There are few things I love more than a crime novel that introduces readers to a disturbed protagonist with a compelling backstory -a character who can bring you into their twisted worldview and make you happy (if a bit alarmed!) to spend time in it.

It’s time for Jane to dig out everything that matters to Steven. Nothing can distract Jane from going straight for his heart: allowing herself to be seduced into Steven’s bed, to insinuate herself into his career and his family, and to expose all his dirty secrets. And Steven’s bringing out the worst in her. Least of all Steven.īut plain Jane is hiding something. She’s just the kind of woman middle manager Steven Hepsworth likes-meek, insecure, and willing to defer to a man. She blends in well, unremarkably pretty in her floral-print dresses and extra efficient at her low-level job. Jane’s days at a Midwest insurance company are perfectly ordinary. Whether or not the melodrama of the story’s plot works for you will be another question altogether-and one that will determine how suitable of a selection JANE DOE will be for you.Ī double life with a single purpose: revenge. Every element of JANE DOE is captured in stark relief, from Jane’s caustic personality to her vengeful mission and the corruption of the story’s secondary characters. Unfortunately, JANE DOE also suffers a bit from a tendency towards the overly-dramatic readers who prefer subtlety in their crime writing will find JANE DOE too repetitive and loud for their tastes.

In many ways, JANE DOE achieves what it sets out to accomplish: this book is undeniably addictive and fresh, and more than holds its own against the (arguably a bit tired) trend of the “unreliable narrator.” Jane is exactly what she says she is-no more, no less. There are no false pretenses or veiled motivations here Jane has revenge on the brain, and she won’t stop until she gets what she wants. Protagonist Jane has crafted an identity for herself with a single end result in mind: she is going to become the perfect woman for a particular man, and then she is going to destroy him - just as he destroyed someone whom Jane holds dear. Victoria Helen Stone’s biting thriller centers around a woman whose sole motivation is revenge. The Verdict: an addictive but slightly overdone revenge thrillerĪfter reading so very many “unreliable narrator” thrillers in the past couple years, the promise of a different kind of narrator - a woman whose intentions are clear, if morally questionable, from the outset - drew me to Victoria Helen Stone’s forthcoming psychological suspense novel JANE DOE.

Jane doe victoria