Customer Reviews

See How She Dies

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

 

 

Lisa Jackson has written an intriguing romantic suspense with lots of twisty-turns to keep you on your toes, along with emotionally scarred children of rich dysfunctional families, and an ending you won't see coming.

Twenty years ago someone kidnapped London Danvers during her father, Witt Danvers's, sixtieth birthday party. Along with London, Ginny Slade, the nanny had disappeared too. Neither one were heard from again. Not even when Witt Danvers offered one million dollars for the return of his precious daughter...the only daughter and child he had with his second wife Katherine LaRouche.

Not long after, London's mother, Katherine plunged to her death from her residence at the Hotel Danvers. Some say it was suicide; others speculate it was murder. The police ruled it accidental.

Now Adria Nash has come to Portland, Oregon to find her birthright. She believes she's the long lost London Danvers, and if this it true, she stands to inherit fifty percent of the Danvers fortune. But first she has to convince Witt's other four children, from a previous marriage, that she's not one of the many fakes that have paraded before them down through the years.

Zachary Danvers takes one look at her and knows they are in trouble. Adria is the spitting-image of his stepmother Katherine Danvers. His siblings will not like this. They are in no mood to give a complete stranger half of the Danvers fortune even if she turns out to be their half-sister.

From the moment Zachary and Adria meet, the attraction is overwhelming and torturous for Zachary, because he'd once had a short-lived affair with his stepmother. Adria reminded him too damn much of a woman he wanted to forget forever.

Adria tries to fight the attraction but it consumes her and horrifies her at the same time, because Zachary could be her half-brother! She begins to doubt she's London, because there could be no way she would be this attracted to a man who shared her blood. If they acted on their lust and it turned out she really was London, they would be guilty of an unspeakable, forbidden act.

Someone doesn't want the truth known about London Danvers and the circumstances surrounding her abduction, and they are willing to go as far as murder to keep the secret buried.

As usual, once I start a novel by Lisa Jackson, I run home from work, toss on my pajamas, hop in bed and start reading. SEE HOW SHE DIES is one of Ms. Jackson's best.

Although this is a good story which even stands the test of time, I'm really dissappointed in Lisa Jackson and her advisors. I've often said that reissued books should be clearly stamped on the cover, and they should certainly at least retain the same title rather than change the title in an effort to fool even the most saavy reader. I read this book many years ago under a different title, 'Treasures'. How was I to know that I was purchasing a book that I'd already read when there was no indication on the front cover and, in fact, a completely new title? Jackson does inform readers on the back cover but as a fan I immediately purchase any new title by Jackson without reading the summary. That said, I was unable to give this book a poor rating because new readers will actually enjoy the long-lost heiress (with a twist) story of Adria Nash and Zach Danvers.

I thought this book was great until the end, the storyline was drawn out just a tad too much, but if you don't mind skipping large descriptive paragraphs, you'll enjoy this book very much, I did. I was a little concerned about the relationship between Zach and Adria, but the end eased those concerns. This book kept me guessing throughout and doubting my thoughts of who was behind the whole kidnapping....Enjoy!

In 1993 Adria leaves her Montana home to travel to Portland, Oregon where she hopes to learn the truth about whether she is the long lost and thought dead daughter of deceased business mogul Witt Danvers. Witt's three children from his first wife are unhappy that someone once again claims to be London, who vanished twenty years ago. Seven years after London vanished, Witt's second wife, her mom Kat, died in what was thought was a drug induced suicide. However, Kat's killer realizes that Adria is London and plans to rid the chit the same way her mother was disposed of if necessary.

London's half-brother Zachary does not believe that Adria is London. However, when incidents to frighten Adria occur, he becomes protective. Worse he begins to fall in love with his half-sister and she reciprocates though both know this is taboo. As the "stalker" raises the ante to attempted murder, Zach tries to keep her safe though he struggles not to bed her.

This exciting romantic suspense novel hooks readers from the moment that Zach escorts Adria from the family hotel until the final confrontation. Readers will need to adjust to the swinging back and forth between 1970, 1983, and 1993, which can get confusing. Still the cast is solid as the key players have distinct personalities so that sub-genre fans will know this rewrite of TREASURES is worth the read.

Harriet Klausner

I have read only a few of the Lisa Jackson books but this one looked very interesting and I actually read through the whole thing in a little more then a week without needing to put the book aside for a little bit because the characters or the plot was annoying me (ex: Whispers). So that's a good point for her right there.

The backflashes were the most interesting part of the book. They had a good pace it gave you basic fundemental information about the characters but I could tell right off the back who the ultimate killer would be. I thought she might take a twist and make the overtly bad character a red herring but no.

The one character who annoyed me the most was Zachary Danvers. He was that type of rebel without a cause. The rich white kid who lives in luxury but craves for some excitement and goes out to cause trouble becasue he's bored. If he were just a little more sadistic, he'd probably be that kid that drives around with his friends, shooting bee bees at the people they pass on the street. I couldn't help but laugh at him half the time. If he wasn't brooding over the fact that Adria looked like his stepmom (and I believe that is a major part of why he was so attracted to her. Projection is just fun like that), then he was ranting and raving at adria for looking like his stepmom. The man needed some therapy. The best part however is when they made love and are on that thin line of she could be his sister or she isn't his sister. Apparently since he crossed that line once before (even though it was just incest in the eyes of the law) then doing it with a blood relative wasn't bad enough to stop him.

