Jackson, Lisa

(Susan Lynn Crose)

PERSONAL: Born in OR; children: two sons. Hobbies and other interests: Crossword puzzles, reading, hiking.

ADDRESSES: Home—Lake Oswego, OR.

CAREER: Writer. Has worked in banks and insurance and trust companies.

MEMBER: Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, Romance Writers of America.

WRITINGS:

NOVELS

A Twist of Fate, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1983.

Shadow of Time, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1984.

Dark Side of the Moon, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1984.

Gypsy Wind, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1985.

A Dangerous Precedent, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1985.

Devil’s Gambit, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1985.

Innocent by Association, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1985.

Midnight Sun, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1985.

Pirate’s Gold Harlequin (New York NY) 1985.

Yesterday’s Lies, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1986.

Zachary’s Law, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1986.

Renegade Son, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1987.

Snowbound, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1987.

Summer Rain, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1987.

Hurricane Force, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1988.

In Honor’s Shadow, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1988.

Tender Trap, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1989.

Aftermath, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1989.

His Bride to Be, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1989.

With No Regrets, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1990.

Double Exposure, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1990.

Mystery Man, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1991.

Obsession, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1991.

Sail Away, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1992.

Million Dollar Baby, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1992.

A Husband to Remember, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1993.

Intimacies, Zebra (New York, NY), 1995.

New Year’s Daddy, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1996.

The Millionaire and the Cowgirl, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1996.

A Fortune’s Children Christmas: Angel Baby, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1998.

Twice Kissed, Zebra (New York, NY), 1998.

Wishes, Zebra (New York, NY), 1999.

Unspoken, Zebra (New York, NY), 1999.

Tis the Season: Snowbound, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1999.

Lone Stallion’s Lady, Silhouette (New York, NY), 2000.

Slow Heat, Zebra (New York, NY), 2001.

Wild and Wicked, Signet (New York, NY), 2002.

Santa Baby: A Baby for Christmas, Zebra (New York, NY), 2002.

Tears of Pride, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2002.

Mystic, Mira Books (New York, NY), 2002.

Whispers, Zebra (New York, NY), 2003.

See How She Dies, Kensington (New York, NY), 2004.

Deck the Halls, Zebra (New York, NY), 2004.

Deep Freeze, Zebra (New York, NY), 2005.

Strangers, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2005.

Final Scream, Zebra (New York, NY), 2005.

Kiss Me Again, Zebra (New York, NY), 2005.

(With Beverly Barton and Wendy Corsi Staub) Most Likely to Die, Kensington (New York, NY), 2007.

Lost Souls, Kensington (New York, NY), 2008.

Left to Die, Zebra (New York, NY), 2008.

Contributor to numerous anthologies.

“MAVERICK” SERIES

He’s Just a Cowboy, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1993.

He’s a Bad Boy, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1993.

He’s the Rich Boy, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1993.

He’s My Soldier Boy, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1994.

“LOVE LETTERS” SERIES

A Is for Always, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1994.

B Is for Baby, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1994.

C Is for Cowboy, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1994.

D Is for Dani’s Baby, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1995.

Love Letters (omnibus), Harlequin (New York, NY), 2000.

“FOREVER FAMILY” SERIES

A Family Kind of Gal, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1998.

A Family Kind of Guy, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1998.

A Family Kind of Wedding, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1999.

“DARK JEWELS” SERIES

Dark Ruby, Topaz (New York, NY), 1998.

Dark Emerald, Topaz (New York, NY), 1999, Signet (New York, NY), 2004.

Dark Sapphire, Signet (New York, NY), 2000.

“THE McCAFFERTYS” SERIES

The McCaffertys: Thorne, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2000.

The McCaffertys: Matt, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2001.

The McCaffertys: Slade, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2002, 2006.

Best Kept Lies: The McCaffertys: Randi, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2004.

“DETECTIVE ANTHONY PATERNO” SERIES

If She Only Knew, Zebra (New York, NY), 2000.

Fatal Burn, Kensington Pub. Corp. (New York, NY), 2006.

“NEW ORLEANS” SERIES

Hot Blooded, Zebra (New York, NY), 2001.

Cold Blooded, Zebra (New York, NY), 2002.

Shiver, Kensington Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Absolute Fear, Kensington (New York, NY), 2007.

Almost Dead, Zebra (New York, NY), 2007.

MEDIEVAL TRILOGY

Impostress, Signet (New York, NY), 2003.

