder. When a second, even more disturbing dream occurs she returns to the New Orleans Police Department and tells her story to Rick Bentz and Reuben Montoya. Both men are skeptical, but Bentz finds himself returning to her story and believing her as the first victim is discovered just as Olivia had described.

A serial killer calling himself the Chosen One has a time table that he has devised for killing more women. Bentz is a driven cop who's wife betrayed him with his half brother; Olivia is alone and tortured by a past that includes an alcoholic mother and a father who is a felon. Father James is a priest. The characters are fascinating and ultimately all connected to each other. Cold Blooded is a little "far fetched" but then it is fiction, and it made for a good read.

This was the second Lisa Jackson book I've read, the first one being Hot Blooded. Ms Jackson is an author to watch. Her characters are fully-defined, her motivations subtle, and the pace breathtaking. She is now on my Author List to buy.

COLD-BLOODED by Lisa Jackson is the second book of the New Orleans series. I didn't discover Lisa Jackson until 2007 when I read SHIVER. It wasn't until LOST SOULS that I discovered I was missing some of the pieces of Rick Bentz's life. This is the book to fill in the pieces.

Since I'd read all the remaining books after this - ABSOLUTE FEAR, ALMOST DEAD, and LOST SOULS, I had that feeling I'd read this book before. Even so, I am glad I did. I never felt close to Bentz. Understanding the relationship he had with his first wife and half-brother helped tremendously. Plus, I got to understand Olivia Bechet - fantastic character.

This book begins not too long after the previous one, HOT-BLOODED. There is a murder still on the loose. The body of Father John, a.k.a the Rosary Killer, was never found and these killings have a connection. Was this a copy cat or Father John? Again, Bentz and his partner, Ruben Montoya, are back looking for a serial killer. Their main lead is Olivia, owner of a new age shop called the Third-Eye. She is psychically connected to the killer. What no one knows until it's too late is the killer has Kristi, Rick's daughter.

Lisa Jackson gives us her traditional explosive ending, but this time, everyone won't make it out alive. This one wasn't as good as HOT BLOODED, but came pretty darn close.

Here's the series in order:

1. Hot Blooded (2001)
2. Cold Blooded (2002)
3. The Night Before (2003)
4. Shiver (2006)
5. Absolute Fear (2007)
6. Lost Souls (2008)
7. Malice (2009)

Like I mentioned above, some are stand alone books, not all though. It's best to start at the beginning of this series.