Anything for Her

Louise Leighton can’t believe her life can get much worse. Her husband has been screwing around on her….with her own sister. Then there are the secrets she shares with her 18 year old daughter Brooke, secrets that, until now, they believed no on knows about. But recently there have been signs in the form of dead birds. When Brooke disappears, Louise’s worst fears are concerned. She contacts the police to help her find her missing daughter, but she’s holding back evidence. Evidence that could incriminate her daughter is some terrible crimes. The information might help the police find Brooke, and Louise is tormented about what to do. This is a freaky mystery that asks the question, how far are you willing to go to protect your child?

Michael Leighton has just confessed to his wife, Louise, that he's been having an affair with her sister for months. Michael is also going to prison for embezzlement and everything they own will no longer be theirs.

Louise and her daughter, Brooke, have a secret .. one that even Michael doesn't know. And a secret that has changed their lives forever.

Staying at a second house many hours away, Louise is trying to wrap her head about all the terrible things that have happened. She finds a dead robin on her doorstep. The next morning she finds 22 dead robins covering her in bed.

At home, Brooke sees a man looking into her bedroom window. Terrified that someone knows what happened 'that night' she runs to her mother.

But then Brooke disappears.

Has the past caught up with them? Who else could possibly know what happened? What exactly did happen? What could they have done so bad that someone wants to kill them? And where is Brooke?

Great psychological thriller! Well-written, although I have mixed feelings about the ending. There are no cliff hangers and the reader is treated to bits and pieces of the secret as the book progresses. The timing is everything and I didn't want to put the book down for a minute.

Many thanks to the author / JJP / NetGalley who provided a digital copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Your heart will stop. Incredible. I was sucked in within the first chapter. Amazing.

Where oh where to start. So many emotions packed into one book that I am struggling to find the words to convey my actual feelings. I saw this book on NetGalley and was intrigued so I requested it, and thought nothing of it when I got approved. I have never heard of the author, and after some digging, saw this was a debut novel. Normally debut novels are hit or miss. They either suck so hard and I am pissed I wasted time reading it, or I love it so much that I read all night.

If you are wondering what camp I am in this time, first look at my rating and then know this, I stayed up past midnight to finish the book, and then immediately started the author's next novel,My Girl.

Louise's life is literally becoming hell. Her husband has just admitted to having an affair...with her sister. Then, her teenage daughter Brooke goes missing. Is it because of "that night"? Like some mother/daughters, Brooke and Louise share a secret. It's like Gilmore Girls...on crack.

We are then taken down a very depressing hole as we see this once loving family crack. The husband Michael has his own problems to deal with, Louise is torn between giving it all up or being a mama bear, Brooke is...who knows, and the youngest, Dominic, has to deal with a whole family of nutters. That kid will be needing much therapy later in life.

I do want to say this to potential readers, this book is dark and depressing. If this is not your normal cup of tea, you might want to bypass it. However, if you are fond of reading books that really dig deep and don't have happy endings, then this is for you. Just make sure you have one of the following while reading:

1. Wine 2. Prozac 3. A cat to cuddle 4. All of the above

I would like to thank NetGalley, the author, publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Awesome!! Kept me hooked from the beginning. I liked how the plot unraveled slowly. Great twist at the end. Would definitely read this author again.

I received a copy of Anything For Her by Jack Jordan through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to JJP Publishers and to Jack Jordan for the opportunity.

Rage........Blazing anger that would pop the bolts out of a highrise girder.

Louise Leighton has just received the news that her husband, Michael, of twenty years has been having an affair. for the last ten months. Twist the knife. An affair with her own sister. Twist the knife harder. Her much younger sister.

Michael just can't seem to back away from sloshing lighter fluid on an already combustible situation. You see, dastardly Michael is facing prison time for tanking his business with insider trading, tax evasion, and using the employees' funds. Nice guy.

