each book out does the last one Lisa Jackson writes..look forward to each and every one and they are all keepers.

I have always been a Lisa Jackson fan, and eagerly paid top dollar at the airport for this book. I was disappointed and felt I had been cheated out of an ending. Since when are these novels "to be continued"??? Yes, it was tense and kept you guessing who the bad guy really was; but come on ... why leave me hung out to dry waiting for an ending that is expected in August 2009? What a dirty trick. I won't so quickly buy the next one.

I was shocked at how poorly written Lost Souls was I remember reading Shiver and how I couldn't put it down so engrossing were the lead characters but this book I was bored so quickly just couldn't get invested in the lead characters.

I think a big part of the problem for Lisa Jackson is that she is pushing out books so quickly she is passing up her writing talent just to get the books to reach the publishing deadline.

I think this was quite a good book, it kept you guessing on who the killer was. I like Kristi and her Dad, New Orleans Dectective Rick Bentz and I enjoyed how Kristi hooked up with a former boyfriend, Jay. All of the characters held my interest. I thought the book had a lot of twists and turns. I am going to search out more of Lisa Jackson's books.

SUMMARY: The latest in Jackson's series revolving around the ever-expanding family of tragic heroine Faith Daniels finds Kristi Bentz, a secondary character from the previous installments, at the forefront. Recovered from a previous attack, Kristi decides to re-enroll at her alma mater, All Souls College, to further her aspirations of becoming a true crime writer. The fact that several female students have gone missing from the campus only intrigues her more.

WHY YOU'LL LIKE IT: Jackson has a knack for creating and developing likable heroines, and Kristi Bentz no different. As she was established in other books, it's nice to see her get a turn as a main character. Jackson endeavors to capture the gothic allure of New Orleans in these epic potboilers, and adequately succeeds.

WHY YOU WON'T: Despite the potential of this series, the plots have become formulaic and often ludicrous. How many serial killers can one family, disjointed or not, attract? Jackson's antagonists have become predictable and boring, whispering their bland threats into the ears of the reader, usually mixed with laughable profanity about his desire to violate sexually the protagonist; the killers are no longer distinguishable from each other and it's frankly impossible to care what their motives are or what drives them; it has become simply a matter of counting the bodies they leave in their wake until the inevitable concluding showdown. The romance scenes are pedantic and pejorative, and it's offensive to read the women of Jackson's novels become so besotted with their paramours that they become caricatures of themselves, not to mention the predilection the author has of shining the light of suspicion on said suitors, making her heroines' eventual submission all the more pathetic. Most aggravating is the heroines' penchant for putting themselves in harm's way (often planned) while not having taken the necessary precautions and thus requiring a man to ride to their rescue; regardless of self-defense training or that can of mace for which they never reach in time, it would be nice to see one of these women let someone know what they're up to and where they're going prior to racing off on a half-cocked 'mission'. The plotting is haphazard and shoddy, and the novel runs about one hundred-fifty pages too long with several redundant passages.

BOTTOM LINE: Jackson is a talented author with many illustrious works to her credit; this is not one of them. She's in danger of becoming generic in a genre in which she was once a leader.

I cannot stress enough how BORING this book is. I'm not even finished with it and I want to fling it across the room, but I plod on because I want to see which of the ridiculous characters is the "villain". The heroine is a dud, and the premise of the story is nonsensical. If I pick up another Lisa Jackson, please hit me over the head with it! My advice is, don't waste your money on this one. Buy a REAL thriller
instead, which this most certainly is NOT.

