Most Likely to Die

I enjoyed the book, easy to read, interesting from the beginning. Keeps you guessing.

Three friends from high school are forced to confront a ghost from their past when they come together for their twenty-year class reunion. For Kristen Daniels Delmonico, what happened that night in 1986 at the St. Valentine's Day dance, has haunted her life ever since. Her lost love colors her separation with her soon-to-be ex-husband, even extending to her relationship with her angst-ridden, headstrong teenage daughter. So the last thing she wants is to be put in charge of the reunion committee. Lindsay Farrell and Rachel Alsace also remember that night filled with fear and horror. They dread revisiting the ghosts of their past. But one person is excited that there will be a twentieth-anniversary celebration. This person has been planning this day for a long time, and is eager to relive the night is all its gory glory. As alumni are murdered one by one, it's up to the three former best friends to stop the killer. First though, they have to figure out who it is. Told in three sections by each of the three main characters, the story is beautifully and smoothly integrated. The book starts from Kristen's point of view, as written by Lisa Jackson. Lindsay's perspective is up next, written by Wendi Corsi Staub. To finish the spine-tingling tale, comes Rachel's part of the story is written by Beverly Barton. Each author has a distinctive style, and yet together they blend into a wonderfully taut, unique, and chilling voice. Beverly Barton did an outstanding job tying all the threads together, using the other two authors' sneaky placement of red herrings to optimum effect. A frightening roller coaster of a story guaranteed to keep readers hanging on every page, Most Likely To Die tops my list of this year's "Most Likely to Be A Number One Bestseller," with just cause.

I agree with Harriet Klausner (see her review). I totally enjoyed this book. Thought it was suspenseful and I couldn't guess who the killer was until nearly the end. The authors did a wonderful job of writing this story togehter, they each have their own style but you couldn't tell that there was more than one author writing this. I hope that they decide to do another! I thought this was an enjoyable read, kept me glued to the pages. Enjoy!

In 1986 in Portland Oregon, the St. Valentine Day dance at St. Elizabeth's High School is in full swing. When Jake Marcott disappeared from the dance he went to the maze to meet a girl but instead he is killed by an arrow straight through his heart, impaling him to a tree. No suspect is ever found and after two decades, the case is considered cold. On the twentieth year after the events of the St. Valentine's dance, Kirsten Jake's girlfriend at the time is selected to coordinate the school's reunion since it will be torn down next year. Separated from her husband Ross, she finds someone begins stalking her, getting into her house and marking up certain women's invitations to the reunion. Ross takes her and their daughter to his home for their safety. Lindsey, Jake's ex-girlfriend is also in danger with the killer almost killing her in her own home. Two of the women on the committee are killed and the police think it is an accident but others think it was murder. Rachel, a southern police officer who is going to the reunion, traces everything to one killer. She goes through the old records with Dean McMichael an old friend and now something more. They work together because they know the killer has targeted at least three other women and must be stopped before someone else dies. When Lisa Jackson, Beverly Barton, and Wendy Corsi team up, they produce one of the most frightening thrillers of the year. Although each writer has their own style, MOST LIKELY TO DIE is written so smoothly it is impossible to figure who wrote what. The characters in their traumatic circumstances are totally realistic making this feel like a real crime drama and one work readers will definitely remember. Harriet Klausner

Most women need only fret about what slimming, knockout outfits to wear to their 20-year high school class reunion. But Lindsay Ferrell, Kristen Daniels and Rachel Alsace are haunted by the ghost of Jake Marcott, adding a veil of dread to this momentous once-in-a-lifetime event. Each woman had been high school sweetheart to this class hunk and bad boy, who was brutally murdered at the St. Valentine's Day Dance at St. Elizabeth's High School their senior year. At age 18, Jake carried the guilt of being responsible for his best friend Ian's death when he drank and drove. Jake's pain was deep, but not as deep as the pain of the person who brutally pins his body to the trunk of a gnarled oak with a thick arrow on the night of the Valentine's dance. Underneath the hunky image and stylish tuxedo lies a Jake only the killer knows. Jake's murder has never been solved, and it's his secrets that are at the heart of the murderer's identity. Beneath the Valentine hearts and red and white helium-filled balloons that hung from the rafters of the old gym that gruesome night, the dark secrets of the members of the senior class --- including the "Cupid Killer" --- haunt the futures of this 1986 high school class. The 20-year reunion sets the stage for the murderer. The nightmare is about to begin, and members of the reunion committee are most likely to die --- one by one before the reunion. Throughout this fast-paced suspense novel set in rainy Portland, Oregon, we are privy to the evil thoughts, plans and memories of the murderer, as well as her bloodlust as she stabs a former classmate to death: "Die, you miserable, spoiled brat. Die! Die! Die!" The murderer "had both loved and hated Jake's laugh, as she had both loved and hated him." Lindsay, Kristen and Rachel each thought they were in love with Jake; they have never gotten over him or the brutal event that marred the months before graduation. At graduation, only a few including Kristen remained in Portland, while the others fled elsewhere, not really staying in touch until the reunion. The new string of murders brings them back together --- with each other and with former lovers. There is a recurring theme of first loves, unforgettable loves, long-lost loves and found loves threaded through MOST LIKELY TO DIE, superbly written by New York Times bestselling authors Lisa Jackson, Beverly Barton and Wendy Corsi Staub. Love, wild passions and seduction reign over bitter hatred, vengeance and murder as this romantic suspense explores the effects of love, hate, tragedy and a family betrayal. First loves are some of the most memorable, and at 18 we are beginning to make decisions about the types of lovers we desire. Love is magic; it can make your heart skip a beat and it can surprise. When love is in the air we are alive. Lord Byron said, "There is no instinct like that of the heart." Follow your heart. After all, some loves are meant to be. --- Reviewed by Hillary Wagy