Absolute Fear (A Bentz/Montoya Novel)

Since other reviews have pretty much covered the plot I will go to what I thought of the characters in this story. Eve isn't too bad except like most of Ms. Jackson's lady characters, she knew someone was after her to kill her so what does she do, she rushes right to the old asylum and then later out at night to a resturant to rescue her sister-in-law, totally ignoring any danger. Dumb! Then there is Kristy who is a homicide detective's daughter who aspires to be a crime writer and expects her dad to totally ignore ethics by divulging all of the gory details of the murders he is investigating and then goes to the one place she knows is off limits, again the asylum. Plus she thinks she is so clever that the nut feeding her information from the police dept. is to be trusted instead of telling her dad what the guy is doing? Dumber! Then we get to the cops, Bentz and Montoya, who run in circles and couldn't find a clue if the murderer tatooed it on their foreheads. Why? Because they are so wrapped up in hanging something on Cole that they don't bother with actually looking for the right person until several people are murdered and still want to hang it on Cole if all possible. Dumbest! Had the mastermind not finally gotten around to trying to kill Eve himself, he would have never been caught. Finally after Anna being a major character in the story, she is murdered but then after finding her body, not another word about her. What about the brothers? Too many storylines that weren't wrapped up at the end. AND like a few other critics, Ms. Jackson really needs a better proof reader. The spelling of Carmengia for her dad's car is way off. I have read most of Ms. Jackson's books but this continuing saga of the patients and lunatics still rambling around that old asylum is getting a bit stretched to say the least. Who ever heard of former patients becoming nurses and nuns at the same institution where they were incarcerated for treatment?

So, this is categorized as a romantic suspense book, but I wouldn't classify it as a romance. There is a relationship history between Eve and Cole, and they do more or less get back together as the story progresses; however, there are little to no romantic elements present. If you prefer more heat and steam in your stories, just be aware that you won't find those here. That being said, it wasn't a bad story. I love a good mystery/suspense book (though romantic suspense is my favorite genre), and this one had some good mystery elements. I did feel like some aspects of the story were underdeveloped, though. I kind of thought the resolution of the whole thing near the end was a bit rushed and we weren't given as many details as I would have liked. For instance, what happened with Eve's brothers? The epilogue definitely sets things up for the next book in the series. I've been reading the books in order, and I do recommend reading them in that way just so you'll have all of the background details that are necessary for fully understanding everything that's going on from book to book. All in all, not a bad read. I took off a couple of stars because it isn't actually a romantic suspense (though it's billed as one) and because of the underdeveloped and/or rushed-feeling aspects I mentioned.

She never fails to come through. with the 👌 best turn paging novels can't wait to read what's next. 😱

"Cold-Blooded" and "Shiver", the previous two books in this series, were very good. This one, not so much. Not enough info on: *Eve's relationship with Cole before the shooting. *What happened to Eve and Cole in the three months after the shooting. *What really happened with Cole on the night of the shooting, because the few lines it was covered in were unclear. Not enough development of the male and female leads. Ex: Did Eve work? If not how did she get her money? As someone else pointed out why did Cole lose his house, car, job, money and possessions when he hadn't even been indicted yet? His attorney was a friend so he would have gotten a break on that fee and Cole was an attorney also so he would have been able to do a lot of the work on his own. Now we have two women in the TSTL (too stupid to live), dumber than a box of rocks, don't have two brain cells to rub together category. Eve had found her friend brutally murdered with a tattoo carved into him, she'd been shot and almost died. Then her father was murdered in the same manner as her friend (also with a tattoo) and Eve has been targeted by the killer. Yet she went running around on her own, meeting a friend at a restaurant and then into a deserted insane asylum. TSTL Kristi's dad is a cop and she's mad at him because he won't give her privileged details on a current investigation so she can write a true crime book. Kristi had been kidnapped, chained to a wall, and almost died because of the serial killer that had been after her. Yet there she is, a year or so later, wandering alone around the same insane asylum as Eve, not at the same time, taking pictures of the area where a nun had just been found also carved up and dead. TSTL Other reviewers have brought up the fact that the insane asylum plot is getting really old and I agree; its way past time for it to go away. Then there's the now dead priest who was taking advantage of women and fathering kids all over the place. This is just plain insulting! There have been cases of abuse by priests lately, but the vast majority of priests are good, spiritual people who believe in their calling. This part of the plot was particularly distasteful! I realize New Orleans is not a huge city but it's not Mayberry so having all these people related to each other goes way past the bounds of being even slightly credible. Fortunately I bought this book used!

Amazing book. Loved every page. I could not put this one down. Kept me on edge. Don't ever stop this series. Keep these characters alive. Thank you!