For me a good thriller makes me look forward to those moments during the day when I can sit down and dive back into it. This one took me three weeks. Lisa Jackson develops her characters to the point where even I can remember who and "what" they are without keeping a list of central characters. The story, like many mystery crime dramas is predictable and shallow once the story outline is developed. While it may not be all that original as murder mysteries go, it kept my attention and even made me cringe as the action and characters were described. The originality of the story it is more interesting than that of a John Patterson formula book. Kristi Bentz is the daughter of a New Orleans homicide detective who specializes in serial murders. Kristi has developed the family knack for identifying serial murders and finding the responsible criminal mind behind it. At All Saints College several coeds are missing and presumed to have been murdered. The idea of vampires or that a student vampire cult is behind the disappearances soon becomes a central theme. Conveniently, an All Saints College English class offers Vampires 101 as a course that is popular with students dressed in black and wearing vials of their own blood around their necks. The bayous of Louisiana are the backdrop for this story and add to the creepiness of a mysterious dark clad figure that captures and detains the victims. The killer keeps the victims in a semi-conscious state so others can participate in the rituals involved. Many of the actions of the characters in the story never were explained and their relevance became questionable. It's an average read, not great not the worst. Oh yeah, I can usually read one of these in 5 hours.

If you have read Lisa Jackson's other books..this one isn't far removed. The herione has a tendency of really pissing me off. She can be annoying. Otherwise, not bad, yeah it does get a bit boring with the mundane stuff. But like all her books, the final two chapters have your blood pumping. Again, you'll never guess who the killer is. The ending well...you'll just have to read it.

Overall, not bad and will have you thinking the herione is really stupid and predictable. But there it is.

For me, this wasn't her best work. I liked part of it, but other parts seem to really drag or seemed repetitive. There were points where the suspense could have led to more to progress the story line, but fell short. I won't give examples, for fear of spoiling the book for others. The focus of this book is on vampires, or I should say the culture of those interested in vampires. It is all based in reality, the evil in this book is man made. I enjoyed the book, I just think that it doesn't measure up to some of Jackson's previous work.

Am a little further than page 198, but it is still a yawn. Seems so much like the last book, same outline, just different characters and places. However, I keep plugging along, a few pages a night, hoping something will pick up. Bought the first two books of this "series" and am not looking forward to them at all. This will be the last time I invest in a hardcover Lisa Jackson!

As a thriller this book serves its purpose. The killer might not be a unique spin on the serial killer archetype, but the

Four girls have gone missing at All Saints College, but none of their bodies have been found so the police can't call foul play. So instead we get Kristi Benz, two-time almost-victim and wannabe true crime writer, playing detective. I'm sorry to say this, but Kristi is TSTL (too stupid to live). Seriously, her motive for getting near a serial killer, even though she knows the danger, is so she can write about it. Doesn't she know the best true crime novel, IN COLD BLOOD, was written after the killers were behind bars?

While Kristi's motive may be dumb, it's straightforward. Unfortunately, Vlad's interest in Kristi is inexplicable. He seems to have a history with her, but she certainly doesn't recognize him. (Perhaps I'm missing something from an earlier book - I've never read any of Jackson's work before.) Also, his victims are all "lost souls," girls without close friends or family. Serial killers tend to be picky. So why would Vlad be interested in a woman with a loving father (who happens to be a famous detective) and a close boyfriend?

I cannot condemn the book though. Even with my dislike of the protagonist, Jackson kept me turning the pages. LOST SOULS is a serviceable thriller, but it could be much better.

Excerpted from In Bed With Books.

I am new to Lisa Jackson's books. I first picked up Absolute Fear and could not put it down reading it cover to cover in one day. I went out right away and bought her newest book (hardback unfortunately), Lost Souls. I was all ready to settle in and read it straight thru like Absolute Fear, but I am having a real hard time staying interested in it. It is so totally different from the other book. I'm finding that I can't really get in to any of the characters and it in no way has grabbed me enough to make me interested in finding out what the outcome is. It's not that it has vampires in it because I do read the paranormals and like them. It is just plodding along and I finally put it down last night after about 170 pages and have moved on to something else. I'll pick it up and try to finish it at another time, but I think it is going to be awhile before I have any interest in doing so. This was very disappointing because I feel as if I wasted time and money for nothing.

I was disappointed in this book.

It took a long time for me to get into the story. The first half of the book drags. The whole vampire cult idea at this school is just too far fetched. Apparently a number of people at this college have fangs for teeth. Who knew?

There are many parts of the story line that go unanswered. The book just never meshes very well. The characters are blah. Not worth reading.

