Ugly Young Thing. By Jennifer Jaynes. A.R.C. Review.

Sixteen-year-old Allie has already experienced a lifetime of horror, having lost her mother and serial killer brother to mental illness.

Returning to her childhood home in Louisiana, Allie ends up in foster care and is placed with Miss Bitty, an eccentric but kindly older woman who shows her a new direction and brighter future.

But Allie's new life takes a devastating turn when young women in the area start turning up dead, and she discovers someone lurking outside her bedroom. As Miss Bitty grows inexplicably distant, Allie begins to wonder if death has found her yet again...or if it never really left her at all.

 ★★★★☆

This book can be read as a stand alone, but you will understand the heroine better if you have read the previous book.
Never Smile at Strangers

 Since her brother's suicide Allie has been on her own. Using the only thing she has to live, her body.
Life as a fifteen year old Hooker is too much for her to handle, so she returns to her old house.
Child services soon catch her and she is handed over to a foster home.
Miss Bitty takes on Allie's care.  There must be a catch. Who could possibly want an ugly thing like her, the daughter and sister of murderers.
There is another serial killer in the area.  Nobody is quite whom they seem.
A very good psychological thriller. The trauma faced by the young girl is so realistic. The mental state of the killer and those around him can be scary to get into. A fascinating read, not for the faint hearted.

I’m a novelist, wife and mommy to the most wonderful twin four-year-olds on the planet.

While earning my Bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences at Old Dominion University and a certificate from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, I did a little bit of everything to pay the bills. I’ve been a gas station attendant, waitress, a dancing waitress, beer girl, shot girl, bartender, closing coordinator, executive assistant, medical assistant, EMT, content manager, webmaster, news publisher, editor, copywriter, weight loss coach and publishing consultant.

However, through it all, what I really wanted to be was a novelist.

It’s been a very long, and sometimes difficult road, but in 2011, I finally began living my dream with the release of my debut thriller, Never Smile at Strangers. To date, Never Smile at Strangers has earned a place on theUSA Today Bestseller’s list, the #1 spot (across all categories) in the Barnes & Noble’s Nook Store, has graced the Top 5 in the mystery/suspense category in the Kindle Store multiple times, and has appeared in the Top 25 in the Kindle Store (across all categories).

I LOVE to connect with my readers. You can find me at

 www.ProjectJennifer.com,www.Facebook.com/NeverSmileatStrangers and www.Twitter.com/jenniferjaynes7. 

AMAZON .CO.UK:

Ugly Young Thing
Never Smile at Strangers

Never Smile At Strangers by Jennifer Jaynes

★★★★☆
This is a good creepy thriller.

The small backwater town of  Grand Trespass has a serial killer living in their midst. A young girl has vanished. Some think she has just run off but her best friend knows she wouldn't do that without telling her. There is no shortage of suspects. The towns people are a strange bunch, lots of dysfunctional families. The town's secrets start to surface and the truth will come out.
There have been more killings than anyone (except one) knows .

I thought I had guessed who the killer was about halfway through but I was wrong. The author caught me out. I like that. The story is quite emotional at times. Our very twisted killer is one you almost feel sorry for at times. His family is the most dysfunctional of them all.

I see the possibility of another story featuring the person who vanished at the end. If there is anything to be learned from this book it is to treasure your family.

Amazon buy link.Never Smile at Strangers