Louise, a therapist for fourteen years, is going to need one for herself. She and Michael have two children: Dominic 10 years old and Brooke 18 years old. But Louise is overcome with this seething anger and packs a bag immediately. Her escape route takes her to their country home which is already up for sale. She snuggles up before the fire with a bottle of wine.

Louise's rampage shuffles the deck for some pretty good lines from this author as she tosses wedding pictures into the fire: "The fire ate his smile and the sparkle in his eyes: It devoured him until his face had turned to ash." A woman scorned.

But Louise has secrets of her own to bury. No fire in hell or anywhere else can destroy what has recently transpired in her own life. And the author holds that card from the deck until much later. It appears that someone knows where Louise is and doesn't just want to snuggle up by the fireplace with her.

This was a good read from Jack Jordon with crucially placed footsteps in just the right direction. He seems to have a penchant for "broken glass" throughout the story. Count the ways in which he inserts the shattered shards in just the right places. Kind of like a Humpty Dumpty theme going on here with "All the king's horses and all the king's men, couldn't put......You know the rest.

The ending left a lot of questions for me with the tidiness of a wrap-up. But Jack Jordan has a good thing going here. There's talent in them there bones. I have another one of his books, My Girl, waiting on the horizon for me. Seems like I am invested in you, Jack.

This was one of those "just one more chapter"-books that pulled me in right from the start and then was difficult to put down because I really wanted to find out what exactly happened "that night".
Whatever took place "that night" has remained a secret between Louise and her eighteen-year-old daughter Brooke. Not even Louise's husband Michael knows and family life - once happy, carefree and loving - hasn't been the same since. There are other problems to deal with as well. The family is facing financial ruin and Michael is facing prison time due to improper handling of his company's finances. But that's not all. Douchebag Michael feels so hard done by, he has an affair. Not just with anybody, no, with Louise's sister. That is the last drop that makes the cup run over and Louise decides she needs time out and leaves the family home for their country house, but then "that night" comes back to haunt her and her family.
This was a really well-written debut novel with a powerful plot and some great twists culminating in an ending that I thought was brilliant. The characters were certainly not the likable sort, but the family disintegration was like the proverbial train-wreck. Michael is a jerk, Brooke is broken, and Louise's decision-making process I find difficult to relate to. She has a sensitive ten-year-old son at home but heads off for a one-woman pity party. But you don't need likable characters to have an excellent story. A good book is one that evokes an emotional reaction and has me compelled to keep reading, and Jack Jordan's debut definitely did that. Intense and suspenseful and the second book within a week that made me uneasy due to my fear of birds.
I'm looking forward to reading the author's next book My Girl which will be published in July. But next, I'm looking for a lighthearted story that doesn't feature birds.
Many thanks to the author, the publisher JJP and NetGalley for my free copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

What a great read!! Definitely a page turner. The twist near the end was shocking. The ending just put the icing on the cake. A solid, well written book. Recommended!!

Review as posted on Goodreads:

This is a book which marks the start of a an exciting for a new writer of crime fiction.

I really liked the fresh style of Jack Jordan's writing. I like his style for what it doesn't have as much as for what it has. There are no unnecessary descriptions of types of car, room decor or what he or she eats. This means that as a reader I can concentrate on the characters and the plot.

What seems to start as a relatively simple case of Louise having to deal with the adultery of Michael, her husband proves to be anything but. This is a powerful psychological thriller, which skips in time between the events of a year ago to the present day. It also skips between a house in wealthy central London to rural cottage retreat in the Cotswolds.

I enjoyed the way the author builds up the insecurities of husband and wife. There are some glimpses of humour within the sections where young son Dominic's take on events are explored. Early on it becomes clear that Brooke is a very troubled young adult. However the way in which her back-story is brought out within chapters with the subtitle 'That Night' helps to create the real intrigue.

The end comes up all too rapidly and provides a lot of answers, but for me this part seemed a bit too rushed, hence four not five stars. This is a book I fully recommend to those who like a real psychological thriller based on a dysfunctional family.

