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You Will Pay
In a fast-paced, brilliantly twisted novel of suspense from #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jackson, the deadly secrets of a long-ago summer stir to life once more.
It starts as a prank—a way to blow off steam after a long summer at Camp Horseshoe. Among the teen counselors, tensions and hormones are running high. No wonder the others agree when Jo-Beth Chancellor suggests they scare Monica O’Neal a little….or a lot. Monica has it coming, and no one will really get hurt. What could go wrong?
Everything.
Twenty years later, Lucas Dalton, a senior detective with the sheriff’s department, is investigating the discovery of human remains in a cavern at what used to be Camp Horseshoe. Lucas knows the spot well. His father, a preacher, ran the camp, and Lucas worked there that infamous summer when two girls went missing. One is believed to have been killed by a convict on the loose. Monica O’Neal is thought to have drowned and been washed out to sea.
Lucas knows he should step down from such a personal case. He’s already jeopardized his career by removing evidence of his involvement. But maybe it’s time to uncover the whole truth at last. That’s why five former female counselors are coming back to the small Oregon town—among them, Bernadette Warden, the woman Lucas has never forgotten. Each one knows something about that terrible night. Each promised not to tell. And as they reunite, a new horror unfolds. First come notes containing a personal memento and a simple, terrifying message: You will pay. Then, the murders begin.
It started years ago. But it will end here—as a web of lust, greed, and betrayal is untangled to reveal a killer waiting to enact the perfect revenge.
It starts as a prank—a way to blow off steam after a long summer at Camp Horseshoe. Among the teen counselors, tensions and hormones are running high. No wonder the others agree when Jo-Beth Chancellor suggests they scare Monica O’Neal a little….or a lot. Monica has it coming, and no one will really get hurt. What could go wrong?
Everything.
Twenty years later, Lucas Dalton, a senior detective with the sheriff’s department, is investigating the discovery of human remains in a cavern at what used to be Camp Horseshoe. Lucas knows the spot well. His father, a preacher, ran the camp, and Lucas worked there that infamous summer when two girls went missing. One is believed to have been killed by a convict on the loose. Monica O’Neal is thought to have drowned and been washed out to sea.
Lucas knows he should step down from such a personal case. He’s already jeopardized his career by removing evidence of his involvement. But maybe it’s time to uncover the whole truth at last. That’s why five former female counselors are coming back to the small Oregon town—among them, Bernadette Warden, the woman Lucas has never forgotten. Each one knows something about that terrible night. Each promised not to tell. And as they reunite, a new horror unfolds. First come notes containing a personal memento and a simple, terrifying message: You will pay. Then, the murders begin.
It started years ago. But it will end here—as a web of lust, greed, and betrayal is untangled to reveal a killer waiting to enact the perfect revenge.
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First published May 30, 2017
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About the author
Lisa Jackson
271 books9,568 followersLisa Jackson is the number-one New York Times bestselling author of over ninety-five novels, including the Rick Bentz and Reuben Montoya Series, the Pescoli and Alvarez Series, the Savannah series, and numerous stand alone novels. She also is the co-author of One Last Breath, Last Girl Standing, and the Colony Series, written with her sister and bestselling author Nancy Bush, as well as the collaborative novels Sinister and Ominous, written with Nancy Bush and Rosalind Noonan. There are over thirty million copies of her novels in print and her writing has been translated into twenty languages.
Before she became a nationally bestselling author, she was a mother struggling to keep food on the table by writing novels, hoping against hope that someone would pay her for them. Today, neck deep in murder, her books appear on The New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly national bestseller lists.
With dozens of bestsellers to her name, Lisa Jackson is a master of taking readers to the edge of sanity—and back—in novels that buzz with dangerous secrets and deadly passions. She continues to be fascinated by the minds and motives of both her killers and their pursuers—the personal, the professional, and the downright twisted. As she builds the puzzle of relationships, actions, clues, lies, and personal histories that haunt her protagonists, she must also confront the fear and terror faced by her victims and the harsh and enduring truth that, in the real world, terror and madness touch far too many lives and families.
Visit http://www.LisaJackson.com where you can find a Media Kit with photos and more information.
Before she became a nationally bestselling author, she was a mother struggling to keep food on the table by writing novels, hoping against hope that someone would pay her for them. Today, neck deep in murder, her books appear on The New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly national bestseller lists.
With dozens of bestsellers to her name, Lisa Jackson is a master of taking readers to the edge of sanity—and back—in novels that buzz with dangerous secrets and deadly passions. She continues to be fascinated by the minds and motives of both her killers and their pursuers—the personal, the professional, and the downright twisted. As she builds the puzzle of relationships, actions, clues, lies, and personal histories that haunt her protagonists, she must also confront the fear and terror faced by her victims and the harsh and enduring truth that, in the real world, terror and madness touch far too many lives and families.
Visit http://www.LisaJackson.com where you can find a Media Kit with photos and more information.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 521 reviews
June 28, 2017
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3.5 Stars
Over the years I've read few of Lisa Jackson's books and have really enjoyed them. YOU WILL PAY is a stand-alone novel that revolves around a religious summer camp and a fateful summer where four people went missing. Twenty years later after new evidence is found, the case is re-opened.
Twenty years ago Camp Horseshoe closed after two of the teenage camps counselors went missing. At the same time a worker from the Camp also disappeared. There was also an escaped convict who hasn't been seen since. At the time this all happened, Camp Horseshoe was run by a preacher named Jeremiah Dalton and his wife Naomi. Jeremiah's son from his previous marriage, Lucas Dalton also worked at the camp.
Now twenty years later, Lucas Dalton, a detective with the local sheriff's department, is heading out to his father's ill-fated religious camp. A local man has found what he thinks are human remains so Lucas needs to check it out. Back at the abandoned Camp, Lucas looks at the welcome sign and is transported back to that summer. He thinks about his father, Jeremiah Bernard Dalton, who portrayed himself as a dedicated man of God, and everyone believed him. Well everyone, except for Lucas.
"Jeremiah Dalton sermonized about the Good Lord as if he truly believed, yet lied with the silver tongue of a snake oil salesman"
Now that human remains have been found, the case is re-opened. But because Lucas was part of the original investigation, it's a conflict of interest and so he is taken off the case. Now everyone is asking questions. Including a reporter that was a young camper that same summer. She thinks this could be the story that makes her career.
Jo-Beth Chancellor has been one big ball of stress since finding out about the remains found at the camp. Jo-Beth was one of the counselors that summer. She's worried one of the "basket case" women are going to blow things for her. She's not going to let something that happened twenty years ago change ruin her life. Just like back then, Jo-Beth knows everyone's secrets and she'll use those secrets to keep people in line. She contacts the other former counselors and tells them they need to meet up to make sure they have their stories straight for when the police start asking questions.
Then she gets a call, and the voice she hears almost stops her heart.
