Unfortunately this book was not for me, it was a bit slower than I would like and it just didn't hold my attention. I am sure other people will love it!

Such a great book. Makes for a wonderful read. I can not wait to read more from this author. I love books like this.

This is a great book to read at Halloween time!
Riley Thomas would like to be known as a medium and when she was 13, she ways using a ouija board. During that experience she unwittingly released a malevolent spirit. Ever since that time Riley does not do haunted houses, scary movies or cemeteries. Of course, neither would I. Then, Riley is persuaded into going to the Jordanville Ranch.for a paranormal investigation weekend. Riley is hesitant but decides to go. Jordanville Ranch is the former home of the serial killer Orin Jacobs. While there Riley picks up on a spirit of a young boy who went missing In the 70’s. What could the young boy want with Riley and can she help figure out his disappearance? The author has done an awesome job at keeping the reader in suspense and I was hooked from the first page and felt as though I had known Riley all of my life. Her character has great knowledge of the paranormal and makes you feel as though you are in the story as you read it. I REALLY recommend this book to anyone who loves to read mystery books.

Thank you to netgalley as well as the author/publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

If you like the paranormal, ghosts etc then you will absolutely love this book. I enjoyed it very much. Very fast paced and a great mystery story.

I am not sure why it took me so long to give this book a try because I really enjoyed it!

It’s about a woman named Riley who can see ghost but she tries to ignore that fact and not put herself in situation where she can see them. She had an incident when she was a child that scared her and so she just would rather avoid things, but her best friend pretty much begs her to go with their friends to a haunted place for the weekend.

She really didn’t want to but felt guilted into it and not only is it a haunted place but it’s the house of a now dead serial killer! So of course she is like please don’t be haunted, please don’t be haunted, so of course it’s haunted! She sees a little boy and at first thought he was lost then finds out he is a ghost. The serial killer Orin Jacobs killed teenage girls, so why is their a young boy in the house. She gets visions of what happened to the boy and realizes that maybe he was the first victim before Orin killed the girls.

She meets a guy Michael while at the ranch and they really hit it off and so when something happens in the cellar that totally freaks her out and she ends up going home early and Michael takes her home. He witnessed what happened and decided he had had enough too. When she goes home though the young ghostly boy follows her! He wants her to figure out what happened so he can be at rest.

Riley starts looking into things as there was one girl who got away and contacts her to see if she would talk about it. She also had a vision about another girl who nobody knows could be connected. Even though Orin is dead there is someone out there who doesn’t want her to figure out what happened.

So I really liked Riley and all the other characters as well. I thought this book was pretty fast paced and I was never bored. I was surprised to find out it was a bit more murder mystery than spooky haunted house. That didn’t disappoint me though because I like murder mysteries. 🙂 I will say that I did think Riley was kind of dumb at times when it came to her search for the truth and can’t really say why because…spoilers! 🙂

Since this is book one I can’t wait for a new book to come out and so I hope it happens soon since this book came out last year! Hope it doesn’t end up a one hit wonder! If you like murder mysteries with some paranormal weaved in it then I would recommend this one! Also if you want to read something a little spooky but not to dark and scary it would be a perfect read for this time of the year.

An attention grabber from the very first chapter, absolutely worth picking up. My fingers are crossed that this becomes a series!

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2535813939

The Forgotten Child by Melissa Erin Jackson, I loved this book! Loved the characters, loved the story can not wait for more from this author! Great debut in my opinion and I have found a new author to put on my favorite list! Thank you Netgalley and the Publishers for allowing me to read this ARC book and give my honest opinion.

WOW WOW WOW!!! This book was phenomenal. I could not put it down. A mystery with a supernatural element that was also terrifying. Ghosts, torture , murder, seances, paranormal activity and one wild ride. The characters were terrific, I am so glad to see there will be more Riley books. I can’t wait for more. The story of these tortured souls and how Riley can sense them and help them keep me on the edge of my seat. This was super scary! Well done!

