Customer Reviews

Shiver

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Detective Ruben Montoya ("Cold Blooded") is back, investigating the murder of a local shock jock and a female college student headed for a nunnery. Still grieving the loss of his lover Marta, the last thing he wants is to get involved with the prime suspect - the victim's wife Abby Chastain.

As more victims start to pile up, it is obvious that there is a serial killer on the loose, and all points lead to the Our Lady of Virtues convent and mental hospital, where Abby's mother plunged to her death decades earlier. Each set of victims are polar opposites of each other, adding to the mystery. While Ruben does not believe that Abby is the culprit, she is somehow integral to the killer's motivation - finding out why just might get them both killed.

Jackson does a great job keeping the killer under wraps (so much so that we are not aware of him until the final act); throwing out numerous possible suspects. The killer's inspired MO is clever and ingenious. But the revelation of the culprit was a let down after such a gripping tale, marring what could have been a perfect story.

With her first originally published in hardcover romance/suspense novel author Lisa Jackson introduces an over the top psychopathic villain who not only murders but does so in grisly scenarios, leaving scenes that appal even the most jaded investigators. Who he is and why he's doing this is the pivotal question in Shiver.

Set in pre-Katrina New Orleans a prologue paints a terrifying scene. The place is Our Lady of Virtues Mental Hospital where lovely 35-year-old Faith Chastain is incarcerated. She is told that she's delusional, and now she's beginning to believe that's true as the sisters stare at her with "compassionate, disbelieving eyes......And the doctor, cold, clinical, with the bedside manner of a stone monkey, talked to her as if she were a small, stupid child."

Still, she knows someone is in the room and that he will touch her. She panics and tries to escape as she feels his hands upon her. There is only one avenue to freedom - out the window and to the ground below. It is her birthday, and her young daughter, Abby, has come bringing a gift only to see her mother plummet to her death.

Segue now to 20 years later. Abby and her sister, Zoey, are adults - the same age as when their mother died. Abby has married and divorced. Luke had been a confirmed womanizer who even had an affair with Zoey while engaged to Abby. Thus, the sisters are estranged. Abby lives with her cat, Ansel, and makes her living as a freelance photographer. She is haunted by memories of visits to Our Lady of Virtues and her mother's sudden death.

Detective Reuben Montoyo, whom we met in Hot Blooded and Cold Blooded, appears when he is called to one of the most gruesome crime scenes he has ever encountered. Two people are dead - Luke has been shot and a young woman dressed in a bridal gown lies on top of him. Some would like to consider this a murder/suicide, but Montoyo knows better - and so does all of New Orleans when another double murder scene is found.

The detective's only clues lead him to Abby, Luke's widow, and the now deserted mental hospital. Who or what could be capable of such heinous crimes?

Voice performer Joyce Bean delivers a taut, tension filled reading, especially in the opening scenes where Abby is alone in her isolated home and feels that someone may be watching her.

Author Jackson keeps listeners and readers on the edges of their chairs, totally engrossed by a compelling plot line. She's a pro at blending romance with suspense, which continues to earn fans.

- Gail Cooke

I love the romantic suspense genre. This was my first Lisa Jackson novel and I'm a little disappointed when comparing it to my other favs in this genre. Here are a few of my gripes:

The story kind of jumps around from character to character, storyline to storyline. It gets to the point where often times you skip a few pages because she's going on and on in an annoying fashion. She transitions from one thing to another, straying from the plot, and goes on about something else for 3-4 pages at a time sometimes. It kind of takes you a minute to realize the point.

The editing is surprisingly poor. I didn't expect to notice as many grammatical problems as I did. I found myself rereading a few sentences that simply didn't make sense. Now the whole book isn't full of typos, but there are enough to notice and make you reread and wonder how such a simple mistake went unnoticed. It gets a little maddening towards the end. I'd say I noticed 10-15 grammatical errors, which shocked me personally for such a popular author

Some of the criminology terms and personalities she uses come off as very fake. She says in the beginning of the book that she created a fictional department and changed some protocol and policies to fit her story. That's fine, but at times, it came off as trying a little too hard with the cop stuff.

