A forthcoming high school reunion is the set up for this aggravating mystery by a popular writer; Rachel, whose memories of her teenage years are marred by a tragic accident that all her classmates remember vividly - the night she killed her half-brother - should have begged of the organizing committee. Even when a series of spooky events, including murder, occurred, this reader wanted to tell Rachel to just stay home and read a good book instead of going to the reunion and falling into the trap that someone from her past has set for her. Cue the ominous music and keep reading - I did, and,wasn't sorry.

There are noises in the house, or are there? There are footsteps on the stairs, or are there? There are doors left cracked opened or were they ever closed? There are feelings of someone watching you when no-one is around. There are chills running up your neck. Why? Are you really alone or is someone else around you who shouldn't be there. Real vs the unreal. PARANOID??

The book centers around divorced mother of two Rachel Ryder, her two teenaged children and her ex-husband Cade Ryder with a slew of other characters that they went to high school with twenty years prior. Rachel was accused of shooting her half brother when she was still in high school and she and the small town have never forgotten that fateful night. The class reunion is being planned on the anniversary of brother Luke's death and now new murders are happening to people who were friends of Rachel and Luke which begins a state of Paranoia for everyone who were friends of the siblings on that fateful night.

This was a very creepy and suspenseful story full of mystery, drama and a little romance. I enjoyed the fast pace and there was excitement in every chapter. The characters were well-defined although there seemed to be untold stories behind all of them that left many holes in the storyline, yet this did not take away from the mystery and suspense. This book was very entertaining and enjoyable to read, although I felt as if this was a sequel book because I had many questions that weren't answered right from the beginning of the story and and I found that somewhat annoying. Overall a very likable and interesting book that I would definitely recommend to other readers and I would purchase more of Lisa Jackson's books.

I want to thank the publisher Kensington Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!

I have given this story 3 1/2 Paranoid 🌟🌟🌟✴stars!!

*5 Stars*

ARC kindly received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this read. I had an interesting storyline and characters.
Some people have a lot of violence within themselves. Reports and media can be very annoying. I was glad with the way some things turned out, and I was also surprised by the ending.

Although I guessed the first twist I did not see the second twist coming. I enjoyed reading this book however by the end I lost interest. I would still recommend this book though as it kept me entertained.

Twisted! This is a story filled with many plot twists that will keep you glued to the pages. A small town of horrors where nothing is as it appears. Everyone has secrets that are tied to each other, even the children. It is a chilling read that ha the potential to give you nightmares.

Twenty years ago Rachel Gaston played a foolish teenaged game that turned deadly. She has no idea how 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. She had no idea it was her half-brother Luke.

Even though she has been to counseling Rachel still has nightmares and anxiety attacks that lead to a divorce from Detective Cade Ryder. But as her high school reunion nears unusual things start happening. She has the feeling that someone is following her and watching her home.

When a new string of murders surface the truth from the past is revealed in shocking fashion.

