Book Review: Hold Still by Lisa Regan

Title: Hold Still

Author: Lisa Regan

Genre: Mystery / Suspense

Age Group: Adult

Rating: 4 stars

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After saving her three-year-old daughter from a car-jacking, off-duty police detective Jocelyn Rush ends up in the ER.  The last person she expects to run into is Anita Grant, former prostitute and an old acquaintance from Jocelyn’s days on patrol.  In spite of her obvious injuries—mutilated hands and feet—Anita refuses to talk about what happened. Reluctantly, Jocelyn backs off, and Anita’s case goes to Philadelphia’s Special Victims Unit.

Before long, Jocelyn is pulled into the SVU’s investigation.  Anita is finally ready to talk, but only to Jocelyn. Her story is harrowing, even to a seasoned veteran like Jocelyn. Working with SVU, Jocelyn’s investigation unearths a series of similar crimes going back four years.  Three men are preying on local prostitutes, viciously assaulting and mutilating them.

The police apprehend two of the suspects, but the third eludes capture. As the hunt for the most sadistic of the three intensifies, and his crimes escalate, Jocelyn and her colleagues have precious few leads.  Then a monster from Jocelyn’s past resurfaces.  She doesn’t want to be reminded of the terrible secret that destroyed her family nearly twenty years earlier, but the man offers her a lead that could crack Anita’s case.

To solve it, Jocelyn must connect her past with her present—before a sadistic attacker sets his sights on her.

Hold Still is a fantastic book. I had no expectations going in – while the plot sounded mildly interesting, I’d just finished a series of thrillers and didn’t know if it would live up to the rest of them. It definitely lived up to it, and more. Jocelyn, the main character, is quite amazing.She’s a single Mom, and at the start of the book, she rescues her three year old from a car-jacking, and thus ends up in the ER. She loves her daughter though, and her love for that little girl is special, and heart-warming. But when she arrives at the ER, Jocelyn runs into Anita Grant, a former prostitute, and an old acquintance from Jocelyn’s days on patrol. Despite being severely hurt, Anita refuses to talk about what happened. Her case goes to the Special Victims Unit, but soon after, Jocelyn is pulled into the investigation. Anita is ready to talk, but only wants to talk to Jocelyn.

The investigation unearths a series of serious crimes going back four years. Three men prey on local prostitutes and mutilate them. While the police manages to catch two of the suspects, the third one escapes. He’s the most sadistic of the three, and Jocelyn and her colleagues have few leads to find out more about him. But when the past comes back to haunt Jocelyn, and an old acquintance shows back up, he’s the only lead that could crack the case.

It’s a great, suspenseful book, that had me on the edge of my seat from start to end. The case was original and refreshing, but it’s Jocelyn who really stole the show. I loved Jocelyn, and would love more books focusing on her.