Like another review said, the romance really did feel like an afterthought. The book is about 420 pages, and you don't get any romance whatsoever until page 299! It was insane. I kept waiting for it and it kept being put off.

The character development is indeed poor. She writes a lot of flashback memories but at times it's hard to piece them together and make sense of where she's going with it. At other times it simply annoys you that she keeps jumping from one part of the story to another. She refers to a past w/ a woman named Marta for Detective Montoya but never really elaborates on the meaning.

Unlike others in this genre, it's taken me weeks to finish it. With other books, some being 500 pages, I've finished in a matter of 3 days! This one was harder to push through. It was just full of uninteresting parts at times, and definitely not enough of the "romance" part of a romantic suspense.

If you really like this genre, I'd highly recommend Karen Rose. A couple of her books get up to the 500 pg mark but don't let that run you off. You never feel like you're actually reading a 500 pg book. I flew through 3 of her books in less than a week and a half. I'd recommend You Can't Hide, I'm Watching You, and Have You Seen Her? That's also the order in which I liked them. You may want to read "I'm Watching You" first as "You Can't Hide"'s male hero is introduced, but it's not absolutely necessary. You WON'T be disappointed with Rose. She's phenomenal with both the romantic story line, and the crime drama plot. She also doesn't get excessive and make the romantic plot cheesy and fake. Very good author!

Overall, I give Shiver a B for the crime drama aspect and a D for the romance. I'm wondering if some of these 5 star reviews are coming from dedicated Jackson readers, because this novel simply didn't hit the mark. I'm not sure I'll try another Lisa Jackson novel.

Hope this review helped. I went into this book with such excitement(obviously! because I rarely buy hardcover) and came out with huge disappointment. Try Karen Rose instead

As a child, Abby Chastain watched her mother plunge to her death from a window in a mental institution. This event has shaped her entire life. Her relationship with her family is strained, she's been through a recent bitter divorce that only seems to get more contentious now that it's final, and she's beginning to fear that she's following in her mother's footsteps--and going crazy.

Her ex-husband is a shock jock at the local radio station, and after a nasty confrontation, lambastes Abby over the radio. Abby is naturally mortified and incensed by the attack. A few days later, Luke is found brutally murdered. Detective Ruben Montoya is sent to investigate the case, and identifies Abby as a prime suspect, despite the strong attraction he feels for her. Montoya realizes very quickly that this is the work of a serial killer, and is able to rule Abby out. But as others are killed, he realizes that Abby could be a target--but why?

Shiver is obviously one in a series of books written by Jackson, but was never difficult to follow. The characters are believable, and while Abby occasionally behaved in a way that made me question her intelligence (not her sanity), it was a very engaging read.

The murders are quite grisly, and not for the faint of heart. The mystery is solved, although the killer's motivation isn't really explained until the very end of the book.

Armchair Interviews says: Shiver provides a well-written and diverting read.

I was in my local library when I started reading it and couldn't put it down loved Abby and Montoya and their relationship very well written story to me and I almost missed a dinner engagement I wanted to read to the end I loved the book so much I went out and bought it haven't regretted it.

I think Lisa Jackson is one of the best suspense/romance writers I put her up there with Julie Garwood and Sandra Brown

Bravo Ms Jackson BRAVO :)

Mary
Arizona

Bringing Lisa Jackson out as a hardback is long overdue. She is one of those authors with the ability to balance compelling characters, a plot that dials up the thrill index, just the right mix of romance and a setting that makes a difference. In this case New Orleans and an insane asylum provide the backdrop for Abby Chastain's accelerating terror as Det. Montoya, a recurring character, grapples with an accumulating set of victims that point toward Abby. Jackson's novels have been pegged Romantic Suspense, but the intensity here seems more like a Thriller. Recently I read, SHADOW OF DEATH, by Patricia Gussin. The jacket blurbs all said Medical Suspense because the author is a M.D., but I found it more a mix of Romantic Suspense and can't-put-it-down Thriller. Personally, I like this genre-mix that Lisa Jackson and Patricia Gussin have been able to exploit.

