Jessica Jarlvi

This book starts in a rather confusing manner: rather a lot of chapters introducing a different character in different settings and different time frames. It takes quite some commitment to stick with Kristen who fleas to Sweden after finding herself a person of interest following the death of her brother and husband. Despite compelling motives, she keeps asking herself if she's capable of murder. She can't actually remember...

Despite a promising new start in Sweden, her past starts to catch up with her in quite an unexpected manner.

It’s quite a relief when you start to join the dots, but this author doesn’t make it very smooth. It’s a little clumsy and it’s hard to connect with any of the characters.

The editing was a little ragged in places and I was rather shocked that an editor, copy editor and proofreader had missed some howling grammatical errors.

However, once the pieces started to fall into place, I did find myself quite immersed in the book and eager to discover how it would end.… (lisätietoja)

The title of the book, What Did I Do? plainly sets the plot. Her husband is dead. Her brother is dead. She is responsible, isn't she? Oh, and her mother has been crippled by being pushed down the stairs. She was there on all three occasions. She did it, didn’t she? Why doesn’t she clearly remember? I was curious from page one. I kept wondering had she actually done these criminal acts. Beyond the obvious questions, there were things about Kristin that kept me reading this book.

Meanwhile, there are other stories, other characters, and these include memories that are intriguingly connected. They are extremely mysterious. What do these other stories have to do with Kristin? Not only is she haunted by unclear memories, she is being stalked by someone. Her new life, such as it is, could be ruined forever. All Kristen wanted was a new beginning, yet that seems highly unlikely for her.

I found this dark psychological thriller to be truly captivating. After all, was I rooting for a murderer? The twists and turns in What Did I Do? will definitely throw you off! That is how well-written this book by Jessica Jarlvi is! She is definitely an author to watch.… (lisätietoja)

When I Wake Up by Jessica Jarlvi is a 2017 Aria publication.

This book is a bizarre, twisty, little thriller that caught me off guard.

When a popular, dedicated teacher is savagely beaten, leaving her in a coma, her family and colleagues are shocked and devastated.

Investigators seem stumped. By all accounts Anna was highly regarded, lived for her job, and lead a quiet life. Who would want to hurt her? But, as the case unfolds, it becomes obvious that several people closely connected to Anna, has secrets. We also learn that Anna’s marriage wasn’t exactly charmed, her parents are apathetic and her kids are lost and confused. But, Anna, may be harboring the biggest bombshell secret of them all. The mystery deepens as the story unfolds and more and more suspects are added to the list. All we can hope for is that Anna will awaken and name her attacker-

I added this book to my ‘currently reading’ list with the best of intentions, as always, but for some reason I kept putting it off. The cover, while eye popping, is similar in design to a few other thrillers I’ve read, which left me thinking this book was most likely a ‘been there, done that’ type thriller, probably generic, the type that is entertaining enough, just not much of a challenge.

Adding to my lack of enthusiasm was my mistaken impression that this is a psychological thriller, a genre I am still very burned out on right now. However, I knew I needed to get this book read and reviewed, so I admit I pretty much forced myself to start reading it.

Well, I couldn’t have been more wrong about this book. First of all, this not a pure PT, although it does have that tone or atmosphere running through it. However, it is more accurate to say this novel is a dark, cleverly plotted whodunit, and is far from ‘run of the mill’, or generic. I can’t recall reading anything quite like it, at least not recently. So, suffice it to say, I was more than adequately entertained by this one.

Interpersonal issues, family dramas, and marital discord always grab my attention and this book has all these elements in spades. So riveted was I to all the secrets, jealousies, sexual games and manipulations, and unexpected character developments, that I was totally blindsided by the conclusion.

I’m not a big fan of multiple points of view, but in this case, I didn’t find it confusing, annoying or distracting. The only issue was that the story did drag in places. The sexual exploits and games only held my attention for so long before I began to lose patience with it, but the twists always came along just in time to placate me.

The author did a fabulous job of luring me into her trap, leading me willingly down the paths and corridors she wanted me to take. I was so taken aback by my failure to puzzle everything out in advance, I felt embarrassed. That’s what I get for being so over confident!! LOL!

In my defense, the formula is not exactly a new one, but because I had somewhat underestimated the book, so sure was I that I’d sail through it on ‘auto-pilot’, I let my guard down. (That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it!)

Overall, this is a short, wildly entertaining, offbeat mystery you will not want to take lightly!!
9 likes… (lisätietoja)

I wanted to like this more because Jessica Jarlvi did a great job writing descriptively so you could get a very real sense for where the story took place, what was occurring, why and the characters involved. That was also the problem because it was hard trying to connect to her characters since it felt as if the vast majority were the sort of decrepit trash you wouldn’t shed a tear for if they got hit by a car.

She had the bones for an intriguing storyline but when you get into it the actual details of the plot became rather disturbing. Disturbing I could deal with, it’s no worse than our current reality. What I had trouble with were the numerous areas where it dragged feeling as if I was about to be forced into taping my eyes open so I didn’t accidentally fall asleep with some of these images creating nightmares in my subconscious.

There were definitely some interesting points to thrill you so I could easily see why this book will appeal to some but I wasn’t in that camp.… (lisätietoja)