I have vowed to finish this series this year I have read the first two books in paper back and so far this is my favorite.

Shiver
3 Stars

Detective Reuben Montoya investigates a series of murders in which the victims' deaths are staged to look like murder/suicides. A tangential connection to the abandoned Old Lady of Virtues hospital soon emerges, and Montoya believes that Abby Chastain, whose ex-husband is a victim and whose mother died at the hospital, is the lynchpin to the entire case.

Unfortunately, this series is becoming repetitive. Not only is this the 3rd book with a serial killer, but once again, the motivation has religious undertones and a victim's wife is a suspect. Jackson really needs to diversify her plots.

Abby and Reuben's romance has potential but remains underdeveloped mainly due to the fact that Jackson spends an inordinate amount of time providing inconsequential descriptions and details. This inevitably slows the pacing and reduces tension and suspense as well as making it difficult for the reader to follow the convoluted clues to the killer's identity. Nevertheless, the last few chapters are exciting and the resolution is satisfying.

Overall, this book and the others in the series would be better if Jackson's writing were tighter and better edited. 500 pages is far too long for this type of romantic suspense novel. ( )

Somewhat predictable but nice read. Not gruesome description of murder victims. ( )

I picked this up unaware it was part of a series, apparently being the third book in the series, however that being said reading the book out of order I didn't feel it was missing any elements that detracted from the reading experience. There's enough background of each character and their present circumstances for the book to stand on its own, although there are call backs to prior events that do make you aware something has gone before, but not to the detriment of the narrative.

Overall, it was a decent serial killer book, set around a mental hospital and events of the past. There's some romance/sex scenes there that seem targeted towards the female audience yet not to the point of derailing the story as you would find in some men-writing-women books.

Would recommend for readers who are fans of crime and serial killer novels. ( )

I'm not very impressed by this book. A nice in between read or, in mycase, a book to read before going to sleep.
Not too complicated, only as the book progressed it got a bit more tense. In the beginning I wasn't sure if I should read on.
It wasn't hindering me that I haven't read the first two books in the series. As a matter of fact, I didn't realise that untill I opened the book's data. ( )