A Bentz/Montoya Novel
Latest release: June 27, 2023
Series
9
Books
About this ebook series
A cunning serial killer torments a New Orleans radio host in this thriller series debut by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Afraid to Die.
A prostitute lies strangled in a seedy French Quarter hotel room. Miles away, in a rambling plantation house on Lake Ponchartrain, late-night radio host Dr. Samantha Leeds receives a threatening crank call. But who would think to link the two?
As more dead bodies turn up, Samantha's ominous caller persists, along with someone claiming to be a woman from her past—who's been dead for years. With Detective Rick Bentz convinced that the serial killer prowling the streets is somebody close to Samantha, she doesn't dare trust anyone. Especially not Ty Wheeler, her seductive new neighbor who seems to know more about her than a stranger should.
Somebody has discovered Samantha's darkest secret. Somebody is convinced that lives must be sacrificed to pay for her sins. So far, the victims have been strangers. But as a cold-blooded killer grows bolder, Samantha wonders if she will be the next to die.
Hot Blooded
Book 1 · Feb 2015 ·
4.4star
A cunning serial killer torments a New Orleans radio host in this thriller series debut by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Afraid to Die.
A prostitute lies strangled in a seedy French Quarter hotel room. Miles away, in a rambling plantation house on Lake Ponchartrain, late-night radio host Dr. Samantha Leeds receives a threatening crank call. But who would think to link the two?
As more dead bodies turn up, Samantha's ominous caller persists, along with someone claiming to be a woman from her past—who's been dead for years. With Detective Rick Bentz convinced that the serial killer prowling the streets is somebody close to Samantha, she doesn't dare trust anyone. Especially not Ty Wheeler, her seductive new neighbor who seems to know more about her than a stranger should.
Somebody has discovered Samantha's darkest secret. Somebody is convinced that lives must be sacrificed to pay for her sins. So far, the victims have been strangers. But as a cold-blooded killer grows bolder, Samantha wonders if she will be the next to die.
Cold Blooded
Book 2 · Dec 2014 ·
4.5star
As a serial killer terrorizes New Orleans, a reluctant psychic sees every gruesome act in this thriller by the #1 New York Times bestselling author.
A woman's burned and brutalized corpse is found in a seedy New Orleans apartment. Her killer is certain there were no witnesses, unaware that his every move was seen by a beautiful stranger—through nightmarish visions that came to her in bed in a bayou cottage on the outskirts of town.
Weeks later, another terrifying vision shatters Olivia Bechet's sleep. Convinced a serial killer is stalking the city, she turns to the authorities. But jaded detective Rick Bentz doesn't believe her—even when a second body turns up, slain in exactly the same bizarre, ritualistic manner Olivia described.
As New Orleans panics in the grip of a merciless killer, Olivia is frustrated by Bentz's skepticism. And yet she is also captivated by her attraction to him. But then her dreams are invaded by a murder that has yet to be committed. This time, Olivia recognizes the victim—and the murderer. And both are closer than she ever imagined.
A woman's burned and brutalized corpse is found in a seedy New Orleans apartment. Her killer is certain there were no witnesses, unaware that his every move was seen by a beautiful stranger—through nightmarish visions that came to her in bed in a bayou cottage on the outskirts of town.
Weeks later, another terrifying vision shatters Olivia Bechet's sleep. Convinced a serial killer is stalking the city, she turns to the authorities. But jaded detective Rick Bentz doesn't believe her—even when a second body turns up, slain in exactly the same bizarre, ritualistic manner Olivia described.
As New Orleans panics in the grip of a merciless killer, Olivia is frustrated by Bentz's skepticism. And yet she is also captivated by her attraction to him. But then her dreams are invaded by a murder that has yet to be committed. This time, Olivia recognizes the victim—and the murderer. And both are closer than she ever imagined.
Shiver
Book 3 · Mar 2007 ·
4.3star
In this twisted thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling author, featuring New Orleans detectives Rick Bentz and Reuben Montoya, a serial killer is turning the Big Easy into his personal playground–and Montoya is convinced she’s somehow the key to unlocking these horrible crimes.
THE CRIMES ARE UNTHINKABLE
A serial killer is turning the Big Easy into his personal playground. The victims are killed in pairs—no connection, no apparent motive, no real clues. It’s a very sick game, and it’s only just begun.
