Psychological thriller. A young beautiful girl's battle to survive against a deranged and delusional killer's obsession with her. He must rid the world of all the bad influences that are poisoning her.
Mary Elizabeth Grange, also known as Beth to her friends, is little more than a child when she is noticed. Her lanky, developing body and her childlike ways do nothing to dissuade his hungry eyes and his needy imagination. She glides through life happily but to him she becomes everything. Every flip of her long curly ebony hair, every smile, every gesture speaks to him as he quietly moves in the shadows. His small, inconsequential world narrows even further. Real life recedes and fantasy, like a blazing fire, consumes him. Then their worlds collide in one brutal and obscene act as he brazenly flings reality aside and allows the delusions to totally devour him. Her world destroyed, Beth must fight for her very sanity. Then at the farthest end of her nightmare and many miles away, happiness and love are finally within her reach. Much to her bemusement, she starts to receive flowers from a secret admirer. Things start to take on a darker tone and she senses anything but affection from the gifts being left to her. But how can this be related in anyway to the vicious serial killer in her home state who is killing women that look so much like her? The answers will only be attained if she dares to fight the biggest battle of her life.
Excerpt
PRETTY MAIDENS ALL IN A ROW
Prologue
Sweat, mixed with hot tears, made fresh tracks through the blood on her face. She bravely fought the hysteria that was crawling from her belly to her throat, leaving waves of nausea in its wake. The staleness of the room was overwhelming and the meager light wafting through the tiny windows did nothing to dispel the gloom. Dust filled her nostrils and her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. She felt her body quaking from head to toe with shock and fear. She licked her lips frantically, and was horrified to taste blood. Her heart ached as the enormity of the loss shook her to the very core, but there was no time to mourn. The room reeked of the unique, heavy tang of sweat, blood and madness. She forced herself to look at the monster that had them. She knew that he was going to do unspeakable things to them before he killed them and her heart pounded like a giant gong inside her chest, sending reverberations through her body making her hands feel numb. He was crazed as he cursed and argued with someone only he could see. His shirt, once clean before forcing them into the car, was now spattered with precious blood, which had left a delicate pattern across his chest. He didn’t notice, as he terrorized them. Gradually, through the madness, she realized that she was bound to the chair with scarves. She sensed that he was trying to be gentle and the hateful growls were not directed towards her. He kept saying that he was trying to save her for God’s sake. Moaning, she started to work the binds and her heart gave a sudden leap when she realized that the scarves were bound around her high top sneakers, not her ankles.
"Leave her alone, you bastard!" she screamed with all the strength that her frozen vocal cords would allow. It came out like a squeaky wheel that desperately needed oil, but it got his attention. He stopped raving, mid-sentence, and stared at her disbelievingly, his eyes bulging from their sockets.
"What?" His voice was deceptively soft, as though he was one of her teachers, coaxing a shy student to take part in class. The sickening irony of it filled her with disgust and she struggled to calm herself, to get his attention.
"Please, she’s a good person. Please leave her alone!" she begged.
He snorted foully, bending towards her and she forced herself not to gag at his loathsome breath which blanketed her face.
"Ah Mary Elizabeth, you’re so innocent, so very innocent.” He nodded his head like an indulgent parent talking to a dim-witted child. She gritted her teeth in frustration and furiously worked the scarves that bound her, back and forth, and a burst of adrenaline spurted through her bloodstream when she felt them loosening.
"Don’t you see?" His face was at once very serious and patient and kind in a grotesque parody of the terror that he was causing. "She has corrupted you! I must save you! We have to be together!"
Abruptly, he turned, and Beth’s heart lurched with panic and despair when she heard the piteous screams. Frantically she worked off the scarves from her wrists and pulled her sneakers off as one last shot of adrenaline pushed her to free herself. Reaching for the pins in her blouse, she faced the monster, at last ready for the fight of her life.
Professional Reviews
So good I had to read it twice!, July 26, 2015
By Kindle Customer "L2RKaren"
This review is from: Pretty Maidens All In a Row. (Kindle Edition)
This book was so good that I wanted to read it again and did. Mary Elizabeth, a young teen (known as Beth in the beginning of the novel) has a stalker. He gets more psychotic in the first couple of years to the point of kidnapping Mary Elizabeth and her friend Sally. That event and what he does changes her life forever. In fact, she know longer wishes to be known as Beth, because as far as she is concerned that person is dead. She battles back from her horrific past but all is not over. The stalking begins again, but Liz (as she is later known) is a stronger woman and strives to remain sane and safe. She doesn't want to think about the the past, but she has to; in order to deal with the present. One of the stable forces in Liz's life is a man who was there for her in the past and now is there for her as well. This time it is a romantic relationship and he helps to keep Mary Elizabeth strong to deal with what is going on in her life. It is hard to believe that this a debut novel for this author and I am anxiously awaiting her next work as J.M. is a fantastic storyteller.
