Review: Wicked Ways (Wicked #4) by Lisa Jackson, Nancy Bush

The Greatest Terrors

Elizabeth Gaines Ellis is an ordinary suburban wife and mother. That's what she tells herself as she flits between her realtor job, yoga class, and caring for her daughter, Chloe. But for months now, Elizabeth has worried that she's far from normal…that she's somehow the cause of a series of brutal, horrible deaths.

Are The Ones

Her mean-spirited boss. A bullying traffic cop. Her cheating husband. Elizabeth had reason to be angry with them all. She didn't mean for them to die. No one will take her fears seriously--except the private investigator prying into her past. . .

Too Close To See

The more scared and angry Elizabeth becomes, the higher the death toll grows. But those who wrong her aren't the only ones in danger. Because others have secrets too, and a relentless urge to kill without mercy or remorse…

I'm going to just jump right in here. No reason to draw things out. I have read a couple of other books by Lisa Jackson and I enjoyed them. I gave them 4 stars, I really enjoyed them and I just assumed that since I had enjoyed the others that I would enjoy this one. Well, you know what they say about assuming things. I guess that makes me a donkey. A great big one, too. 

I was so excited to pick Wicked Ways up that when I started reading it, it was almost as if I was being slapped in the face. Repeatedly. The writing in this book is NOTHING like any of the other Lisa Jackson books. Nothing. Do not get this book assuming that you will get the same type of magic as you did from previous Jackson novels because you will be totally pissed off when you find out that it's just not the same. On the other hand, this is just my opinion and it wouldn't be the first time I didn't like a book that later became wildly popular, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. 

Anyway ... where to start ... 75% of this novel is about the main character being talked into doing something with her friends and then bitching and complaining in her mind about how she doesn't want to be there. Elizabeth is so passive that it's completely annoying. I always felt like Jackson wrote a really good main character but Elizabeth was so boring and wimpy that it really brought the story down and not in a good or calculated way. She's that annoying girl that can never make up her mind or make a decision on her own. She's basically the worst kind of friend - after you spend an hour talking her into hanging out with you, she will act like a stick in the mud and completely ruin whatever time you have together until she can concoct an excuse to get away from you like you have some flesh-eating disease. Elizabeth felt shallow, not shallow like egotistical but she had no depth. After reading almost 500 pages, I felt like I didn't really know her at all. I had absolutely no connection and to be honest, I really could have cared less what happened to her. 

There are also WAY too many secondary characters, in my opinion. I had a hard time keeping up with all of her girlfriends and their husbands and kids and what support groups they were involved with at the time. It was just too much. Especially when the story dragged on like it did and with that combo, I was just beyond caring about any of it. 

Like I said, it was just boring. Not just boring but BORING boring. The kind of boring where I wanted to put down the book and just not finish it at all. It took me so long (more than a week) to push through this novel that it is ridiculous. I'm glad that I finished it though because the last 10-15% was actually interesting. But only enough to bump up my rating from 1 to 2 stars. And even then, I felt like I was being overly generous. Unfortunately, I think this may have really soured my view on Lisa Jackson completely. I don't know if I will pick up another one of her books after this.

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