All of the women are very uncomfortable being back. They wonder why they let Jo-Beth call the shots. Many of them want to just tell the truth. But do any of them even know the truth anymore? So many lies have been told.
What really happened all those years ago?
Someone knows the truth about the things that happened that summer and they will do whatever they have to do to keep anyone from finding out.
But someone else wants what happened that summer to come out.....and they also want revenge.
"If You Don't Tell You Will Pay"
There are a lot of characters to keep up with in this novel. There is quite a bit written about each of them, their lives then and now. Thankfully the chapters are labelled with characters names and whether it is "Now" or "Then" which helped me keep track, most of the time. As the story goes back and forth between then and now we start to get a picture of what may have happened. However, not everything is as it seems.
I think with the amount of characters, the time spent developing their stories, made the rest of the novel feel a bit rushed. And while most was revealed, there were also a few issues left unresolved.
Although I had a few issues with this novel, I still enjoyed it and for the most part was satisfied with how it all turned out. It was an entertaining, suspenseful read with a lot of twists and turns.
Thank you, Kensington Books for providing an advanced readers copy of this book for me to read in exchange for my honest review.
3.5 Stars
Over the years I've read few of Lisa Jackson's books and have really enjoyed them. YOU WILL PAY is a stand-alone novel that revolves around a religious summer camp and a fateful summer where four people went missing. Twenty years later after new evidence is found, the case is re-opened.
Twenty years ago Camp Horseshoe closed after two of the teenage camps counselors went missing. At the same time a worker from the Camp also disappeared. There was also an escaped convict who hasn't been seen since. At the time this all happened, Camp Horseshoe was run by a preacher named Jeremiah Dalton and his wife Naomi. Jeremiah's son from his previous marriage, Lucas Dalton also worked at the camp.
Now twenty years later, Lucas Dalton, a detective with the local sheriff's department, is heading out to his father's ill-fated religious camp. A local man has found what he thinks are human remains so Lucas needs to check it out. Back at the abandoned Camp, Lucas looks at the welcome sign and is transported back to that summer. He thinks about his father, Jeremiah Bernard Dalton, who portrayed himself as a dedicated man of God, and everyone believed him. Well everyone, except for Lucas.
"Jeremiah Dalton sermonized about the Good Lord as if he truly believed, yet lied with the silver tongue of a snake oil salesman"
Now that human remains have been found, the case is re-opened. But because Lucas was part of the original investigation, it's a conflict of interest and so he is taken off the case. Now everyone is asking questions. Including a reporter that was a young camper that same summer. She thinks this could be the story that makes her career.
Jo-Beth Chancellor has been one big ball of stress since finding out about the remains found at the camp. Jo-Beth was one of the counselors that summer. She's worried one of the "basket case" women are going to blow things for her. She's not going to let something that happened twenty years ago change ruin her life. Just like back then, Jo-Beth knows everyone's secrets and she'll use those secrets to keep people in line. She contacts the other former counselors and tells them they need to meet up to make sure they have their stories straight for when the police start asking questions.
Then she gets a call, and the voice she hears almost stops her heart.
All of the women are very uncomfortable being back. They wonder why they let Jo-Beth call the shots. Many of them want to just tell the truth. But do any of them even know the truth anymore? So many lies have been told.
What really happened all those years ago?
Someone knows the truth about the things that happened that summer and they will do whatever they have to do to keep anyone from finding out.
But someone else wants what happened that summer to come out.....and they also want revenge.
"If You Don't Tell You Will Pay"
There are a lot of characters to keep up with in this novel. There is quite a bit written about each of them, their lives then and now. Thankfully the chapters are labelled with characters names and whether it is "Now" or "Then" which helped me keep track, most of the time. As the story goes back and forth between then and now we start to get a picture of what may have happened. However, not everything is as it seems.
I think with the amount of characters, the time spent developing their stories, made the rest of the novel feel a bit rushed. And while most was revealed, there were also a few issues left unresolved.
Although I had a few issues with this novel, I still enjoyed it and for the most part was satisfied with how it all turned out. It was an entertaining, suspenseful read with a lot of twists and turns.
Thank you, Kensington Books for providing an advanced readers copy of this book for me to read in exchange for my honest review.
April 9, 2017
3.5 Stars
It started with 19 teen counselors at Camp Horseshoe, owned and operated by Rev. Jeremiah Dalton and his second wife, Naomi. Two of the counselors go missing and are never seen again. One of the workers, Clint, also disappears. And to top it off, an escaped prisoner seen in the area also disappeared.
It is now 20 years later and a partial skull is found. Who does it belong to?
That's what Detective Lucas Dalton (son of Jeremiah) and his partner wants to know. It doesn't help that Lucas also worked at the camp that summer.
Now that they're re-opened the case, all parties have been summoned to return and give new statements.
Every single one of them had secrets ..and they lied ..to each other and to the police.
The book jumps from today to 20 years ago. Each of the remaining 17 counselors plus Lucas and his partner have a voice. Some of the secrets are exposed and some aren't until the very end. And the ending is explosive.
I have read a lot of Lisa Jackon's suspense. In my own opinion, this one held my interest, but just wasn't up to the top notch standards I've come to expect from this author. This one read as a soap opera. There were too many characters to keep track of, too many different stories. Even the romance wasn't much of anything. Will I read it again ... No. I will still recommend this one to die-hard Jackson fans and hope her next book is better.
Many thanks to the author / Kensington Books / Netgalley for the advanced digital copy of YOU WILL PAY. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
It started with 19 teen counselors at Camp Horseshoe, owned and operated by Rev. Jeremiah Dalton and his second wife, Naomi. Two of the counselors go missing and are never seen again. One of the workers, Clint, also disappears. And to top it off, an escaped prisoner seen in the area also disappeared.
It is now 20 years later and a partial skull is found. Who does it belong to?
That's what Detective Lucas Dalton (son of Jeremiah) and his partner wants to know. It doesn't help that Lucas also worked at the camp that summer.
Now that they're re-opened the case, all parties have been summoned to return and give new statements.
Every single one of them had secrets ..and they lied ..to each other and to the police.
The book jumps from today to 20 years ago. Each of the remaining 17 counselors plus Lucas and his partner have a voice. Some of the secrets are exposed and some aren't until the very end. And the ending is explosive.
I have read a lot of Lisa Jackon's suspense. In my own opinion, this one held my interest, but just wasn't up to the top notch standards I've come to expect from this author. This one read as a soap opera. There were too many characters to keep track of, too many different stories. Even the romance wasn't much of anything. Will I read it again ... No. I will still recommend this one to die-hard Jackson fans and hope her next book is better.
Many thanks to the author / Kensington Books / Netgalley for the advanced digital copy of YOU WILL PAY. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
April 22, 2017
Sex, lies and yes, even videotapes - the stuff of which soap operas are made - all come together in coastal small-town Oregon in this rather lusty novel. Murder? Check. Incest? Check. Throw in an Elmer Gantry-like leader of a summer camp for teenagers that's been closed for two decades, and you've got a solid start to your summer beach reading.