Lisa Jackson has written a number of intriguing series titles built around attractive but realistic characters who are experiencing unusual but believable adventures in exotic settings. Perhaps Jackson's greatest strength is her ability to balance the romantic with the suspenseful, providing enough elements of both genres to attract the respective fans of each and molding them into a storyline that holds the attention of both sets of readers. Her eagerly anticipated SHIVER meets all expectations and is a prime example of how a talented writer can broaden the horizons and appeal of disparate audiences.

SHIVER marks the return of Police Detective Reuben Montoya to pre-Katrina New Orleans, where he is thrust into the middle of a high-profile murder investigation. It begins when the bodies of Luke Gierman, a local radio shock jock, and a young college student are found. Initially thought to be a murder-suicide, the bizarre staging of the killing and the lack of a cohesive link between the two individuals quickly lead the police to believe that both were homicide victims.

The investigation brings Montoya into contact with Abby Chastain, Gierman's ex-wife. Chastain, the subject of an on-air rant by Gierman shortly before his death, is a logical but unlikely suspect. When a local munitions manufacturer and the head of a social organization are found murdered under somewhat similar circumstances, with a further link to Chastain, Montoya begins to understand the pattern of the killings, even as he becomes more emotionally enamored with Chastain. It also becomes clear to the reader that the unknown murderer is growing more obsessed with Chastain and that the key to it all may be the closed, but not-quite-abandoned, mental hospital where Chastain's mother fell to her death decades before; this may hold the key to her own fate as well.

As always, Jackson paints with an atmospheric brush dipped in subtle darkness. The novel is focused more on Chastain than Montoya, yet Montoya is a brooding, attractive presence as he draws in the killer --- even as he and Chastain pirouette around each other as they're pulled slowly yet inexorably closer, and Chastain becomes the penultimate target of a killer who is as mysterious and brutal as he is clever and cunning.

SHIVER is fully deserving of its status as the first of Jackson's works to be published initially in hardcover. And while it has a definite ending, SHIVER gives promise to new beginnings in its conclusions --- not only for Montoya, but also for Chastain. This is one novel that Jackson fans will not want to miss.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

I did enjoy the plot, although the storyline became a bit repetitive and very religious. The author spent so much time rehashing the same information that she then rushed through the romance. It happened too quickly, was pretty unrealistic and felt like an afterthought.

But, the biggest problem I had with this book (and it was EXTREMELY annoying) was the lack of character development. The central male character Reuben Montoya has been in Jackson's previous books, but very little time is spent on his background in this book. During the course of the story, Reuben's past history with a woman named Marta is constantly alluded to, but never fully explained... perhaps this was a plot in a previous book, but you would think it would have been explained in detail since he is a main character! I'm still confused over that.

Overall, I'd give it a B+ for mystery, a C for romance and a D for character development. Wait for it to come out in paperback.

I won't rehash the plot. I agree with other reviewers, this book could have been written on a lot less paper. So much of the book is repetitive. You don't have to write the same thing 10 times for anyone to "get it". The book is rather boring....very little suspense. Honestly, I could not finish it.

This book was great! Abby Chastain feels she is following in her mother's footsteps, only that's not a good thing. Her mother was put in an asylum at a young age, the same age that Abby is now. Recently divorced, Abby's ex husband, a radio dj, blasts her on the airwaves and now he's dead. Now, all signs point to Abby. Only Det. Montoya believes that Abby is a target and not the killer. When murders start happening in pairs, all evidence leads Abby to the very asylum that held her mother. This is a fantastic story, it held my attention, and I can't wait to read another Montoya novel!