I just finished "Left to Die" by Lisa Jackson and I can't even begin to describe how unfulfilled this book left me! I had a hard time picking it up since it was filled with so much fluff it became boring from the very beginning. But being a past fan of Lisa Jackson, I was sure it would pick up momentum once into the story. I was wrong! Not only did the original storyline focus on the serial killer and his victims, but the secondary plot seemed to override the first three quarters of the book and then just switches to an alternate primary plot. Anyway, to top everything off, the book doesn't end and evidently we are expected to wait until August of 2009 for the conclusion. I refuse to buy that sequel because of the huge disappointment of it's predecessor. Now that I got that out of my system, I think I'll go find a "good" book to read!

I can't tell you how irritated I am at having read this entire book, only to be told at the end I have to wait at LEAST a year before I find out who the serial killer is! The mystery they actually solve wasn't even the interesting one. Furthermore, I probably won't even remember the particulars of the plot in a year (hey, I have things to do). Writing a book without an ending is just so obnoxious!

In closing, if you must read this, at least wait until the sequel comes out, so you can find out how the story ends.

This is a good story line, and very suspenseful with good plot twists. I am angry that the author didn't finish the story, instead - if I want to know what happens - I have to buy the next book when it comes out in 2009. I find this annoying, I am going to move on to another author who actually has a beginning, middle, and ending to his/her stories.

He has a plan. Only he sees the beauty in it. His victims go from being terrified, to being relieved, to being shocked and terrified at the same time. The game he plays is a game that only he knows the rules for.

The police have found his first four victims, his cryptic notes, and the realization they have no knowledge of what he is trying to do or who he is. They don't even want to contemplate where he is going with his game. They do know they will not like it.

Jillian Rivers is in a car accident. Unknowingly, she is part of a killer's game. When she is freed from her car by Zane McGregor, she is not sure what to think or what to feel.

Left to Die had me from the first moment I started reading. Ms. Jackson knows how to start with a bang and keep the tension going from chapter to chapter. She makes the reader think about how safe can sometimes be not as safe as we think. I found myself so enraptured with her writing, I could not put the book down. I needed to know who the killer was, if I figured out who the killer was, and where Jillian and Zane were going to end up. And I was flipped all over mentally, and I still did not figure it out. I was so very impressed with Left to Die, I have to Joyfully Recommend it.

Emma
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

This was my first Lisa Jackson novel and it won't be my last. I found the story gripping and exciting. I really liked the characters, especially jillian. My only gripe is I have to wait until August 2009 to see what happens next. Such a long time!
All in all a great premise and I read the book in two days! Now I want to go out and buy another of her books!

I strongly agree with other reviewers. I am greatly disappointed with the lack of plot closure in Left to Die.

Unless clearly stated, readers reasonably expect an author to provide a completed story in one volume. Page 497 "Dear Reader" is too late to be making this announcement. If the book cover had stated "Part One", I would've have accepted this lack of closure without complaint. Not knowing the story is "to be continued", until reaching the final chapter and finding it unresolved, is unacceptable.

Personally, I prefer to read a series from beginning to end, or at least over a relatively short period of time. Otherwise, the emotional interest I've invested in the previous book has disappeared by the time the sequel comes out - and I'm less likely to purchase it.

The bottom line is that once the reader has momentum, he/she wants to read the entire series. Since the readers are the ones who buy the books, I hope that Ms. Jackson and her publisher will listen to them and reduce the amount of time between books.

I rated this book a four instead of a five based on the lack of plot closure.

I am a fairly new Lisa Jackson fan, but have read alot of her work. This book is SO unlike her style. It started well but there were too many characters to follow, too many unresolved issues, and the end was VERY disapointing. There is too much left to find out and givent he way this story went I dont want to read the next to find out what happens.

Readers Beware - I've long been a fan of Lisa Jackson's - however publishing a book WITHOUT AN ENDING AND EXPECTING READERS TO WAIT 12 MONTHS before being able to finish it is a cheap shot and an insult to her readers. She literally ends this book with the killer having the victim in his (?) hands. Lisa Jackson, I'm done - you can't treat your readers this way and expect them to come back.

Read at your own risk. If you HAVE to read this, I'd suggest waiting to buy it until 8/09 when Chosen to Die (apparently not a sequel, but literally the 2nd part of this book) is published. You've been warned.