Camp Horseshoe closed after two of the still-teenage female counselors, a hired hand and a convict who escaped from a nearby prison went missing. Now - 20 years later - Lucas Dalton, detective with the local sheriff's department and son of the aforementioned preacher man, is investigating the discovery of what appears to be human scull in a small cave on the bank of the water at which one of the missing counselors, Eleanor (Elle) was last seen. Complicating matters is that Lucas was Elle's serious love interest at the time; also, several of the other female counselors, led by Jo-Beth Chancellor, reportedly tried to put the fear of God into Monica shortly before she disappeared.
Today, all the camp participants, including Lucas, have gone on with their lives (mostly successfully), but the secrets they buried all those years ago now threaten to bring them down. Semi-estranged from his preacher father, Jeremiah, and his beautiful ex-stepmother Naomi, Lucas has secrets of his own that he hopes don't see the light of day. But as all the counselors involved in the scheme to scare Monica decide to return to align the stories they will once again offer to police, they face a nosy reporter who's desperate to get the real story for an online tabloid - a woman who was just as nosy as a camper 20 years ago.
Chapters switch from viewpoints of the characters in the present and that fateful summer at camp - a technique of which I'm not fond, but it does allow details to be released little by little that shed more light on what really happened. Admittedly, that got a bit hard for me to follow in that there are so many characters to remember; besides that, there seemed to me to be an excessive amount of repetition from one recollection to another (although to be honest, that probably helped my aging brain keep all those characters straight).
Tying up all the loose ends in one tidy package also tested the limits of believability for me, but then keep in mind I was a church camper back in the day, and the closest I ever got to high drama was having a bit of a crush - as did most of the other female campers - on a young, super-cute minister-counselor. All that meant, though, was that we sang "Kumbaya, My Lord" louder than necessary around the campfire in hopes of getting his attention. Kinky sex? Murder and mayhem? Fuhgettaboutit!
If you're looking for off-kilter characters in creepy settings, give this one a try. My thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for providing me with an advance copy to read and review.
Camp Horseshoe closed after two of the still-teenage female counselors, a hired hand and a convict who escaped from a nearby prison went missing. Now - 20 years later - Lucas Dalton, detective with the local sheriff's department and son of the aforementioned preacher man, is investigating the discovery of what appears to be human scull in a small cave on the bank of the water at which one of the missing counselors, Eleanor (Elle) was last seen. Complicating matters is that Lucas was Elle's serious love interest at the time; also, several of the other female counselors, led by Jo-Beth Chancellor, reportedly tried to put the fear of God into Monica shortly before she disappeared.
Today, all the camp participants, including Lucas, have gone on with their lives (mostly successfully), but the secrets they buried all those years ago now threaten to bring them down. Semi-estranged from his preacher father, Jeremiah, and his beautiful ex-stepmother Naomi, Lucas has secrets of his own that he hopes don't see the light of day. But as all the counselors involved in the scheme to scare Monica decide to return to align the stories they will once again offer to police, they face a nosy reporter who's desperate to get the real story for an online tabloid - a woman who was just as nosy as a camper 20 years ago.
Chapters switch from viewpoints of the characters in the present and that fateful summer at camp - a technique of which I'm not fond, but it does allow details to be released little by little that shed more light on what really happened. Admittedly, that got a bit hard for me to follow in that there are so many characters to remember; besides that, there seemed to me to be an excessive amount of repetition from one recollection to another (although to be honest, that probably helped my aging brain keep all those characters straight).
Tying up all the loose ends in one tidy package also tested the limits of believability for me, but then keep in mind I was a church camper back in the day, and the closest I ever got to high drama was having a bit of a crush - as did most of the other female campers - on a young, super-cute minister-counselor. All that meant, though, was that we sang "Kumbaya, My Lord" louder than necessary around the campfire in hopes of getting his attention. Kinky sex? Murder and mayhem? Fuhgettaboutit!
If you're looking for off-kilter characters in creepy settings, give this one a try. My thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for providing me with an advance copy to read and review.
May 12, 2017
You Will Pay is the latest mystery novel by Lisa Jackson. Camp Horseshoe is a religious summer camp run by the preacher Jeremiah and his wife Naomi. The camp shuts down after one fateful night when two teen counselors Ellie and Monica disappear and another is seriously injured. After twenty years the remains of a body is discovered and all the counselors get back together to get their stories straight. The book goes back and forth between the present and past unfolding the secrets the teenagers held all those years ago. What really happened that night ? Was it a prank that went bad or did the two girls fall victim to a convict who escaped prison nearby?
I like Lisa Jackson but was a little disappointed in this book. The book is fast paced but felt rushed. It did have surprise ending but the characters were not developed or very likable. Overall I would rate it 3 stars and even though the story was complete it felt unfinished.
Many thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for this sample copy in exchange for my honest and fair review.
This and more reviews at https://chloesbooksblog.wordpress.com/
I like Lisa Jackson but was a little disappointed in this book. The book is fast paced but felt rushed. It did have surprise ending but the characters were not developed or very likable. Overall I would rate it 3 stars and even though the story was complete it felt unfinished.
Many thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for this sample copy in exchange for my honest and fair review.
This and more reviews at https://chloesbooksblog.wordpress.com/
November 8, 2019
”I will hurt you for this. I don’t know how yet, but give me time. A day will come when you think yourself safe and happy, and suddenly your joy will turn to ashes in your mouth, and you’ll know the debt is paid.”
Well, this is not a book Aunt Patty will be picking for her church book club, that’s for sure.
Lord, have mercy on this book. It knows not what it does.
Praise the Lord!! It’s time for church camp!! There’s nothing more Christian than sticking a bunch of horny ass teenager camp counselors in the middle of nowhere Oregon to help teach little children the meaning of Jesus.
Yes, Lord, that’s just a swell idea. Camp Horseshoe is truly doing the Lord’s work here.
Nobody expected, twenty years later, for human remains to be found on the now-defunct camp site.
It’s a mystery no one is expecting to happen, but these two things are true:
1) Those counselors are hiding something,
2) Someone’s going to pay.
I… don’t even have the words to describe this book. Truly, I don’t. This should have been amazing. I mean, this book was my bread and butter. Devout Christians behaving badly. Sexcapades galore among said supposedly devout Christian teenagers. GIVE ME ALL THE CHRISTIANS BEHAVING BADLY, GODDAMIT.
Instead, all I got was this garbage fire that seems like it’s straight from the Devil himself.
So where did we go horribly wrong? Let’s begin.