Temptress, Signet (New York, NY), 2004.

Sorceress, Signet (New York, NY), 2007.

“SAVANNAH” SERIES

The Night Before, Zebra (New York, NY), 2003.

The Morning After, Zebra (New York, NY), 2004.

NOVELS; AS SUSAN LYNN CROSE

Brass Ring, Bantam Loveswept (New York, NY), 1988.

Enchantress, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1991.

HISTORICAL TRILOGY; AS SUSAN LYNN CROSE

Enchantress, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1993, 2003.

Kiss of the Moon, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1994, 2004.

Outlaw, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1995.

SIDELIGHTS: Lisa Jackson began writing romance novels as a way out of babysitting for a living; her first novel, A Twist of Fate, was published less than two years after she and her sister decided there had to be a better way to make a living. In a career that began in the early 1980s, she has published over seventy titles, working in historical romance and suspense and thriller romance genres. Though many of her early books are straight contemporary or historical romance titles, later books have focused more on suspense and crime and have reached mainstream best-seller lists. Born and raised in Oregon, Jackson sets many of her titles in that northwestern state. Writing on her home page, Jackson described her suspense novels: “These are all pretty intense, steamy books with lots of psychological drama, dark secrets, and a mystery all wrapped around a love story.” She also tends to write novels that work together in pairs, such as Hot Blooded and Cold Blooded, featuring a pair of detectives, Bentz and Montoya, working in New Orleans, or The Morning After and The Night Before, set in Savannah, and featuring two other detectives, Reed and Morrisette.

The 2001 Hot Blooded initiates Jackson’s pairing of detective novels. New Orleans Police Detective Rick Bentz pursues a killer whose victims seem to be mainly prostitutes, but his case takes an unlikely turn when a local psychologist and radio talk-show host, Dr. Sam (short for Samantha), starts to get threatening calls from this serial murderer. Bentz is not sure that the new leads will take him to his killer, but he works on instinct in what Harriet Klausner, writing for All Readers.com, called “an exciting romantic suspense tale with a strong emphasis on the suspense.” In the 2002 sequel, Cold Blooded, a woman with second sight “witnesses” several gruesome murders and then must convince Bentz and his sidekick Ruben Montoya that she has had visions of actual murders in New Orleans. Klausner called Cold Blooded “an exciting serial killer thriller” in her AllReaders.com review and went on to praise Jackson for presenting “fans of serial killer plots, police procedurals, and romantic suspense with an entertaining tale.” A critic for Publishers Weekly noted that though some readers would be put off by the “graphic detail” of the crimes, “others will be intrigued by Jackson’s portrayal of the grotesqueries that result when faith and family are perverted.”

In The Night Before, Jackson presents “an exciting romantic psychological suspense filled with plenty of twists,” according to Klausner in her AllReaders.com review. When a young woman awakes in an alcoholic haze, covered in blood, she cannot remember what happened the night before, but soon she becomes the focus in an investigation into the murder of her husband. Detectives Reed and Morrisette delve into the case while the woman in question, Caitlyn Bandeaux, seeks help from a psychiatrist with more than healing on his mind.

Jackson continues with her Savannah police theme in The Morning After, in which a woman wakes up to discover that she is in a coffin on top of a dead body, and then realizes that she is, in fact, in the process of being buried alive. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly called this a “bone-chilling, if melodramatic” beginning, further noting that Jackson “skillfully crafts a horrific thriller” with a “beautifully conceived plot” around the premise of a serial killer who likes to kill his victims in graveyards. Pierce Reed, the Savannah detective on the case, begins to fall for a tough-minded female journalist also working the case, but soon he begins to fear that this reporter may be the next intended victim of the killer. For Klausner, reviewing The Morning After for AllReaders.com, Jackson’s suspense novel is “a solid terse tale that hooks the audience from the eerie opening scene until the climax.”

With Deep Freeze, Jackson serves up a “well-crafted romantic thriller,” according to a reviewer for Publishers Weekly. Set in Oregon, the novel deals with yet another serial killer: one who likes to make women dress up like his favorite actress before he kills them. Retired now to a small town in Oregon, Jenna, the movie star in question, knows that soon her stalker will actually come for her. The Publishers Weekly contributor went on to call the novel “fast-paced and surprisingly complex,” and one that “will keep readers riveted.”