3 stars. Good. Chilling. 3 stars. Just wasn’t for me. However, the authors writing is amazing. I loved the beginning of the book but the subject matter just wasn’t for me.

In the prologue, we meet Orin Jacobs. When he was a child, his mom thought he'd be an inventor someday because he liked to take things apart and see how they worked. Unfortunately, he also began to take apart living things. His mom was not too keen on her son's hobby the day she found him with his sister tied to a tree and he told mom: "I wasn't going to hurt her!...I just wanted to see what's inside!" And that is how we start this creepy little tale. Nothing says "future serial killer" like cutting up animals. Orin did have the decency to wait until his mom's death to upgrade to humans, so he does get points for that!

The story begins with two friends, Jade and Riley debating the wisdom of spending a weekend at Orin's former house, Jordanville Ranch. Orin, now long gone (...or is he?!), had used the ranch as the site of his experiments on his "patients." He'd take one girl for a year and operate on her. He wanted to test the human body and see how damage outside affected the inside, among other nasty little things. Orin's former house had been made popular by a reality tv show on the paranormal, and was open for visitors that wanted a weekend of ghost hunting. Riley is extremely apprehensive. Unbeknownst to Jade, Riley is a sensitive. She has been suppressing it since she was a child and saw the deceased sister of her childhood best friend, and doesn't want to put herself into a bad situation. But after Jade lays on the guilt, Riley agrees to go with her and 3 other friends.

Riley immediately feels things are wrong in the house, but tries her hardest to ignore it. After all, there is a super cute skeptic in one of the other groups that is definitely interested in knowing her better. But a few inadvertent object readings and bad dreams have her spooked. Things really get weird when she finds a boy in the lobby, only to discover later that he isn't staying at the house...or the nearby dude ranch...and he's been missing since 1973. Then the tour begins and Riley goes into the basement, the scene of Orin's experiments and all hell breaks loose. Riley leaves the house immediately with friend Pamela and cutie Michael, both of whom were in the basement with her. As they leave, she's sees the missing boy, Peter, in an upstairs window and feels guilty, but can't stay. But Peter follows her home, and things start getting weirder. Riley decides if she can find his body, she can put him to rest. But more went on in Jordanville Ranch than anyone knows. Well, almost anyone.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were likable and the ghost story was interesting. I couldn't done without some of the romance stuff, but it didn't hamper the story. All in all, this was lots of fun. I'm looking forward to the next one!

This is a strong debut for the author. Started off a little bit shaky with the main character bordering unlikable but the author quickly turned it around. I look forward to reading more from this new talent.

I was utterly swept away in this story. It was not as I was expecting. As I was at about the 33% mark, I was like how is this not wrapping up? All of a sudden it built, and built. Never letting me catch my breath. I was thoroughly entertained. I want more of this character set. More books. I actually read nothing up on the author before reading this and was shocked to see this was the first novel. The talent level of the author was astonishing for a freshman writer. I look forward to more from her. It was the perfect book to read during the Halloween time of year. I couldn't stop reading it. One of my top 5 novels of the year and possibly ever. I don't often give a full 5 stars, but this book earned it.

During a frightening incident as a young teen, Riley Thomas discovered that she has powers as a medium. Since then, she has been shying away from any situation in which she would, once again, be exposed to spirits. Unfortunately, her enthusiastic friend, who loves ghost stories, has insisted that she and several other friends, visit the Jordanville Ranch, the site where Orin Jacobs murdered many young women. Riley really dreads going, but she feels compelled to. Once she is at the feared ranch, she is confronted by a small boy, whom she does not realize, at first, is a spirit. Riley must help him, no matter the cost to her sanity.

