Book: Lost Souls by Lisa Jackson
Genre: Mystery
Length: 403 pp.
Grade: A-
Summary from Inside Flap (it's long, but Amazon didn't have one of those paragraph-length blurbs, unfortunately): New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jackson delivers her most harrowing novel yet as a young woman's determined hunt for a serial killer draws her into a twisted psychopath's unspeakable crimes.
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.
My Thoughts: At first, I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book, since I have never read any other adult mysteries in my life (I had read a few Nancy Drew stories when I was younger, but don't remember them that well), but it turns out that I was pleasantly surprised. In fact, my reaction to this book was the exact opposite of the last book I read, On Beauty. I went into reading this book thinking that I wasn't going to like it, but as soon as I cracked it open and read the first page, I knew that I had underestimated it.
A lot of people on Amazon called this book "boring," but I have to say that they're devastatingly wrong. From the beginning of the book, I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen next. The beginning was so twisted yet so intriguing that I couldn't help reading on. And to me, the action never stopped. I can't think of any slow moments, so I'm interested in where people got "boring" from.
Sure, romance played a part in this book, and part of the story was about Jay (Kristi's ex-boyfriend) and Kristi herself meeting each other again at All Saints (this time, Jay is the teacher, and Kristi the student, considering she dropped out), but frankly, I didn't find that a bad thing. In fact, I enjoyed the romance, even though parts of it bothered me—mostly because I'm still licking the wounds of my latest breakup and all romance reminds me of that relationship at the moment.
Anyway.
I found the antagonists incredibly twisted, but then again, that was the point. I found myself wincing and gasping as they struck again. It's hard to believe that crimes like that and violence like rape and such really goes on in the world today, and the idea makes me sick. I doubt that the plot of the book (as seen above) really happens, but then again, there are freaks everywhere, so who knows if there are people who really believe they're vampires or that vampires are real? In fact, the twistedness yet somewhat realistic portrayal of the terror that psychopaths inflict on the people around them was absolutely freaky.
With all of that, there were a few things that I didn't agree with. For one thing, although I think there are people as twisted as the villain in this book, I felt it was a bit unlikely. It's possible, yes, but not overly so. And for another, some parts of the writing struck me as a little sloppy, but that didn't really distract from the story Lisa Jackson was trying to tell, so that's a good thing.
So, I enjoyed this book a lot. I'd recommend you reading it, and I know that I'll be searching for more Lisa Jackson books after this soon.
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Book: Prince Caspian by C. S. Lewis (reread)
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 238 pp.
Grade: A
Summary from Back Cover: A prince denied his rightful throne gathers an army in a desperate attempt to rid his land of a false king. But in the end, it is a battle of honor between two men alone that will decide the fate of an entire world.
My Thoughts: Ah, C. S. Lewis. No matter what's going on in my life, no matter what other books I have lined up to read, I know that I can return to C. S. Lewis and he'll deliver an absolutely stunning, beautiful story that just sucks you in from beginning to end. I have already read his series, but it's always a comfort to go back to it. And since I watched the movie a few Saturdays back, I decided why not read Prince Caspian again?
Probably the best part of reading this book again was because I had forgotten how things exactly ended up. I mean, I remembered the basic gist of it, but the way they got there was a bit fuzzy. So this reread allowed me to get reacquainted with Narnia a bit more than I had been.
And I'd forgotten how much I loved it. The Pevensies are so awesome, and I think I liked it best when they were all together, instead of it only being Lucy or Edmund or all of them without Susan. To me, having them all together was when I liked them best—not that I didn't like the others in the next few books, of course. Lucy still remains my favorite Pevensie, and I'm glad that she's been in all of the books featuring at least one of the Pevensies.
Hmm. There's not much more to say—most likely all of you have read the series, so I don't really have to get into the events too much. All I can say is that this book is mostly for comfort and for thinking—even though the writing is meant for younger readers, I can look into it and see Lewis' Christian influences in writing this book. Also, is it bad if I see the actor who plays Prince Caspian in my head whenever I think of Caspian now? (I hope not, because that actor is the only one that I would actually call "eye-candy." Unless we're talking about Edmund. Is it only me, or is he cute too?)
So, great series, great book, and I may end up reading the rest of them over the summer sometime. They're not that hard to get into it and not that hard to finish, so reading them all won't be anything similar to a chore, and now that I'm a stronger Christian than the last time I read them all through, I think I can get more out of them. :)
Next Up: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
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