After I finish writing this review I will be starting to read 'My Girl' which is Jack Jordan's forthcoming book. I can't wait to see how this new author develops.

My thanks to Netgalley and JJP for a copy in exchange for this honest and impartial review.

Simply Splendid. This is a dark and tense Thriller, which is very well written. This is Jack Jordan’s first book, and I’m very impressed with his style and depth of this great story. Such a captivating and entertaining read. Louise Leighton’s life is starting to implode very quickly, once she finds out her husband Michael is cheating. Not that it’s ok to cheat, but if Louise didn’t know the woman involved, it may not have hurt as much. It’s just a bit too close to home when it turns out it’s her younger sister Denise that he is sleeping with. It’s quite ironic how he tells Denise that he still loves his wife, but is more than happy to just use her for sex. However he may not be around for long anyway with his dodgy business practices. Things become a bit weird and scary when someone leaves a box of dead birds on Louise’s bed. I’m not sure how she keeps it together when her daughter Brooke disappears, however maybe deep down she knows the reason why. If you cover up a murder for your daughter, then you can probably expect the consequences to one day to come back and bite you. If I did that I probably wouldn’t keep a diary with everything written down though. For Curt Grady it’s all about revenge. This book is certainly worth a read, and I look forward to more from this talented Author.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to review this book. Jack jordan - fab writer, addictive storyline which leaves you guessing until the end of how things will eventually work out, and what exactly did happen that one particualar night. This tells the story Of Louise and her family - Michael her husband - who has just admitted to having an affair with her sister, Brooke her 18 year old daughter - who has a secret that only she and her mother know about, and Dom their younger son, who seems sadly amongst all of this!
Louise decides to flee to their country home to take time for herself and to think how to proceed with her life. Slowly weird things begin happening - she is sure someone is watching her when dead robins are left on her doorstep. What does it all mean. Meanwhile Brooke goes missing and blood is found. The Met and Louise need to work together if indeed they are to find her daughter alive. Why is she missing, who took her and what happened one fateful night that caused Brooke and Louise to keep such a deep secret from everyone.
Lots of unanswered questions that leave you interested and wanting you to keep turning the pages! Well worth a read.!

Breathtaking story of terrible secrets and the horrible damage wrought by them and revenge. Perfectly normal, average, people who find their lives not only turned upside down by something that was truly an accident, and an affair, but in hiding these events, a wound so festering and putrid opens that there is no way for the parties to ever recover.

Jack Jordan is a very talented writer. The way he spins out this story is like a spider spinning a web so tight that her prey is powerless to escape. The book is so brutal and gruesome in parts that I had to put it aside, but only briefly, because I just had to know what was going to happen next, and, what would happen at the end. I look forward to reading more by Mr. Jordan.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for making this ARC available to me.

Anything for Her

It didn't take me long to finish this book. Once I started, the pace kept me having to turn 'just one more page'! I really liked the short chapters, it kept things snappy and engaging.

I'd describe this book as a sphincter clenching, emotional roller coaster of a read. The characters aren't necessarily likeable, but they created an intensity to the story that I loved.

I would definitely recommend this book to people, although make sure that you have enough time to read the whole book in one sitting as it will grab you! I'm going to seek Jack Jordan's book My Girl now!

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 4.5* from me!

A family is totally disintegrating. Something happened one night months earlier that caused a dramatic change in the wife and daughter. As a result the husband begins to have an affair with his wife's sister. He is also being investigated by the Police for various white collar crimes and stands a good chance of losing everything and going to prison. He tells the wife about the affair and she leaves. This is the introduction to the characters in this novel. The wife goes to their 'cottage' in the country to escape facing what has happened. Ultimately murder enters the picture and simply makes everything worse. It was fast reading and gripping. Good summer fare. Thanks to Net Galley and Amazon for an ARC for an honest review.

