Book Review: Paranoid by Lisa Jackson

A BUSTLE PERFECT VACATION READ
USA Today Bestseller
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jackson comes a new novel of nerve-jangling suspense as a woman haunted by guilt realizes that nothing can be trusted—not even her own memory . . .
There are people in Edgewater, Oregon, who think that twenty years ago, Rachel Gaston got away with murder.
Rachel still has no idea how a foolish teenaged game turned deadly—or who replaced her soft pellet air gun with a real weapon. When a figure leapt out at her from the darkness, she fired without thinking. Too late, she recognized her half-brother, Luke, and saw blood blooming around his chest.
Despite counseling, Rachel’s horrifying dreams about that night continue. Her anxiety contributed to her divorce from Detective Cade Ryder, though he blames himself too. But as Rachel’s high school reunion nears, she feels her imagination playing tricks, convincing her that objects in her house have moved. That there’s a hint of unfamiliar cologne in the air. That someone is tailing her car. Watching her home.
She’s right to be scared. And as connections surface between a new string of murders and Luke’s death, Rachel realizes there’s no escaping the past, and the truth may be darker than her worst fears . . .

A guilt left obvious. A dead sibling. Can a town ever truly move on from its bloody past? This is the situation that Rachel is left with after being involved in stupid teenaged game that went horribly wrong. Rachel fired the gun that inadvertently killed her half brother. His dying face haunts her existence to this day – twenty years on. Guilt plagues her even though she was acquitted of the murder. She believed she had taken his life but did she? This is a story of Fear, loss and the complexity of human emotion. As the story unfolded the reader was able to see that this wasn’t a simple story. Actions have concequences for all involved. The story follows Rachel’s life from frightened teenager to divorced woman with two children of her own and the fallout from that fateful night.

Rachel is a complex character – and I like that!

For this story it was right how in depth Rachel’s character was. She was ultimately flawed due to her experiences. She is the result of experiencing a tragic event that has changed her for good. Life would simply never be the same again for her. She has the classic signs of PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). She fears everything, her marriage broke down, she doesn’t have any close friends (possibly fearing she may lose them if she’s truly close to them) and she has her children on a very tight leash. Her Daughter, Harper often states “It’s like a prison”. Her character is completely true to the event though – who wouldn’t be psychologically affected after going through what she has!

Plot – Well executed

The plot was interesting and I enjoyed the mental health take on the main character. The take on the fallout of several families involved gave the real implications of actions and concequences. It was a quick read and I wanted to keep reading to find out who was causing such carnage in the little town. The twist was unexpected and I was very shocked. This was a great, steady read.