A Very Gut-wreching Dark Intense Read, June 29, 2015
By Sade Thompson
This review is from: Pretty Maidens All In a Row. (Kindle Edition)
What a read.
This book is normally not the genre I read, but it opens one’s eyes to the state of mind of a psychotic human Richard Reed whom as a result of a terrible childhood and the emotional toxic unhealthy trauma’s he suffered at the hands of his mother made him a threat to society. This inhumane behaviour turned him into a lunatic and his mother and brother another deranged human the favourite of the mother a rapist and a drug pusher became a victim of his brothers psychological trauma when he was bludgeoned to death by Richard.
His mother’s treatments of him shaped his view of women, he sees all women as impure and imperfect except for young beautiful Mary Elizabeth. He formed these daily fantasies in his head of what life would be with her, while also stalking her and detesting anyone that is in her life. No one is good enough, everyone in her life in his mind were trying to corrupt his Mary Elizabeth.
In order to realize his fantasies he kidnaps the girl of his dreams, together with her best friend Sally. I am not going g to say what happened there because that would be giving it away but I must say it is gruesome and horrifying. However, It made me think about the constant danger and threat young children are facing without even being aware that they are the focus of a deranged human. It also enlightens one on the importance of making sure children are open to their parents when they notice a weird behaviour from strangers and not take things for granted. I must also say that Ally, Mary Elizabeth's mother should not have allowed her daughter so much freedom to roam the street especially since it was such a miracle that she fell pregnant with her..
The Kidnap and all the horror that followed traumatised the fifteen years old and the parents had to move away to enable the family heal and start living life anew.
She developed a romantic relationship with her music teacher who had fancied her when she was only fourteen but thought he would wait until she matured (Another adult I felt was wrong borderline wrong to have fancied her from such a young age) . But soon, things began to spiral out of control when Mary Elizabeth started to receive messages that made it hard for her to live a normal life, the question now is has Richard been released, or is this a copycat or an entirely new stalker /serial killer.
I applaud the writer for doing an excellent job of taking the readers on a rollercoaster of intense emotions. I recommend this book to anyone that is looking for a dark psychological thriller you would not be disappointed.
Powerful Scenes, High Quality, Bone Chilling Drama, June 4, 2015
By Dii
This review is from: Pretty Maidens All In a Row. (Kindle Edition)
Brutal, disturbing, twisted and dark, Pretty Maidens All in a Row by J. M. Brown follows a young teen as she is unknowingly stalked by a deranged admirer who has conjured an imaginary relationship between the two of them. When his obsession overpowers what minute amount of sanity he has, he takes action to ensure that Mary Beth will be his and his alone. What is left is a shattered teen, once happy and carefree, with a best friend to confide in, do everything with, she has become depressed, withdrawn and will fight for years to come out from under the crushing fear that has engulfed her. Will he return? Will he escape prison and find her?
When her knight in shining armor becomes her true love, a secret admirer begins a slow dance of stalking her once again. Is Beth not allowed to have any happiness? Is this just some sick joke or has her stalker returned to finish what he started, making her his prisoner in his twisted world of love?
Is this admirer showing her how much he wants her by killing her look alikes, trying to get to the “original?” Insanity and obsessions take on darker and more evil tones as, once again, her life becomes a living nightmare of fear and death.
J. M. Brown knows how to create atmosphere, there were times I wanted to wash my hands and scrub my eyeballs while reading this dark tale. She has gone for broke, with powerful scenes, and tension that feels like a high voltage wire has been connected to your body. Combining the innocence of youth, with the depravity of a lost soul, the collision arranged by J. M. Brown is a brilliant display of her writing prowess and her no nonsense approach to high quality psychological drama. Each page is an unexpected shock as she takes down a twisted path through darkness to an ending that had me fanning myself as my heart rate soared. Highly recommended for an wicked ride on the edge of insanity.
In the waning days of World War II, a man lies injured in a London hospital, shrouded in mystery and confusion. He is an American serviceman, stripped of his identity and memories, save for the name John, and plagued by vivid visions of battles that
I have taken pride in writing this novel as so many people have the wrong impression on bikers because they dress in leather clothing which is to protect themselves in case of an accident. The majority of bikers are known Policemen, Firemen, Doctors,
