White Sheets

by H.D. Gordon

Joe Knowe sees things before they happen. Bad things. Just a couple months ago it was a psychopath planning a massacre at the college she attended. Now, she's facing a whole different kind of madman, and one potentially far more dangerous.

To keep the pending disaster from happening, this time Joe will have to get up close and personal, making herself at home in the lion's den, and attempting not to be swallowed whole.

Will she be able to keep herself and those around her from drinking the Kool-Aid? Or will they all end up under white sheets? In this second installment of the thrilling JOE series, H. D. Gordon takes you into the heart of a cult, the mind of its leader, and the lives of his followers.

Genres: Young Adult

390 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 24, 2014

About the author

H. D. Gordon is the author of several fantasy series with strong female leads. 

She is the mother of two amazing daughters, and a lover of nature.
She believes our actions have ripple effects, and in the interconnectedness of all things.


H. D. spends her time with family, eating desserts, and taking strolls through the forests of New Jersey.


Please visit hdgordonbooks.com for more details.

Reviews

[Laura Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

You jump right back into the story of Joe where it left off in the first book.

I can’t really tell you about it as it will spoil things for ya.

What I will talk about is the writing. Once again, I can’t begin to pull out of my head the words to express how the author mesmerized me. It’s like she cast a spell and I was taken into Joe’s head. I read her thoughts, felt them, and visualized them so clearly. And it was gut wrenching.

This time Joe is up against a diabolical lunatic. A cult leader crazed beyond control with so many innocents under his fanatical influence.

When Joe’s ability shows her what’s going to occur, she once more peers into the abyss, enters the darkness, and hopes to reemerge, mission accomplished.

It sounds easy, but Joe will need to protect herself in more ways than one. The dangers aren’t all plain to see.

This is told from many different points of view, like the first book, and works every bit as good in this one. You’ll begin to understand how the cult followers accept the madman’s teachings and blindly follow. You’ll see inside the fanatic’s mind and be appalled by his deranged thinking and rants.

And you’ll get to know Joe even better. With some of the innocents being young children, Joe’s maternal instincts come forth. This was especially moving, as Joe hasn’t had an easy life. And that’s why I was thrilled to see the two men in her life were back in this book. It’s not a love triangle. Fra from it.

The young man would like to be more than friends, but knows not to push it and the other is an older gentlemen, Joe’s neighbor, and he is a huge support when she feels so alone.

I classify this as a white knuckle read. I don’t think I relaxed from the first page to the end. I wasn’t assured of a happy ending. Joe says she’s no hero, and you never know what can happen.

Thrilling and suspenseful. Drink the kool-aid. You’ll love it.

I received this book for my honest and unbiased review.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

**Note I received an ARC of this book!**

I started reading Joe 2, White Sheets immediately after finishing Joe last night. I feel incredibly privileged to get an ARC for this book. Since I loved Joe so much I was really looking forward to this one. At first I was a bit taken aback by how different the voice was. Joe is much stronger and determined and just not the scared little girl she was in the first one. I never felt like I just wanted to scoop her up and make everything better in this one. I knew killing the shooter in the first book would change her, but I wasn't expecting to see such a distinct difference. I quickly forgot about all that as the story progressed. Man this book was intense. I feel as though I was holding my breath the entire time waiting to see what happened. My heart was pounding, especially during the Joe chapters, just so worried for her and everyone she cares about. I was really on the edge of my seat. It has been a while since I have read something that made me so tense in such a very good way. I couldn't put it down. Man I am definitely going to need a lighter read after this. It was amazing. Even better than the first one. And I loved the first book. Anyways.

The story starts where Joe ended, with Joe in her aunt's cabin. She has her next vision and it is a bad one. She doesn't hesitate as much or try to push it away as much as she did in the first book. She knows what she needs to do and sets out to start doing it. She tries to keep everything to herself like she always has, but this time Mr. Landry won't let her, at least at first. It is great that she has him and that he is special like her or she could get herself into even worse situations. Really I liked how she is starting to run across more and more special people like her. She still has her too much concern for everyone else and wanting to take on every burden only by herself thing going on in this book. She doesn't want to involve anyone else because then they might get hurt. It doesn't really matter if she does since she has to do this, but she doesn't want anyone else involved. Thankfully she has great people surrounding her and they won't let her bear her burden by herself. Though her lack of including others is slightly detrimental in the end. I hope she learns from this and accepts the help of those that care about her. There are ways to still do what you need to, but still let others have your back.

