Jaycee Wilder Series #1
By: Jennifer Vaughn
ISBN: 9781944245627
Publisher: Waldorf Publishing
Publication Date: 7/15/2016
Format: Paperback
My Rating: 5 Stars Hard-charging, insightful, and ambitious, Jaycee Wilder wants to take her TV news career to the next level. The Los Angeles reporter is hungry for the big story. When dead girls begin to pile up at seedy nightclubs that cater to whimsical, fetish-seeking strangers, Jaycee suspects a serial killer is at work. She aligns herself with an east coast cop trying to resurrect himself- and his once stellar career- from a drunken skid.
The killer lives a normal life during the day, while hunting the Throw Away Girls at night, punishing them for their dark urges. He leaves messages behind in his victims' blood, his explanation for enacting such brutal, twisted justice upon the unworthy. He watches the media coverage. He knows the wily reporter is chasing him. As Jaycee follows her gut, and the evidence, she forces him to act. But when a killer is clever and cunning, he can infiltrate anywhere. Jaycee must utilize all her skills to expose him before he gets to her first.
My Review
A special thank you to Waldorf Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Nice Cover! Jennifer Vaughn introduces THROW AWAY GIRLS her first in the gritty psychological suspense mystery: Jaycee Wilder Series -an ambitious LA news reporter finds herself in the middle of a brutal crime investigation, and at the hands of a dangerous psycho serial killer. A monster who throws away girls like the garbage, and uses their blood to leave a message. Throw Away: “A thing intended or destined to be discarded after brief use or appeal.” Jaycee Wilder is a smart and tenacious television news reporter in Los Angeles and currently dating Van. Van slings drinks at a West Hollywood nightclub several nights a week only until he became the next Bradley Cooper. She works with her news director, Clare and partner, Ben. Jaycee believed that in order to give proper coverage to a murder victim, she needed to get to know her. Something every reporter did on the weekends. She meets up with Detective James Barton LAPD Homicide—leading the charge to find Zoe’s killer. (an interesting character). They would work together to find the psychopath. . This would make the third murder in six months. Three women butchered, no-holds-barred, stranger-on-stranger sex shops. The latest is a woman, Zoe is in her mid-twenties. Fantasy adult nightclubs in Los Angeles. Two other women, Sarah and Mackenzie, were also murdered in locations near or along Hollywood Boulevard. He is making them bleed. A gory slaughter that implied murder over mishap, and she was intrigued. Jaycee and Van talk about scenarios at home, since he occasionally gets bit parts on TV shows. Ever since a stint on Criminal Minds, Van had Jaycee believing that in order to give purpose he convinced himself a hard-edged crime sleuth. This time the story was for real. These girls were not slutty skanks. Zoe was a well-liked educator and a beloved daughter. Sarah a waitress, and Mackenzie a single mom raising four- year-old twins. Each young woman had a loving supportive family that had professed shock upon hearing the details of their deaths. These girls had ventured into dark caverns where pleasure and pain intertwined with one’s own exploitation. In a cold place that invited the darkest parts of a person’s soul out to play. Jaycee is dying for an interview with the family to discuss their double life, to help determine their connection with the killer. Each time the killer strikes he uses his victims blood to leave a message, “Throw Away Girl.” We hear from the unidentified killer who appreciates the full color spectrum of a woman’s beauty. He loves women. But sometimes he had to kill them. Only some of them. The bad ones. As Barton, Jaycee, and the team get closer to determining the killer's identity, Jaycee is in danger. Will she be the psychopath’s next victim after she receives a message from the killer to back off? What does he have in mind for her, since she does not fit the profile? Detective James Barton, a little rough around the edges, was a one- time hero cop. Now a survivor in his own right. Of course, Barton was not accustomed to a pretty and smart reporter providing key points of a murder investigation to him. As most sociopaths, they disguise themselves as an everyday person. Mysterious and evil, a Jekyll and Hyde. However, what dark abuse lurks in their past to turn them into twisted brutal killers? Will they stop him before he kills again? Chilling and suspenseful with a calculating villain at the center of a well-crafted plot, flawed characters, and sharp dialogue to keep readers guessing. Dark and twisty, as the intrigue unfolds, tension mounts in this outstanding start to Vaughn’s new series. Her expertise shines in this gripping novel; and what a delicious cliffhanger, keeping readers salivating for the next installment. Vaughn, a news anchor for WMUR-TV in Manchester, New Hampshire, puts her experience to splendid use, to enhance the story, with authentic insider investigative detailed reporting; keeping the suspense and intensity high.
