All Saints College, Baton Rouge, Louisiana – Present Day

Four girls have disappeared from All Saints College in less than two years. If it weren’t for the fact that these girls were loners and came from dysfunctional backgrounds, the college would be taking more serious precautions to protect the student body and to look for the madman responsible for the abductions. But for now, based on their past histories, all of the missing girls -- Rylie, Tara, Dionne, and Monique -- and their disappearances have been chalked up to running away, ditching college, or getting into some kind of trouble known only to them.

Kristi Bentz, daughter of New Orleans detective, Rick Bentz (COLD BLOODED), knows that a story lurks between the lines at her old college alma mater. She is returning to school after suffering her own personal tragedy and hoping to make a big splash on the criminal nonfiction scene. She’s eager with a different curriculum and fresh outlook on life, and wishes to finish a degree while gaining some insight into what really happened to the four girls. In her gut, she knows it’s not good news…

Jay McKnight, a New Orleans crime lab tech, is moonlighting in Baton Rouge at All Saints College as a forensics science class instructor. He’s shocked when he reads the roster of students in his upcoming class and it includes Kristi Bentz, his first girlfriend and the one he thought he’d marry. Jay had even gone as far as giving her a promise ring, which seemed so serious back in high school. But things never panned out; she broke up with him and Jay moved on, eventually landing in his chosen career. But he still thinks of Kristi, and even his ex-fiancée blames the breakup of their relationship on Jay’s infatuation with Kristi. Whatever, Jay swears he’s not hung up on the girl -- excuse me, woman -- who ran away. He’s just surprised, that’s all. He’s taken further aback when he sees that one of the names on the list is one of the girls who had disappeared from the campus, Rylie Adams. Weird…

As Kristi accustoms herself to campus life again and works hard to juggle her schoolwork and job at a local diner, and seeing Jay McKnight -- her instructor! -- she notices that a lot has changed since her first days at All Saints. Sure, many of the teaching body remains starchy and unforgiving, but many faculty members have been replaced by fresh faces, and the class loads have changed as well. Back in the day, there’s no way that a course on vampyrism would have been accepted, but Dr. Grotto’s Vampyrism lecture is one of the most popular classes today. Kristi also notices that her class load is very similar to that of the missing girls, and it’s even freakier that she is now renting the apartment of Tara Atwater, the third girl to have disappeared.

Maybe it’s just the atmosphere or the fact that she lives in what was once Tara’s loft-style apartment, but the hairs on Kristi’s neck are on end frequently. Not many at All Saints believe that any harm came to those girls, but Kristi is intent on finding out what happened to them. When she uncovers a secret hobby of some of the students and that they take Dr. Grotto’s class too seriously, Kristi realizes she’s in over her head and may need help. There’s no way she can go to her dad, but Jay can get her some information. While Kristi and Jay race to solve this mystery, an evil presence has his merry way at All Saints and has already picked a new victim.

As always, Lisa Jackson puts on her best game face and brings readers a dark, riveting romantic suspense novel that’s sure to keep you up all night. Chockfull with red herrings and a cast list of several characters that not only make up the student body but who also make quirky suspects, LOST SOULS is a page-turner from beginning to end. Fans will love seeing what Rick Bentz is up to these days and how Kristi is constantly at the forefront of his thoughts as she starts classes up at a school he’d fought against her going to. With all that’s happening on the Baton Rouge campus, Ms. Jackson never loses focus on the rocky relationship between Kristi and Jay. There’s a lot of backstory, and Kristi is afraid to trust herself, as well as Jay, again. But will they ever figure themselves out before the clock stops?

Pick up LOST SOULS as soon as possible and saddle up for an enthralling read from one of the best suspense writers out there today. You won’t want to miss it!

Amy Cunningham