WARNING! This book is a "Part 1 of 2"! That is what should be on the cover/jacket of this mystery by Lisa Jackson. I've read quite a few of her books and enjoyed them for the most part. In this book, however, there are very few really likable characters and worse, any of the characters (male or female) that are parents seem to be very irresponsible and not good examples whatsoever! They use their hard jobs (as cops) as an excuse to drink, hang out at bars, and generally carouse around.

The exciting first half of the serial killer and the reader getting to be a bit inside his mind, was suspenseful and chilling. However, as we get into a what seemed to be secondary story line (but ended up the primary story line), we have fewer details and motives and characters coming at us out of left field.

I definitely won't buy the "sequel" - Chosen to Die - but do recommend reading some of Ms. Jackson's older novels.

I've been a fan of Lisa Jackson's since HOT BLOODED. I love her books. I don't understand what all the complaining is about. She's done cliffhanger endings before. Also, LEFT TO DIE is JILLIAN'S story. Someone is trying to kill Jillian and by the end of the book, Jillian's storyline is all wrapped up. I can't wait for CHOSEN TO DIE next year. Snap out of it, people! There are more important things going on in this world to be complaining about!

There should be a warning put on the front of this 500 page book: I'M UNEDITED. And I am PART ONE of a TWO PART SERIES.

This book is excruciatingly boring in some parts. And it is indeed--just as some other reviews have indicated-- about twice as long as it should have been. But worst of all, I just finished it and the author announces on the last page that the rest of the story will be told in a book to be published in 2009.

Well thanks but no thanks. I will end the story right here.

A serial killer is stalking the desolate snowy mountains of Montana for prey. He shoots out their tires, rescues them, nurses them to health, and then leads them barefoot and naked to their deaths where he leaves them tied to a tree, to die of exposure. Leaving a calling card that includes their initials in an elaborate cipher, he has the authorities (led by a duo of female detectives) baffled, particularly as he escalates his frequency. Jillian Rivers heads to Montana after receiving strange calls and photos indicating that her deceased first husband might be alive. When her tire is shot out, she is rescued by Zane MacGregor but cannot help but wonder if he is her protector or something more sinister.

I have already given up on hardbound novels by Jackson because I am so tired of the direction she was taking with the mental hospital/convent, so I was excited to see that she had a new paperback out and no mention of convents. The plot had all the makings of a good thriller. Unfortunately, the novel is so bogged down by unnecessary details to set up the story that my attention waned constantly. I kept wondering when some dialog would be introduced into the story. There are too many characters and too many minuscule details that'll have readers yawning. I barely could tolerate one of the detectives and the other one is so poorly developed (we just know she is a workaholic who spends little time with her family). And then as I got about ten pages from the end, and the plot was so out there, I realized there was no way that the story was going to truly conclude. Jillian might have gotten closure; the readers however, do not.

With continuity and numerous grammatical errors and an odd style of writing - third person for most of the story and then first person past tense for the killer - I jest kept wondering if Jackson's editor is MIA. The author's note advises readers that they'll have to wait until April 2009 for the outcome of the story, which will be devoted to Detective Pescoli because she's such an intriguing character. Huh?!? I must have read a different book. I found her to be annoying. And those ungrateful kids... heck, if I had an ex willing to take them off my hands for awhile, I'd let him and celebrate with a night of passion with Nate the drifter. Barbara Freethy did the same thing with her "Played" and "Taken" novels. But where Freethy excelled by writing an intriguing plot with fully developed characters, Jackson just droned on and on. Sometimes more is just not better; it's just more. As for buying the sequel, "Chosen to Die," I don't think so - I'll just go to Wal-Mart and read the last chapter to see how it ends.

Frankly, if I wanted to read 1,000 plus pages and be bored out of my mind, I'd blow the dust off of my high school copy of "War and Peace."

© Tracy Vest, September 2008

A serial killer is stalking the snowy mountains of Montana for prey. He shoots out their tires, rescues them, nurses them to health, and then leads them barefoot and naked to their deaths where he leaves them tied to a tree, to die of exposure. Leaving a calling card that includes their initials in an elaborate cipher, he has the authorities (led by a duo of female detectives) baffled, particularly as he escalates his frequency. Jillian Rivers heads to Montana after receiving strange calls and photos indicating that her deceased first husband might be alive. When her tire is shot out, she is rescued by Zane MacGregor but cannot help but wonder if he is her protector or something more sinister.

