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The Cahills #2
Almost Dead
When a mysterious killer bent on revenge begins targeting members of her family, Cissy Cahill must unravel a deadly mystery linked to her family's secret past before she becomes the next victim.
419 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
3659 people are currently reading
8255 people want to read
About the author
Lisa Jackson
271 books9,571 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 - 30 of 560 reviews
July 27, 2025
Geez Louise!! Lisa Jackson has written over 75 novels and this is only my 7th Jackson book. I generally rate her books four or five stars and Almost Dead delivers a whopping punch!
Reel me in! From the first page, I was hooked like a fish on a lure.
Every family has some level of dysfunction and the Cahill and Amhurst families have plenty! Cissy Cahill's mother, Marla, has escaped from prison after being incarcerated for ten years. And one by one, family relatives are murdered. Cissy's husband, Jack, might be cheating on her as well.
Highly suspenseful!
Reel me in! From the first page, I was hooked like a fish on a lure.
Every family has some level of dysfunction and the Cahill and Amhurst families have plenty! Cissy Cahill's mother, Marla, has escaped from prison after being incarcerated for ten years. And one by one, family relatives are murdered. Cissy's husband, Jack, might be cheating on her as well.
Highly suspenseful!
February 29, 2012
I am so annoyed by these so called "thriller writers" who disguise the book cover and plot on back cover to make the novel seem a first rate thriller whereas the novel is a harlequin romance duplicate with a few pathetic "suspense moments" thrown in.
A few dreadful things about this book-
* Heroine Cissy is a spoilt narcissistic bitch who thinks she is superior to everybody and is clearly rude to all her family members who even care to give her a time of the day.
* For the whiny heroine the only thing she loves in the world is her pathetic dumb cow of a husband whom she cant resist even after he seemingly cheated on her (pathetic) and a super-annoying baby. God I hated the baby in this who was just an attention seeking spoilt brat. Like mother-like son right?
* The final plot twist is laughable. LOL so funny. You know what a great plot twist would've been? Kill the husband and the baby and send the whiny heroine to an institution.
I am not so harsh in reviewing books but this one was one of the worst so called thriller I've read. Lisa Jackson is an OK writer's who has written some good novel's (Without Mercy which had a great ending twist) but this novel was dreadful. The Cahill Family book 1 (If only she knew) was OK but it had really nice ending to the Cahill family saga. But this second book really screwed up the series. Cissy's story was so not required.
A few dreadful things about this book-
* Heroine Cissy is a spoilt narcissistic bitch who thinks she is superior to everybody and is clearly rude to all her family members who even care to give her a time of the day.
* For the whiny heroine the only thing she loves in the world is her pathetic dumb cow of a husband whom she cant resist even after he seemingly cheated on her (pathetic) and a super-annoying baby. God I hated the baby in this who was just an attention seeking spoilt brat. Like mother-like son right?
* The final plot twist is laughable. LOL so funny. You know what a great plot twist would've been? Kill the husband and the baby and send the whiny heroine to an institution.
I am not so harsh in reviewing books but this one was one of the worst so called thriller I've read. Lisa Jackson is an OK writer's who has written some good novel's (Without Mercy which had a great ending twist) but this novel was dreadful. The Cahill Family book 1 (If only she knew) was OK but it had really nice ending to the Cahill family saga. But this second book really screwed up the series. Cissy's story was so not required.
October 25, 2015
I read this awhile ago but I never rated it on here. Great book!
June 17, 2009
I have read many Lisa Jackson books and have liked them all. I found this book to be very long and boring. There seemed to be no plot at all and the ending was predictable. This was one book that I considered not finishing. I was glad when I finally got to the last page.
October 28, 2016
This features - hands down - the most horrid main character I've ever had to endure in a book. Ever! I HATED Cissy. HATED!!!! I wanted the killer to finish her off. She was HORRIBLE.
Did I mention how much I hated Cissy?!? Oh my God, she was awful. Stuck-up, snotty, entitled, belligerent, irrational....you name it!
Did I mention how much I hated Cissy?!? Oh my God, she was awful. Stuck-up, snotty, entitled, belligerent, irrational....you name it!
July 5, 2012
This was a big book ... there were a lot of pages. Which was fine but it didn't have to be. It could have been cut down a lot.
The writing style was okay. The story was so-so ... kind of convoluted. I didn't buy the ending ... the "whodunnit". At the end, I said "whatever". If I say too much, I'll give it away so I'll leave it at that. And I didn't really care about any of the characters except for Coco, the dog.
Would I recommend it? No.
The writing style was okay. The story was so-so ... kind of convoluted. I didn't buy the ending ... the "whodunnit". At the end, I said "whatever". If I say too much, I'll give it away so I'll leave it at that. And I didn't really care about any of the characters except for Coco, the dog.
Would I recommend it? No.
January 16, 2012
WOW. this book kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. Literally until the Epilogue. I don't think I've ever been so excited about a book. Just when you think you have bits and pieces figured out it throws you for a loop & then you're like "oh for sure I understand it all now..." NOPE. Definitely recommend if you enjoy Murder Mysteries. Cannot wait to start my next book by this author.
April 16, 2013
I'm not sure I will be reading anymore Lisa Jackson books as I've found the more I read them, the weaker I find them. I felt this one especially was really, really repetitive. Cissy would tell Jack to leave, he would stay, she would accept it. The next morning she would 'come to her senses', he would leave - then return the same day, and she would make weak protests and accept it. Meanwhile her family members are getting bumped off so a bit of the chapter would be about that and how Cissy was panicking. Combined with the constant talk of the murderer trying to convince the escapee prisoner to move around the house (I'd like to know how many times the phrase "keep the curtains/blinds/drapes closed" was written) and straight up rude comments from Jack's sister (and barely anyone calling her out on it...) I just felt like I was reading the same chapter over and over with a new family members name put in as the murder victim. It was not interesting.
March 27, 2017
Personal biases aside, this was actually not as bad as I had been expecting, though not as great as I'd hoped for either. While the beginning was kind of slow to get into, and the characters were hard to really relate with or like, this was overall pretty entertaining with a plot twist that was actually quite startling, in a good way.
Still, lots of plot holes, and try as I might, I couldn't really get myself to like any of the characters. Even the sometimes adorable toddler got annoying at times. And I felt like a lot of the family conflict felt unnecessary, but kept in tone with the whole dysfunctional family theme going on.
One of the things that has always bugged me about the few Lisa Jackson books I've read is the exposition fairy insertion. At some point in time (or several moments, in this book), someone will sit down and have a discussion, outlining what's going on in the story, detail by detail. As if the reader had the memory of a goldfish and didn't already know all the facts up to that point.
There were a few scenes at the beginning like this, and several little moments where our main detective did as much, giving the same details and reasons over and over again as to why certain people couldn't be a suspect. So on and so forth.
This kind of insertion is often times jarring to a reader. I would like to just move forward with the story rather than sit around discussing what's happened since we last convened three pages ago. And I don't need to be told five times that Cissy couldn't possibly be the killer--after all, this is a romantic suspense novel, romance being first priority. It'd be a little hard to have a Happily Ever After™ if our main heroine were a psychotic murderer.
Again, I also had some problems with the characters, but not so much that I didn't like them as much as I just felt like they were NOT interesting, in the least. And we'll just leave it at that.
The ending picked up and got a little more exciting. The empty mansion scene where the elevator frightens Cissy was actually done pretty well. The horrific twist near the ending was also, as I've stated, quite startling, and I liked it.
Otherwise, this is a nice book you can read on a rainy day if you've got nothing else on hand.
Still, lots of plot holes, and try as I might, I couldn't really get myself to like any of the characters. Even the sometimes adorable toddler got annoying at times. And I felt like a lot of the family conflict felt unnecessary, but kept in tone with the whole dysfunctional family theme going on.
One of the things that has always bugged me about the few Lisa Jackson books I've read is the exposition fairy insertion. At some point in time (or several moments, in this book), someone will sit down and have a discussion, outlining what's going on in the story, detail by detail. As if the reader had the memory of a goldfish and didn't already know all the facts up to that point.
There were a few scenes at the beginning like this, and several little moments where our main detective did as much, giving the same details and reasons over and over again as to why certain people couldn't be a suspect. So on and so forth.
This kind of insertion is often times jarring to a reader. I would like to just move forward with the story rather than sit around discussing what's happened since we last convened three pages ago. And I don't need to be told five times that Cissy couldn't possibly be the killer--after all, this is a romantic suspense novel, romance being first priority. It'd be a little hard to have a Happily Ever After™ if our main heroine were a psychotic murderer.
Again, I also had some problems with the characters, but not so much that I didn't like them as much as I just felt like they were NOT interesting, in the least. And we'll just leave it at that.
The ending picked up and got a little more exciting. The empty mansion scene where the elevator frightens Cissy was actually done pretty well. The horrific twist near the ending was also, as I've stated, quite startling, and I liked it.
Otherwise, this is a nice book you can read on a rainy day if you've got nothing else on hand.
February 1, 2016
Review: 1CAlmost Dead 1D by Lisa Jackson. This is a great book. I recommend it to all lovers of suspense, muders, mystery, thriller and most of all REVENGE. It was a book I had a hard time putting down. The story was amazing and keep me on guard. I would think one way the story was going and it just kept changing. It was an intriguing and an exciting book to read.
The story was about a well known three generation Family. In that family there was one secret and that secret was about to be exposed. Plots and plans of murder were around every corner and very well planned out, with one exception. One of the players was not following the plans the way they were set up. This person decided to add kidnapping an eighteen month old baby to the plans. I thought I knew the answers to my most asked questions as I was reading through the book. However, It got to the point that I was wrong most of the time. The writer made it hard to make any connection to a reasonable answer to who the killer or killers could be. This made me read more because I wanted to know who was behind the murders. One Victim was pushed to her death, the second victim suffered a fatal overdose and the third victim was shot in the heart. Like the book states 26 1Cthree down more to go 1D.
The story was about a well known three generation Family. In that family there was one secret and that secret was about to be exposed. Plots and plans of murder were around every corner and very well planned out, with one exception. One of the players was not following the plans the way they were set up. This person decided to add kidnapping an eighteen month old baby to the plans. I thought I knew the answers to my most asked questions as I was reading through the book. However, It got to the point that I was wrong most of the time. The writer made it hard to make any connection to a reasonable answer to who the killer or killers could be. This made me read more because I wanted to know who was behind the murders. One Victim was pushed to her death, the second victim suffered a fatal overdose and the third victim was shot in the heart. Like the book states 26 1Cthree down more to go 1D.
December 2, 2022
Not the best by Lisa Jackson, although there were parts where I couldn't put the book down, especially towards the end.
First of all what bothers me is the reason behind the revenge of the serial killers in Lisa Jackson's books - she seems to repeat herself in almost each book I've read by her. It started being predictable and not very creative.
Second thing - the beginning of this particular book was dragged. At times it seemed forever until something started happening actually.
I love reading Lisa Jackson but some of her books can be a miss. ''Almost dead'' is a ok romantic suspense book with some good twists but the execution of the story could have been better.
First of all what bothers me is the reason behind the revenge of the serial killers in Lisa Jackson's books - she seems to repeat herself in almost each book I've read by her. It started being predictable and not very creative.
Second thing - the beginning of this particular book was dragged. At times it seemed forever until something started happening actually.
I love reading Lisa Jackson but some of her books can be a miss. ''Almost dead'' is a ok romantic suspense book with some good twists but the execution of the story could have been better.
June 11, 2012
I couldn't even finish this book, sadly. I love Lisa Jackson but this book was so dull. it seemed like the only thing going on was one character complaining about her ex husband. then another character complaining about never leaving the house. someone dies and there is MORE complaining. couldn't finish it
June 4, 2015
Pretty involved murder mystery involving the rich and privileged in San Francisco. When the matriarch of the wealthy Cahill family is murdered in her mansion the suspicion falls on her daughter in law who recently escaped from prison. Several murders follow and things aren't always what they appear. Good story.
November 7, 2016
Just about fifty pages in, here's my review: insipid, dull, insulting.
June 13, 2019
Someone is killing Cissy Cahill’s family and everyone suspects her mother, a recent prison escapee.
The first victim is Cissy’s grandmother, thrown off a balcony. The second victim is Cissy’s uncle in a special care facility where he has been since his mother accidentally ran over him when he was a child. But that is just the beginning!
But the murder’s do not stop there. With each newly murdered victim, Cissy feels a target growing on her own back. But, when they find Cissy’s mother dead in a rented house, a long kept skeleton in the family closet is exposed and Cissy must figure out the truth or die!
The first victim is Cissy’s grandmother, thrown off a balcony. The second victim is Cissy’s uncle in a special care facility where he has been since his mother accidentally ran over him when he was a child. But that is just the beginning!
But the murder’s do not stop there. With each newly murdered victim, Cissy feels a target growing on her own back. But, when they find Cissy’s mother dead in a rented house, a long kept skeleton in the family closet is exposed and Cissy must figure out the truth or die!
November 29, 2025
A fantastic follow up!!! Pretty excited for the 3rd!
April 1, 2017
Another good book, I thought I had it figured out pretty early on but there were quite a few twists & turns I hadn't thought of. A good read, quite a few times I found myself not able to put it down.
May 18, 2013
This book was very good, it caught my attention at the very beginning. I was very confused because of the little parts of the girl in the hospital. At first I didn't know who she was, And when I realized who she was. I was shocked to the bone.
February 25, 2019
Having read this author before I expected more realism than I got. Especially where it referred to the main characters 18-month old son, BJ for Brian Jack. And as if BJ wasn’t enough of a short nick name, often referred to as Beej. 🙄 I’ve never seen (but not saying it’s impossible) a baby that young, still in diapers, talking in sentences and using words like “pigheaded.” Asking mommy if she was sad, etc. That was just a slight annoyance but I found myself skimming through other parts of what I would normally like in a crime novel. Some parts were repetitive.
It opens with a woman in a coma, but what woman it is readers won’t know until the end. That part of the novel kept me turning the pages.
Cissy (BJ’s mommy) is the main character. A woman with a psycho mother who just escaped from prison. The family is wealthy and when Cissy’s grandmother is killed she stands to gain financially. When other members of her family meet their deaths unexpectedly, it’s assumed Cissy is also a target.
The novel is written in such a way that there are several possibilities as to who the perpetrators are. We know there are two people involved in the crimes, we just don’t know which ones. The ending brought closure for the reader, no cliffhangers here.
Not one of my faves by the author, but not bad. This is an older novel 2007, that I happened to have around, poked my nose into and ended up reading through it. Just had to know who the perps were.
It opens with a woman in a coma, but what woman it is readers won’t know until the end. That part of the novel kept me turning the pages.
Cissy (BJ’s mommy) is the main character. A woman with a psycho mother who just escaped from prison. The family is wealthy and when Cissy’s grandmother is killed she stands to gain financially. When other members of her family meet their deaths unexpectedly, it’s assumed Cissy is also a target.
The novel is written in such a way that there are several possibilities as to who the perpetrators are. We know there are two people involved in the crimes, we just don’t know which ones. The ending brought closure for the reader, no cliffhangers here.
Not one of my faves by the author, but not bad. This is an older novel 2007, that I happened to have around, poked my nose into and ended up reading through it. Just had to know who the perps were.
January 14, 2018
I love mysteries and Lisa Jackson is definitely a well known author in this genre. I've read a lot of Julie Garwood's mysteries and this was recommended to me by a friend. This was a good story and I really like when I can't figure out who the murderer is, but it lacked the edge of your seat/can't wait to turn to the next page feature. The story was interesting and enough to keep me going and there were definitely some moments of suspense and intrigue. I just felt like it needed a bit more excitement. If you love murder mysteries though, don't count this one out. It just wasn't my style.
July 31, 2018
"Almost Dead" is by far a highly cultivated combination of dexterity and perplexity!
If you are a reader looking for a thriller/suspense novel then THIS IS YOUR BOOK!♡
You'll be over-your-head and on-the-edge-of-your-seat due to all the enigmatic events!!!!
And IF you try to speculate what's going to happen and foresee something, don't hold your breath! Because you'll dumbfounded and flabbergasted of all the unanticipated, mind-boggling and startling turning points you'll encounter!!
This page-turner is a thrill that cannot be PASSED OVER!!
If you are a reader looking for a thriller/suspense novel then THIS IS YOUR BOOK!♡
You'll be over-your-head and on-the-edge-of-your-seat due to all the enigmatic events!!!!
And IF you try to speculate what's going to happen and foresee something, don't hold your breath! Because you'll dumbfounded and flabbergasted of all the unanticipated, mind-boggling and startling turning points you'll encounter!!
This page-turner is a thrill that cannot be PASSED OVER!!
May 24, 2021
I’m not overly sold on this author yet. I thought that there were a few flaws in the investigation. When I finished the book and realized it was the second in a series though, I did assume that is why there weren’t many details about Marla’s past crimes, which were only alluded to vaguely. It might have helped my enjoyment of the book if I had read the prequel.
November 1, 2022
This was a very intriguing mystery with so many twists. Could hardly put it down!
March 14, 2023
Good storyline. Maybe could’ve been a tad shorter , started to get drawn out towards the end. But overall good read !
June 9, 2023
Tbh, I'd skip this. The plot honestly didn't get good until less than 100 pages from the end. Then it turned into a thriller. Until then, it limped along, with just enough of a promise to keep me hoping that the next page would reveal the true mystery. But no. Just more blah. They could have edited this a lot better if they honestly wanted this to be a thriller.
February 28, 2023
As always Lisa Jackson does NOT disappoint! I loved this book and all the unexpected twists!
September 16, 2023
The plot was well written. It got me and was surprised by the different situations that was presented. Enjoyed the read.
January 5, 2018
Great suspense
I definitely would recommend this series. Lisa writes and keeps you in your toes. I hope she is able to bring the Cahills back for another story.
I definitely would recommend this series. Lisa writes and keeps you in your toes. I hope she is able to bring the Cahills back for another story.
July 28, 2023
You'll never see another author with such a hard-on for males that have no respect for the women. If it's not in the first book where he just straight up has no respect. It's in the second book where he says he loves you but has no respect for your boundaries. On top of that, the only time she likes to write a woman that has a freaking backbone is if they are the villain, if the woman isn't morally corrupt then she just rolls over and lets the man steam roll her.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 560 reviews