Kristi Bentz has survived being nearly killed twice, by a serial killer. Now she is trying to get on with her life and hopefully attain her goal of becoming a true-crime writer. And even though her dad only wants her safe, in New Orleans with him and her stepmother, Kristi has to move forward. Her first step is to further her education by becoming a student at All Saints College and enrolling in All Saints' English classes. Kristi does not need to tell her Dad that the four students who have gone missing from the college in the last two years, took the same courses and her course load is doing double duty as research for her first novel.

Of course life is never easy. Besides the serial killer and her cop father, there is also the ex-boyfriend she left behind many years ago and the dark cult. All of which add to a life that is more interesting than it should be on occasion.

I loved Lost Souls. Lost Souls is a fast-paced, intriguing novel that looks at some of the dark aspects of life. I have enjoyed Lisa Jackson's books in the past, but this one to me, was just perfect. I could not put it down. I found her descriptions to be exactly what was needed and as always Ms. Jackson gives the reader all the information they need - while managing to surprise with twists and turns. All the characters are well drawn to the point you feel the urge to hug the `lost souls' and smack the main characters for being idiots. And as for the relationship between Kristi and her father Rick, I just enjoyed how developed it was, and how well they knew each other. Also Ms. Jackson writes excellent, twisted personalities for the leaders of the cult and those they have affected. For all this and more, I am Joyfully Recommending Lost Souls.

Emma
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Last night, at page 198, I finally gave up on this book. No way could I finish it; it is just way too boring and slow to capture my interest at all.

For a book touted on the flyleaf as "her most harrowing novel yet", I kept wondering when Jackson was going to throw in some "harrow". This thing moves at an absolute snail's pace; the characters are simply bo-o-o-o-ring people; the characterizations are two-dimensional at best, paper thin; and to this point in the book, almost NOTHING has happened.

Endless drivel about character Kristi's class schedule, work schedule, and her angst that one of her profs is an old boyfriend. More endless pages about the prof's angst that Kristi's his student. Ya-a-a-a-awn......

Meanwhile police departments everywhere are unbelievably uninterested about a possible serial killer in the area; and I mean "unbelievably".

The Bad Guy -- what little I've seen of him to this point in the book -- isn't really all that interesting, either; pretty run-of-the-mill bad guy.

It seems there's some tie-in to Goth practices or vampire obsession, but frankly.......... who cares? This book just doesn't interest me enough to try to wade through all this boring nonsense to find out about it.

One star at best.

Kristi Bentz almost died. She has been a target on more than one occasion because her father, Rick, is a detective in the New Orleans Police Department. Now that she has recovered from a coma, Kristi wants to set out on her own path and become a strong, independent person. So she leave homes and returns to All Saints College where she can pursue her goal of becoming a true crime writer.

All Saints College, however, is having a crisis. Four girls have gone missing from the school in less than two years. The administration isn't particularly concerned and neither are the police, passing the whole thing off as a few troubled young ladies who have run off. They have no concerned families or friends, and are written off.

Kristi begins her own investigation and soon starts to uncover a dark and deadly underbelly that hides in plain sight on the campus of All Saints. With the help of former flame Jay McKnight (who is now her professor), Kristi seeks answers to the vampire cult that may be to blame for the disappearances. Adding to Kristi's already heightened nerves is the discovery that she is living in a room previously rented by one of the missing girls.

With LOST SOULS, Lisa Jackson takes readers back to New Orleans, but this is a different New Orleans. It is scarred, battered and altered forever by the effects of Hurricane Katrina. The damage wrought by the storm plays a role in the unfolding of the tale, and Jackson does a marvelous job of detailing some of the problems faced by the police department, such as evidence lost in floods and how it has changed those who are working to keep the peace. She does this without descending into a weary lament but rather by using it as a thread that secures part of the story to the rest. Subtle but vital.

Kristi certainly has her troubles laid out for her in LOST SOULS, and for one who has endured so much previously, she holds up quite well. Jackson has drawn her as a strong young woman who truly is trying to break free from her past and avoid having to fall back on her father and his position in the police force to assist in her investigation. Even as Jay implores her to seek his help, she refuses, choosing to strike out on her own despite her growing fears.