What a great psychological thriller! Full of suspense and emotion! Fast paced and simply fantastic!

This was the second book by Jack Jordan I have read and I enjoyed it so much. He writes great mysteries that suck you in straight away!

This book was crazy with a capital C. Anything for Her is a fast paced, intense thriller that made me feel like I was apart of something that I never wanted to be a part of in my life. I had never heard of Jack Jordan before reading this novel, but you know what, I am definitely going to keep that name in mind the next time I am looking for a thriller to keep me up at night.

To be honest, when I first cracked this book open I was a little bit put off by it. Some of the writing at the beginning of the story made me scoff, the author said something about the tear stains and tears that I just shook my head at. It was like I was reading a very amateur novel, but then, it was like he picked up momentum and I forgot about the little grammatical errors. After the first couple of chapters I really got into the story and didn't even think about that silly mistake.

Louise and her daughter Brooke are keeping a secret, and that secret has seemingly cost Louise her marriage after she finds out her husband has been sleeping with her sister. He says that Louise has been different ever since "that night", and he doesn't know why, he feels like she pushed him into the arms of another one *eye roll*. This causes Louise to leave him, their children and her home in exchange for a secluded cabin in the woods that the couple owns, but soon will sell.
Strange things start to happen as the night in question becomes more and more of a burden on Brooke and Louise, and once Brooke goes missing, Louise can only assume it has to do with the night that their whole world got thrown upside down. Piecing itself together in random chapters, we see what makes these women so scared, and so worried that someone will find out what they did. We also see what happens to Brooke, Louise and their family as the story unfolds.

Dead birds start to appear in Louise's cabin, and she swears someone is following her. After the search for her daughter is called off, the real terror begins. If you are looking for a thriller that will make you question "who dun it" the entire time, then pick up this book! It was so fun to read, I hadn't put it down from the moment I picked it up. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. The only reason I took a star away is for the not so great beginning to the book.

3.5 Stars - I read in another reviewer's posting that this author is only 23 years old. What? This is an excellent debut novel and it sounds like his next book, My Girl, is even better.

Review rating: 5+ Thrilling Stars!

Anything for her is a passionate story about how far you will go to protect your family and what you do when the past comes back to haunt you.

Louise Leighton just found out her husband is cheating on her with her sister. Angry and bitter, she leaves her family for some alone time at their country home.

Eighteen-year-old Brooke Leighton is missing. It’s up to Louise and the Metropolitan Police to find her. Has Brooke run away?

Louise and Brooke share a secret, one they will never escape from. When someone starts stalking Louise and Brooke goes missing, Louise still doesn't come clean with what happened a year ago.

I was hooked from page one. The author keeps you guessing until the end. I read this just under 4 hours, couldn't wait to turn the next page!
My first novel by Jack Jordan and not the last! I look forward to read more of this author's work.
A great read and brilliantly written.

Thank you to Jack Jordan, via Netgalley, for providing me with a free copy of Anything for Her for a fair and honest review.

Thank you for reading my review ♥

A gripping, dark, suspense thriller. You won't be able to put this one down. Truly an up and coming master of suspense.

This was a very compelling story. I can't say that I loved it or even disliked it. There were many cringeworthy moments when I shook my head because the characters were doing something reprehensible. I found every character detestable. The mystery was well written and plotted, but it was more brutal than I've read in the past so it was a bit jarring. The author is a good one. He writes well and wrote a page turner. However, I had to pause more often than usual because I disliked the behavior and actions of the characters. The only good character was the young son, and I felt sad for him. I enjoyed how the author tied up all the loose ends at the conclusion of the main story. I'm excited to read more from Jack Jordan.

Twists and turns are every corner never knew what was going to happen next. This books is for anyone that loves a good thriller.

A real page turner,couldn't put it down

This is definitely one of the best thrillers I’ve read this year! The story is so intense and heartbreaking and full of emotion. I just couldn’t stop reading it till I finished it! The adults in the family are all flawed and I just wanted to scream at them at times, but then I also felt bad for how things ended for them. Very emotional journey and I loved it.