1) First of all, this book is too long. It’s a little over five hundred pages. If it were any longer, it would be in serious contention to become another book of the Bible. I’m not opposed to long books at all; however, it has to have a purpose. Events have to happen. The plot has to keep going and the readers need to remain invested in the story. With this book, it just kept rehashing the same things, events, and scenarios over and over and over again.
Horny teenagers are horny. Horny teenagers have sex. Horny teenagers get extremely jealous because one horny teenager is not having sex with a them- a horny-ass teenager. They exclusively use cuss words for about 5 or 6 pages to describe the events. Sure, there’s mystery, but… wait, hold on a second. We’re feeling a little horny here; so the mystery solving will have to wait.
It’s ridiculous. The author just rehashes events that we already know about over and over again with very little ground gained. Get to the point, woman!!!
2) The synopsis is misleading. It’s misleading in the sense that it gives the reader the impression that there are two main characters at the center of the mystery. Nah, son. We’ve got a whole church choir full of characters with their own separate POVs. I lost count at about ten. I think the only reason the author or publisher or whoever writes the synopsis put the spotlight on Bernadette and Lucas is because they wanted that to be the main romance. They are not, however, the main players. One could argue that Lucas is at least one of the main players because he’s a detective on the case, but Bernadette is much more of a secondary character. I mean, the amount of characters to keep track of, and then having the author highlight them all as though they were featured main characters, was just absurd. It muddled the storyline and made it very confusing for the reader.
3) SO. MUCH. CUSSING.
Look, I cuss myself. I know I shouldn’t, but I do. The cussing spirit descends over my mind and one pops out here or there (and in some reviews I write, haha!). However, this was a whole other level of cussing. There’s so much cussing here it would make a sailor blush. It would make the Good Lord himself double over and vomit. If I were to make people pay for the number of times people in this book swore, I’d be rich. If you took out all the cuss words in this book and just left the non-cussing dialogue… there would hardly be a book to read. I think the author was trying to highlight the hypocrisy of these teenagers being at a Christian camp trying to promote Christian values and all that when they clearly are not. But geez, lay off a little, woman.
4) In addition to there being so much cussing, there was a hell of a lot of sex.
SO. MUCH. SEX. I. CAN’T. WHAT. EVEN.
These teenage camp counselors are horny as hell. I don’t even think King David was this horny (and that guy couldn’t be faithful for the life of him.) They’re having sex with each other all over the place, thinking bad thoughts about themselves all the time. Heck, we’ve even got an incest plotline thrown in there just for good measure, because apparently there wasn’t enough sexytimes to go around.
You heard that right, y’all. This book became a regular old V.C. Andrews novel. What a time to be alive.
However, in addition to the cussing taking over the entire novel, everybody being horny with each other takes over a good hunk of the novel, too. And it’s just so… unnecessary. I like romantic suspense, but there need to be equal parts romance and suspense. Not just plain old horniness.
5) What the hell was that mystery? This was probably one of the most poorly done mystery stories I’ve read. The main fault being that there was so much other nonsense going on that the mystery kind of just got pushed to the side and forgotten like a neglected pet. I’m surprised it got past the editing stage and made it to publication. Somebody needs to talk to somebody somewhere, because they failed this poor book. What this book needs is a miracle from Jesus, but I’m not even sure he can fix it.
6) Everyone here is despicable. It’s like a Where’s Waldo puzzle trying to find a character I actually liked. How the author managed to make so many characters so horrible is a otherworldly talent. Surely it’s a gift from the Lord. It made a painful reading experience for the reader, though.
I think the thing that PO’d me the most was the fact that these characters are stuck in a mental time warp. Twenty years later, and they all act like the hormonal, immature teenagers they were when the novel started. The book actually shifts between the past and the present. If it weren’t for the novel explicitly saying when the book is taking place, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference based on how they act. Grow up, people!! It’s making me really, really hard to like y’all.
****************************
There’s just no good way to say this: this book was a garbage fire. I don’t even know how it got published. It’s a miracle of Jesus, I tell you. But even Jesus and all the saints can’t fix this monstrosity of a book. Thoroughly despicable characters, an abundance of sexcapades and swearing but total lack of a freaking plot, and way too many POVS for me to keep track of made this an abominable read. This book deserves to be put back in the church collection plate and never seen again.
Bless this book’s heart.
***************************
I think horny teenage camp counselors are a thing. When I was in 6th grade, my class (and the other 6th grade classes at my school) went camping along the California coast. It was blast to be able to get away from the humdrum of school for a week. All the counselors there were high schoolers. I don’t really know why they do that, entrusting the welfare and safety of a bunch of tiny humans with humans who aren’t that much older. I don’t really get it, but oh, well.
Back to the story. The boys and girls were separated- one side for the girls, one side for the boys. We were not allowed to cross the invisible line that separated us, and that included the camp counselors. Well, obviously two of them weren’t paying attention to that particular rule or just didn’t give a fuck, because four days into our week-long camping trip, they were caught having sex in one of the cabins and were sent home.
Praise the Good Lord indeed.
Well, this is not a book Aunt Patty will be picking for her church book club, that’s for sure.
Lord, have mercy on this book. It knows not what it does.
Praise the Lord!! It’s time for church camp!! There’s nothing more Christian than sticking a bunch of horny ass teenager camp counselors in the middle of nowhere Oregon to help teach little children the meaning of Jesus.
Yes, Lord, that’s just a swell idea. Camp Horseshoe is truly doing the Lord’s work here.
Nobody expected, twenty years later, for human remains to be found on the now-defunct camp site.
It’s a mystery no one is expecting to happen, but these two things are true:
1) Those counselors are hiding something,
2) Someone’s going to pay.
I… don’t even have the words to describe this book. Truly, I don’t. This should have been amazing. I mean, this book was my bread and butter. Devout Christians behaving badly. Sexcapades galore among said supposedly devout Christian teenagers. GIVE ME ALL THE CHRISTIANS BEHAVING BADLY, GODDAMIT.
Instead, all I got was this garbage fire that seems like it’s straight from the Devil himself.
So where did we go horribly wrong? Let’s begin.
1) First of all, this book is too long. It’s a little over five hundred pages. If it were any longer, it would be in serious contention to become another book of the Bible. I’m not opposed to long books at all; however, it has to have a purpose. Events have to happen. The plot has to keep going and the readers need to remain invested in the story. With this book, it just kept rehashing the same things, events, and scenarios over and over and over again.
Horny teenagers are horny. Horny teenagers have sex. Horny teenagers get extremely jealous because one horny teenager is not having sex with a them- a horny-ass teenager. They exclusively use cuss words for about 5 or 6 pages to describe the events. Sure, there’s mystery, but… wait, hold on a second. We’re feeling a little horny here; so the mystery solving will have to wait.
It’s ridiculous. The author just rehashes events that we already know about over and over again with very little ground gained. Get to the point, woman!!!