I have already given up on hardbound novels by Jackson because I am so tired of the direction she was taking with the mental hospital/convent, so I was excited to see that she had a new paperback out and no mention of convents. The plot had all the makings of a good thriller. Unfortunately, the novel is so bogged down by unnecessary details to set up the story that my attention waned constantly. I kept wondering when some dialog would be introduced into the story. There are too many characters and too many minuscule details that'll have readers yawning. I barely could tolerate one of the detectives and the other one is so poorly developed (we just know she is a workaholic who spends little time with her family). And then as I got about ten pages from the end, and the plot was so out there, I realized there was no way that the story was going to truly conclude. Jillian might have gotten closure; the readers however, do not.

With continuity and numerous grammatical errors and an odd style of writing - third person for most of the story and then first person past tense for the killer - I jest kept wondering if Jackson's editor is MIA. The author's note advises readers that they'll have to wait until April 2009 for the outcome of the story, which will be devoted to Detective Pescoli because she's such an intriguing character. Huh?!? I must have read a different book. I found her to be annoying. And those ungrateful kids... heck, if I had an ex willing to take them off my hands for awhile, I'd let him and celebrate with a night of passion with Nate the drifter. Barbara Freethy did the same thing with her "Played" and "Taken" novels. But where Freethy excelled by writing an intriguing plot with fully developed characters, Jackson just droned on and on. Sometimes more is just not better; it's just more. As for buying the sequel, "Chosen to Die," I don't think so - I'll just go to Wal-Mart and read the last chapter to see how it ends.

Frankly, if I wanted to read 1,000 plus pages and be bored out of my mind, I'd blow the dust off of my high school copy of "War and Peace."

I had a few problems with this book:
*Why would Jillian take off without telling anyone?
*Why was she going to see her ex-husband about her dead husband?
*Why were so many people called by their last names? Pescoli (Regan), Alvarez (Selena), Macgregor (Zane). The 1st two were cops but when Jillian talked to Zane she called him MacGregor. This made it hard to relate to the characters. I also felt the back story for each could have been more fleshed out but now I know why.

But I still would have given this a four.

Except for the biggee. The end or lack thereof. I cannot believe that I have to wait a year to find out how this ends and even then there is no guarantee that there won't be another book to follow that. If I'd known this I still would have bought this book but waited to read it until I got the 2nd. Now I'm not sure I want to get it, I'll have to "meet" these characters and the storyline all over again.

i love lisa jackson. i have all of her books but this one was booooooorrrriiiiinnnnngggg. i concept of the book was good. a killer stalking women lashing them to a tree to die,but the way this book was writing there were to many people,and you did'nt here enough from the killer.the ending was unsatisfactory. i expected better.

Lisa Jackson's latest novel has a chilling premise: a predator is on the loose. He targets single women traveling through Montana in the winter, causes their cars to crash, "rescues" them, and nurses them back to health, only to later leave them in the woods to die of hypothermia and starvation. Sound good? That is what I thought too. Unfortunately, this book is about 300 pages too long, and even after 496 does not answer the question of whodunnit.

The story is told in sections that focus on four different characters. Two are detectives working on the case, one is a potential victim, and there are occasional first person chapters written from the perspective of the killer. The captor's sections are the most interesting, and the only parts that I did not skim. This book is the first in a planned series, and Jackson spends far too much time trying to develop the characters of the female detectives by focusing on the boring minutia of their lives. I don't care what Regan's daughter is eating for breakfast! I don't want to know that Selena is good with computers unless it furthers the plot (which it doesn't)! The fact that Regan's son is grounded does not endear her to me!

In addition, the dialogue in this book is atrocious! The phrase "D*** it all to hell!" appears frequently. Does anyone talk like that anymore?! Jackson seems to be trying to show us how hardened these cops are through their excessive usage of PG-movie swear words. This book could have easily been saved by a good editor.

Instead of the satisfaction of a mystery solved, what awaits us at the end of the book is a "letter to the reader" by the author in which she tells us that we should buy the sequel to Left to Die in August 2009 to find out what happens next. She also plugs three other of her upcoming 2009 releases and hopes that we will "give (them) a look." I don't think so. This was the first Lisa Jackson book I read, and if the rest are like this I will save my money in the future.

