Review of Advance Reading Copy eBook

A serial killer stalks the city, leaving a paper containing bits of poetry in the mouths of his victims. Austin Detective Samantha Jazz, assigned to the case after the original investigator vanishes, soon identifies a suspect and relentlessly sets out to prove her case.

But what if her suspect is not the culprit, after all? And what will happen when Sam finally realizes that the poetry messages left at the scene of each crime are messages to her?

Told from the viewpoints of Detective Jazz and The Poet, the story is dark and, in the beginning, intriguing. However, the minutia of the investigation, clearly detailed in the comprehensive police procedurals related in the story, tends to bog down the flow of the story for the reader.

Once Sam’s inquiries and research identify a person of interest, she feels certain this is the culprit and her investigation seems to move from harassment to something bordering on obsession, which is particularly frustrating in light of the oft-repeated claim of her singular proficiency as a detective. In addition, it tends to make the story a bit predictable and does nothing to keep the reader invested in the telling of the tale.

The characters, particularly Sam, Ethan Lang, and Wade Miller, are well-drawn and believable. The idea of the narrative is captivating; however, the ending feels a bit like having a peripheral character tossed into the story to tie up the plot and, as a result, keeps the narrative from being truly compelling.

I received a free copy of this eBook from Entangled Publishing LLC/Entangled Amara and NetGalley
#ThePoet #NetGalley

Gripping, intriguing and full of complex characters! This is unlike any book this author has written and it's a stellar step into the suspense/thriller genre.
There is a lot happening in this story and it lays the groundwork for what promises to be a bestselling series. Sam is a standout in law enforcement heroines. Her dedication to her calling makes the reader wholly invested in her. The depths of this character have only scratched the surface and I can't wait to see her develop. Wade and Lang are also interesting without overtaking the focus. Both play excellent supporting roles to both Jazz and the mystery.
Fans of Lisa Renee Jones have come to expect the intense romance aspect to her stories but that isn't what you get here. There is a relationship but it is a small aspect of Jazz's life leaving the focus on the character and the mystery. I think Sam will remind readers a lot of Lilah Love without Kane.
The mystery is full of action, suspense, and hold your breath moments. Just when you think you have the answers you are thrown a twist that leaves your mouth hanging open. The ending had me on the edge of my seat. I cannot wait for the next book!

I really enjoyed reading The Poet, it was unlike any suspense novel I have read. The Detective in charge of the case is very focused on the individual that she thinks is her killer. Once she believes the case is solved she quits the Police Department and goes to work as a consultant for the FBI. However, The Poet starts asking for her again and that is when she realizes that the entire case is connected to her.

I thought that Sam is a well rounded character, she gets very focused on solving the puzzles that are put in front of her, and that she needs to focus more on herself and what makes her happy. While some of the outlying characters were necessary, it seemed at times others would show up and not be needed. There were a lot of moving parts with the investigations, and I'm glad that we go to see her actually do that, so I can understand why there were so many secondary characters. I'm also glad that we weren't really shown who the killer was until the end. We, like Detective Sam, think it is one person and with the little tidbits of his life we agree. Then we see everything from a different perspective and can see how it connects to the Prolog and it become ah ha. Good book, a little creepy at times, but I recommend it!

I received a copy of THE POET by LISA RENEE JONES. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

FIVE Stars and here’s why:

TOTAL BOOK HANGOVER. Entangled has done it again with another fantastic author and story that kept me up all night long. I suffered from whiplash from several plot twists and turns! Detective Samantha Jazz was the perfect heroine and her partner Ethan Langford worked well together. I loved the infusion of wit into the tense story, which gave the reader a little respite from all of the suspense. In all honesty, I didn’t know who the killer was until the very end! So well written. But what kept me turning the pages was the way the author explored family, friendship, and a desire to persevere despite the odds. I was captivated by this book from start to finish.

Highly recommend.

The Poet by Lisa Renee Jones a four-star read that could have been a two. I started this one twice before I finally managed to get through it, I struggled with my rating as in some ways it’s a very clever story, but then in others I had to force myself to read it, and that as surprised me as I have ripped through this author’s work before. The ending made the story in my eyes, if it wasn’t that I would have been forced to give it two.

A killer that writes to the detective, she just isn’t quick enough to pick up that he is killing for her. Very dark and mysterious. Quite well done with the twists and turns. Very entertaining

I really liked this book, but it had its drawbacks. For most of this book, I kept wondering if it was the second in a series, because it referred to backstories without giving any detail. I eventually got the whole picture, by the end of the book. But it was distracting. So was the very detailed description of police processes. This is more of a police procedural than a thriller.