This book is perfect for those who love a ghost story. The plot has a authentic, down-to-earth feel to it, and the characters help to carry the story effectively. Riley, our medium, becomes a real person with real fears and real faults. She does not want this frightening gift that she finds that she has. However, her compassionate heart tells her she must use the gift to help those in distress. I enjoyed this Halloween ride!

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

There is no way this is Melissa's debut novel, holy crap!

I was sucked in instantly. This story has it all, psycho serial killers, ghosts, mediums, ghost hunters, stalking, victims. WOW. I don't even know what to say without giving away the story. This is a must read, perfect time of year for a spooky story! I really hope there is more. I would love to see what comes of Riley and her gift.

Content warnings include murder, sexual assault, stalking and kidnapping.

I loved the beginning of this book. It has banter between friends, TV series binge watching and an upcoming road trip to a haunted ranch that used to be the home of a serial killer. The main character is a true crime enthusiast who’s also more in tune with the spirit world than she’d like to be. Ever since the “Great Ouija Board Fiasco” in her childhood Riley has tried to squish, deny and otherwise ignore her ability to see dead people.

I was all in during the lead up to the weekend at the ranch and I loved the ooky spookiness of her time there. I loved Pete, the ghost boy she meets over hot chocolate; Pete became my favourite character. I even enjoyed the banter between Riley and Michael, a sceptic who was dragged along to the ranch because he lost a bet.

Michael, or Mr Perfect as I came to think of him, was a nice addition to the story during his initial banter with Riley but I ended up finding him nauseatingly perfect and hoped he’d turn out to be a serial killer in disguise. I was creeped out that Mr Perfect called Riley “my girl” and she goes all swoony about it when the serial killer also called his victims his girls. I also wondered how it was possible that Michael didn’t know what a séance was when he kept talking about his cousin who works as a medium.

Once the story left the ranch my excitement began to fade as this serial killer ghost story morphed into more of a romance (yes, I’m a romantiphobe), one that seemed to be a way for the characters to pass the time while they were waiting for people to respond to their murder investigation phone calls and emails. Naturally there’s the obligatory sex scene along with the follow up description of the next night - “They were two insatiable beasts”. Ugh! Trashy romance novel jargon is also borrowed, mentioning the serial killer’s “manhood”. Ugh! Eye roll!

I enjoyed the chapters that helped tell the story of the serial killer; the way he thought, what he was trying to accomplish and the history of some of his victims. I thought I would really like Mindy, the girl who lived, but was disappointed that she was mostly typecast as ‘helpless victim’. Fair enough, considering what she’d experienced but I wanted more for her. It also didn’t seem plausible that this woman who’d been in hiding since her escape would be so easy to find or that she’d respond to Riley in the way that she does.

I liked Riley’s character and really enjoyed the scenes when she was fangirling about her favourite TV series with another character as I could relate to that (maybe a little too well). I mostly enjoyed it when Riley chatted with her best friend Jade but Jade’s habit of spouting sexual euphemisms, while intended to be funny, had me practicing my eye rolling. The best (worst?) one was “cattle-prodding your oyster ditch with his lap rocket”. Seriously?

I did find Riley’s transition from denying her ability to embracing it a tad rushed but considering her experience at the ranch it was fairly understandable. I also found the wrap up of the story predictable right down to the [SPOILER - police arriving fashionably late - SPOILER]. I was really irritated by some of Riley’s actions including [SPOILER - baiting the suspected murderer, leaving a key under her door mat for Mr Perfect when she was being stalked and mindlessly contaminating a crime scene even though she was obsessed with true crime and should have known better - SPOILER]. Then again, it would take some of the fun out of reading a horror/mystery/paranormal book if the main characters didn’t do stupid things that you want to yell at them through the pages about.