I'm not a die hard Lisa Jackson fan, but do read her books on occasion. When I started the first chapter, I knew that in order to really get into the "mood," that it required an uninterrupted hour. Once I got into the book, it caught my attention. Unfortunately, having to kill all those women to provide enough letters for the note almost lost my attention. But I hung in there and was rewarded with a nice twist. I do agree with other reviewers that had I known there is a second book, I would have waited until I had bought the second book before reading them together.

Amidst an unusually bad Montana winter, a serial killer is at work near the town of Grizzly Falls. The killer "rescues" his female victims when their cars careen off of a mountain road. Most of them don't realize that their accident was caused by the killer shooting their tires out. He then carries them off to a remote cabin in the mountains and wins their trust by tending to their wounds and lulling them into trusting him. Weeks later he will leave each victim tied, naked, to a tree, to die from exposure. Nice guy.

Under intense pressure to catch the killer as the body count rises, Detectives Selena Alvarez and Regan Pescoli work the case for months. But each has her own personal issues to deal with as well. Regan is divorced with two typically parent-hating teens and a difficult ex-husband. Not to mention a tendency to escape into a superficial relationship based on sex and alcohol. Selena is the opposite, a lonely and solitary woman with no life outside of her job. Despite help from the FBI, they are no closer to catching the killer in December than they were in September when the first body was found.

When Seattle resident Jillian Rivers starts to get anonymous tips that her deceased husband, Aaron, is alive, she thinks it must be some kind of prank. He's been dead for ten years. Okay, so the body was never found and it turned out that he had bilked investors out of a half a million dollars. But still, he must be dead, right? She eventually heads to Montana to follow up on some photos she has received that look alot like Aaron. But she never makes it, her tires are shot out and her car plummets to the bottom of a steep ravine.

Jillian is rescued by Zane MacGregor and taken to his cabin where he gives her medical care. But they are trapped together by an intense blizzard, unable to contact the outside world or make their way to a populated area. She is lucky to be alive but she has read about the serial killer, doesn't her situation fit the known pattern? Should she trust her rescuer? It seems she has no choice.

This creepy thriller is fast paced with engaging characters and a plot that will keep you guessing. Though part of the story is neatly wrapped up at the end of the book, the remainder will be continued in the author's next book, Chosen to Die, due out August 2009! I'm a little irked that I will have to wait so long to find out what happens!

The book went on endlessly in the hunt for a serial killer. I plugged along reading and then it ends with continuation because one character in the book is so interesting, according to the author. Give a break! A single woman who sleeps around with losers and can't control her own children. This is a heroine?? Continuing this plot is a sorry excuse for not being able to come up with a new story line.

I enjoy Lisa Jackson books. The author does a great job of keeping you interested in the story. I am disappointed that I have to wait a year to find out what happens. The author should have had the book out in a couple of months.

I would not protest, because I have read and enjoyed all of Lisa Jackson books. I am a great fan of hers. Even felt empathy through her divorce, ect. But, this left me somewhat disgruntled. I love series, but usually we are warned and I buy all and read in that order. Thay usually are only a month or so apart.......BUT to have to wait a year to see what happens is a little too long. Will I buy it?, Yes, but I hope I still remember the plot from this one. What happened, Lisa to string us along this way?

A serial killer is in Grizzly Falls, Montana, shooting the tires of vehicles containing one lone occupant, a woman, his latest victim. He brings them to his `hide-out', lets them recuperate somewhat, makes them dependant on him to the point of `wanting' him. He takes them out, completely naked in the middle of winter, ties them to trees and leaves them there to die of exposure, leaving behind a star carved into the trees above their heads and a cryptic note using the initials of the women he's left to die. He eludes the police easily, never leaving a trace on either victim, never leaving one alive.

Jillian Rivers is believed to be the next victim. After receiving calls and pictures, she believes that the person on the other end of the line is giving her clues to her first husband, thought to be dead; the husband who was presumed dead after stealing have a million from investors. She'd been remarried and divorced and now lives alone, running a one-woman business, creator of booklets, leaflets, brochures, etc... The disturbing phone calls and the pictures put her on edge and decides to investigate on her own. She leaves her home in Seattle and takes off for Montana, in search of answers.

