Written Among The Stars

When I began this book I never suspected that I would be rating one of my favorite authors as a 2 out of 5, but alas it has happened. Let me begin by saying that this book was not bad, I actually enjoyed the story and the tension quite a bit, but it was very disappointing on a lot of levels. This book is number four in the saga of Bentz and Montoya. So far we have seen these characters through a lot and this was supposed to be a culmination of several major plots from both book two, Cold Blooded, and book three, Shiver. However, I was left with more questions than resolutions. This novel was a continuation of a storyline began in Shiver, it was supposed to resolve the issues and darkness surrounding Our Lady of Virtues asylum. We ended that book with the revelation that former patient Faith Chastain has a child that was conceived and born while she was being treated at the hospital. I looked forward to finding out the answers to that mystery, and we did..though ultimately it raised more questions than it answered. We find out who this mystery child was and, no surprise, its related to the latest serial killer stalking New Orleans. But, a lot of the story left me disappointed.1. When we discover who the father of Faith Castain's mystery child or in this case children is, I was dismayed. Father James! Really!? We already spent one entire book trying to redeem him for breaking his covenant to God to impregnate his brother's wife. And we did that successfully, and he was a much loved character before his ultimate demise. But now we've made him a rapist? Faith Chastain was mentally ill, that makes the father of her twins a rapist. Way to go Lisa Jackson, way to destroy a character! It completely ruined this book as well as a previous one for me.2. We find out the mystery surrounding the night Eve was shot. Did she really sleep with another man besides her boyfriend at the time, Cole Dennis? According to the DNA, she did. But unfortunately she can't remember it, nor can she remember exactly what happened that night but she's pretty certain that Cole tried to kill her. Here's the problem, if she was so sure of that then why is she so willing to completely overlook it from the first moment she realizes Cole is out of jail? And this DNA issue only ended up raising another question....If Ronnie was the source of the 2nd DNA, and it was planted in the rape kit, then why wasn't his DNA matched in the system? Ronnie was in prison, and had been a frequent visitor to prison the novel suggests. So why was his DNA not matched? Why was it some big mystery? Are the New Orleans police that incompetant?3. I found the narration very confusing. It was fairly easy to tell when we were switching point of views to Eve, or Cole, or Bentz, or even Montoya. But when we switched to the serial killer it was all told in one voice, yet...there were two killers, Ronnie and Adam. It made it absolutely impossible to know at the end of the novel which person was telling which parts of the story and it was horribly confusing. I don't like being confused with point of view switches, it should be apparent to me who is talking and when. 4. What the holy heavens was up with that epilogue? Where on earth did any of that come from? We've had 4 books worth of experience with Kristi Bentz now, and we know her and her story very well. Then we throw in something completely out there and insinuate that its been happening all along. Not buying it, its a cop out. I mean really, Kristi suddenly realizes that her nightmares are really psychic visions? And she just knows her father is going to die, cue foreboding music. It was tacky and cheesy. You can't just act like this is something that the character has always known when you haven't mentioned it in three other books. Not a slam dunk from Lisa Jackson I'm afraid. I don't like the resolution of a storyline to create more questions and problems. When it ends, I want it to end cleanly. Luckily I am still an overall fan of Lisa Jackson and will continue the series, but this installment was a serious letdown.