We start off with a prologue that sets your mind in motion and I wasn’t sure where it was going but it had me very intrigued. Once the first chapter unfolded, keeping the prologue in mind, I was caught up in the story immediately. Our heroine is Detective Samantha Jaz who is a legacy police officer in her department as her father was an officer before her, although he was dirty. She is a good detective and tries hard to do the right thing and not have her father’s shadow hanging over her.

Sam and her partner, Ethan Langford, are assigned to a case that a previous officer left mid-investigation involving a murder where the killer uses poetry to leave clues for the police. Sam studied poetry in college and is somewhat of an expert, so she dives headfirst into the investigation. As Sam digs deeper into the investigation, she realizes some things are very familiar about the killer and that he might have her in his sights as well.

I am a huge fan of Dennis Lehane, Jeffrey Deaver, and Patricia Cornwell so to say this novel is my jam well it really is. One of the reasons I read Lisa Renee Jones is because of the romantic suspense. Although there was no romance in this book, the suspense is spot on. I love the detail she covers for the law enforcement aspect of this book because it is very well done. She took the time to find out how things work during a homicide investigation. The dynamic between the detectives, patrol officers, Medical Examiner, superiors, and outside agencies was very well handled. The plot was unique, smart, and compelling and I really hope this becomes a series!

This is a great page turner! It's fast-paced when it needs to be and slower-paced when it should be. I liked the relationship between Lang and Jazz, their dialogue was for the most part funny and has a lot of crude humor.

I will say that a lot of the book is spent on someone who is clearly not the correct suspect and a lot of bad goes down because of this mistake and I spent most of those sections saying (out loud) WHY ARE THEY GOING AFTER THIS PERSON WHO IS OBVIOUSLY NOT THE RIGHT PERSON!???

I found this to be reminiscent of Tess Gerritsen's Rizzoli & Isles series, which I absolutely love by the way, but The Poet is a lot more tame in describing the crime scenes. It's amazing that Lisa Renee Jones had so many people to call on for information that helped her write out parts of her book so it is more accurate as to procedures and how things really go down.

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
I recommend The Poet if you enjoy -
• Strong female lead
• Sass
• Snarky dialogue


Trigger Warning:
Domestic abuse (mentioned), pedophilia (mentioned), drug abuse, language.


Thank you Netgalley and Entangled Publishing for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

You know how when you’re dreaming you are just kind of thrust into the middle of the dream, everything all murky because there was no beginning point to guide you? That’s how it felt when I started this book. It was like we were just thrown in amongst the characters lives, expected to know who they were without ever having actually been introduced to them and being given any sort of background information on them. It was like starting a book from the midway point instead of the beginning.

In general I just thought this book was okay. I was pretty letdown by it if i’m being honest. When I first came across it it immediately shot up to the top of my most anticipated reads list. But between the lackluster beginning, less than thrilling plot with a lot of boring and unnecessary scenes, this wasn’t quite the page turner I was hoping it would be. The suspense wasn’t there, aside from the ending, which is very unfortunate, because I expect more suspense in my thrillers, not just from the endings. The reveal of the killer wasn’t exactly a bang, and I was just very underwhelmed by everything that this book had to offer.

I like Lisa Renee Jones’ writing though, so I would give her work another try. Unfortunately, this one just wasn’t for me.

Mystery and suspense galore

This book has intriguing mystery and has you guessing all throughout. I liked the poetry touch and the way Detective Jazz worked the case. I appreciate the opportunity NetGalley gave me of reading an advance reader copy of this book.

This wasn't as exciting as I wanted it to be. The description sounded really fun and intriguing, but this was honestly not a page-turner at all.
First of all, this book could have been a lot shorter. So much time was wasted on boring procedural, leads which led nowhere, and just unnecessary scenes. There was honestly barely any suspense, except for the ending. The killer reveal wasn't exactly surprising, but at least there was something happening. I just felt like the pacing was really off.
The beginning was also slightly confusing to me because it felt like the middle book of a series. The characters weren't introduced and instead, it felt like you should already know them, which made getting into the book rather hard.
The end was pretty decent, I liked how the story was wrapped up, and compared to the beginning, the book did get better. I had just hoped for more consistency.

