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Review: Montana detectives Regan Pescoli and Selena Alvarez search for a serial killer during the worst winter blizzard Pinewood County has experienced in years in Chosen To Die, the second thriller in this series by Lisa Jackson.

A web has been skillfully woven by a serial killer in the old silver mining town of Grizzly Falls. The killer chooses a woman as his target using their initials as a guide. The woman is always alone in her car. Most of the time he shoots out a tire causing the woman to drive off the road. He then drives by, stops, and offers his assistance. Unfortunately, the car has broken down in an area when there is no cell phone access. He takes her to his nearby home until someone can be notified to come and repair or tow the automobile. When he decides his captive should die, he takes her nude body to the forest in the Bitterroot Mountains, gags her, ties her to the tree, attaches a note with the woman's initials above her head, and leaves her there. For Regan and Selena the case has more questions than answers. How does he know a woman with just the initials he needs will be on that particular stretch of the road at that particular time? What do the initials stand for? Is this some kind of a clue? When Regan herself comes up missing, Selena fears that she has become one of his victims, especially when her car is later found off the road, down in a gulley, and a hole blown in her tire.

But their case is about to get even more complicated. A wealthy man arrives unexpectedly to his winter home in the area and this same killer murders him with a single shotgun shot to the chest. How can the Sheriff's Department reconcile the womens' murders with this new case – other than the bullet that killed the man came from the same shotgun that blew out the women's tires.

Chosen To Die is a thrilling mystery, the isolated setting adding to the suspense generated by the plot. The reason for the killer taking Regan also contributes to the puzzle: his previous victims had been trusting, relatively helpless women. Why choose Regan, a detective who would almost certainly fight back with everything she had? The only serious flaw in the book is with its length; Regan and Selena are compelling, well drawn characters that are interesting to follow. But there are other characters and side stories that add little to the plot and ultimately detract from the suspense of the detectives' investigation. It would seem these could easily have been edited out, allowing for better continuity and tighter pacing.

Chosen to Die by Lisa Jackson — A Regan Pescoli and Selena Alvarez Mystery

Publisher: Zebra
Format: Mass Market Paperback
ISBN-13: 978-1-4201-0277-2
Publication Date: July 2009
List Price: $7.99