2) The synopsis is misleading. It’s misleading in the sense that it gives the reader the impression that there are two main characters at the center of the mystery. Nah, son. We’ve got a whole church choir full of characters with their own separate POVs. I lost count at about ten. I think the only reason the author or publisher or whoever writes the synopsis put the spotlight on Bernadette and Lucas is because they wanted that to be the main romance. They are not, however, the main players. One could argue that Lucas is at least one of the main players because he’s a detective on the case, but Bernadette is much more of a secondary character. I mean, the amount of characters to keep track of, and then having the author highlight them all as though they were featured main characters, was just absurd. It muddled the storyline and made it very confusing for the reader.
3) SO. MUCH. CUSSING.
Look, I cuss myself. I know I shouldn’t, but I do. The cussing spirit descends over my mind and one pops out here or there (and in some reviews I write, haha!). However, this was a whole other level of cussing. There’s so much cussing here it would make a sailor blush. It would make the Good Lord himself double over and vomit. If I were to make people pay for the number of times people in this book swore, I’d be rich. If you took out all the cuss words in this book and just left the non-cussing dialogue… there would hardly be a book to read. I think the author was trying to highlight the hypocrisy of these teenagers being at a Christian camp trying to promote Christian values and all that when they clearly are not. But geez, lay off a little, woman.
4) In addition to there being so much cussing, there was a hell of a lot of sex.
SO. MUCH. SEX. I. CAN’T. WHAT. EVEN.
These teenage camp counselors are horny as hell. I don’t even think King David was this horny (and that guy couldn’t be faithful for the life of him.) They’re having sex with each other all over the place, thinking bad thoughts about themselves all the time. Heck, we’ve even got an incest plotline thrown in there just for good measure, because apparently there wasn’t enough sexytimes to go around.
You heard that right, y’all. This book became a regular old V.C. Andrews novel. What a time to be alive.
However, in addition to the cussing taking over the entire novel, everybody being horny with each other takes over a good hunk of the novel, too. And it’s just so… unnecessary. I like romantic suspense, but there need to be equal parts romance and suspense. Not just plain old horniness.
5) What the hell was that mystery? This was probably one of the most poorly done mystery stories I’ve read. The main fault being that there was so much other nonsense going on that the mystery kind of just got pushed to the side and forgotten like a neglected pet. I’m surprised it got past the editing stage and made it to publication. Somebody needs to talk to somebody somewhere, because they failed this poor book. What this book needs is a miracle from Jesus, but I’m not even sure he can fix it.
6) Everyone here is despicable. It’s like a Where’s Waldo puzzle trying to find a character I actually liked. How the author managed to make so many characters so horrible is a otherworldly talent. Surely it’s a gift from the Lord. It made a painful reading experience for the reader, though.
I think the thing that PO’d me the most was the fact that these characters are stuck in a mental time warp. Twenty years later, and they all act like the hormonal, immature teenagers they were when the novel started. The book actually shifts between the past and the present. If it weren’t for the novel explicitly saying when the book is taking place, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference based on how they act. Grow up, people!! It’s making me really, really hard to like y’all.
****************************
There’s just no good way to say this: this book was a garbage fire. I don’t even know how it got published. It’s a miracle of Jesus, I tell you. But even Jesus and all the saints can’t fix this monstrosity of a book. Thoroughly despicable characters, an abundance of sexcapades and swearing but total lack of a freaking plot, and way too many POVS for me to keep track of made this an abominable read. This book deserves to be put back in the church collection plate and never seen again.
Bless this book’s heart.
***************************
I think horny teenage camp counselors are a thing. When I was in 6th grade, my class (and the other 6th grade classes at my school) went camping along the California coast. It was blast to be able to get away from the humdrum of school for a week. All the counselors there were high schoolers. I don’t really know why they do that, entrusting the welfare and safety of a bunch of tiny humans with humans who aren’t that much older. I don’t really get it, but oh, well.
Back to the story. The boys and girls were separated- one side for the girls, one side for the boys. We were not allowed to cross the invisible line that separated us, and that included the camp counselors. Well, obviously two of them weren’t paying attention to that particular rule or just didn’t give a fuck, because four days into our week-long camping trip, they were caught having sex in one of the cabins and were sent home.
Praise the Good Lord indeed.
April 13, 2017
My first Lisa Jackson novel, and I enjoyed it. This is a murder mystery set mainly at a church camp in Oregon. The story is narrated by various camp counselors who were at the camp twenty years ago. Two girls from the camp, a camp employee, and a prison escapee all disappear during the same week and the cases were never solved. Now the cold cases are reopened when a skull is found. Going back and forth between now and twenty years ago did not detract from the story but rather helped place the characters in both time spaces. Tension builds toward the end of the book as everything comes to a head and various secrets are unraveled. 3 1/2 stars rounding up to 4. An interesting read.
Thanks to Lisa Jackson and Kensington Books through NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to Lisa Jackson and Kensington Books through NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
June 25, 2018
I see there are many low star reviews for this book. There are a few high star as well. I give it a 4 star rating because I enjoyed reading it. I will confess that the beginning was very slow. There are multiple characters and sometimes are to keep up. The 2nd half of this book was of the hook for me. I loved the premise of the story. Lots of twists and turns in the last half Some WTH moments. To each his own but I loved it :)
January 12, 2018
Die Geschichte erinnert stark an Pretty little liars
February 16, 2024
Camp Horseshoe in Oregon...staffed by teen counselors...full of life and adventure with mischief added in.
A group of Counselors wanted to scare Monica O' Neal the prank got out of hand. Two girls ended up missing.
Twenty years later human remains were found near the camp site. An investigation ensued, the former counselors came back to the camp...they all knew something.
A group of Counselors wanted to scare Monica O' Neal the prank got out of hand. Two girls ended up missing.
Twenty years later human remains were found near the camp site. An investigation ensued, the former counselors came back to the camp...they all knew something.
June 23, 2017
Spoilers and swearing ahead....
This book is tripe. Plain and simple. Uses the lowest common denominators to appeal to the masses.
This is the first time I've read a book by Jackson. I don't think I will again.
The book by following teens working at a Christian summer camp. They are supposed to be around the 19 yo mark with the exception of a couple of younger ones. It's almost as if Jackson has never actually spoken to young people before. Maybe I live in an awesome place (I do), where "kids" are expected to be even slightly responsible for their own actions, and by 19, generally have real jobs.
The conversations between the teens in unbelievable, and frankly annoying. Think Scary Terry from Rick and Morty. They sure say bitch alot.
Anyways, their "friend" goes missing. All anyone can think of is how they can lie to cover up that they snuck out of their cabins. As if someone possibly in mortal danger, or already dead is of zero consequence and can easily be shoved aside because they may face minor reprimands. Is being a psychopath/sociopath a pre-requisite for a job in which you are responsible for the safety and well being of children? And why is everyone fucking everyone? I mean EVERYONE. I get that teen and adult summer flings happen, but I don't think everyone suffers from such low confidence that they continue to fuck the person they know is cheating on them. Furthermore, is it supposed to be a Christian chick thing that you get knocked up, hide it from the dad, then try to kill yourself?
