It started good enough but then it became uninteresting. Having a female as a killer was interesting but the story lost its appeal to me... something to do with everything revealed to soon.

Thanks to NetGalley for this book.
A nicely set up psychological thriller that could have been a very good book with a little bit more TLC.
Since 33 people before me told you what the story is all about, I won’t do that here. I would like to explain what I mean with the TLC. It is a nice book, no doubt about that. But I think it is not fast paced enough in places, and too much in other places - especially at the end. The character of Jim Bean is likable but he is not very original, being a lonesome PI with a cat. He and his friends are a bit off-the-shelf characters. It is like the author went shopping for ingredients and choose Jim, O, Eva Webb (for the touch of romance) and even Sophie, the killer as ingredients for the story.
The story lacks the intelligence and the flow that make a book a five star book for me. It makes a nice reading on a rainy afternoon, though.

This is the first book by J. D Allen that I have read and I must say I'm impressed. The first couple of chapters were a bit slow however it soon picked up pace and I found it to be a great read with well developed characters. I would highly recommend to anyone who enjoys a fast paced psychological thriller.
Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for my advance copy in return for a honest review.

This is a first read for me of J. D. Allen. I loved it and I can't wait for more in the future. If you love Psychological thrillers that you need to pick this one up. The twists and turns will keep you on your toes until the end. I love a good crime book. This one did it all for me. I love the PI (Jim Bean) and the FBI (Agent Ava Webb) work together. I would love to see more of this match up in the future. Sophie is a brilliant mind. It was intriguing to see how she worked. You don't come across many books where the female lead is the suspect. I think that is what drew me in right there. Nothing beats a twisted love story when the mood strikes.

This is a fast paced thriller where not everyone is who they appear to be. Jim Bean's search for a missing person turns into something different entirely and triggers a series of events. Sophie is totally unlikeable. There is a lot packed into the plot and a lot of evil and gruesome deeds.

*netgalley copy*
Wow this one sucked me in immediately! I especially loved the chapters from the killer's point of view, I wish more books would go in that direction, getting that insight just adds so much more to the story as a whole! Not to mention it being a female killer, so interesting as you keep finding out more. The story was well rounded out with other characters and I liked didn't it feel like a totally familiar story either. Sure there was your typical PI with his own hard luck story but even that felt fresh somehow and just the way everything blended together made for a great story! I'll definitely read more in this series if they come out, though most of what drew me to this one was the female serial killer thing, and I'll be recommending this one to all of my other bookish friends!
(My only complaint would be that there were A LOT of spelling and grammatical errors to slog through, but since this is a pre-release copy that kind is has to be expected and I'm sure those will get sorted out in the final printing.)

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The below is my complete, unbiased review.

This is my first J.D. Allen novel, and I am thrilled to have found it. 19 SOULS is a fast-paced thriller about a girl whose obsession has her on the brink of her own downfall.

Sophie Evers hires Jim Bean, a private investigator, to find her long loss brother, Daniel, who has stolen her mother's money to fund his drug problem. Without realizing Sophie is a phony (had to...), he agrees to help her. For many years, Sophie has been stalking Daniel, killing anyone who got between her and the relationship she wished to have with him. When Jim realizes he helped a crazed killer stalk her next victim, he is mortified and tries to make things right.

I absolutely loved the premise of this story, and Allen delivered. The characters were well-developed, the plot was engaging, and Allen even managed to add some humorous moments into this fantastic thriller. I highly recommend this read to anyone who enjoys a good suspense novel..

I have read J D Allen before and I love it when I discover a new writer that commands attention. 19 Souls is a frenzied journey and, a bizarre, twisted love story. The narrative explores obsession and the damage done to a child through neglect & abuse that travels with them through to adulthood. I thought this was a brave thriller taking on themes that were at times uncomfortable and messy but always true to its heart. Sometimes Allen's writing reminded me of James Lee Burke with the surety of the books characterisations and the depth of colour. I would definitely recommend 19 Souls as a powerful examination of people who come to believe their own justifications, however toxic.

Jim Bean is a PI hired to find a clients missing brother, but the client isn't who she says. Although there are many typos and misplaced words, this novel is otherwise well written and engaging. Jim Bean has a quirky side that helps relieve tension throughout the story. I enjoyed reading this book and will keep JD Allen on my list of must reads.

This book is not quite what I expected. I admit I was expecting a mass produced thriller that I would read, enjoy and then forget and to be honest the first chapters were a bit of a slow burn. However, once I got into it and got past the lead characters name (Jim Bean - even after the explanation it just stood out too much to be a PI's chosen name) I really thought it was a great read. I stayed up at night to read on as the plot is quick and easy to follow.

The characters are well laid out and those you are supposed to like, you like and those who are less than charming are portrayed as such or just plain phyco ! The plot fairly rips along and you are not bored at any point. In particular I like the old mother. The character of Jim grows on you, there is a hidden past that slowly unfurls and the dialogue is clear and crisp. The idea of a character being obsessed to the point of multiple personality disorder works well and the character of Sophie is well developed and really quite scary - I hope I never meet her like.

All in all I would recommend this book and I will look forward to more like it.

Note: I was offered the chance to review this book by NetGallery. The views expressed are mine alone and are not influenced by the publisher.

I’ll wager that J.D. Allen’s ’19 Souls’ will become a sleeper hit. What starts off as a simple noir-style tale involving a low-key private eye soon devolves into a dark, twisted and nail-biting thriller in which our PI just battle not only his inner demons, but also a monstrously chilling serial killer.

Alcoholic investigator Jim Beam gets a call from a prospective client, who wants him to find her “missing” brother Daniel, or so she claims.

