Her Last Day by T.R. Ragan
Jessie Cole #1
Thriller
Thomas & Mercer | October 24, 2017

I’ve been craving a thriller novel, especially a series with a female main character.  The problem was I didn’t want it to be too intense.  I can’t handle intense right now.  I wanted to escape in a great thriller with a good plot, but not be too emotionally invested.  Maybe that  sounds odd, because emotional investment is important in a book.  And I was invested.  I liked Her Last Day a lot.  I guess I mean the difference between a good page turning thriller, and a book that triggers anxiety symptoms.  I don’t want anything to give me added anxiety.  I have enough of anxiety in my real life.

After searching my TBR I couldn’t find what I was looking for.  All the thrillers I did pick up were too intense.  I finally took myself over to Kindle Unlimited and just did a search of mysteries and stumbled on the Jessie Cole series.  It seemed to have pretty good reviews, and the synopsis sounded like what I wanted.  It also had the added bonus of being readable for free, since I’m a KU member.  There was nothing to lose, and everything to gain.

Those odds were in my favor, especially because it ended up being exactly what I was looking for.  There was so much good about the story, as an escape.  I loved the plot, the mystery, and the characters.  Jessie was my third favorite character.  She was an interesting heroine with a riveting backstory.  The loss of her sister and raising her niece made her feel both realistic and sympathetic.  In particular, I liked reading about her relationship with Olivia and how Olivia felt about the disappearance of her mother.  Maybe it’s because I have my own 14 year old daughter, but their dynamic felt central.

I also loved the case.  It was gruesome, and it was creepy, and it was so interesting!  The villain was a mixture of terrifying, but yet almost sad and pathetic.  I hated him, and yet I felt for how his brand of evil was created.  The case also brought us Zee, who was my second favorite character.  She was so great.  She is troubled, struggling with schizophrenia, but yet in her own way she’s one of the strongest characters I’ve read.  Plus, I loved the devotion between her and her father.  It was beautiful.

My FAVORITE character was Ben!  Everything about him and his amnesia drew me in.  He’s the kindest character, loving his wife and children so much.  Yet, the more you get to know him the more you see a darkness underneath.  It’s fascinating, but it’s also terrifying because I already like him so much.  I want him to be a good guy, I’m praying his darkness is that of an angry vigilante and not the angry of a serial killer.  I’d be crushed if he turned out to be one of the bad guys!

I’m so so excited to keep reading.  In fact, as I’m writing this review I’m already almost halfway through with the second book of the series, and I’m just as committed.  The only area where I think the story could be better is in the romance between Jessie and Colin.  I already like Colin, so much, and I like how deep his feelings for Jessie are.  I could just use a little more romance, and a little less of Colin running off to work.  Fingers crossed we get a little something more in the future!

Rating: 

Series Reading Order