She's read the gruesome news announcements of what's going on in Montana, but that doesn't faze her... until it happens to her. Her tire is blown on, her car ends up over a cliff and down and embankment. Her rescuer, Zane MacGregor. He brings her to her cabin, keeps her warm, fed, comfortable as much as possible, all while trying to figure out a way to get her to a hospital between breaks in the snow storms. But Zane is a quiet man, one who doesn't like to relive or talk about his past. He doesn't like company overmuch, and it shows. Should Jillian trust him?

I thought this book was incredible! A serious mystery leaves you completely clueless as who it could be. You get glimpses into the killer's mind, and he's downright scary. What he's doing he believes it's art, and it's enough to freak out a reader.

Jillian is a woman who's had to rebuild herself and tried to start anew. After a second marriage that failed inside of two years, she's on her own - and prefers it that way. A determined woman, she's absolutely p.o.ed when pictures and disturbing phone calls have her wondering if her first husband, the man she loved totally and completely, is still alive. Had he faked his own death? Only one way to find out, and off she goes.

True to form, her tire is blown out by one riffle shot, and her car crashes. Here comes Zane MacGregor to the rescue. He's not very keen on having a `damsel in distress' in his home, and it shows. But is he the killer?

The book leaves you wondering and guessing until you don't have to guess anymore. At first, with all the characters, it's a little confusing until you get everyone in the right place and it goes along smoothly from there. The cops are smart, but so far the killer is eluding them very well. All they need is one break.

However, Jillian's would-be killer isn't the serial killer of the book, and I sooo loved that twist! However, I was upset at the end of the novel. Um, maybe frustrated would be a better word. Maybe even pissed. I mean, 484 pages in a book, and the story doesn't end there. In fact, you still don't know who the killer is, not even an inkling. To get the rest, the sequel, Chosen to Die, comes out a year from now. That's a pisser for sure. To have to wait a year to get the second half of the story is going to piss off a lot of readers. And that's why I'm telling you about that - in case you want to wait. Had I known about this, I'd have waited to put this in the pot for a book of the month. Even then, had I known, I'd have waited, period. And if I have to read another `department-issued' something or other (coats, ski-pants, gloves, hats, jeeps, etc...), I'm going to tear my hair out!

And while the ending of the book is completely frustrating, it has lots of good points: a killer with a sick, twisted mind, a love story, a mystery, action, tenseful suspense. The only thing stopping me from giving this the highest marks is the ending. Sorry, Ms. Jackson! That was not appreciated at all.

Its Christmas and all is supposed to be quiet, peaceful - goodwill to men and all of that! Except that in Grizzly Falls, Montana, there is a serial killer on the loose. After the police find 4 bodies, tied up to a tree and left to die, with the victims' cars wrecked and the tires shut up - Detectives Alvarez and Pescoli have alot of work ahead of them - it seems as though not everybody is in a Christmas spirit!
I have always liked Lisa Jackson's books and Left to Die is yet another winner. This author knows how to tell a story and can make the mundane sound exciting and flashy. She has created two very interesting detectives in this storyline - I found myself getting attached to both of them and rooting for them to get the killer - which is unusual for me.
The vivid details of the killer's plan are outlined slowly and tantalizingly and you want to run ahead of the pages to find out what is going to happen next. It does not help that the victim is getting a huge kick out of playing games with the police.

The Jilian Rivers character was also a nice touch and her interaction with Zane MacGregor runs hot and cold, leaving us wondering about him - is he a good guy? or a bad guy? I was trying to get a handle on that relationship from the very beginning.

Jackson is a pro at writing these and knows how to tell a gripping story.

This was my first Lisa Jackson novel and I really liked the book. I thought "Left to Die" was exciting and thrilling. I enjoyed getting to know Regan's kids and her own topsy-turvy love-life and Selena with her underlying resentment of her partner's natural criminal intuition. I liked the plot-twist also. All of her characters were "real" and developed quite well. I can appreciate Jillian for keeping her wits about her during her traumatic ordeal. Even the off-kiltered personas Ivor and Grace gave the town a realistic feel because we know there's at least one strange bird in every nest.

As much as I loved the book, I don't appreciate the unfinished ending. This is not a soap opera or a television drama where you can "tune in tomorrow for the exciting conclusion of..."; it's a BOOK! The next one is not due out for another whole year. Are you kidding? Do you really think I will care after a whole year who tied naked women to trees in the mountains? NO! I don't even care right now and I'm not going to buy the next book.

Jackson had 500 pages to wrap up the plot. More complexed plots have been wrapped in less. Not completing the ending, that was just WRONG!

