By: Jennifer Jaynes
ISBN: 1503903915
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Publication Date: 9/25/2018
Format: Paperback
My Rating: 5 Stars + (ARC)
Top Books of 2018 The perfect life becomes the perfect nightmare in a twisting novel of psychological suspense from #1 USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Jaynes… Dr. Daniel Winters is living a fairy-tale life. He has a beachfront home in Malibu, a career as a respected pediatrician at a thriving Los Angeles practice, and a gorgeous new wife, Mia. For a man whose past was rife with mental illness, addiction, and thoughts of suicide, it seems too good to be true.
Then Daniel learns that a fellow pediatrician and his family were found slaughtered in their home. It’s just the first chip in the facade of Daniel’s perfect life. Little by little, everything starts to fall away. At work, his career becomes at risk when he’s asked to remain silent about a dangerous new drug. At home, Mia has gone from an affectionate newlywed to a mysterious woman carefully hiding secrets—and possibly a lover.
Then, another doctor is found dead, and as Mia’s behavior becomes increasingly suspicious, Daniel begins to wonder: Is paranoia getting the best of him…or has his fairy-tale life become a nightmare worse than he could have ever imagined?
Jennifer Jaynes Books
My Reviews
My Review
The #1 USA Today and internationally bestselling author, Jennifer Jaynes returns following The Stranger Inside (#4 Stranger Series) with her latest emotionally charged thriller MALICE, Coming Sept. 25, 2018. (You are going to devour). Top Books of 2018 List.
The perfect life becomes the perfect nightmare in a twisting novel of twisty psychological suspense. Truth and deception. Trust and betrayal. The people closest to us may be the (strangers) we need to fear the most. How far will they go to protect their secrets?
MALICE is such a timely and electrifying novel ripped from today’s headlines. Jaynes brilliantly creates a terrifying scenario both complex and all too real.
"Psychological domestic suspense meets heart-pounding medical thriller." Think, Jodi Picoult, Liane Moriarty (Big Little Lies), Karin Slaughter, and Lisa Gardner meets Michael and Daniel Palmer.
As I have said previously in my reviews and reiterated here with MALICE: The author continues to deliver gripping, edge-of-your-seat crime thrillers solidifying her place alongside the best of female crime writers out today!
The setting of MALICE is in beautiful Malibu, California. Daniel has it all. The beautiful beachfront home in Malibu. The perfect career, the ideal wife, the perfect life. He loved just about everything about his job: practicing medicine, the patients, his colleagues. Even his mess of a boss, Teddy. Life was great. Until . . .
Daniel also has a darker, paranoid, and cynical side. He has an inner voice, which speaks to him throughout the book, as a warning (highly entertaining).
MALICE is written from different perspectives. The three main characters: Dr. Daniel Winters (pediatrician), his new wife, Mia, and Rachel (mother of Suzie-patient) and a few secondary characters. I enjoy this style, allowing the reader to experience the character’s emotions (and inner voices) first-hand.
Dr. Daniel Winters is living a fairy-tale life. He has a beachfront home in Malibu, a career as a respected pediatrician at a thriving Los Angeles practice, and a gorgeous new wife, Mia.
For a man whose past was rife with mental illness, addiction, and thoughts of suicide, it seems too good to be true. Soon the facade of Daniel’s perfect life turns deadly (both personally and professionally).
Daniel is a pediatric physician and runs a practice with Teddy. He has always respected Teddy. (a good ole boy type). Daniel has not always had this glamorous life. He has worked hard to push his past aside; however, his ongoing battle with his inner voice continues.
He does not trust women. He and his twin sister battled demons from their past with their father and appears all the woman in his life were beautiful. "Beautiful meant bad."
When he meets the mysterious Mia, he remains concerned with her beauty and a little paranoid. Always wondering what she is thinking or doing.
Soon after their honeymoon from the islands, he returns to his practice and discovers the medical practice is openly advertising a new immunoceutical vaccine, Respira and the pharmaceutical start-up, Immunext. This is puzzling to Daniel and he decides to do some research on his own. This is the first he has heard of this new drug.
In the meantime, a physician family is murdered. There are warnings. Could Respira be related to the murders? Now Andy, his friend is concerned plus he has a patient that is having serious complications after taking the vaccine. On top of all this stress, his inner voice is speaking to him.
An Elevator Q&A Ride with the Author
Plus his new wife who insisted she wanted to keep to a waitressing job (even though she does not need to work), is keeping secrets and acting very mysterious. Is he paranoid about everything, or are his instincts correct?
Are they in danger due to the new drug? Is his wife cheating on him and if so he must find out what she is up to. Talk about stress (both professionally and personally).
Heart-pounding adrenaline keeps the suspense high to the explosive conclusion! (would love to see a follow-up story with Mia and Teddy). With action-packed twists and turns and a cast of solid primary and secondary characters. (Teddy was one evil guy). A finely crafted plot, high tension, and moral complexity are just a few mentions in this riveting suspense thriller.