For the first half of the book, the only person I liked was whoever was killing these assholes off. It does get better though. Kind of. Couldn't get worse. Even towards the end when another counsellor is murdered, I was still relieved that she wouldn't be in the book anymore. The book saunters then does a full on chaotic sprint across the finish line. I felt like the reappearance of certain characters as well as the last minute introduction of a new one, was a obvious plot twist, and felt as though Jackson was grasping at straws to just finish this book before her deadline.
I could go on, but you get my point.
This book is tripe. Plain and simple. Uses the lowest common denominators to appeal to the masses.
This is the first time I've read a book by Jackson. I don't think I will again.
The book by following teens working at a Christian summer camp. They are supposed to be around the 19 yo mark with the exception of a couple of younger ones. It's almost as if Jackson has never actually spoken to young people before. Maybe I live in an awesome place (I do), where "kids" are expected to be even slightly responsible for their own actions, and by 19, generally have real jobs.
The conversations between the teens in unbelievable, and frankly annoying. Think Scary Terry from Rick and Morty. They sure say bitch alot.
Anyways, their "friend" goes missing. All anyone can think of is how they can lie to cover up that they snuck out of their cabins. As if someone possibly in mortal danger, or already dead is of zero consequence and can easily be shoved aside because they may face minor reprimands. Is being a psychopath/sociopath a pre-requisite for a job in which you are responsible for the safety and well being of children? And why is everyone fucking everyone? I mean EVERYONE. I get that teen and adult summer flings happen, but I don't think everyone suffers from such low confidence that they continue to fuck the person they know is cheating on them. Furthermore, is it supposed to be a Christian chick thing that you get knocked up, hide it from the dad, then try to kill yourself?
For the first half of the book, the only person I liked was whoever was killing these assholes off. It does get better though. Kind of. Couldn't get worse. Even towards the end when another counsellor is murdered, I was still relieved that she wouldn't be in the book anymore. The book saunters then does a full on chaotic sprint across the finish line. I felt like the reappearance of certain characters as well as the last minute introduction of a new one, was a obvious plot twist, and felt as though Jackson was grasping at straws to just finish this book before her deadline.
I could go on, but you get my point.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 1, 2017
Thoughts:
Too many characters providing their perspective on the same set of events first in the past and then again in the present which is repetitive but also until the very end of the book doesn't include any pertinent facts.
At the very end of the story it finally gets interesting but then it's a rush to the end and it's over. The last 10% was fairly good but it was a struggle to get there.
If you've read enough of these types of books you can guess some of the twists, although there really weren't a lot of clues to lead you to the end.
Unfortunately, I really can't recommend this one.
Too many characters providing their perspective on the same set of events first in the past and then again in the present which is repetitive but also until the very end of the book doesn't include any pertinent facts.
At the very end of the story it finally gets interesting but then it's a rush to the end and it's over. The last 10% was fairly good but it was a struggle to get there.
If you've read enough of these types of books you can guess some of the twists, although there really weren't a lot of clues to lead you to the end.
Unfortunately, I really can't recommend this one.
December 23, 2017
This is my 5th book I’ve read by Lisa Jackson. All of her other ones I’ve read, I’ve given them 4-5 stars. This book grabbed me from the get go! Each chapter is told from a different persons point of view but it was easy to follow the storyline. It started to drag for me about 1/2 way through. But then at about 78%, i just could not put it down (my kindle). It was action packed till the end. I’m giving this 4 stars since I found myself at times skimming through parts but I did enjoy it.
May 12, 2017
You Will Pay is the latest mystery novel by Lisa Jackson. Camp Horseshoe is a religious summer camp run by the preacher Jeremiah and his wife Naomi. The camp shuts down after one fateful night when two teen counselors Ellie and Monica disappear and another is seriously injured. After twenty years the remains of a body is discovered and all the counselors get back together to get their stories straight. The book goes back and forth between the present and past unfolding the secrets the teenagers held all those years ago. What really happened that night ? Was it a prank that went bad or did the two girls fall victim to a convict who escaped prison nearby?
I like Lisa Jackson but was a little disappointed in this book. The book is fast paced but felt rushed. It did have surprise ending but the characters were not developed or very likable. Overall I would rate it 3 stars and even though the story was complete it felt unfinished.
Many thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for this sample copy in exchange for my honest and fair review.
This and more reviews at https://chloesbooksblog.wordpress.com/
I like Lisa Jackson but was a little disappointed in this book. The book is fast paced but felt rushed. It did have surprise ending but the characters were not developed or very likable. Overall I would rate it 3 stars and even though the story was complete it felt unfinished.
Many thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for this sample copy in exchange for my honest and fair review.
This and more reviews at https://chloesbooksblog.wordpress.com/
July 27, 2017
It was just a little too long and drawn out at the end. But the beginning and middle saved it. 3 out of 5 stars.
I received a copy from NetGalley for an honest opinion.
I received a copy from NetGalley for an honest opinion.
May 13, 2020
I really loved this story set in Oregon (for the most part) and on the Pacific Coast. The story goes back and forth starting at Camp Horseshoe in Oregon, and then 20 years in the future. It revolves around nine girl camp counselors, two of whom disappeared 20 years ago, and some of the boy camp counselors and workers who were there at the time. I loved how the author took us back and forth in time, and the characters were so well developed.
May 29, 2017
In a new standalone novel, Lisa Jackson creates a fascinating mystery, anchored in the past, with reverberations in the present. It's another winner from Jackson, though not quite one of my favorites (though that's a tall order, because her books are generally very good).
Twenty years ago, a group of young people were thrown together at a Christian summer camp. As expected hormones and bad behavior raged, culminating in the disappearance of three of the camp's young employees. Now, as a set of bones are discovered, The unsolved disappearances are getting a fresh look. Everyone has something to hide and everyone behaved poorly, but who is a killer? The remaining group is determined to find out.
The mystery of what happened all those years ago is at the heart of this novel. It's so suspenseful and twisty, you can't help but get sucked in and want to find out what happened. There's enough things that will keep you turning pages.
I didn't figure it all out. I had some ideas, but the final outcomes remained a mystery to me. I loved the suspense in this novel and was satisfied with how things turned out. Everything seemed to wrap up nicely.
The novel is not only told in both the past and the present, it is told from various viewpoints, as Jackson shows what happened 20 years ago from all angles. While this provides some good information and adds to the mystery, it does make it hard to really connect with any of the characters.
Because of that, the romance fell flat for me. But I was really in it for the mystery anyway. That's the gem of this novel and what Jackson really does best: creating a world of suspense and mystery that drags you in.