I’m interested in reading the next book in the series because there was a lot to like about this book. I enjoyed the engaging style of writing and became hooked almost immediately. I was captivated until Riley left the ranch and turned into a swooner (is that a word?) who worries if her new boyfriend will yell at her for doing something stupid. It probably seems like I wouldn’t want to read on after essentially pulling this book apart but after such a strong beginning I have faith in this author’s ability to become one of my favourites. It feels like there’s potential for the characters to grow and given Riley’s still learning about her abilities I’m curious to see how the series progresses.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Ringtail Press for the opportunity to read this book. I’d give this 3.5 stars but am rounding up.

The atmosphere of this book is eerie and the main thing that draws you in. Riley adds humor and fun to the book. She's a great new character that I look forward to seeing more of. The mystery is intense and full of surprises.

The Forgotten Child by author Melissa Erin Jackson is a creepy, intense read! Perfect for October, the book is thick with plot and character!
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of The Forgotten Child in exchange for an honest review.

The Forgotten Child by Melissa Erin Jackson is a great debut novel. I found it hard to go to sleep after reading it. It contains some truly disturbing scenes so it’s not for the faint-hearted.

The book is a ghost story with some murder investigation thrown in. The plot was well thought out, enjoyable. The point wasn’t who did the murdering but how to prove it. I really liked the story, it kept me interested.

As for the characters, we have Riley. She is a psyhcic, sorry medium. She is afraid of this ability at first - we get to know why - but as the story goes on she realizes that it is a useful one. That she needs to explore every angle. I liked her very much. And Michael. He is a funny, sweet guy. And my personal favourite Jade. I hope she’ll be in future books.

Last but not least, I’d like to thank NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book.

<b>3.5 stars</b>

First I think is important to mention that this book contains <b>rape</b> and also <b>sex</b> <i>(not very graphic scenes but they were there)</i>, so if you aren't comfortable with these topics I wouldn't recommend you to read it.

Otherwise, this book was quite entertaining and fascinating! I do have to admit I wanted to read horror and although this book has ghosts, it wasn't exactly scary, which was a little bit disappointing. The main reason for me being the romance, before it I felt creeped out by some of the scenes but after it I couldn't connect with the horror side of things :/

Talking about the romance, I loved both of the characters involved individually because they were sweet and charming but together I couldn't see their chemistry. It was a little bit of insta-love and I think they would have been better of as friends but, at the same time, it was kind of nice to see them protect each other.

Now, the main character, Riley, made a 180 degree change that came out of nowhere. At first she was a shy girl, struggling to do small talk but then when the love interest shows up she masters talking to a stranger and seems very approchable, after this she continues being this way thoughout the book. Although, she was really relatable during the story, it was a bit strange to see that change in her personality.

One of the things I loved was that we get to see how a lot of different stories come together thanks to Riley, there were a couple of characters that represented each story but at the same time there weren't so many people that you would start to get confused. My favorite one was Walter <spoiler>Reene's father</spoiler> I almost cried with the chapter that contains his life, so sweet and sad.

Another thing was Riley's relationship with her best friend, Jade. How I loved those two, they were really supportive to each other and it felt so deeply the love they had for one another. I do wish we would have been able to see them together more often but I still was reading their scenes with hearts in my eyes.

The ending was more than I was expecting it to be! I liked how I couldn't even see it coming, I'm pretty good at discovering endings before they happen <i>(that's why I don't read many thrillers)</i> but I couldn't do it with this one. I had some ideas but at the end none of them were true and I <b>love</b> when that happens :P

The Forgotten Child by Melissa Erin Jackson
A Riley Thomas Mystery #1

Excellent debut novel that was a joy to read! This book was a delight from beginning to end with just enough creepiness and horror without being over the top. With a reluctant medium hiding from her talent and ghosts that want to and do contact her she begins to realize that she might have a gift that will help rather than harm. With one small boy ghost to find peace for, a malevolent serial killer ghost on the prowl, good friends to support her, a creepy stalker, a victim of the serial killer – one that got away and a romance that was normal and healthy and fun to watch develop…well…I have to say this is an author and series I am really looking forward to reading more of!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ringtail Press for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars