Amy's Book Nook

Lost Souls by Lisa Jackson

Kristi Bentz is trying to mend from her traumatic past of almost being murdered not once, but twice by a serial killer. Returning to college to pursue her degree and dream of being a true crime writer, Kristi finds the All Saints campus a bit more updated. The English department is full of hip, hot new male professors that are bringing the college co-eds in for classes such as "The Influence of Vampirism in Modern Culture and Literature" and Shakespeare lectures. Not to mention the bizarre morality plays staged like dark goth dramas. Kristi settles in to study, but is shaken to find that her forensics class is taught by none other than her ex-boyfriend, Jay McKnight.

Kristi is approached by an old roommate who knows of her detective father and Kristi's on penchant for investigating crimes, about some girls who have gone missing. All four girls had troubled pasts and the police are willing to believe they have ran off, but Kristi isn't so sure, especially when she finds out she is living in the apartment of one of those missing. Kristi soons hears of an elite club who wear vials of blood around their necks and hold secret meetings and she is determined to break the inner circle to find out what happened to the girls and why. But little does Kristi know, she is being stalked on campus and off, and it may be difficult for her to untangle herself from this web, especially once she turns to Jay for help.

This book's strength lies in its dark and twisted maze of mystery, as it jumps from Kristi's point of view and that of the killer's. Is there something paranormal going on the small college campus or is it just a deranged mind? The reader is not sure until the very end, and though you see things from the killer's point of view, their identity is not revealed until the very end.

A gothic tale of murder and romance on a college campus setting, "Lost Souls" is a thrilling ride.

"Lost Souls" is published by Kensington Books. It is $22 and 403 pages long.