Risks of a new vaccination keep the pulse-pounding as well as Daniel and Mia's secrets. Jennifer most definitely raises the bar with MALICE—she is at the "top of her game!" She does this so well, I am hoping we see more of the medical storyline. (one of my favorites).
MALICE is a little different than the author’s previous novels. In the past, she has written crime suspense psychological thrillers centered around dysfunctional families, serial killers, and mental illness. Here there still is the psychological aspect, dysfunction families; however, with MALICE she adds social newsworthy highly-charged and controversial medical topics— real families are facing in today's world.
Wrenchingly scary. A terrifying tale of greed, tragedy, and murder— where either knowing too little or trusting too much can be deadly. Making readers think twice about a routine vaccination.
Jennifer explores many powerful themes in MALICE— such as love, marriage, family, motherhood, childcare, trust, deceit, mental health, betrayal, secrets, greed, power, politics, moral dilemmas, corruption, whistleblowing, murder, pediatrics, medical and pharmaceutical negligence, conspiracy, and malpractice.
Well-researched, I am sure with Jaynes’s integrative health background, and a mother of young children she is keenly aware preventive care is the cornerstone of pediatrics, and vaccination represents one of the most critical strategies in the prevention of disease in children.
However, public concern, both real and anecdotal, regarding the adverse effects of vaccines has been front and center since the time of the first smallpox inoculation in 1796. From too many vaccines leading to weakening of a children's immune system, the pincushion effect, to other serious side effects and health concerns such as autism and even death.
Controversy and public outcry have surrounded vaccines, particularly as certain states attempt to mandate them.
On one hand, such as the fictional book MALICE portrays— the damaging immunoceutical vaccine, Respira and the pharmaceutical start-up, Immunext, and the greedy physicians— however, the same real tragedy is occurring in our world today, harming our children, causing parents to doubt the doctors dictated by the giant pharmacy companies and their greed for money and power.
If you keep up with the news, you know the Big Pharm companies are in bed with the FDA. How many thousands die each year from pharmaceutical drugs and unnecessary vaccines. So many of our diseases could be cured with natural supplements, herbs, and integrative functional doctors, but of course, this is not what the pharmaceutical companies want.
The FDA is not protecting us. From malpractice, negligence, murder, and conspiracy. Some we may not even be aware of the damage until years later. Often this leads parents who want to protect their children to run in the opposite direction —refusing to have their children take any vaccines. Which is worse, the vaccine or the potential disease?
Jennifer dedicates MALICE to Colton Berrett— another vibrant young teen sacrificed by the HPV Vaccine. Heartbreaking, heart-shattering, devastating, horrific—and most importantly, unnecessary. Another tragic death of a child damaged by and caused by vaccines, and in this case, it was the Gardasil/Human Papilloma Virus Vaccine (HPV) that took his life. Colton is one of the thousands of severe vaccine injured children who ultimately lost his life and succumbed to the toxic travesty of vaccine injury and damage.
Readers if you have followed this story, it is tragic. (read more Q&A with the author).
It is difficult for parents and grandparents to follow the advice of physicians and the medical industry when they do not always have their best interest at heart. It takes more education on the part of the guardians and parents of these innocent children to control their child’s health and make wise medical decisions regarding their health, as well as our own. We hold their lives in our hands.
Back to Jennifer: MALICE is for fans of Daniel and Michael Palmer, Karin Slaughter, Lisa Gardner and throw in a mix of Lisa Unger, Chevy Stevens, and Jennifer Hillier to the ones mentioned above.
For me, Jaynes has always been a "rock star" and in my opinion a very undervalued psychological thriller author similar, to Hillier— until this past year when she received the movie deal. Here ’s hoping everyone discovers Jennifer Jaynes and her unwavering talent. Her books are ideal for prime-time TV or the big screen. She is a fantastic storyteller!
Looking forward to a prequel of The Stranger series. (now this would definitely be a fabulous series for Amazon video).
With more twists and turns than California's Pacific Highway, MALICE is a chilling, terrifying, and riveting action-packed suspense thriller which takes Jaynes favorite brand of suspense to new heights as she continues to raise the bar.
A special thank you to the author, Thomas & Mercer and #NetGalley for an advanced reading copy of #Malice
About the Author
#1 USA Today and internationally bestselling author Jennifer Jaynes graduated from Old Dominion University with a bachelor’s degree in health sciences and holds a certificate from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She made her living as a content manager, webmaster, news publisher, medical assistant, editor, publishing consultant, and copywriter before finally realizing her dream as a full-time novelist. Jennifer is the author of six thrillers, including Disturbed, The Stranger Inside, Never Smile at Strangers, Don’t Say a Word, and Ugly Young Thing; and the children’s book I Care About Me. When she’s not writing or spending time with her husband and twin boys, Jennifer loves reading, cooking, and studying nutrition. Visit Jennifer at www.jenniferjaynes.net.
