The Poet

Lisa Renee Jones

Mar 2021 · Sold by Entangled: Amara

About this ebook

New York Times bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones delivers a gripping new thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.

A detective with a dark secret...

Samantha Jazz used to be one of the top profilers in the Austin PD, living for the chase of hunting down a killer and bringing him to justice. That is, until one bad case nearly destroyed her.

A killer with a hidden agenda...

There’s a new kind of serial killer on the loose––and people are turning up dead. The only clues to their murders lie in the riddles the killer leaves behind. A mystery with more questions than answers, and a suspicion that he’s taunting Samantha.

A dead body wrapped in a riddle...

Samantha will have to use all her wits to solve each new puzzle before the killer can strike again. But the closer she gets to the killer, the more she draws him to her as well. And in this thrilling game of cat and mouse––only one of them will survive.

Ratings and reviews

4.5 stars- THE POET is the first instalment in Lisa Renee Jones’ contemporary, adult SAMANTHA JAZZ suspense series focusing on Detective Samantha Jazz. Told from dual first person point of view (Jazz and The Poet) THE POET follows Detective Samantha Jazz as she is handed an ongoing investigation into a killer Detective Roberts has dubbed ‘The Professor’ but Detective Roberts is missing forcing Samantha Jazz to work through the information on her own. With the help of fellow detective Ethan ‘Lang’ Langford, and FBI Special Agent Wade Miller, Samantha begins to unearth a pattern of poetry and jazz, newly dubbing the suspect ‘The Poet’ leading our heroine to believe she is the inevitable target of a twisted mind. THE POET is a fascinating, thrilling and suspense filled story of obsession and madness, betrayal and revenge. Lisa Renee Jones pulls the readers into a twisted, haunting and complex tale; a detailed and ever evolving story of mania and madness. For fans of the author’s LILAH LOVE series, there are many similarities that parallel one another.

Fans of the Inside Out series will be excited to see that Lisa Renee Jones is embarking on a new series. With The Poet, she introduces readers to Samantha Jazz in a police procedural that is deep on character but a bit slapdash with plot coherence. Jazz is a troubled young officer who has had enough drama of her own and is now tasked with chasing down a serial killer who seems to be obsessed with her. The culprit seems to know a thing or two about Jazz and her fondness for poetry, so his signature is leaving victims with quotes placed in their mouths for her to decipher. Jazz is fully developed with an intriguing backstory, complete with clear defensiveness and biases. Jones has her character experience the benefits and drawbacks to her heavy use of intuition and laser focus during an investigation. She also sprinkles in chapters narrated by the killer that provides some insight into his motivations. The book seems abruptly bifurcated with red herrings and implausible consequences. The debatable authority that Jazz is given due to her “expertise” in poetry and her irrational behavior during her pursuit of the Poet are unconvincing and require a good deal of acceptance from the reader. Many who follow these types of fictional accounts would be more savvy about how procedures are followed than the supposedly competent heroine. The Poet is a decent exploration of how human fallibility can lead us astray even when the stakes are highest. Experienced readers of the genre will experience some frustration with how the author requests a suspension of disbelief that may not be worth the effort. Thanks to the author Entangled/Amara and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

4 star Review of The Poet by Lisa Renee Jones Detective Samantha Jazz takes over the the hunt for a killer known as “The Poet”. Unbeknownst to her, he is manipulating the situation as he wants her to investigate the murders, before she becomes one of his victims. Danger lurks at every corner, will Samantha solve the riddle of the poems left at the scene of the crimes before it is too late? There were so many plots twists that I was kept guessing and I needed to concentrate to ensure I didn’t loose track and to me that is the sign of a good book that has drawn you right in to the storyline. The intrigue, suspense, danger and secrets had me riveted from the first chapter until the last, I was absolutely hooked and feel that this is one of the best examples of romantic suspense I have read in a long time. I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

About the author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones writes dark, edgy fiction, including the LILAH LOVE thriller series and the highly acclaimed INSIDE OUT series, as well as many others successful titles. Prior to publishing, Lisa owned a multistate staffing agency that was recognized many times by the Austin Business Journal. In 1998, Lisa’s was listed as the #7 growing women-owned business in Entrepreneur magazine. She lives in Colorado with her husband, a cat that talks too much, and a golden retriever who is afraid of trash bags. Lisa loves to hear from her readers. You can reach her on Twitter and Facebook daily.

lisareneejones.com