I decided to read this book because I loved the first Jessica Shaw book, Thin Air. I felt the different POVs added to the story. I would recommend this book and the other Jessica Shaw stories. I will now look for more by Lisa Gray.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

Overall, Bad Memory was an interesting read. It was a tad predictable at times, but outside of that, I enjoyed this book. I will definitely read more books by this author.

Another great Lisa Gray novel. I really enjoyed this one. I found it exciting, thrilling and a bit disturbing at times. Thank you Net Galley for the ARC, I will be recommending this one to my friends!

I requested a e-copy of this from Netgalley solely based on the fact it was by Lisa Gray and apart of the Jessica Shaw series. I blazed through this book once I had time to read it. I read 50% of it in one day. As I read this story I did not see part of the ending coming, which to me helps make a good thriller.

This book follows Jessica Shaw PI with a new case. Rue Hunter is on death row for a murder that happened. Her sister though has always questioned whether Rue really did kill her two best friends because it seems so out of character of her sister. Rue too now is wanted to know for sure whether or not she truly did with only a week to go before she is executed. As Jessica investigates she's finding more and more pieces to the puzzle that show small town too have their own problems and possibly cover ups.

I quite enjoyed this one. Even though it was book 2 of a series and I hadn't read book 1 I didn't think that this detracted too badly from the story. It felt like the book was a bit overly long during the middle section although this was made clear at the end when everything started to tie up. There were a lot of references to coffee!

I thought this book was okay. I thought the outcome was easy to figure out. I liked the way the story went backwards and forwards in time. The heading for each chapter made the timelines easy to follow.

Great story, Maybe not as engaging as the first in the series but engaging none the less. Looking forward be reading other books by this author.
Will also recommend this book to others.

I really loved Bad Memory. Great story, well told.

As soon as I finished reading this one, I bought her first book to find out the beginning of Jessica's story! If you love American PI novels, where the story is against the clock, get this one!

I read book #1 in this series but my memory was a little vague. Luckily, it didn't impact my enjoyment of this book. It's helpful to read the first book in this series, but it's not necessary. The plot of this book is a stand alone read.

I was definitely impressed with this second book. I'm so glad I decided to continue this series. I liked Jessica's character and really liked the plot (see book description). I like cold case plots and thought this one was really good. It was fast paced and I liked how Jessica's investigation progressed.

I recommend this book and I'm now looking forward to a third book in this series.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC!

I enjoyed the previous novel in this series, Thin Air, and on balance I'd say I liked this even more. Although it is the second in the series, it could be read by itself, but I think having prior knowledge of Jessica did contribute to my enjoyment of how this book unfolded.

Lisa Gray's writing is still excellent and the pace of the narrative with its many twists and turns kept me reading. I figured out a couple of things before they were revealed, but it was really satisfying to see how it all came together. My only complaint with Thin Air was that the solution seemed to come a little out of left field, but here I thought there was the perfect level of clues and twists.

A very good series. Recommended.

Great book! Definitely a good sequel to the first novel Thin Air. Any fans of the genres would enjoy It. Would recommend reading the first book before this one.

Another great book in this series. I was gripped the whole way through. The plot was really good and so were the characters.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Jessica Shaw is lying low, trying to live a quiet life in little town, USA.

And as everyone knows, little sleepy towns tend to have secrets.

Jessica is hired to go over a 30 year old case, Rue Hunter is on death row and is due to be executed in just a weeks time. Rue's sister asks Jessica to go over the case in case anything was missed first time around.

Rue admitted to the murders at the time but claims she can't actually remember what happened.

Jessica is racing against the clock, upsetting the locals as she overturns stones long left undisturbed.

Her personal life is also under pressure as things boil up to a satisfactory conclusion.

An excellent tense read by a Scottish author who has an authentic American voice.

Recommended.

Jessica Shaw has settled in Hundred Acres, California working for a longtime area PI. She is approached on night by the sister of a woman who sits on death row for murdering her boyfriend and best friend 30 years ago. She asks Jessica to look into her sisters case- she believes she may be innocent and she is set to be executed in less than a week.  I am very into this series! I love a good hard-boiled detective mystery, especially with a female detective! Very satisfying read!