Jackson again presents us with a psychopath shrouded in mystery, revealed in quick glimpses that hint at identification without giving anything away. Like her previous bad guys, the one in LOST SOULS has the incredible ability to decipher the nature of a victim with great speed, clarifying their strengths and weaknesses, and giving the villain all he needs to manipulate those weaknesses. A great testament to her writing is that it never feels contrived.

LOST SOULS is a thriller, and a fine one at that. It is intense and highlighted with history as well as more current events. The New Orleans of Lisa Jackson's world lives on the page and seems no less real than if you were in the city proper. Fans of her previous work should be very pleased with this latest effort, and first-time readers, while perhaps somewhat lost at the beginning due to not having the character backgrounds, can easily find themselves pulled into the story.

--- Reviewed by Stephen Hubbard

Kristi Bentz returns to All Saints College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to major in English. Her goal is to write true crime books; having been a victim twice with one incident leaving her in a coma. After she awakened and recovered physically, Kristi had visions in which she saw people like her father turn from color to black and white, which she interprets as meaning that person will soon die.

At the school Kristi learns that four female students have disappeared in the past two years. The police believe they are runaways, but Kristi thinks they are dead. Her former roommate mentions a vampire cult whose members wear a small vial of blood around their necks. The four who vanished were in the same classes in the English Department and also had in common parents who disowned them. Kristi, being a chip off the old block, investigates with the help of her professor and ex-lover Kay McKnight; not realizing that a clever killer has marked her for death.

Lisa Jackson writes another chilling thriller filled with action and fully developed characters, but refreshed by going to the next generation, the daughter of New Orleans Detective Rick Bentz (partner of Detective Reuben Montoya). A romantic subplot between Kristi and Jay grows slowly and more significantly does not intrude on their investigation making it feel real. Whereas the police with one exception assume the coeds are runaways, ironically readers know otherwise. With twists including who had an inkling of what was going on and spins, fans will appreciate LOST SOULS.

Harriet Klausner

The beginning just dragged and dragged. After about the 2nd-3rd chapter I thought this was going to be really good book. Don't get me wrong it definately had it's twists. When she gets to the college it startes to drag again, and everytime she would start a class and it would introduce the teacher, the teacher would go on for like 2 pages telling all about the class. I think the author could have summed it up in a paragraph or less. The whole time I was reading this book I was saying in my head "Lets get on with it already". It did have it's good points but I felt a lot of boring ones out weighed the good. Not her best and again she is one of my favorites.

Kristi Bentz wants to be a true-crime writer. She's got a great background for it, having already tangled with two serial killers in her young life. Against her over-protective father's wishes, she re-enrolls in All Saints College in Baton Rouge.

All Saints has livened up its English Department with attractive professors and trendy courses, but all is not well. Four girls have disappeared in the past two years, all enrolled in the same English courses including The Influence of Vampyrism in Modern Culture and Literature. Kristi sees the coed disappearances as subject matter for her first book, and her research draws her into a ring of evil. She infiltrates a group of students who play in vampire chat rooms, wear tiny vials of blood on gold chains, and hold secret meetings after hours in the cellar of a museum. She's determined to solve the mystery of the disappearances, against the wishes of her father Rick, a New Orleans detective, and her boyfriend Jay McKnight, back in her life after a breakup years before.

While LOST SOULS is based on a vampire theme, its evil is strictly of this world rather than supernatural. The main characters are well drawn and engaging; the dialog and action flow easily. One of the strong elements is the moody atmosphere of post-Katrina Louisiana, effectively woven into the story.

I took one star off for a bit more foreshadowing than I like; otherwise this is a thoroughly entertaining read. If you like complex, well written romantic suspense novels with a double dose of suspense, don't miss LOST SOULS. Author Lisa Jackson kept me reading -- and guessing -- right to the end. Thanks also to bookreporter dot com, in whose contest I won an ARC of this excellent book.

"The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary: men alone are quite capable of every wickedness." Joseph Conrad.

Linda Bulger, 2008