Right from the start, Louise flees to the Cotswalds, which provides the perfect creepy and eerie setting for the events that unfold. There’s one particular scene that takes place in a barn that gave me chills.

It took until about halfway through the book to even begin to find out what happened on That Night. The suspense leading up to the reveal killed me in the best possible way. When the main climax and big reveal happened I was shocked, horrified and found myself gasping. Jordan has a way of following his characters during the absolute worst times in their lives and makes the reader question how they think they would handle themselves if the unthinkable happened to you and your family. Would you make the same choices as they did? How does one really know what they would do in a horrifying situation until you are staring it in its ugly face?

Fair warning, this book has portions that are violently graphic, but I feel they are necessary to the storyline. Nothing gratuitous. I don’t wanna reveal too much, but this book takes the reader on a ride full of secrets, betrayal, cover ups, mysterious stalkers, and the stark desperation of a family trying to keep it all together.

My one slight complaint is that I wish there would’ve been more character development in both Michael and Louise’s sister Denise. I would’ve liked to know more about Louise and Denise’s relationship before the affair. What kind of woman sleeps with her brother in law? With Michael I would have liked to hear more about the events that led up to his demise. What exactly did he do and how was he caught?

This is the kind of book that should be read in one sitting. Compulsive reading. I loved it and will look out for other work by this author

"Anything for Her" is a wonderful Debut Novel by Jack Jordan. I was lucky enough to be given a copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. This book hooked me in from the start, and I finished it within 1 day. I just could not put it down once I started.

Louise and Michael have been married for 20 years, but, their marriage is no longer solid. Michael is in deep trouble and facing jail time for insider trading, as well as having an affair for the past 10 months. An affair he blames on his wife. Louise changed a year ago, and Michael felt his needs were not being met in the bedroom. He swears it was only physical, but, Louise cannot find it within her heart to forgive him, especially when she finds out who he is having an affair with.

Michael and Louise have two children, Brooke and Dominic. Brooke and her mother went through a horrific ordeal a year ago, a secret that remains just between the two of them, or so they thought. A secret that is tearing the family apart, piece by piece. Just how much longer can they continue keeping it all inside?

The story is told through various POV, enough so that it still keeps it entertaining, and helps you fully see the big picture.

Louise leaves the marital home for the vacation cottage to clear her mind, and strange things start happening. When Brooke shows up on her doorsteps because she needs her mother's comfort, Louise urges her to go back home to her father and younger brother. A mistake she should have never made. Brooke never leaves the train station to go home, and ends up missing. But has she been closer than expected all along?

Someone has been watching Louise and Brooke, leaving dead birds and bloodied gloves just for them. Is it simply to mess with their minds, or is it much more sinister than that?

I am getting ready to read "My Girl" by Jack Jordan, and hope it is just as wonderful as "Anything for Her".

A dark and tense thriller, which is very well written for a debut novel. There were parts that were a bit unbelievable (if you've committed a crime you wouldn't write every detail of that crime in a diary!!) but nevertheless I enjoyed reading this book and am looking forward to his second book.

A great psychological thriller which will keep you interested to the very last page. A tale of mother and daughter and the secret they share. I would recommend this book. Well done Jack Jordan. Thank you Net Galley for my copy. Reviewed on Goodreads.

Loved this as a thriller it was terrifying to the end ~ to say extreme justice was the focus point it took it to a whole new level ~ Jack Jordan is an amazing writer and love each of his books

Wow!! What a riveting book!! It is so full of twists and turns that you forget everything until you get to the end of the book. This is a must read!! I must admit I got really angry at one point because of the lack of responsibility and accountability. Secrets and denial will only hurt in the end

What I loved most about this novel was the ending. I thought it was brilliant the way that the culprit(s) behind the terror that had been stalking the mother-daughter duo had put so much thought behind what had occurred. It wasn’t just random acts of violence or done out of haste but actual thought and planning had gone into these undertakings. I loved the chase, something that had occurred in the past in now looking for closure, the secret in now being revealed. I enjoyed this novel. I loved the execution of the novel as it brought up some strong emotions.