Violet was having another glass of wine since her husband Leonard was out of town. Her three furbabies- dogs- were with her. She was talking to Honey- one of her dogs. Leonard was the reason she moved past the trauma of the night of Luke Hollander’s death twenty years ago.She’d been there and seen Luke die. She should have never went to the cannery. Violet and Leonard had been married fifteen years. They had left Edgewood but their dreams didn’t pan out and they returned and Leonard went to work in his father's furniture store. Lila wanted her to join the reunion committee and she refused she wasn’t going to the reunion. Mercedes Pope- who was a reporter- wanted to interview her about Luke’s death for some kind of retro piece in the paper. No way. Violet wondered how her life had become such a mess. Than Violets three dogs started barking, she grabbed her gun and started to the door, she got the door slammed in her face and her nose was broken. She tried to get away from her attacker. She was being forced backwards something was put over her eyes she couldn’t pull off. Than she was shot down to the foyer and died. Rachael awoke from the nightmare that destroyed her sleep two to three times a week the same nightmare. At least she hadn't woken her kids Harper-seventeen - or Dylan-fifteen or their dog Reno. It was on this very date twenty years ago she had lied to her parents saying she was staying at Lila’s than instead sneaked off to the old cannery. She hadn’t wanted to go but Lila said she had to talk to Luke- Rachel’s half brother- and didn’t want to go alone. So Rachael went. Biggest mistake of her life for she had killed Luke. Or had she? Tonight was the last meeting of the reunion committee meeting even with it being this tragic date. Lila had said it was the only day that fit. Rachael knew Lila had never gotten over Luke as she had given birth to his son Lucas just before Christmas after Luke had been murdered. Lila had moved on and married Cade’s father. Cade had been Rachael’s husband but he had cheated on her with his partner Kayleigh and she had divorced him. That was the biggest mistake of Cade’s life as he still reached for Rachael when he awoke - he still loved her. Rachael had seen as shrink since Cade walked out. Or she pushed him out. She thought about how her kids were becoming strangers as most teenagers do. Rachael jogged to the cannery every morning- her personally imposed penance for taking her brother’s life. Cade was a cop and had went to Rachels- used to be his home also- to personally tell her about Violet’s muder. But she wasn’t there but he sensed something was off and saw the gate was open -had someone been in the house? Cade had cheated on Rachael with Kayleigh but he ke still loved Rachael and they both knew it had been a mistake even if they hadn’t actually slept together. Kayleigh had been Cade’s partner and she had fallen in love with Cade but he transferred to Edgewood police department. Annessa had went to school with Rachael and is found hanging in the chapel by the old school by Harper and Xander whens she had snuck out to be with him at his apartment and they heard a woman cry for help. Harper called 911 but Annessa had died before they got there. HSe had also had blue tape over her eyes . Rachel had also got an unexplained text saying “ I forgive you”. Cade thought of the fact that Annessa had also testified in Rachael behalf after he had went to the crime scene and picked up his daughter. He had gotten a call to go to the old school and his daughter and her friend had found the woman.Anessa had been murdered within the week of Violet’s murder.
This was a great psychological thriller and I loved it. I loved the plot and pace. My heart went out to Cade and Rachael, a few stolen kisses and a little playing around and the marriage was over. Cade still loved Rachael and found out too late how much. Rachael for all she went through and it was not what it appeared. I did n’t want to put his down and i was on vacation so wasn’t easy to read as much as normal. I loved the ending there was hope there. I also changed my mind a time or two on who was the murderer before finally realizing the truth. Also who the person talking to the therapist. What a book. I loved the characters and all the twists and turns and I highly recommend it.

Lisa Jackson's Paranoid is an exciting, well woven suspense thriller. The heroine has a 20 year old connection to death, and it has overshadowed her life. It seems to have contributed to the collapse of her marriage. She definitely has baggage, as well as 2 teenagers! Present day occurrences have her paranoia (justifiable) on high alert. Her ex-husband is back on the scene, and the action non-stop. I cant say I "liked" the heroine, but I credit Ms Jackson's writing skills in that I found myself caring about the outcome of the story.
The story itself is tightly woven, the who, how, and why aren't telegraphed, and the story twists and turns frequently.
There are some unresolved pieces that made me wish for an epilogue.
I received my copy through NetGalley under no obligation.

Omg people PARANOID is one of those books that you open and won’t close until it’s finished, and even then, you won’t want it to be over. Paranoid is a FIVE PLUS star book. I’m not even kidding when I say, this book will grab you from page one and hold you until you are finished. I LOVED this story.
Paranoid starts out with a bunch of kids, 20 years earlier, are going into a old fish processing house. They were all meeting there and playing guns with fake, not real, guns. Basically laser tag only 20 years earlier with pop guns. Anyways the unthinkable happens, someone has a REAL gun and shoots and kills her own brother....then 20 years has past and people in the town don’t feel she was properly charged with the crime, but who, and seriously, why? The friends that were all at the fish house start dying....being killed by someone, but who?
Again, super awesome book. Read it!!! Happy reading. :))

Is it paranoia if there really is someone after you? This latest book by Lisa Jackson kept me guessing as to who the real culprit or culprit was in a series of murders. The first murder took place twenty years before the book starts and supposedly that murder was solved. Everyone thought that Rachel had killed her half-brother but did she? When other classmates start dying, clues suggest that just maybe there was more to the story. All in all a great read that will keep you guessing and making sure those doors are locked!

