Review & #Giveaway – Problem Child by Victoria Helen Stone @VictoriaDahl #psychological #thriller
Problem Child: A Jane Doe Thriller
Thriller
2nd in Series
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (March 24, 2020)
Paperback: 265 pages
Synopsis
She’s cold, calculating, and can deceive with a smile. Jane Doe is back in the Amazon Charts bestselling series—and this time she’s met her match.
After a brutal childhood, Jane Doe has been permanently wired to look after herself and only herself. Now, looking next to normal, Jane has a lover and a job. But she hasn’t lost her edge. It sharpens when she hears from her estranged family.
Jane’s deeply troubled sixteen-year-old niece, Kayla, has vanished, and no one seems to care. Neither does Jane. Until she sees a picture of Kayla and recognizes herself in the young girl’s eyes. It’s the empty stare of a sociopath.
Jane knows what vengeful and desperate things Kayla is capable of. Only Jane can help her—by being drawn into Kayla’s dark world. And no one’s more aware than Jane just how dangerous that can be.
Review
Lately, I’ve had a keen interest in thrillers, especially psychological thrillers. While I had KU, I was able to read the first book in this series so I could get a feel for Jane and her life. I am so glad I read that book to understand Jane and her sociopathic behaviors. I never thought about someone that is a sociopath isn’t always a lunatic or a killer. They just know how to manipulate the people around them to keep control of the situation.
In this book, Jane travels to Oklahoma, where her family resides, to find her niece that was reported missing. Normally, Jane wouldn’t care about someone in her family, but she is intrigued by the fact that Kayla is supposedly just like her, another sociopath. The family may not realize that is what they are, but they do understand their similarities. Jane does some digging to find her niece. It helps to be familiar with the area and some of the people. It was fascinating to see the interaction with her mom and dad. Let’s just say they aren’t the nurturing types.
I enjoyed the interaction between Jane and Kayla. They have to learn to trust each other, or as much as they can, and maybe Kayla won’t end up in a bad situation. There is a twist at the very end of the book that surprised me, and surprised even Jane. Now I have to know how things continue in the next book. Will Kayla turn over a new leaf or will she revert back to her old ways.
If you are in the mood for a good psychological thriller, then this is a series you want to pick up. We give it 5 paws up.
About the Author
Victoria Helen Stone, formerly writing as USA Today bestselling novelist Victoria Dahl, is originally from the Midwest but now writes from an upstairs office high in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah. After a career in romance that included the American Library Association’s prestigious Reading List Award, she turned toward the darker side of fiction and has written the critically acclaimed novels, Evelyn, After; Half Past; and False Step. Her Amazon Charts bestselling thriller Jane Doe has been optioned by Sony Television.
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