I, myself was getting tired of hearing about “the secret” as they kept mentioning these two words. I felt this issue was implied in the way that the characters were acting and their mannerisms, I didn’t need reminding over and over again that the family was falling apart over something that happened a year ago with the mother and daughter that no one is talking about. Louise just found out that her husband is having an affair with her sister, her husband fessed up and now Louise is leaving. Packed her bags, left her kids behind and went to their country home. Her kids, Dominic age 10 and Brooke age 18 is left behind with their father. Louise’s husband is leading the family down a financial black hole with insider trading, tax evasion and few other legal issues so this family vacation home that Louise is using now is on the market which comes into play in this stimulating novel. Armed with alcohol, Louise hopes to drown her issues but someone else has other plans for Louise as she realizes she’s not alone. It is the alcohol or is something else to blame as weird and creepy situations start to invade Louise country home. At home, her daughter needs her mother as something has occurred and only her mother will understand. It is here, at this time, that I lose patience with Louise. There is this “secret” that they share and her daughter needs her but when Brooke comes to her, Louise shuts her out. I was so hot! I had no idea myself what this “secret” was but as parent, I couldn’t phantom how a mother could shut her daughter out especially when she needed her so desperately. Ahh Louise, I despised you madly! On her travels to see her mother, Brook has issues on the train, there seems to be someone watching her. I would feel the heartbreak with Brooke as her mother cast her off, I could feel it in the words, my Kindle felt heavy. Louise, you took her to the train station and I despised you. The rest of the novel was wonderful. I hate to say it but Louise but I hoped you learned a lesson. I’m sorry Brooke, your mother was a lousy mother, you definitely deserved better.

I received a copy of this novel from NetGalley and JJP in exchange for an honest opinion.

I'm really stunned that this is a debut novel.
One night can change everything. One night can alter your whole life. Louise was a content, beautiful, lively woman. She had a carefree, rebellious teenage daughter and a young son. She and her husband have kept the spark alive for twenty years and were still very much in love. Now her husband is close to jail for crimes related to finance and has confessed to an affair with his sister in law, their wealth is soon to be taken, her daughter is a withdrawn, depressed young lady, and her son is just confused about it all. She herself is a shell of the woman she once was. What went wrong? The pieces of the puzzle slowly come together as you read, as we alternate between the now and "that night", when everything changed. I had a hard time putting this one down. Very impressed with it. I think I'm about to dive into the next novel by Jack Jordan tonight, in fact! It's only two in the morning, after all. Thank you to Net Galley and JJP for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Fantastic, riveting, fast paced and too short... I have fallen in love with Jack Jordans writing. With most authors I am usually ahead of their story, already guessing the outcome well before it's time. Jack didn't give me that, I was too busy being totally engrossed in every word that flowed easily from the page. Having just finished this title, my heart is still racing from the way this book just naturally runs along. I honestly cannot wait for his next book after reading his first two in a matter of hours... Thank you Jack.

This is exactly how a thriller should go-grab your reader from the first page, dangle a mystery to be solved, and leave you wanting to know more page after page until the very end which you never see coming! I highly recommend this excellent read!

A dark and sinister murder mystery.

Louise has the perfect life. Two wonderful children,Brooke, 18, Dominic,11 and a perfect husband, Michael.
So what is Louise doing running barefoot across a field in the dead of winter with mounds of snow all over?
In a perfect world where bliss turns to tragedy, death, betrayal, and revenge, how could things go so wrong!!
This is a very, very entertaining read. My attention was so immersed, I finished it in one sitting. Soooo, hard to put down, I couldn't wait to see what happened next.
Highly recommended!!! 5 Stars!