I'll be interested to see if these characters will return for another novel. I wouldn't mind seeing more of Maggie, Annette or Nell. If this does turn into a series, I'll definitely be picking up the future books!
Highly recommended.
Twenty years ago, a group of young people were thrown together at a Christian summer camp. As expected hormones and bad behavior raged, culminating in the disappearance of three of the camp's young employees. Now, as a set of bones are discovered, The unsolved disappearances are getting a fresh look. Everyone has something to hide and everyone behaved poorly, but who is a killer? The remaining group is determined to find out.
The mystery of what happened all those years ago is at the heart of this novel. It's so suspenseful and twisty, you can't help but get sucked in and want to find out what happened. There's enough things that will keep you turning pages.
I didn't figure it all out. I had some ideas, but the final outcomes remained a mystery to me. I loved the suspense in this novel and was satisfied with how things turned out. Everything seemed to wrap up nicely.
The novel is not only told in both the past and the present, it is told from various viewpoints, as Jackson shows what happened 20 years ago from all angles. While this provides some good information and adds to the mystery, it does make it hard to really connect with any of the characters.
Because of that, the romance fell flat for me. But I was really in it for the mystery anyway. That's the gem of this novel and what Jackson really does best: creating a world of suspense and mystery that drags you in.
I'll be interested to see if these characters will return for another novel. I wouldn't mind seeing more of Maggie, Annette or Nell. If this does turn into a series, I'll definitely be picking up the future books!
Highly recommended.
May 30, 2017
3.5 Stars!
Dark, complex, and extremely suspenseful!
This is an action-packed novel that delves into how manipulative, oppressive and malicious teens can truly be and the extent to which they will go to try to fit in.
It is, ultimately, a story about secrets, friendship, coming-of-age, obsession, jealousy, adultery and murder.
The writing is well done. The characters are cunning, selfish and deceptive. And the plot is written in an alluring past/present, back-and-forth style that unravels piece-by piece all the personalities, relationships, motivations and actions within it.
When it comes to writing thrilling mysteries Lisa Jackson is one of the best. However, I do have to admit that even though I enjoyed this story and the surprise ending, I did find the characters to be somewhat unsympathetic and the plot to have a little too many twists and turns for me to fully connect and completely love it.
Thank you to NetGalley, especially Kensington Books, for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
All my reviews can be found on my blog at http://whatsbetterthanbooks.com
Dark, complex, and extremely suspenseful!
This is an action-packed novel that delves into how manipulative, oppressive and malicious teens can truly be and the extent to which they will go to try to fit in.
It is, ultimately, a story about secrets, friendship, coming-of-age, obsession, jealousy, adultery and murder.
The writing is well done. The characters are cunning, selfish and deceptive. And the plot is written in an alluring past/present, back-and-forth style that unravels piece-by piece all the personalities, relationships, motivations and actions within it.
When it comes to writing thrilling mysteries Lisa Jackson is one of the best. However, I do have to admit that even though I enjoyed this story and the surprise ending, I did find the characters to be somewhat unsympathetic and the plot to have a little too many twists and turns for me to fully connect and completely love it.
Thank you to NetGalley, especially Kensington Books, for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
All my reviews can be found on my blog at http://whatsbetterthanbooks.com
April 18, 2020
I just want to go on record to say how much I hate giving a less than stellar review to a long time favorite author. It sounds from the description that this would be another good one by this author...however I think Lisa Jackson must have been on vacation and this was written by a ghost writer. The first part of this book was like watching paint dry. No action to speak of...and no suspense. Each new character reviews the story from the viewpoint of the main character in the chapter. Same thing over an over. There were red herrings galore and off center plot lines that went absolutely nowhere. The premise was good but it just failed to carry through. Never had a Lisa Jackson book quiet like this one.
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April 17, 2018
Näääh. Hat mir nicht gefallen, wenn es auch zum Ende hin etwas spannender wurde..
June 21, 2017
The story opens in Cape Horsehoe, a summer camp near the Oregon coast, as a teenager in a nightgown looks over a cliff at the water below. She decides not to jump but someone from behind gives her a push over the edge. Fast forward twenty years. We learn that 2 camp counselors disappeared at the same time as a ranch hand and no bodies were ever found. An escaped convict was in the area and he was never located. Did he kill everyone?
A skull is found at a cavern nearby. Lucas, son of the man who founded the camp, is now a detective. He and his partner Maggie call all the remaining female camp counselors back to town for in-person interviews about that night twenty years ago. Someone knows the truth.
I am a huge Lisa Jackson fan. As I started reading the first chapter of this book, I kept envisioning the Friday the 13th movie with Jason at the camp. Now this is not a horror story but some scenes were pretty creepy. I couldn't get that movie out of my mind as I read the descriptions of that night at camp.
I didn't know who did the killing so I was surprised by the ending.
A skull is found at a cavern nearby. Lucas, son of the man who founded the camp, is now a detective. He and his partner Maggie call all the remaining female camp counselors back to town for in-person interviews about that night twenty years ago. Someone knows the truth.
I am a huge Lisa Jackson fan. As I started reading the first chapter of this book, I kept envisioning the Friday the 13th movie with Jason at the camp. Now this is not a horror story but some scenes were pretty creepy. I couldn't get that movie out of my mind as I read the descriptions of that night at camp.
I didn't know who did the killing so I was surprised by the ending.
dnf
August 26, 2019 I got about 50% of the way through the book and gave up. Literally, nothing happened. It was halfway through the book and the characters were still not back into the town they had been asked to go back to after the bones on the beach were found. It waffled between past and present in multiple perspectives. It was confusing whose perspective I was getting. I wanted to love this one, but I couldn't take it any more.
March 8, 2018
Even though this story flipped back and forth between the past (20 years ago) and the present, the suspense was so high that you really didn't notice the time changes. Interesting resolution to the 20-year-old mystery. Interesting . . . 7 out of 10.
June 9, 2017
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. I really enjoy this authors work and I thought this book was another winner. The story is a really good murder mystery with a ton of possible suspects and a lot of surprises that helped to keep me interested throughout. Highly recommend!
November 23, 2019
I loved this book. First book I've read by Lisa Jackson In a long time. Great story!
June 6, 2017
ARC REVIEW
You Will Pay is a stand alone (as far as I know) book by Lisa Jackson. I'm big on Lisa Jackson, I have read a bunch of her older stuff. You Will Pay reminds me of a couple of things the video game, Until Dawn, and the movie, I Know What You Did Last Summer. (it's way better then the movie but the video game is so good it's hard to compete with it.) The main difference between these two and this book is that revenge is a dish best served cold, very cold, twenty years cold. It is very complicated story that has you guessing and a decent twist at the end, it also kind of dark, I like that. Unfortunately the pacing and character introduction was not to my liking, it was interesting how she did it, it not unusual for LJ to do the flip flopping between past and present, alternating to different POVs in the past to get the different sides of the story, it was nice but there are seven to nine different POVs to keep track of and I just had a hard time getting into the story especially since most of the characters are really annoying.