Bad Memory is the second book in the Jessica Shaw series about a prickly Private Investigator working cold cases in small towns in California. I had enjoyed Thin Air and this was another well-rounded and carefully plotted thriller. While you’ll understand Jessica’s character a lot better by reading them in order, this story stands alone.

Jessica has been working as a PI in Hundred Acres for six months when she is approached by the sister of a death row inmate, Rue Hunter, who is facing imminent execution for a double murder over thirty years earlier. As a teenager Rue confessed to killing her two best friends at a local lover’s lane while drunk and high, but now doubts her own memories. Jessica takes the case, which upsets her friend from the Thin Air case, Detective Jason Pryce, as his former partner, who was subsequently murdered, was the Sheriff at the time, but when he sees the inconsistencies Jessica finds, agrees to help her before time runs out for Rue.

This was an excellent mystery, with an intriguing cast of characters, and enough clues that the eventual denouement felt satisfying without being too much of a shock. I enjoyed the different character POVs and flashback scenes without having any difficulty following what was going in. There was a little too much reliance on coincidence but not in a way that felt annoying. Gray writes extremely well, with just enough scene-setting and character description for me to feel immersed in the narrative without getting bogged down by extraneous details. She manages to wrap up all the disparate plot threads very cleverly and deliver a pleasing ending. I will definitely look forward to the next book about Jessica’s adventures.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc which allowed me to give an honest review. Bad Memory is available now.

This is the second book in the Jessica Shaw series and was full of twists and suspense. I thoroughly enjoyed it and cannot wait to see what happens next in this series. Lisa Gray is a talented writer and never disappoints her reader!

My first in the series of two and I can see why Book 1 (Thin Air) has garnered over 2K reviews on Amazon. The storyline revolves around a death row inmate due for execution, the sudden questioning of her own confession, and her sister's desire to get at the truth--either way. I loved the way the author built a slow-burn, gleaning a small clue that somehow festers into an actual useable gem--something to build on.

Each chapter names one of the many characters and captures their view of the circumstances, whether currently, or back the thirty years that the murders happened. The hook from the beginning doesn't let up. The reader might be guessing, jumping ahead knowing what's coming, and then thwarted again by yet another twist or red herring and the tension builds.

But these are old secrets. Deadly secrets. And Jessica is racing again time to either stall an execution or supply those missing pieces of the memory that just doesn't seem to form a whole picture. It's complex. Realistic dialogue, engaging characters, and thoroughly well-plotted mystery, suspense, thriller.

Jessica is vulnerable but savvy, smart, independent. The question is--can she save this woman due for execution?

I received this digital download from the publisher and NetGalley and greatly appreciated the opportunity to read and review. Definitely up for Book 3! My problem was a few edit misses and a couple contradictions a beta reader should have caught. Other than that, this one is totally recommended and predicted to do very well. Get in on the ground floor, go back and start with Book 1 or grab this one. Either way, you can't miss. 4.5/5 rounded up

Intense and gripping! I was totally rooting for Rue throughout this book even though I didn't know if she was guilty or not. She's just likable, maybe a little odd, but she has hers reasons. And Jessica is great as well. Character development is great and the plot is thick with suspense, tragedy, and unexpected twists and turns. This story will leave keep you hooked, and intrigued, guessing and second guessing, trying to figure out what really happened all those years ago and who it is Rue is remembering and having nightmares about.
Highly recommend!
Thank you Netgalley, Amazon Publishing UK, and Lisa Gray for this advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was such an amazing read that I couldn’t put it down. It went everywhere with me. To the doctors office, the dentist, the eye doctor. IT WENT ABSOLUTELY EVERYWHERE. I was so sad when it ended that I immediately went and bought more books from this author!

This is the first time I have read anything from this author and there is a previous book in the series that would have been nice to read before tackling this one. That said it can be read as a stand-alone but it would definitely have been a whole lot easier to have read the first ahead of this book.
The story is about a convicted murderer on death row whose sister is trying to help with hiring a private detective weeks prior to the execution date. The task is not being helped by the inmate who has no memory of the murders.
I basically liked the story although a bit predictable but there were too many switches between points of view that after a while you forget what the PI knows and what have been told by other characters.
Thanks to NetGalley for the free advance copy in exchange for my honest review.