THE FEAR IS REAL
Abby Chastain left New Orleans long ago and for good reason. Now she’s back where she feels watched, as if the devil himself is scraping a fingernail along her spine. It doesn’t help that Detective Reuben Montoya is convinced she’s somehow the key to unlocking these horrible crimes—a mystery that has something to do with Our Lady of Virtues Mental Hospital, a decaying old asylum where unspeakable crimes were once committed, and a human predator may still wait.
THE TRUTH IS DEADLY
As more bodies are found in gruesome, staged scenarios, Montoya and Abby are in a desperate race to stop a killer whose terrifying crimes are bringing them ever nearer to a shocking revelation. For the past is never completely gone. Its sins must be avenged. And a twisted psychopath is getting close enough to make them shiver . . .
THE CRIMES ARE UNTHINKABLE
A serial killer is turning the Big Easy into his personal playground. The victims are killed in pairs—no connection, no apparent motive, no real clues. It’s a very sick game, and it’s only just begun.
THE FEAR IS REAL
Abby Chastain left New Orleans long ago and for good reason. Now she’s back where she feels watched, as if the devil himself is scraping a fingernail along her spine. It doesn’t help that Detective Reuben Montoya is convinced she’s somehow the key to unlocking these horrible crimes—a mystery that has something to do with Our Lady of Virtues Mental Hospital, a decaying old asylum where unspeakable crimes were once committed, and a human predator may still wait.
THE TRUTH IS DEADLY
As more bodies are found in gruesome, staged scenarios, Montoya and Abby are in a desperate race to stop a killer whose terrifying crimes are bringing them ever nearer to a shocking revelation. For the past is never completely gone. Its sins must be avenged. And a twisted psychopath is getting close enough to make them shiver . . .
Absolute Fear
Book 4 · Mar 2008 ·
4.4star
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jackson comes a pulse-pounding novel featuring two of her most acclaimed characters, New Orleans detectives Rick Bentz and Reuben Montoya--as a series of ritual slayings draw a psychology student back to a decaying asylum . . .
Eve Renner loved Cole Dennis—until the moment he tried to kill her. That was three months ago, when Eve was lured to a cabin where she found an old friend brutally murdered. Eve is almost positive it was Cole’s face she saw right before she was shot. But her memories were too shaky to stand up to trial. Cole is a free man again. And a new string of killings has begun.
The murders all link back to Our Lady of Virtues, the asylum where Eve’s father worked as a doctor. She wandered those hallways as a child, exploring hidden rooms and chambers, too young to understand what was happening there. Now, with every victim found, each body tattooed with a number, the pieces of a deadly puzzle fall into place—and all point back to Eve and the ruins of the once-grand hospital.
Detective Reuben Montoya and his partner, Rick Bentz, once convinced of Cole’s guilt, now suspect a deeper evil at work. Eve knows she has little choice but to return to Our Lady of Virtues—and to trust Cole in her search for answers. But as Eve’s memories gradually return, they only lead her closer to danger, toward the final, meticulously planned act of a killer obsessed with vengeance—and with her.
Eve Renner loved Cole Dennis—until the moment he tried to kill her. That was three months ago, when Eve was lured to a cabin where she found an old friend brutally murdered. Eve is almost positive it was Cole’s face she saw right before she was shot. But her memories were too shaky to stand up to trial. Cole is a free man again. And a new string of killings has begun.
The murders all link back to Our Lady of Virtues, the asylum where Eve’s father worked as a doctor. She wandered those hallways as a child, exploring hidden rooms and chambers, too young to understand what was happening there. Now, with every victim found, each body tattooed with a number, the pieces of a deadly puzzle fall into place—and all point back to Eve and the ruins of the once-grand hospital.
Detective Reuben Montoya and his partner, Rick Bentz, once convinced of Cole’s guilt, now suspect a deeper evil at work. Eve knows she has little choice but to return to Our Lady of Virtues—and to trust Cole in her search for answers. But as Eve’s memories gradually return, they only lead her closer to danger, toward the final, meticulously planned act of a killer obsessed with vengeance—and with her.
Lost Souls
Book 5 · Feb 2009 ·
4.3star
The suspense is relentless in #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jackson’s gripping thriller, set on a college campus and featuring the daughter of New Orleans Detective Rick Bentz—a resilient young woman whose two-time survival of a serial killer has left her fascinated with the criminal mind, determined to become a true-crime writer—and drawn her once more her into a twisted psychopath’s unspeakable crimes. Stunningly repackaged, this is the fifth novel in the New Orleans series. Will appeal to all fans of thrillers and suspense fiction, and readers of Sandra Brown and Iris Johansen.