It starts off with a young woman standing on the edge of a cliff ready to commit suicide, she's a very religious and young with no idea what to do she has her epiphany and chooses not to go through with it, just then someone comes out of the woods and pushes her over. Her body is never found. A day later two more people disappear, many lay the blame of the disappearances at the hands of the convict that escaped and went missing. This all happened on the grounds of a religious summer camp and the three people who went missing were all camp counselors. Twenty years later remains are found on the beach.
Lucas was there that summer, he was a counselor and is the son of the preacher who ran the camp. He dated the first girl who went missing, it was a very bad summer for him and he prefers not to remember it, but he's a sheriff's deputy and with the skeletal remains showing up on the beach he knows it's all going to come up again. Bernadette was also a camp counselor back then and she fell in love with Lucas but after what happened she wanted to put it all behind her and never contacted him again, but now not only is the Sheriff's department asking her to come in for questioning about what happened back then but an independent journalist, who also happened to be one of the kids at the camp that year is also hounding her for questions. Jo-Beth was the self appointed leader of the counselors back then she devised the story everyone would tell, a story she devised to cover her own ass in the prank she played on one of the other counselors, because after all Monica deserved it but then Monica herself went missing. The secrets are all coming out whether people want them to or not and old romances are being revised.
Overall, it was a good read, not my favorite of her but it was a good read. I didn't predict the ending but it wasn't all that surprising.
You Will Pay is a stand alone (as far as I know) book by Lisa Jackson. I'm big on Lisa Jackson, I have read a bunch of her older stuff. You Will Pay reminds me of a couple of things the video game, Until Dawn, and the movie, I Know What You Did Last Summer. (it's way better then the movie but the video game is so good it's hard to compete with it.) The main difference between these two and this book is that revenge is a dish best served cold, very cold, twenty years cold. It is very complicated story that has you guessing and a decent twist at the end, it also kind of dark, I like that. Unfortunately the pacing and character introduction was not to my liking, it was interesting how she did it, it not unusual for LJ to do the flip flopping between past and present, alternating to different POVs in the past to get the different sides of the story, it was nice but there are seven to nine different POVs to keep track of and I just had a hard time getting into the story especially since most of the characters are really annoying.
It starts off with a young woman standing on the edge of a cliff ready to commit suicide, she's a very religious and young with no idea what to do she has her epiphany and chooses not to go through with it, just then someone comes out of the woods and pushes her over. Her body is never found. A day later two more people disappear, many lay the blame of the disappearances at the hands of the convict that escaped and went missing. This all happened on the grounds of a religious summer camp and the three people who went missing were all camp counselors. Twenty years later remains are found on the beach.
Lucas was there that summer, he was a counselor and is the son of the preacher who ran the camp. He dated the first girl who went missing, it was a very bad summer for him and he prefers not to remember it, but he's a sheriff's deputy and with the skeletal remains showing up on the beach he knows it's all going to come up again. Bernadette was also a camp counselor back then and she fell in love with Lucas but after what happened she wanted to put it all behind her and never contacted him again, but now not only is the Sheriff's department asking her to come in for questioning about what happened back then but an independent journalist, who also happened to be one of the kids at the camp that year is also hounding her for questions. Jo-Beth was the self appointed leader of the counselors back then she devised the story everyone would tell, a story she devised to cover her own ass in the prank she played on one of the other counselors, because after all Monica deserved it but then Monica herself went missing. The secrets are all coming out whether people want them to or not and old romances are being revised.
Overall, it was a good read, not my favorite of her but it was a good read. I didn't predict the ending but it wasn't all that surprising.
June 8, 2017
My thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for an ARC of “You Will Pay” by Lisa Jackson, in exchange for an honest review.
Twenty years ago in a sleepy coastal town in Oregon, a group of wild teenagers were working as counselors at a church camp run by Lucas’ father, a reverend. Among the teens was Lucas’ girlfriend, Elle, and Bernadette, the girl who had him mesmerized. Then, a male camp employee, Elle, another female counselor, and a murderous prison escapee all disappeared within a week of each other, leading to the permanent closure of the camp.
When a local man finds a human skull buried in sand and shallow waters, Lucas—now a detective—is called in to investigate, and when it is determined that the bones belong to one of the missing counselors, the case is reopened. The remaining female counselors—who lied to the police back then—return to the town to be re-interviewed by the authorities, and they’re terrified the truth will come out and ruin the lives they’ve created for themselves. Then, they each receive a text from an unknown sender, with an image that looks like one of the missing counselors, and the message, YOU WILL PAY.
The quick-paced plot alternates from past to present, from the points of view of all the counselors, and as their secrets are slowly revealed, rather than shed light on what happened to those who went missing, it merely creates motives for their disappearance and serves to ratchet up the tension, leaving you guessing until the end, and resulting in a surprising conclusion. The ending was a little over-the-top, but if you’re looking for a fun, suspenseful read this summer, this would be a great book to take with you to the beach.
Twenty years ago in a sleepy coastal town in Oregon, a group of wild teenagers were working as counselors at a church camp run by Lucas’ father, a reverend. Among the teens was Lucas’ girlfriend, Elle, and Bernadette, the girl who had him mesmerized. Then, a male camp employee, Elle, another female counselor, and a murderous prison escapee all disappeared within a week of each other, leading to the permanent closure of the camp.
When a local man finds a human skull buried in sand and shallow waters, Lucas—now a detective—is called in to investigate, and when it is determined that the bones belong to one of the missing counselors, the case is reopened. The remaining female counselors—who lied to the police back then—return to the town to be re-interviewed by the authorities, and they’re terrified the truth will come out and ruin the lives they’ve created for themselves. Then, they each receive a text from an unknown sender, with an image that looks like one of the missing counselors, and the message, YOU WILL PAY.
The quick-paced plot alternates from past to present, from the points of view of all the counselors, and as their secrets are slowly revealed, rather than shed light on what happened to those who went missing, it merely creates motives for their disappearance and serves to ratchet up the tension, leaving you guessing until the end, and resulting in a surprising conclusion. The ending was a little over-the-top, but if you’re looking for a fun, suspenseful read this summer, this would be a great book to take with you to the beach.
September 23, 2017
Soooo good! Pulls you in from the start and keeps your attention. Switching characters from the past and to the present keeps the reader entertained and curious as to what's happening. I love the twists and surprises toward the end. I'm never able to figure it out. Ms. Jackson is one author who is always on my must-buy list. Her writing is outstanding and always gives me chills. It's the perfect bedtime reading for me.
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June 5, 2022War ganz schön spannend bereits von Anfang an. Das Ende war dann teilweise ziemlich schnell, zumindest ein Teil des Endes, vorhersehbar. Trotzdem eine ganz passable Lektüre.
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