By employing her keen skills, she maneuvers between characters smoothly, and crafts a wild labyrinth of exciting twists, turns, and surprises. Readers who crave mystery, and dark twisty psychological crime suspense will be impressed by the first installment, of her new exciting series! Bloody Good! For fans of Sandra Brown, JT Ellison, Mary Burton, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Lis Wiehl, and Karin Slaughter.
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Advance Praise
"Readers enthusiastic about smart, successful, creative female protagonists will find themselves rooting for Jaycee's ultimate success and chafing at the many obstacles and increasingly insurmountable hurdles she faces in the process of playing a dangerous game."--D. Donovan Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
"Dark, dirty, delightful. Jennifer Vaughn creates a cast of flawed, compelling characters and a plot wound tighter than a 12-day clock.Don't bother with a book mark. You won't stop The Throw Away Girls once you start." Kevin Flynn - author of Dark Heart, host of "Crime Writers On" podcast
"This fast-paced thriller of a ride wraps the world of a network reporter around the hunt for a serial killer - and sets up a heroine I'm sure we will be hearing from again." --Jodi Picoult, NYT bestselling author of The Storyteller and Leaving Time
"This is more than just a bullet-paced thrill ride alongside a woman whois very good at her job but is very bad at her personal life. It is also a bullet-paced look at the inner workings of network television reporting. Jennifer Vaughn has created a character who has the courageand the recklessness, to dig into the psyche of a serial killer.-"-Michele R. McPhee, Boston Globe bestselling author of A Date WithDeath and A Mob Story.
About the Author
Jennifer Vaughn is an Emmy nominated, Edward R. Murrow, and Associated Press award-winning television news anchor for ABC affiliate, WMUR-TV, in Manchester, New Hampshire. She has contributed to internationally television presidential debates alongside CNN, ABC News, and Fox News, and has interviewed every sitting president and presidential candidate since 1999.
Jennifer has also been honored for her work by the Red Cross, earning a Sword of Hope Award, the NH Association of Broadcasters, and is a multiple Emmy nominee within The New England chapter of The National Association of Television Arts and Sciences. Her debut novel, Last Flight Out, was featured in the Swag Bag at the Daytime Emmy Awards in Beverly Hills, CA in 2013. Jennifer is joyfully raising two children with her husband in New Hampshire, and remains an avid contributor to charities that direct funds and support to cancer patients. All proceeds from the sale of Last Flight Out were distributed among several New Hampshire organizations.
I released my debut novel, Last Flight Out, in 2011. A mix of family crisis and politics, all proceeds from this book were directed to New Hampshire breast cancer charities. Thank you to everyone who supported this critical cause. My second novel, Throw Away Girls, is coming in July of 2016! Readers will meet LA reporter Jaycee Wilder, as she goes deep into the Los Angeles nightclub scene to snuff out a serial killer. Expect to see more of Jaycee in future releases. And stand by for Echo Valley, a story that blends small town New Hampshire with the intensity and scandal of a presidential campaign.
My most important job of all: mom. Alongside my husband, Brad Dupuis, I'm joyfully raising two great kids, and our cocker spaniel, Fletcher, who are the heart and soul of my entire life. Brody and Darby fill us with pride and hope for a future full of promise and love. My best accomplishments, by far. Read More
Book Signings
August 27th – Book Signing: Toadstool Bookshop – Milford, NH
August 25th – Appearance: Kernwood Country Club – Salem, MA
August 20th – Book Signing: Burgundy Books – Westbrook, CT
August 13th – Book Signing: Book Lovers Gourmet – Webster, MA
July 30th – Book Signing: Moravian Bookshop – Bethlehem, PA
July 22nd – Book Signing: Water Street Bookstore – Exeter, NH
May 10-13th _ Appearance - Book Expo of America, Chicago, IL