This was my first Lisa Jackson novel and I really liked the book. I thought "Left to Die" was exciting and thrilling. I enjoyed getting to know Regan's kids and her own topsy-turvy love-life and Selena with her underlying resentment of her partner's natural criminal intuition. I liked the plot-twist also. All of her characters were "real" and developed quite well. I can appreciate Jillian for keeping her wits about her during her traumatic ordeal. Even the off-kiltered personas Ivor and Grace gave the town a realistic feel because we know there's at least one strange bird in every nest.

As much as I loved the book, I don't appreciate the unfinished ending. This is not a soap opera or a television drama where you can "tune in tomorrow for the exciting conclusion of..."; it's a BOOK! The next one is not due out for another whole year. Are you kidding? Do you really think I will care after a whole year who tied naked women to trees in the mountains?

NO! I don't even care right now and I'm not going to buy the book. Jackson had 500 pages to wrap up the plot. More complexed plots have been wrapped in half as much.

Jackson's exceptional writing will keep old fans AND generate new ones. She didn't have to resort to withholding information to try to drum up readership.

I am having trouble with the character Bianca. On page 37 whe has near-black curls, Mediterranean skin and blue eyes and on page 66 she has red-blonde curls, freckles and hazel eyes. I would think an author of this stature would have better proofreading. It really distracted me from the story.

I am very angry. I read this book and there was no ending! You have to wait 1 year for the next book. I have read all of Lisa Jackson's books and have enjoyed them all but this was wrong. One should not write a book and expect people to wait one year to find out how it ends. She is a good enough author that she doesn't need to use this "trick" to get people to buy her next book.

I could not put this book down and can't wait for her next book coming out in 2009. I have read all of her books and this is definitely one of the best. Good characters - ones we have met in her books before- and there is a lot of suspense.

This was the most boring book I have read in a long time. I have always enjoyed Lisa Jackson's books, but this was nothing short of empty. In addition, there was no ending....so you'll HAVE to buy her "next" book to find out what happens to the last woman captured. Well, I won't be spending money to find out. I think that's a horrible way to try to sell more books, by not providing an ending to the previous one, especially when the previous one was as dull as watching paint dry.

Nothing makes me angrier than to spend my free time (which I have little of) on reading a book with no ending. I refuse to buy the next book to find out who the killer is just on principle. I didn't buy the book to be hooked into a future purchase. I wanted to read a story that has a beginning, a middle, and an ending. Don't waste your hard earned free time on this book because you don't get the ending. That will come out in a year from now!!! I think an author that pulls these tricks needs to go back to school and learn that every story has 3 parts. I will only be a sucker once!!! I will never buy one of her books again!!

I plodded unhappily through 300 pages of redundant dialogue only to find that the answer to the mystery will come with the purchase of another book in August 09. I am not a happy customer.

It's November, and sub-zero temperatures and blizzard conditions assault the Bitterroot Mountains near Grizzly Falls, Montana. After the storm, Ivor Hicks --- one of Pinewood County's more eccentric and colorful characters --- discovers the body of a young woman tied to a tree. In his 76 years, whiskey-chugging Ivor has witnessed his share of misery. Decades earlier, he claimed to have been abducted by aliens, who used his body to conduct experiments and then implanted him with an invisible chip. But he has never been as frightened as the day he stumbles upon the dead female.

Ivor's discovery is just the beginning. Grace Perchant --- Grizzly Falls's ghost-whispering "wolf-woman" who communes with the dead --- finds a missing vehicle abandoned in the mountains. As more bodies are found and another woman disappears, the Pinewood County Sheriff's Department, headed by Dan Grayson, re-doubles their efforts. The FBI is called in, and they have their own ideas and ways of operating. After the media gets wind of the gruesome nature of the murders and the clues the killer leaves behind, they dub the psychopathic murderer "the Star Crossed Killer."

With another blizzard approaching and Christmas drawing near, the culprit becomes bolder, taunting the Pinewood County sheriff's deputies with cryptic clues and leaving a trail of victims. Detectives Selena Alvarez and Regan Pescoli take the killings personally and work feverishly to catch the killer, who lures his victims to his den, strips them, ties them to a tree and leaves them to the unforgiving elements.

The two female detectives are "about as alike as oil and water." The diet-conscious, organized and methodical Alvarez is a California transplant and a loner who shares little about her background and next to nothing about her personal life. Alvarez is unrelenting in finding the truth and thrives in a controlled environment, yet she also carries a secret that haunts her.