Part of the reason why the Joe chapters were so intense was the heavy foreshadowing in them. There was a lot of things like maybe if I would have known at the time then whatever. Or I didn't realize it at the time but the next sentence would seal our fates and so on. It was really intense! I was so worried for Joe the whole time. There was so much everything is going to end horribly written in her chapter I was just like no! I want everything to work out for you! It was great.

This book is written in a similar way as the first. You get chapters from different characters points of view, though a lot more of them are Joe chapters. It was more connected in this one since most everyone is part of a the big group, or part of trying to stop the killer. I will say I wish there were more chapters form Michael's point of view. I kept waiting and waiting for his chapter and almost had to wait for half the book before I got one. I just love him! Not that it needed his POV, I just like him. Then when Joe tries to go off on her own, because she wants to try and make sure Michael and Mr. Landry don't get hurt, man I was wishing I had some Michael chapters. It was so stressful not knowing what they were doing while Joe was in the killers group. It really made it better not knowing when he might show up again or what he was doing. It made me even more on the edge of my seat, but at the same time as I have said I love Michael. I just wanted to know what was happening with him. Really the way it was written was great, and if you would have known what they were doing I think it would have ruined it a little bit.

This book, like the first, doesn't really have a romance aspect which I actually do like. Joe and Michael are dating, Michael calls himself her boyfriend and such, you see them together and getting closer, but it is not really a romance at all. It is about Joe's vision and trying to stop it from happening. It seems like every book I read has romantic aspects, so it is refreshing to read one where there really isn't any (even though I definitely would read just a Joe/Michael romance novel without any visions or anything. I love both of them so much). You don't see them making out, or even kissing much or anything. It is really not a focus which is refreshing. It really is just about Joe and her powers. Oh and her powers do start to evolve and she gets some new disturbing things that start happening. I am very interested in seeing where they go from here.

So I know I am not really talking about what this book is about, the plot besides Joe trying to stop another killer. Well I went into it not knowing anything about it, didn't read the synopsis or anything, and that was great. The synopsis really doesn't reveal that much either so I don't really want to give anything away. I will say Kyle and Kayla, Joe's only two friends when the first book started, are in this one. I thought the very very end with Kayla was hilarious. I was just like right on! Really this book was amazing. I cannot seem to write enough good things about it. The intense showdown at the end is similar in feeling to the first book. It goes from person to person mid sentence which I like a lot. It just works. I usually don't give very many 5 star ratings, last year I only had 5 out of all the books I read, but this year I have read some really amazing books. This is one of them. On the 26th go get this book. It is amazing. If you have read Joe and enjoyed it, this one is even better. If you haven't read Joe yet go get that and then get this one. Seriously it is incredible.

Also posted to Jen in Bookland

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

5*s
Just awesome
review posted here...
http://bookpassionforlife.blogspot.co...
White Sheets is the second book in the Joe series by H.D Gordon and it did not disappoint, in fact it was awesome!
So, Joe Knowe is special, she sees things before they happen, she draws them, has flashes warning her of death but it’s brought her nothing but trouble, last time we met Joe there was a college campus shooting that could have been way worse had Joe not intervened and this time we find her having another BAD premonition, the kind that she cannot ignore, the kind that would be devastating with countless victims, young and old…. And it’s up to Joe to avert this in the only way she knows how…. She’s about to go undercover in a religious cult to make sure those white sheets are not needed.
I loved this book, it is equally as enthralling as the first in the series and really unputdownable.
I find it easy to connect to Joe’s character, she has an innocence about her in spite of all of the atrocities she has seen. I like that she retains her gentle nature when she could easily become hardened and I thought this book showed a maternal side to her but also brings her bravery to the forefront. It always amazes me how people thrive in the worst of situations and Joe definitely does that, she is quite a sorrowful character, life has been hard on Joe and rejection has been a major factor for her which is why so few people know of her gift. She’s about to let someone else in this time around and I was so pleased about that, it was nice to see Michael hang around after the events of book one and that his feelings are continuing to grow, this is just what Joe needs to continue to blossom and I like that he gives her a little peace.
The storyline was just as awesome, this time around we have a religious cult and we all know how those end up – Kool-aid anyone?- as with book one, we know from the prologue what is going to happen, it’s the premonition that Joe receives and then the book is a battle against time to stop the tragic events unfolding. Again, the book is told from multiple POVs which gives you a very balanced view of what is going on in all areas and I find that I really like that about these books, not only do we get Joe trying to prevent the event, we get the thoughts of the ‘father’ and his ramblings & paranoia, we get Joe’s friends – Michael & Mr Landry – who need Joe to understand she isn’t in it alone, then we get a few members of the ‘family’ where we get into the mind set of how they become so subservient to this man, how they excuse behaviour and what doesn’t feel right and we even get the POV of a news reporter that has started to do some digging…. All very interesting and weaving together perfectly. The intensity of the story is high, the anxiety, the panic…..you feel the time ticking, you wonder if today will be the day, you feel & witness the events unfolding from all angles and are right with all of the characters as we see the drama spiralling down to doomsday, routing for Joe to put a stop to it…. But will she??
This is just another wonderful story from H.D Gordon & she never disappoints, I couldn’t recommend these books enough especially if you need something a little different from the rest, Joe is a unique character that anyone will take into their hearts.