Good read. I enjoyed the mystery and all the twists and turns. Who did it in the end was a surprise. Rachael the main character was a pain in the butt. However, she knew it and was trying to change. Lots of small town drama, and people you love to hate.

Rachel has PTSD after a teenage game of tag turns deadly for her half-brother, Luke. Twenty years and a divorce later, she feels people are following her and that objects are being moved in her house by intruders. Is it real or is she just being Paranoid?

Luke’s death was ruled an accident but many in the town, including Rachel, believe Rachel pulled the trigger. Was she found not at fault because of manipulation of the evidence by her detective father? Who is terrorizing her now and why?

Rachel is annoying so I’m glad she isn’t my mother or sister. However, I loved the multiple twists at the end of this unpredictable read. Paranoid is an excellent thriller with a multitude of both suspects and crimes. It is highly recommended for all thriller readers but especially for those who try to solve the crime before the final resolution. 4 stars!

Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Paranoid by Lisa Jackson that I read and reviewed.
This book started out a bit slow and then it picked up and by the end it had my jaw dropping. I did not see the end coming at all and in true Lisa Jackson she left the reader wanting more.
The charters had everything you could ask for romance, who loves who romance questions, teenage problems and even a few furry friends thrown into the mix oh and who can forget the murders and mystery? This book will definitely be a must read for Lisa Jackson fans and any romantic suspense this summer.
Paranoid gets five out of five stars.

Paranoid
by Lisa Jackson

Hardcover, first, 480 pages
Expected publication: June 25th 2019 by Kensington





Goodreads synopsis:
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 …


***

5 Stars

This book was called Paranoid but I think a better title would have been: THEY SHOULD ALL HAVE BEEN MORE PARANOID.

The entire concept of this book was amazing. Rachel Gaston believed her whole life that she killed her half brother, Luke at the old fish cannery. It was supposed to be a game. A stupid game. The guns weren’t supposed to be real but someone still ended up dead.

I don’t want to get too much into this complex plot because the search through all the clues and motives is what makes this book so thrilling. Just when you think you know whodunit, you realize there is more to the story. That revelation came two different times for me. Jackson really took me on such a roller-coaster ride. I couldn’t put this book down. I was completely invested in figuring out what had happened not only now but back in the past too.

Geez, woman. You sure know how to write a thriller. Lisa Jackson’s sister (Nancy Bush, Bad Things) is also writing a book that comes out June 25 and they both decided to write scenes where a character is talking to a psychologist. The last reveal is who the patient really is. Wow, mind blowing. I mean, really mind-blowing.

My highest recommendation.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. No one can lead you through suspense like Lisa Jackson but hold onto your seats for this one may be a bumpy ride. Fantastic plot with moments where you'll wonder if you are imagining things or if it's actually happening. This is a great read for lovers of suspense, thrillers, and those who like to get their pants scared off. Enjoy! 📚

There are twists and turns and so much happening in this book. All the characters are entwined so closely together. It’s one of the most thrilling reads I’ve read in a long time! I received an advance review copy from NetGalley for an honest review.

I'd just about given up on psychological thrillers, the ones I've read lately being predictable, yet this one sounded like it could be intriguing, so I gave it a go. Boy am I glad I did.

We have divorced mum Rachel, caring for her two teenage children, whilst trying to keep her ex-husband at arms length. Rachel loves her children, but tends to cloister them, for Rachel is scared that something might happen to them. Rachel is actually scared of EVERYTHING, for in her past, in a teenage game gone wrong, she shot and killed her own brother. Or did she?

Now Rachel is getting mysterious texts seemingly from beyond the grave. And she thinks someone is stalking her house. Then, on the twentieth anniversary of her brothers death, one of the witnesses to his death is murdered. Is there a connection? If so why wait so long to get rid of the witness? As Rachel desperately tries to find out, her increasing paranoia has her jumping out of her skin at every little bump in the night. Or day. At any time really. And the truth? Oh wow!