Pescoli's life is a mess, and everybody knows it. She's a single mother with ex-husbands and two teenagers who test the limits of her patience. Pescoli is an impetuous woman with lusty desires she's not the least bit shy about having met. While lacking self-discipline, her intuition and detective's instincts are spot-on. What both women have in common are their dedication to their jobs and their willingness to do whatever it takes to catch the killer. But will the hunters become the hunted?

In LEFT TO DIE, New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jackson does a great job making the Montana wilderness and its fascinating residents pop off the pages. She's sure to please her fans who expect fast-paced, tightly-plotted thrillers, and she doesn't shy away from explicit sex scenes or violence. In this first installment of a new series, Jackson has created a pulse-pounding novel that kept me reading into the wee hours of the morning while I tried to figure out the identity of the sadistic killer by the cliffhanger ending. I guess I'll have to wait until 2009 --- when the second book in the series, CHOSEN TO DIE, is released --- to learn more.

--- Reviewed by Donna Volkenannt

Do not buy this book. She wrote this book without an ending so that you have to buy the next one which doesn't come out till Aug. 2009 The characters were Not well drawn. Lisa seemed to be trying to write three books at once and none of the characters were fleshed out. She skipped around so much that just when I thought I was getting to know a character, she was off on another story all together. I have read all of Lisa's books and this one made me so angry with the lack of ending and the money grabbing way that you have to buy her next book to know the ending that I will not buy another of her books.

Apparently I had forgotten that she gets 500 pages by writing at least 200 pages of junk. This really only highlights the fact that her limit of good writing tops out at about 300 pages. I nearly gave up on the book several times but then just started skimming everything that wasn't in quotes so I could finish it and find out who the killer is - only to find out that I would have to buy her next book in August of 2009 if I want to know. I won't be spending another dime or wasting another minute on a Lisa Jackson book.

Book was good, but i dont like being forced into part 2!!! what the heck?? Ever since Dean Koontz promised Frankenstein 3 about 5 YEARS AGO....so now, i finished this book...aug of 2008. the last page says..see Chosen to Die with all the same cast in AUGUST 2009.....ummmm i like to see a part 2 coming.....i like to choose what i get sucked into...:(

In this book Lisa starts a new series and takes us to Grizzly Falls Montana where she introduces us to a cast of characters that you will really want to get to know better (well some maybe not), they range from by the book cops to a hermit who believes he was abducted by aliens in the past and still gets directions from them now, and a woman who sees and speaks to spirits. You know no different than any town USA.
The book features Homicide Detectives Selena Alvarez and Rachel Pescoli who along with the rest of the Sherriff's department and a couple of FBI agents are trying to catch and stop a grizzly serial killer who leaves women to die of exposure tied to trees in the Montana Wilderness and to give us all a little something extra she throws in a copycat who's trying to kill Jillian Rivers who is the heroine of our story and her would be hero Zane McGregor who's story is told in this book. And while taking us through all of the Montana wilds near Grizzly Falls the detectives have their own personal issues to deal with.
The only problem I had with the book is that after reading the edge of your seat novel you get to the end of the book only to discover the cliff hanger and guess what, now we have to wait until 8-09 to get the next installment.

As usual, Lisa Jackson has written a great mystery! My only complaint was the ending. To me it was a little blah. I know there is a follow up book coming out and so it is left hanging a little. I just thought one of the main characters could have had a better exit line. But all in all, great plot!

The woman's body is found lashed to a tree, naked, and frozen to death. The calling card for this scene is the same as the others, yet different. The letters carved into the tree above the victim are the same as the others but with the addition of this victim's initials added. The star is still carved into the cold bark, but at a slightly different location. Her wrecked car has also been discovered, the tire shot out and all identifying items removed from the vehicle. The killer has struck again.

Talking with Ivan, who discovered the body, is disappointing. He really doesn't know anything to add to the scene, but that is expected. Ivan claims he was captured by aliens years ago, and isn't playing with a full deck.