All twenty-seven-year-old Kristi Bentz needs to fulfill her writing dreams is one case that will take her to the top. When she learns that four girls have disappeared from All Saints College in two years, Kristi decides to enroll and re-trace their steps. The once-stodgy Catholic school now boasts edgy professors and provocative classes, and there are whispers of a campus inner-circle whose members engage in dark rituals to which only the elite have access . . .
All four girls were “lost souls”—troubled, vulnerable, with no one to care or come looking for them when they disappeared. The police think they’re runaways, but Kristi senses there’s something that links them—something terrifying.
As Kristi delves deeper into her investigation, she gets the feeling she’s being watched, followed—studied, even. Then the bodies start turning up in ways that frighten even hardened cops like Bentz and his partner, Reuben Montoya. And Kristi realizes she is playing a game with a killer who has selected her for membership in a cult of death from which there will be no escape . . .
“Solidifies Jackson’s status as the queen of the modern-day suspense thriller.”—The Providence Journal
“Expect the unexpected.” —The Clarion Ledger
“Dark and disturbing.” —The Roanoke Times
All twenty-seven-year-old Kristi Bentz needs to fulfill her writing dreams is one case that will take her to the top. When she learns that four girls have disappeared from All Saints College in two years, Kristi decides to enroll and re-trace their steps. The once-stodgy Catholic school now boasts edgy professors and provocative classes, and there are whispers of a campus inner-circle whose members engage in dark rituals to which only the elite have access . . .
All four girls were “lost souls”—troubled, vulnerable, with no one to care or come looking for them when they disappeared. The police think they’re runaways, but Kristi senses there’s something that links them—something terrifying.
As Kristi delves deeper into her investigation, she gets the feeling she’s being watched, followed—studied, even. Then the bodies start turning up in ways that frighten even hardened cops like Bentz and his partner, Reuben Montoya. And Kristi realizes she is playing a game with a killer who has selected her for membership in a cult of death from which there will be no escape . . .
“Solidifies Jackson’s status as the queen of the modern-day suspense thriller.”—The Providence Journal
“Expect the unexpected.” —The Clarion Ledger
“Dark and disturbing.” —The Roanoke Times
Malice
Book 6 · Mar 2010 ·
4.5star
In this twisted thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling author, featuring New Orleans detectives Rick Bentz and Reuben Montoya, the past comes back to haunt Bentz, and it’s deadlier and closer to home than ever.
The scent is unmistakable—gardenias, sweet and delicate, the same perfume that his beautiful first wife, Jennifer, always wore. Opening his eyes in the hospital room where he’s recovering from an accident, New Orleans detective Rick Bentz sees her standing in the doorway. Then Jennifer blows him a kiss and disappears. But it couldn’t have been Jennifer. She died twelve years ago . . .
Once out of the hospital, Bentz begins to see Jennifer everywhere, haunting and taunting him, then vanishing without a trace. Could she still be alive? He can’t tell his new wife, Olivia, about the sightings or his secret fear that he’s losing his mind—though he knows she suspects something is wrong. But Olivia is also hiding a secret . . .
When a copy of Jennifer’s death certificate arrives in the mail, emblazoned with a red question mark, Bentz follows the postmark trail to Los Angeles. Then the murders begin, each victim a part of Jennifer’s past, each grisly corpse pointing to Bentz as the prime suspect. Someone’s been waiting patiently, silently, anticipating Bentz’s every move. Soon it will be Bentz’s turn to suffer for his sins. But he won’t be the only one made to pay the ultimate price. For a diabolical killer has now made Olivia the prime target . . .
The scent is unmistakable—gardenias, sweet and delicate, the same perfume that his beautiful first wife, Jennifer, always wore. Opening his eyes in the hospital room where he’s recovering from an accident, New Orleans detective Rick Bentz sees her standing in the doorway. Then Jennifer blows him a kiss and disappears. But it couldn’t have been Jennifer. She died twelve years ago . . .
Once out of the hospital, Bentz begins to see Jennifer everywhere, haunting and taunting him, then vanishing without a trace. Could she still be alive? He can’t tell his new wife, Olivia, about the sightings or his secret fear that he’s losing his mind—though he knows she suspects something is wrong. But Olivia is also hiding a secret . . .