I had alot of questions while reading this book: Why didn't they have DNA tests done? I know that back in 94 they did have the technology so that they could test siblings and show that they are related to each other considering it all that probably would have just made the book a few chapters long and not a very interesting read. (Though nearly 3/4 of the book was spent with the siblings arguing over whether she was their sister or not and not much being accomplished from said arguments)

Also why wasn't Ginny Watson, London's Nanny, every considered a suspect? Just becasue her bank account was left untouched? I just don't understand the logic in that. She was the last person with London, there were no signs of struggle like she was attacked with the girl. Why would a kidnapper take the girl and her? She would have just been unwanted baggage.

So many questions that really only Lisa Jackson could answer. All in all, it was an okay book. I don't regret spending my money on it and it's good for just letting your mind drift off and relax.

Since this is the first Lisa Jackson novel I've read, I can't compare it to any of her other work. SEE HOW SHE DIES (which is a rewrite of TREASURES, an earlier published story) was enjoyable, but not at the top of my A list.

The beginning starts out with a bang. We're introduced to Katherine (Kat) Danvers right before she's murdered. Wow, that sure grabbed my attention! Then Jackson backtracks a bit and introduces us to the Danvers family, each colorful in his/her own right. This becomes a bit confusing as she switches back and forth between the present, 1970 and 1983. If you can hang on through the history, it will become easier to understand and more enjoyable.

London Danvers, the only child from Witt's second marriage to Kat, was her father's princess, even though she was the youngest of his 5 children. During Witt's surprise sixtieth birthday party, London's nanny, Ginny Slade, disappears with London. Even with a million dollar reward, she is not heard from again.

Well that is until after Witt and Katherine's deaths... seems Witt put a clause in his will giving the long lost London the majority of his vast estate, to be held should she reappear. You can imagine the lengths to which the rest of the Danvers Clan will go to keep the wealth among themselves.

Along comes Adria Nash, who was told by her dying adoptive father that she was London. She is in Portland, Oregon to find the truth and see if she really is the long lost heiress. She meets Zachary Danvers, Witt's middle son, who has always been a rebel. He takes one look at Adria (who is the spitting image of her mother), and old memories surface.

The romantic fireworks between Adria and Zach are a bit strange since they suspect they are brother and half-sister. Even that knowledge doesn't stop them. Zach becomes Adria's protector, as the person behind Kat's death, begins to terrorize her. This only gives him more alone time with her and you can see where this goes.

I do have to say that the romance portion of the book was uncomfortable. Incest was mentioned and both Adria and Zach didn't seem to let that stop them. And the ending was contrite as if the author had to do something to make this affair OK. It was very predictable.

Also going against Lisa Jackson was her overuse of a couple of phrases. "Diaphragm slamming into lungs" was one that was used repeatedly. "Hips on desks" and "sitting on his lower back" were others. Used once or twice would be enough, but these were used too much!

And my final complaint: Jackson needs a new editor! There were so many typos and glaring errors it took away from the story line. I was surprised since this was a rewrite. I would hope this editor was fired after the book was published - it read like an unedited advanced reader's copy!

See How She Dies is predictable - the villain is not a mystery at all, Nelson Danver's "secret" is obvious, and the rest of the intrigue is lacking. If you read it only as a piece of fiction, you won't be disappointed, but if you want a good mystery, this isn't the book for you.

Adria Hart has arrived in Portland at the Danvers Hotel in search of the family that she might have been kidnapped from two decades earlier. The Danvers heirs, all grown children of deceased patriarch Witt Danvers are used to long lost sisters surfacing. Witt has an unusual will - half his estate goes to London Danvers - the rest divided among his other heirs, and they will do anything to keep Adria from collecting. While the family is convinced she's a fake, ne'er do well middle son Zach is intrigued by her. She is the spiting image of his stepmother, the woman who took his virginity. On the one hand he thinks she might be his half sister, and on the other hand, he is extremely attracted to her.

Someone does not want Adria to rediscover her family and inheritance - they have gone to great lengths to scare her off, resulting in Zach bringing her out to live with him at his ranch. Several stolen kisses lead to passion in each other's arms, but they realize that until they know whether they are blood-related, they cannot continue the relationship. It is a bit "icky" for lack of a better term, and the outcome is a little too pat and convenient as if to justify the two losing their self control.

Jackson has done what few authors do - she has taken her fist novel ("Treasures") and beefed it up (from 400 to 510 pages). It is clearly packaged as a re-issue with a new name on the back cover, so if this comes as a surprise, you did not read the plot summary. But just because she added 500 pages does not mean it is necessarily better - this is one huge book and a pretty slow read at times, shifting from 1973, 1980, and 1993 to tell the drawn out story.

The story was very slow to develop and the time swings were just too much. Sadly I was unable to finish this one (which is rare for me). Jackson should have settled on a timeline and stuck with it.

I like most Lisa Jackson books. I agree with someone else's comment about there being a lot of back and forth in the timeline but what really bothered me the most was the relationship between Adria and Zach. Yes, we all know she wouldn't write it if they were really brother and sister but still it's almost to creepy to read at times. It usually takes me less than a day to read a book this size but this book took me almost a week to get through because it didn't keep my interest or I would get creeped out. Maybe it's just me, even knowing they weren't blood relation but still thought they were was weird enough for me.

If you enjoy suspense and if you love Lisa Jackson books, you will love She How She Dies. I have read and collected all of Lisa's books...she never lets her readers down. An amazing read, excellent story and well written. Brilliant