Detectives Selena Alvarez and Regan Pescoli have been hoping for a career-making case, but this is a nightmare. Even with the FBI involved, Selena and Regan have nothing to go on but a killer's cryptic notes, and the unsettling knowledge that there is much worse to come. The knowledge that the victims had injuries beginning to heal before they were killed leads them to the idea the killer is the one who "rescues" them and tries to gain their trust before he brutally kills them. The knowledge of the tires being shot out of the vehicles to make them wreck, held from the public, leads them to the conclusion that the killer has a thorough calculated plan, and they try to link the women in some way.

As the detectives are combing the latest crime scene, Jillian Rivers receives photographs of her late husband, a husband declared dead. Needing to find out if he is truly alive, she leaves for Montana. Her car tire is shot out and she plummets over a ravine before she makes her destination. Rescued by Zane MacGregor, she is stuck at his cabin while a blizzard rages on while she begins to recover from her assorted injuries. Detectives Alvarez and Pescoli soon find car in the ravine and fear that Jillian in the next victim. Can they save her in time? Is Zane MacGregor Jillian's savior or murderer?

I am a huge Lisa Jackson fan as her work is unprecidented. Book one of a new series, Left to Die, is an edge-of-your-seat thriller that does not disappoint. Peppered with interesting characters, an icy cold backdrop, and two detectives that have their own secrets makes for one very page-turning book. The hunt and clues will lead you to a very surprising cliffhanger.

Armchair Interviews says: Highly recommend!

In Grizzly Falls, Montana, police detectives Selena Alvarez and Regan Pescoli struggle with a particularly vicious serial killer who deep freezes his living female victims until they die. At the same time that the cops try to prevent another homicide, Jillian Rivers receives pictures that allege her late husband Aaron remains alive and well in Montana. Needing to know the truth she drives to Montana.

However, someone fires a shot hitting her tire causing Jillian to crash into a frozen ravine. When she regains consciousness she awakens inside the cabin of Zane MacGregor, who swears he found her nearby and hurt. She has no choice but to trust the hermit as a blizzard makes it impossible to leave even if he would let her and she was physically able to. Meanwhile Alvarez and Pescoli find her car in the ravine and fear she is the next victim of the killer.

Leaving bayou Country for the Big Sky, Lisa Jackson introduces her fans to two terrific police detectives working a difficult homicide case. The story line moves forward on two subplots; the two cops seeking to rescue Jillian, and the Rivers-MacGregor spin of is he the killer or her savior. Readers will relish this strong chilling police procedural while Lisa Jackson brilliantly sets up the sequel CHOSEN TO DIE.

Harriet Klausner

I have been a Lisa Jackson fan for a long time and this was a GREAT read! I won't go into details because I don't want to give too much away and the previous reviewer gave a good description of the story. This story was NOT predictable at all and really kept you guessing right up until the end....and then some! The characters were great and I can't wait to read Regan and Selena's stories. I really liked Jillian's character, she was smart, real and not the typical unsuspecting female. The only thing that I found disappointing is that the story continues into the next book so there is not complete closure, normally that wouldn't bother me if I knew the next book would be out in a few months but it was such a great story and I hate to wait a year to find out what happened (but that's just me and my impatience)! Other than that, it was a really good book and I couldn't put it down....I definitely recommend this book to anyone that likes a good thriller.

I have been a Lisa Jackson fan for a long time and this was a GREAT read! I won't go into details because I don't want to give too much away and the previous reviewer gave a good description of the story. This story was NOT predictable at all and really kept you guessing right up until the end....and then some! The charachters were great and I can't wait to read Regan and Selena's stories. The only thing that I didn't care for is that the story continues into the next book so there is not complete closure, normally that wouldn't bother me but it was such a great story and I hate to wait until next year to find out (but that's just me and my impatience)! Other than that, it was a really good book and I couldn't put it down....I definitely recomend this book to anyone that likes a good thriller.

I am a fairly new Lisa Jackson fan - you will be too once you read just one of her amazing thrillers. Left to Die is a great place to start. This is the first in a new series to feature Montana detectives Selena Alvarez and Regan Pescoli.

A brutal killer is stalking women in a small Montana town. Just weeks before Christmas, his latest victim is discovered. Like all the others, she's been stripped naked and tied to a tree, left to die. Her wrecked car has also been discovered, the tire shot out and all identifying items removed from the vehicle. Alvarez and Pescoli are at their wits end trying to solve this one and time is running out. A car has been discovered and the kill date is looming, but without any clue as to who the killer is, they may be looking at another body very shortly.

Left to Die is an engrossing read with a fast-paced plot that will leave you wanting more!