When a copy of Jennifer’s death certificate arrives in the mail, emblazoned with a red question mark, Bentz follows the postmark trail to Los Angeles. Then the murders begin, each victim a part of Jennifer’s past, each grisly corpse pointing to Bentz as the prime suspect. Someone’s been waiting patiently, silently, anticipating Bentz’s every move. Soon it will be Bentz’s turn to suffer for his sins. But he won’t be the only one made to pay the ultimate price. For a diabolical killer has now made Olivia the prime target . . .
Devious
Book 7 · Oct 2011 ·
4.6star
A serial killer targets New Orleans nuns in this “nail-biting tale of dangerous secrets and deadly passions” by the #1 New York Times bestselling author (Booklist).
When New Orleans detective Reuben Montoya is called to investigate the murder of a nun, he's shocked to recognize the victim. Sister Camille was his high school girlfriend. And she’s just been found on the altar of St. Marguerite's cathedral…viciously garroted.
When New Orleans detective Reuben Montoya is called to investigate the murder of a nun, he's shocked to recognize the victim. Sister Camille was his high school girlfriend. And she’s just been found on the altar of St. Marguerite's cathedral…viciously garroted.
Before devoting herself to god, Camille had a knack for making bad choices. She joined the convent after falling for her sister Valerie’s soon-to-be ex-husband. But as Val—a former Texas cop—digs into Camille's murder, she realizes how little she really knew about her sister and their shared past.
As more women of the church are found brutally slaughtered, no one is beyond suspicion—not even Friar Francis O’Toole. And no one is safe—least of all Valerie. Because this killer knows all, forgives nothing, and will not rest until Valerie becomes the next to pay for her sins.
Never Die Alone
Book 8 · Aug 2015 ·
4.5star
A serial killer who targets twins is loose in New Orleans in this psychological thriller by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Left to Die.
Years ago, Detective Rick Bentz helped put away the notorious serial killer known as 21, who targeted twins about to reach their twenty-first birthday. With merciless precision, 21 would arrange for his victims to die, simultaneously, at the time of their birth. But Brianna Hayward—a New Orleans woman still reeling from the murder of her twin sister—is certain the wrong man is in prison. She’s willing to do anything to convince the police, even if it means trusting a reporter who’s hiding his own secrets.
Now Bentz will finally have to face the terrifying possibility that 21 is still at large. Twin sisters from All Saints College have just vanished—on the eve of their twenty-first birthday. And as Bentz and his partner, Reuben Montoya, desperately follow the trail, a killer prepares to unite his next victims in death forever.
The Last Sinner: A Chilling Thriller with a Shocking Twist
Book 9 · Jun 2023 ·
4.9star
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Survived delivers a gripping novel of suspense featuring two veteran homicide detectives matching wits with a twisted serial killer lurking in the shadows of New Orleans.
There are killers so savage, so twisted, that they leave a mark not just on their victims, but on everyone who crosses their path. For Detectives Bentz and Montoya, Father John, a fake priest who used the sharpened beads of a rosary to strangle prostitutes, is one such monster.
Bentz thought he’d ended that horror years ago when he killed Father John deep in the swamp. But now there are chilling signs he may have been wrong. A new victim has surfaced, her ruined body staged in deliberate, unmistakable detail. Either it’s a terrifying copycat, or Father John, the detective’s own recurring nightmare, has come back to haunt New Orleans.
Another death, and another. Bentz is growing convinced that Father John isn’t just back. He’s circling closer, targeting those Bentz loves most.
And this time, he won’t be stopped until the last sinner has paid the ultimate price…
“Jackson definitely knows how to keep readers riveted.” —Mystery Scene
There are killers so savage, so twisted, that they leave a mark not just on their victims, but on everyone who crosses their path. For Detectives Bentz and Montoya, Father John, a fake priest who used the sharpened beads of a rosary to strangle prostitutes, is one such monster.
Bentz thought he’d ended that horror years ago when he killed Father John deep in the swamp. But now there are chilling signs he may have been wrong. A new victim has surfaced, her ruined body staged in deliberate, unmistakable detail. Either it’s a terrifying copycat, or Father John, the detective’s own recurring nightmare, has come back to haunt New Orleans.
Another death, and another. Bentz is growing convinced that Father John isn’t just back. He’s circling closer, targeting those Bentz loves most.
And this time, he won’t be stopped until the last sinner has paid the ultimate price…
“Jackson definitely knows how to keep readers riveted.” —Mystery Scene
