Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer
Release Date: Available Now
238 Pages
Synopsis: On Halloween night five years ago, Chelsea Dutton’s college roommates were viciously stabbed to death, and Chelsea was critically injured. She was found hiding in her apartment’s bathtub, barely clinging to life.
With only fragments of shattered memory, she’s been trying her best to move past the nightmares ever since. Now in Boston, she lives a somewhat reclusive life, working from home as a medical transcriptionist and binging on mindless television shows.
She can’t shake the fear that her attacker is out there, waiting to finish what he started, and Elizabeth, a nurse she met after the murders, is the only person she can trust.
When someone from her past re-emerges, Chelsea starts receiving disturbing messages and worries that her every move is being watched. As the messages mount and her memories begin to return, she’s led to a terrifying and lonely place. But she needn’t be afraid. She won’t be there very long.
Jennifer Jaynes has established a well-respected reputation for writing creepy and chilling tales, and Disturbed is no different. It’s chock full of suspense and it kept me mesmerized right up until the very last page.
Chelsea is a complicated and unreliable character. Suffering from amnesia due to the traumatic events of that Halloween night five years ago, she’s moved to Boston and has carved out a fairly nice life for herself working from home as a medical transcriptionist. But she’s still haunted by her lost memories and occasional nightmarish flashbacks. Thankfully, she has her supportive best friend, Elizabeth, to lean on. After a chance meeting with someone from her past, makes it obvious that the murderer is not done with Chelsea, her life quickly begins to spiral out of control.
While Chelsea doesn’t always make the best decisions, I was sympathetic toward her right up until the end. Her fears that the killer isn’t finished with her are palpable and I was completely invested in her even during the couple of occasions I wanted to take her by the shoulders and shake her.
There’s a huge twist near the end, but I had already grown suspicious toward the character it involved about halfway through the story. That said, I wasn’t entirely sure, so when the revelation came it was still a bit of an “aha!” moment. The story concludes with an open ending and to be honest a couple of days after finishing, I’m still not sure if I loved it or hated it.
Disturbed certainly lives up to its title and fans of Jennifer Jaynes will not be disappointed by this latest book. If you’re new to her writing and love chilling psychological thrillers, filled with unreliable characters, then I highly recommend this. It’s a twisted tale that can easily be read in 1-2 sittings, and it’s one that will leave you at the edge of your seat!
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