[Alexia Purdy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! How amazing is HD Gordon that she can whip out a story that builds up the tension at just the right pace and then bam, leaves you hung over from the sheer fright, intensity and terror that you felt you knew was coming, but it still leaves you breathless in the end. Joe 2 White Sheets does that. If you’ve read Joe, book 1, you’ll know what kind terror inducing things build up in the context of the story. Book 2 is no different, still gets you right where you think the action can’t get any crazier, Ms. Gordon pulls the covers from your eyes and you’re left stunned and wondering, did that just really happen?

What an excellent thriller! Filled with villains, people who you think you can trust but not really, old ties that can be deadly and new sparking relationships that send your blood humming. I was lucky enough to get this book early from the author in exchange for an honest review and it kept me up all night when I did get time to read it. (Don’t wait!) No one weaves a story quite like Ms. Gordon does and I highly recommend it if you’re looking to immerse yourself into a most unique life being that of Joe, who’s unique abilities will keep you wondering what she’s going to draw for you next. Awesome story!

[Pat aka Tygyr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joe Knowe has a curse. She sees terrible things that will happen in the future. When she has a vision, she needs paper and pencil and she draws what she sees. What Joe is seeing is an older, charismatic preacher, abusing younger women. The "cult" leader seems to be getting worse in Joe's visions. When she sees and draws the leader having everyone in church drinking deadly liquid she decides she has to act. She joins the church, acts like a convert. She is assigned to work as an assistant teacher with the younger children. One of the children is drawing scenes similar to Joe's. The teacher always destroys them. Busy as teacher and her movements followed, how can she find and get rid of the poison? Can she at least keep the children from getting poisoned?

[Brandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book. I've read the first and enjoyed it--I have to say that I liked this one even better. The characters are great--even if they can sometimes be a little predictable and expected. They don't feel tired or cliche, they still feel genuine and likable. Joe is even better developed in this book than she was in the first. She makes risky, maybe a little foolish, decisions--but it's clear why she does it.

You can also tell how much research the author put into this book. It reminded me a lot of a real historical events that I am familiar with and I think that adds authenticity and credibility.

Overall, this was a great read and I can't wait to see what comes next.

[Molly McMurray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another page turner!

I know I said the first book in this series ("Joe") would make a great movie but "White Sheets" would be perfect for the big screen and my sister, who finished reading this before me, said so first. Each chapter shows from whose viewpoint we're seeing and hearing the ongoing events and at the dramatic finale, the chapters end with a word or more hanging, only to be continued in the mind (or on the tongue) of the next person's chapter/viewpoint which would totally ROCK in a movie! Dear Heather, please don't leave us hanging any longer than necessary for our next dose of Joe!

[Ann Sutphin · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, if you are looking for a happy go lucky book, this series is not for you. If you are looking for something that will make you sit on the edge of your seat and want to read the last page but you know you shouldn't book, this is for you.
I Love This Series!! I admit I love to read about the dark side of life. Joe is such an amazing character. She is tough but scared and even though she really just wants to be left alone she has to help. It might scar her mentally and physically, but she does what she has to. There are crazy whack jobs in this world and that is just fact, but sometimes there are wonderful people who try and stop them. I can't wait for more in this series!!

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joe

I loved this book even more than the 1st. I will be waiting anxiously for the 3rd in the series. I am also a huge fan of Stephen King and would love to read your horror book. I think you are a very talented writer.

[Apryl Møss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great read.

Once again, Gordon had done a wonderful job in the second book of The Joe Knows Series.

It was a bit slow at the start but as things started to pick up, I couldn't stop reading. I can't wait for the third book!

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book!!

This is another great book...just as good and fast like the first book. I hope there is a Joe 3 in the works!!!