What sets ’19 Souls’ apart is just how quickly the excuse of the missing brother is dismissed. We almost instantly find out that a woman named Sophie Evers called Beam, claiming to be sister. In fact, she called Beam after she murdered Daniel’s sister.

It turns out dear Sophie is dangerously obsessed with Daniel, and has been since they were kids. It was to avoid her that Daniel drops off the radar, but Jim Beam unwittingly leads her to him.

We find out that Sophie, who is completely disconnected from reality, has honed her skills as a killer over several years and numerous victims.

Once Jim Beam realizes his tragic error, he signs up with local law enforcement and the FBI, and with his own team of helpers, tries to bring down Sophie through an elaborate cat-and-mouse.

Jim Beam is a compelling character with a tragic past. A once recruit for the FBI, a false accusation of rape derails his career and murders his self-esteem — he is always one bottle of scotch away from self-destruction.

While his back story is never clearly explained, there are enough hints and more to whet the reader’s appetite, and the fact that there will be more books in the series is a tantalizing prospect.

But the true star of the story is the villain, Sophie Evers. The character is meticulously crafted and scary as fuck. A true psychopath, she has no conscience and kills at will to further her cause, which in this case is to abduct Daniel and break him down into falling in love with her.

And anyone who is unfortunate enough to cross her path is disposed of with a shocking lack of compunction.

Her unhinged battle with her mind to her psychotic obsession with the affable Daniel, and her elaborate and deadly schemes to get closer to the “object of her affection”, and Jim Beam’s blundering quest to stop her, make this a superbly engaging thriller.

A killer hires a Private Investigator to look for her target, cool right? Well, not if you're Cynthia, wait, I mean, Elizabeth, no I'm talking about Sophie. Yeah, Sophie hires Mr. Bean to look for Dan and this begins a trip down memory lane which at some point includes intrusion from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
I received an uncorrected proof from NetGalley and aside from the grammatical mistakes, and the formatting, this turned out to be quite an interesting read because I had no idea what Sophie had planned and why she killed. It made her both reckless and dangerous.
It's been an interesting read no doubt.

This book had one very determined stalker who went to great lengths to find her prey - Dan - a boy from her past. Sophie was beautiful and deadly a great combination for a thriller. Jim Bean as the private investigator was a pretty cut and dry character who gets tangled with Sophie. He's definitely in over his head rather quickly. A thriller that kept me turning the pages until the conclusion. You find yourself waiting for Sophie to strike and knowing it's coming. Wait for it, wait for it.

3.5/5 Stars.

Jim Bean is a private investigator that is hired by Sophie Ryan Evers to find her "brother" Danny, who is really the man she has been obsessed with since her childhood. Sophie goes to extremes to find and capture her "true love" including killing the 19 Souls.

I enjoyed the fast pace and well developed characters is this novel. The author did a great job with Sophie's fractured psyche and using her point of view to see just how damaged she was.

There were plenty of twists and turns throughout the book to keep it very interesting and was also kept simple enough to make them easy to follow. I look forward to reading more of the series!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC for a fair and honest review.

19 Souls is a unique book among the mystery/thriller genre. What sets it apart is the main killer/villain is a woman. This was interesting and I loved the author for writing this unique and spellbinding novel. I won't give out much more spoilers, except to say that it was well laid out, the plot was good, and it was fast paced. I loved it!

Fast-paced gripping thriller about a woman who will just not take no for an answer! Interesting well-written plot and interesting characters. Should be a great series to read in the future. I also liked that it was from the point of view of a private investigator rather than a police officer which was a switch from the norm. The killer is identified immediately so the story is more about her being a total psychopath and trying to stop her rather than figuring out who the killer is. Interesting! Good ending too! Definitely will read the sequel!

This was an interesting and well-paced crime story, not quite what I was expecting, but good anyhow. I enjoyed the point of view from a PI, too, not a cop, as well as having a female serial killer. I'm not sure the ending quite lived up to the rest of the book, but overall, it was a good read.

This book was soooo good!!!! I couldn't put it down! Will definitely be buying copies for the store! Way to go!!!!

This book quickly grabbed me and sucked me in. I really enjoyed the characters. I found myself easily picturing Jim and O and Annie and Ely, the lady fbi, and they were enjoyable. I'm dying of curiousity about Jim and his background, and what cases he will be handling in the future, I'd love to see more of O too. I liked how the point of view shifted to Sophia and her thoughts too.

I don't know if it was my copy, I downloaded it twice to my kindle, but at the start of the ending action, the passages and stuff got messed up, right this moment I have no idea in my head what happened, I don't know how it went down. I know what happened based on the after the fact mention, but not the details. That really sucked for me.

Other than that, I can't wait to see if there will be a #2, it's a series I could get behind I believe.

Jim Bean is a Private Investigator. A woman hires him to find her brother, Daniel ... only he isn't really her brother. Sophie Evers is a stalker and Daniel is the man she's been stalking for many years. He keeps changing his name and location in order to avoid her.

But Sophie is nothing if not persistent. Sophie is also a killer .. and she will stop at nothing to get the man she loves. She has killed many people and stolen from others to put together the perfect life for her and Daniel... even if it means keeping him in chains.

A local detective is brought in, as well as a lady FBI Agent who puts Daniel and his mother in a safe house. But just how safe is a safe house? There's also a bounty hunter involved and a friend of Bean's who is an expert on the computer.

Bean is mortified that he fell for Sophie's lies and put a decent man in mortal danger. He implants himself in the middle of the search for Sophie trying to set things right.

This is a great story premise. The characters are engaging and I love the humorous interactions between them. The suspense is riveting and the ending explosive!

Many thanks to the author / Midnight Ink / Netgalley for the advanced digital copy. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.