In Fatal Burn, Jackson returns to the universe of Deep Freeze to follow up on Travis Settler and his daughter Dani. When Dani is kidnapped, Travis sets out to see if her biological mother, Shannon Flannery—who long ago gave the girl up for adoption—has any clue as to where she might be. Together the pair discover that Dani’s disappearance, some cases of arson, and a number of local murders that have gone unsolved are all linked—both to each other and to Shannon’s own troubled past. Even as they attempt to get to the bottom of the mystery and to rescue Dani, Shannon and Travis find themselves drawn to each other. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly found that the book’s “tight, twisty plot catapulting toward a fiery conclusion will please fans and should earn Jackson new ones.”

Set in New Orleans, Shiver tells the story of Abby Chastain, a woman looking to change her life. She and her husband Luke had returned to New Orleans—Abby’s hometown—in an attempt to shore up their marriage, but when Luke failed to stop chasing skirts, Abby ultimately divorced him. However, when Luke is murdered, along with a young woman, Abby’s fresh start begins to take a terrifying turn. Detective Reuben Montoya informs her that the deaths seem linked to the local hospital for the mentally ill, Our Lady of Virtues. Although no longer operational and set to be demolished, Our Lady of Virtues once housed Abby’s own mother, who committed suicide there, and Abby finds herself questioning why all the deaths in her life seem to involve the old building. Booklist reviewer Mary Frances Wilkens praised the book for its suspense and mysterious questions, remarking that “readers will know the answers soon enough because they won’t be able to put this one down.”

Absolute Fear, another of Jackson’s “New Orleans” series, chronicles the experiences of Eve Renner as she recovers from a number of gunshot wounds. Eve had been lured to the place where a good friend of hers was killed, and at the crime scene was shot herself. Even worse, thanks to some mild amnesia regarding the night in question, she knows only that her boyfriend Cole is serving time for the shooting; she is unable to remember whether or not he actually shot her. When Cole is released from prison and himself lured to another murder scene, the case becomes even more complex. Booklist reviewer Maria Hatton dubbed the book “wonderfully written, tense, and suspenseful with shocking revelations at every turn.”

Jackson cowrote Most Likely to Die with fellow romantic suspense novelists Beverly Barton and Wendi Corsi Staub. The story revolves around a twenty-year high school reunion that seems to have inspired some rather horrific revenge, as a series of brutal murders takes place. Three of the classmates, Rachel, Kristen, and Lindsay, team together to determine who the killer is before he or she can take any more lives. The book was less warmly received than Jackson’s solo work. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly found the plot similar to a number of recent popular horror/slasher films and observed that, “unfortunately, the authors don’t do very much to keep the identity of the murderer hidden from the reader.”

Sorceress serves as a follow-up to Jackson’s earlier historicals, Impostress and Temptress. In this volume, also sent in the thirteenth century in Wales, young Brianna finds herself falling for her sister Morgana’s husband, and so attempts to distance herself from the happy couple by heading out on a quest prompted by her old nurse, who had claimed Brianna was gifted with an ability to see the future. The quest itself starts as a result of a series of strange dreams in which Brianna’s nurse shows her a map and a mysterious jeweled knife. On her journey, Brianna meets and ends up joining with Gawn, a local bastard fleeing from his father’s men. Together they travel across the breadth of Wales, seeking the answers to Brianna’s visions. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly commented that the book “combines romance, suspense and mysticism to make a top-notch read.”

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, March 15, 2003, John Charles, review of Im-postress, p. 1283; March 1, 2006, Mary Frances Wilkens, review of Shiver, p. 44; April 1, 2007, Maria Hatton, review of Absolute Fear, p. 31.

Library Journal, August, 2003, Kristin Ramsdell, review of Whispers, p. 67.

MBR Bookwatch, April, 2005, review of Deep Freeze.

Publishers Weekly, April 29, 2002, review of Cold Blooded, p. 49; July 21, 2003, review of Whispers, p. 180; February 16, 2004, review of The Morning After, p. 157; February 28, 2005, review of Deep Freeze, p. 47; February 6, 2006, review of Fatal Burn, p. 49; December 18, 2006, review of Most Likely to Die, p. 50; July 30, 2007, review of Sorceress, p. 62.

ONLINE

AllReaders.com,,http://www.allreaders.com/ (May 29, 2005), Harriet Klausner, reviews of Cold Blooded, Deep Freeze, Hot Blooded, See How She Dies, Im-postress, The Morning After, The Night Before, and Wild and Wicked.

Lisa Jackson Home Page,http://www.lisajackson.com (April 17, 2008).*