I found Paranoid to be an ingeniously twisty and turny thriller. While I really didn't like our main character Rachel, I don't think I was meant to. Sometimes I just wanted to slap her and tell her to loosen up! I'm sure her kids did too. While the middle stages of the book tended to get a bit bogged down and long -winded, when the action started up again, boy, I had to hang on tight. And the killer? Not even on my radar.

Then when it was all over, yet another twist was revealed...

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

20 years ago a carefree, teenage game in an abandoned cannery warehouse turns deadly. The group of teenagers were supposed to be shooting pellet guns, no one was supposed to get hurt. So how did Luke end up dead?

His half-sister, Rachel, was initially blamed for the shooting but with no gun shot residue evident on her hands the case never made it far. Although she was never found guilty, Rachel has lived with the guilt of Luke's death for the last 20 years. With no one held accountable, that night remains filled with unanswered questions. How did Luke end up shot by a real gun? Who killed him and why?

On the 20th anniversary of Luke's death things begin to take an eerie turn for everyone who was in the warehouse on the night of his death. Witnesses are suddenly found dead, killed in a brutal manner. Rachel's house is vandalized, she receives eerie texts from an unknown number and can't help but feel as if she's being watched all the time. Is she being paranoid or is someone out to even the score for Luke's death all those years ago?

Paranoid is a tale of secrets, lies, paranoia, guilt and ultimately revenge. I was fully engaged with the story from the beginning. I was feeling a bit disappointed that I had figured out the current timeline's culprit very early on when Jackson completely threw me with the past timeline's whodunnit! I definitely hadn't figured out the who and why surrounding Luke's death and was pleasantly surprised by that twist! It took my rating from 3 to 4 stars!

20 years ago some kids were playing paintball in an abandoned building with huge holes in the floor and not lights. So they were pretty stupid. Then Luke was shot for real and his sister (or half sister as keeps getting pointed out for some strange reason) is arrested for the death. Somehow, the didn't know that she had a real gun. and then the gun was gone and she was cleared. The description makes it sound as if she is ostracized for the murder and getting away with it, but there is very little proof of that. She seems to be involved in the community and living just fine.

I started out wanting to know who had killed Luke. Then I realize that I was pretty sure I knew and that I really didn't care. Every character was a stereotype. Most annoying were her kids. Could there be any more annoying and self-centered than these two? Maybe I got really lucky and had the two best teenagers in the world, but I do not know how these kids could think they could get away with talking to their mother this way or why they would even want to do so. Every character had conversations with themselves with half of it being out loud as if they were unaware that they were NOT two people.

So we have a town of egocentric, delusional people and someone starts killing them off. I kind of was hoping certain characters would be next by about halfway through. So much filler. I kept hoping there was a reason I was reading some of this stuff. That it would add to the story at some point or be important for character development. It really wasn't.

The story revolves partly around a reunion being planned. Of course they have a meeting the night of the anniversary of the death. And of course the reunion is being planned by his sister (excuse me, half-sister, something I've literally never called any of my half-sisters, but) his girlfriend (who is now his half-sister's ex mother-in-law), and his best friend (who was his age and would not have been part of the same class as the other two (who weren't the ones who were seniors that year so why are they in charge? Whose reunion is this?) Yeah, that's as messed up and confusing as it sounds. Time to start skimming?

This book is kind of a ridiculous mess of characters that are over-explained yet still shallowly written. Who killed Luke? You may want to read just to finish and find out. For that, it gets a few stars.

Paranoid by Lisa Jackson kept me at the edge of my seat from beginning to end. We visit a small town where some of its Rachel Ryder and her high school friends are about to celebrate their 20th high school reunion. It also coincides with the anniversary of the death of Rachel's brother, Luke. After twenty years Rachel is still trying to overcome her guilt and fear of how Luke died.
It was a hard to put down thriller. I actually read it in one day! All characters where flawed, which made the story more interesting.