Lonely Hearts

Jessica Shaw, Book 4

By: Lisa Gray

Narrated by: Amy Landon

She found love on Death Row with her prison pen pal. She’s been missing ever since. Can Jessica Shaw track her down?

A missing persons case should be pretty straightforward for private investigator Jessica Shaw. After all, it’s what she does best. But this latest case proves to be anything but straightforward.

Christine Ryan is desperate to find her childhood friend Veronica Lowe. Veronica disappeared more than fifteen years ago, not long after having a child with a Death Row inmate, notorious serial killer Travis Dean Ford. When Ford’s widow, Jordana, is murdered in the same way as his victims, Christine fears Veronica and her daughter will be next. If they’re even still alive...

Discovering that both Veronica and Jordana were members of the Lonely Hearts Club, a pen pal service for women who want to write to men in prison, Jessica realizes she needs to find Veronica before the killer does. But as Jessica follows the leads it begins to feel like someone is following her. Travis has been dead for years, so who is hunting the Lonely Hearts?

©2021 Lisa Gray (P)2021 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“A deftly plotted slice of modern noir with a tough and likeable heroine…a proper thrill ride.”—Best Magazine

“A clever twisty mystery with plenty of Jessica’s dry wit and an ending that is just begging for the next in the series—highly recommended.”—Susi Holliday, author of Substitute

“Super smart, rocket paced with a twisting turning race against time, Lonely Hearts is one of the best books I’ve read this year. A total must read!”—Steph Broadribb, author of Death in the Sunshine

Loved it !

Big fan of the Jessica Shaw series. I really like being able to listen while doing other things around the house. I have truly enjoyed every one of "Jessica Shaw" stories. They always keep me guessing right up to the very end.
Thank you Lisa Grey

Good book but….

The story was good, but the ending was very anticlimactic. I felt like the author could have given more but just ran out of steam. The other books were good and the end was spectacular. This ending was garbage to find another word. The little was was a good surprise but I think it could have been better. Hopefully the next book is better.

Good addition to the series

Christine Ryan has hired Private Investigator Jessica Shaw to find her childhood friend, Veronica Lowe. Veronica and her young daughter disappeared nearly two decades ago without a trace. Jessica knows this will not be an easy task; but the urgency is ramped up when it is discovered that Veronica's disappearance may tie to a current murder case that is in the news. Both Veronica and the current victim, Jordana Ford, were part of the Lonely Hearts Club...women who correspond with convicted prisoners. Both wrote to infamous serial killer Travis Dean Ford while he spent time on death row.

The fourth book in the Jessica Shaw series has many twists and turns. Like usual, part of the story is told in flashbacks. This allows us to get to know Veronica up till the point where she disappeared. I enjoyed this story and look forward to more books in this series. Amy Landon was the narrator and did a good job.

Excellent as Always

Lisa Grey continues the series with another attention grabbing adventure with twist and turns to keep us guess in until the end.

#abrknpoet reviews Lonely Hearts

Lonely Hearts by Lisa Gray is the fourth instalment in the Jessica Shaw series, featuring a private investigator who specialises in cold cases and crimes against women. In this book, Jessica is hired by Christine Ryan, who wants to find her childhood friend Veronica Lowe. Veronica vanished more than fifteen years ago, after having a child with a death row inmate and serial killer, Travis Dean Ford. When Ford's widow, Jordana, is killed in the same way as his victims, Christine fears that Veronica and her daughter are in danger. Jessica discovers that both Veronica and Jordana were part of the Lonely Hearts Club, a pen pal service for women who want to write to men in prison. Jessica has to find Veronica before the killer does, but she soon realises that someone is following her. Who is hunting the Lonely Hearts?

Positives: The book is well-written and easy to read, with a fast-paced plot and plenty of twists and turns. The characters are realistic and engaging, especially Jessica, who is smart, tough and compassionate. The book also explores some interesting themes, such as loneliness, obsession and redemption.

Negatives: The book is not very original, as it follows a similar formula to the previous books in the series. The killer's identity and motive are not very surprising or convincing. The book also relies on some coincidences and clichés, such as Jessica being attacked several times but always escaping.

@stuartbrknjohns Twitter/Goodreads Author

Characters going the wrong direction.

A really good story. I often guess the killer right away in the book, and this one took awhile. Really well written. I was glad that Jessica was starting to mature an then I was wrong but no. I now visualize her as looking very hard for her age too much smoking, too much junk food, more tattoos, more drinking and of course she hops in bed quickly again. This character went the wrong direction. The story itself was super good, with lots of interesting characters as well as some old ones (just enough to keep it cohesive with the series but not mundane or trite). Note to author, no one under the age of 75 uses the term "Frisco" to refer to San Francisco and no one drives down Hwy 1 along the central coast when they are in a hurry.

Best ever

tThe characters were very interesting. Story line was good but I figured it out before the end.

man I hope there's a 5th book

great story as usual. hope we get to see more of Jessica and her journey. mostly with Conner or Medina.

loved

I really enjoy the way the author writes he stories. you never know what's coming next. highly recommend

extremely unrealistic

For a PI, Jessica really failed to do some actual investigating. it would have been very easy to verify the identity of her client before she got duped, but somehow she didn't? Shoddy work. She then didn't notice she had a tail following her for hundreds if miles... how? Also, if was never explained just how Mia was conceived with her father in prison on death row.