I like how the characters were presented, but I did not feel it's a thriller, more police procedural/crime. Detective Jazz has to solve a complicated case, a serial killer that loves poetry. Not many people understand pietry, thats why Samanta Jazz is called to find the killer. I liked the plit, but, in my opinion, to much talk, less action.
Thank you Netgalley for this Arc.

I received this book as ARC, but I give my honesty option.
FANTASTIC, Lisa Renee Jones has out done herself. Her talents for writing a great stories is not just Romance, Suspense, but now she has a hell’a Murder Mystery.
I read the Prologue real slow hoping to get hints... I reread the poet verses looking for the answer.... I got 90% done and had no clue, so the Ending was FANTASTIC!

Mystery - 3.5

Detective Samantha Jazz is at a weird place in her life. Her father and mentor was shot and killed steps from her. He was also a dirty cop and the person she looked up to all her life. Being a cop herself, she is concerned that the stigma attached to her father will sully her own reputation, plus any cop that was friendly with her father immediately becomes suspect. She has isolated herself, but things are about to change.

She has been handed a case because the detective on the case is transferring to Houston. The murderer is killing his victims with cyanide and leaving phrases from poems in their mouths. He has been doing this to get her attention, because they do have a shared past. Samantha doesn't realize this at first and struggles to put together the clues. Meanwhile The Poet shadows her every move. The book is told in multiple narratives and for the most part that works well.

I am all over the place on how to rate this book, though and how to describe it to others. The beginning was tough for me, because it feels like this is the 2nd book of a series, which it isn't. The reason I say this is because we are dropped into the middle of these character's lives without the backstory being revealed first. There is almost an assumption that we should know them and how they got where they are, so it takes a while to catch up. Overall, this is a solid mystery and I did like it. The ending both redeemed the book and made it worse at the same time as there is one pivotal scene that rings false to the character of The Poet.

I really really wanted to like this book, but unfortunately for me it wasn't one of the best thrillers I have read.
It was one of my most anticipated reads for 2021 and I wanted to read it so bad when I first saw the gorgeous cover and read the blur, but I was a bit disappointed.
The police procedural was a bit too much for me and there were lots of phone calls going on.
I couldn't quite connect with the characters. It was a bit slow paced for me and then the end was very rushed.
The beginning started very well and promising for a good psychological thriller but then somehow it let me down.
I wanted more.

Crazy serial killer novel from the queen of suspense and spice.

I could not believe my luck when I was given a copy of this book. The premise is just completely insane. This book is for you if you like:
- strong female lead characters
- intricate serial killer plots
- personal motifs for murder
- high-grade suspense
- POETRY.
Okay, the last one is optional, but there was something really unsettling about a serial killer writing poems in each of their murders as a message.

I would have liked this book to be more fast-paced to be my all-time favorite, but I still really enjoyed the wild ride. I'm certainly here for more books from this author.

*Thank you to the Publisher for a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My thanks to Entangled Publishing, Lisa Renee Jones and Netgalley.
Sadly, I've nothing positive to say.
In truth, I was out from the beginning. Don't take this as a review. It's not! What this is, is mostly how much I didn't like how this began.
I need certain things from the outset. 30 page's in and it was a struggle.
Again, please don't let my thoughts deter you. This may be a good story.
Though, it's not my story.

Let me start by saying I am a huge fan of all things Lisa Renee Jones. Her stories are always well crafted, intriguing, interesting and intelligent. I do not read murder mysteries but Ms.Jones wrote it so I read it. I found it so compelling that I read it cover to cover in one sitting. It was remarkable! Just about the time you think you've figured it out the plot takes a right turn and off you go in a different direction. Solving a murder or in this case murders is tedious sometimes mind numbing work. You use your experience, expertise and your gut to put the pieces together. No one person does it alone. They have a team that assists and supports them.

Detectives Samantha Jazz and Ethan Langford are a successful homicide team. She's the brainy, intuitive and methodical one. He's the charmer, the sounding board and the protective voice of reason. A team that meshes well in every sense of the word. Plus their easy partnering and friendship has them fighting like siblings which definitely lightens darker moments. Investigating a psychopathic serial killer stretches them and their team to their limits.

Lisa Renee Jones brings a new kind of suspense when writing The Poet, Detective Samantha Jazz is handed a case after the lead detective up a disappears all because the Poet is after Samantha, he wants her to be the Master!! There's three unsolved murders which Samantha needs to solve before he comes after her!
Will Samantha solve the mystery behind the poems that where found at each murder or will she be next on his list?