Book Review - Lost Souls by Lisa Jackson

Synopsis:  Twenty-seven-year-old Kristi Bentz is lucky to be alive. Not many people her age have nearly died twice at the hands of a serial killer, and lived to tell about it. Her dad, New Orleans detective, Rick Bentz, wants Kristi to stay in New Orleans and out of danger. But if anything, Kristi's experiences have made her even more fascinated by the mind of the serial killer. She hasn't given up her dream of being a true-crime writer--of exploring the darkest recesses of evil--and now she just may get her chance.

Four girls have disappeared at All Saints College in less than two years. All four were "lost souls"--troubled, vulnerable girls with no one to care about them, no one to come looking if they disappeared. The police think they're runaways, but Kristi senses there's something that links them, something terrifying. She decides to enroll, following their same steps. All Saints has changed a lot since Kristi was an undergraduate. The stodgy Catholic college has lured edgy new professors to its campus and gained a reputation for envelope-pushing, with classes like the very popular "The Influence of Vampirism in Modern Culture and Literature," and elaborately staged morality plays that feel more like the titillating entertainment of some underground club than religious spectacles. And there are whispers of a dark cult on campus whose members wear vials of blood around their necks and meet in secret chambers--rituals to which only the elite have access. To find the truth, Kristi will need to become part of the cult's inner circle, to learn their secrets, and play the part of lost soul without losing herself in the process. It's a dangerous path, and Kristi is skating on its knife-thin edge.

The deeper she goes, the more Kristi begins to wonder if she is the hunter or the prey. She's certain she's being watched and followed--studied, even--as yet another girl disappears, and another. And when the bodies finally begin to surface--in ways that bring fear to the campus and terror to the hearts of even hardened cops like Detective Bentz and his partner Reuben Montoya--Kristi realizes with chilling clarity that she has underestimated her foe. She is playing a game with a killer more cunning and bloodthirsty than anyone can imagine, one who has personally selected her for membership in a cult of death from which there will be no escape.

First Line:  "Where am I?"

Random Quote:  "As they tolled off the hours, he felt a surge of excitement.  Students began to pour out of the buildings, dashing hither and yon, talking, laughing, hurrying through the night, not realizing he was watching, that here, from his hiding spot, he could, if he were so inclined, pick them off one by one with a rifle, or a bow and arrow, or even a wrist rocket, a weapon he'd used as a child, sighting on birds and squirrels, even bats at night."

Review:  A pretty decent romantic thriller - not my favorite book, but entertaining mind candy. 

Baton Rouge River Center - Image via Wikipedia

Admittedly, the thought of our heroine now targeted three times by serial killers strains credulity, but it doesn't do so any more than Patricia Cornwell's books where Kay Scarpetta and team are constantly being beaten, burned, or otherwise mutilated by same.  If you're willing to go along with Scarpetta then this shouldn't be a problem. 

My only other quibble is with location.  This is labeled as part of the author's New Orleans series, but it takes place in Baton Rouge - definitely not New Orleans.  Aside from the fact that they are about 80 miles (or an hour and a half or so) apart, they are also very different in feel and in culture - among other things Baton Rouge didn't really start growing until 1910 so it's a much younger city.

All told, though, this was a decent read in the category of what I like to call grocery store books.  These are the cheap paperbacks that they sell with the magazines at your local grocery store.  You buy them because you want something trashy and entertaining to read - the literary equivalent of sour cream and onion potato chips.

FTC Disclosure:  San Leandro Public Library

Rating:  White