#ATBR2020 Review: Problem Child by Victoria Helen Stone @LUAuthors @jessmapreviews
Problem Child
by Victoria Helen Stone
Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for these copies.
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Publish Date: March 24, 2020
Kindle Edition
262 Pages
Series: Jane Doe #2
Genre: Thriller
She’s cold, calculating, and can deceive with a smile. Jane Doe is back in the Amazon Charts bestselling series - and this time she's met her match.
After a brutal childhood, Jane Doe has been permanently wired to look after herself and only herself. Now, looking next to normal, Jane has a lover and a job. But she hasn't lost her edge. It sharpens when she hears from her estranged family.
Jane's deeply troubled sixteen-year-old niece, Kayla, has vanished, and no one seems to care. Neither does Jane. Until she sees a picture of Kayla and recognizes herself in the young girl's eyes. It's the empty stare of a sociopath.
Jane knows what vengeful and desperate things Kayla is capable of. Only Jane can help her - by being drawn into Kayla’s dark world. And no one's more aware than Jane just how dangerous that can be.
My Review:
I was absolutely OBSESSED after reading Jane Doe last year. We have a main character who knows she's a sociopath and get to see how she navigates life using her inability to empathize or feel like a "normal" person to make her life work to her best advantage. Her inner monologue was a pleasure to read and I absolutely LOVED all the snarky. Jane is someone I would love to be friends with, as much as she can be friends with someone.
Here comes Problem Child - the second in a series. The thing about second in a series is that they unfortunately have the ability to not be as exciting as the first book, especially one like Jane Doe that just smacked my ass and yelled my name. This one felt a little more like a filler as we get to revisit Jane's past, learn more about her and set things up for the next book in the series with the addition of the equally, if not darker, Kayla.
Honestly, I did enjoy this entire ride. Some of the inner monologue still tickled me pink and I felt myself smirking right along with her. I did have some issue with the repetitiveness of Jane's constantly reminding the reader of why she was the way she was. It felt a tad bit overdone as her snarkiness sometimes crossed the line into unnecessary crudeness. Outside of that, I was happy to be back in Jane's world. Now we get to see some the makings of her seemingly multi-faceted personality as the unexpected happened and she just put herself in a situation she *thought* she was prepared for. How will she transverse her life now? I can't wait to find out - bring on book number three please!!
★★★☆
Jessica's Review:
This is book two in the Jane Doe series and book one was one hell of a ride! Jane is a sociopath and I loved the inner monologue as she was trying to live a normal life, well, as normal as it can be. The best part? Stone set us up for book three!
Jane is continuing to succeed at work and continuing her relationship, despite everyone still being oblivious to how she really is. One day she gets a call that will drag her back into her family she has avoided for years. When her niece Kayla goes missing, she really doesn't care but then she finds out from her family that Kayla is cold, unfeeling, and a lot like Jane. In order to get the answers she wants, she is determined to help find her.
So when it comes to a series, some of the books tend to act as a filler to progress some of the back stories of the characters. Which makes sense, because it ends up setting things up for future installments, but it tends to make parts of those books drag. The first part of this book was great and kept the pacing like book one did. The ending was the same way, but the middle portion definitely slowed down.
Overall, Jane Doe is our favorite sociopathic narrator and I can't wait to see where this series continues.
3.5 stars
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