How many more are going to die because you refuse to remember? Becca would like nothing better than to put the past behind her and focus on making Redemption her home. But what do you do when the past refuses to stay buried?Becca still can’t remember the night sixteen-year-old Jessica disappeared from a party, never to be seen again. Which is bad enough (especially since she was supposedly the … was supposedly the last person to see Jessica alive), but it’s not the worst …
Strange events are making Becca think there’s a link between what happened to Jessica fifteen years ago and the darkness happening now.
With help from her friends and her teenage crush, Daniel, Becca races against time to uncover the truth about Jessica before another sixteen-year-old girl is doomed to the same fate as Jessica …
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Michele Pariza Wacek has done it again with her second novel in the Secrets of Redemption series, This Happened to Jessica. The first book mentions that a friend of Becca’s had mysteriously gone missing from a party Becca and her friends were having at her Aunt Charlie’s home when Becca was sixteen. By the end of the party, Becca is rushed to the hospital with alcohol poisoning and has never been able to recall her memories of that night, although everyone thinks she was the last person to see Jessica.
This novel focuses on the relationships and the events of that summer and even more particularly in Becca determining how she can regain her memories of that night, especially when another young teenager–and Jessica’s niece and look-alike–goes missing. With her Aunt Charlie’s reputation as a witch, there are several in Redemption who are none too pleased that Becca is continuing to stay in town and actually blame her for what’s occurring, insisting she return to New York. Even a couple of her high school buddies are rather cool in their attitude toward her when she attempts to join in the search for the young girl.
While Book 2 does not have as much paranormal suspense as Book 1, it was still a great read and kept me up far too late at night to see what would happen next. (I can also say the scenes weren’t as scary as Book 1.) Highly recommend reading this series in order. Looking forward to Book 3!
**You must read the first book in this series! This is not a stand alone.**
Once again I was hooked by this book, after finishing book 1 I immediately started this one and I could not put it down. They mystery surround Jessica’s disappearance and Becca’s memories slowly returning keep me reading in the wee small hours of the night!
After the chaos that ensued towards the end of book 1, Becca is home, her husband is in jail and her stepdaughter Chrissie is in foster care. Yeah you REALLY need to read the first book!
Now Becca frustrated me a little in this book (she did in the first but more so in this one) I really wanted to smack her upside her head and say ‘get it together!’ she seemed to be in a fog after everything that happened, ok I feel for her I probably would to. But now that she is still dreaming of Aunt Charlie and knowing now that she is there to help Becca remember what happened that night that Jessica disappeared, Becca seems to just drag on the clues that Charlie is dropping. As frustrated as I was with Becca I could see her point in her own frustrations with Charlie – who just gave her riddles instead of straight up telling her, though I understand why Charlie could’t as well. Urgh see its frustrating!
I had an idea what happened that night to Jessica, and in this book we do get to the bottom of it, but honestly looking back the “Who” surprised me, but now it made sense, but once we get to the bottom of that mystery there is another wrapped up in it as well that leads us to book three in the series.
With missing pets, peeping toms and a missing girl – it would appear that history is repeating itself, but will Becca remember “the evil that was done” or will she continue to block out the past?
Michele PW has done it again with keeping me up into the early hours, and once again had me on the edge of my seat to the very end.
5 stars!
It Grabbed My attention and focus so strong I could not put it down. A word of advice when you get your copy. Grab a snack, a comfy seat, kick back and relax. You will not be moving until you finish this bad boy here. Remarkable job. Thanks for sharing.
Favorite Quotes:
The best way to describe her was round—round face, round glasses, round bosom , round belly. Her silver-grey hair was cut short, and it “poofed” around her face like a dandelion gone to seed. She looked like a stereotypical grandmother, except for her sharp eyes, which peered out at me from behind black-rimmed frames. She smelled like a combination of mothballs and chamomile.
I had found some of Aunt Charlie’s bags she had custom made to package her teas and tinctures. Across one side was stamped “Charlie’s Concoctions” with a cartoon picture of a witch’s cauldron.
My Review:
The ingenious Michele Pariza Wacek’s devious scheming and strong word voodoo has returned in full force. I was again mesmerized, ensnared, and held enthrall by the continuation of her intricately woven and brilliantly nuanced tale, despite my irritation and exasperation with the main character of Becca – I wanted to shake her silly. The storylines were complex, maddeningly paced, taut with tension, dripping with intrigue, and confounding eerie; tension and anxiety wafted off my Kindle. I need a fresh manicure from biting my nails!
Ms. Wacek has mad skills and she has gifted us with characters who were intricately developed, riddled with issues, and simultaneously annoying and enticing. I feel quite familiar with them now and would enjoy gossiping with and about them over wine at The Tipsy Cow. While part of the mystery was solved, my curious mind has a long list of unanswered questions yet to be addressed. My greedy fingers are crossed that the clever and conniving Ms. Wacek will reveal all in the final installment. Needless to say, I will be anxiously awaiting its arrival.
I can’t believe that that it has been two months since I read and reviewed Michele Pariza Wacek’s (Michele PW) “It Began With A Lie.” Like I said in my last review, this is not my typical genre but this series had me hooked since I read the description. “It Began With A Lie” was not a cliff hanger but it definitely left me with a lot of unanswered questions! “This Happened to Jessica” is the second book in Michele PW’s Secrets of Redemption Series and you will want to read “It Began With a Lie” before you read this book.
Becca has been through hell. She was hospitalized as a teenager and has no memory of the events that led up to that fateful night. She has two failed marriages under her belt. The second husband, who is in jail refuses to sign the divorce papers, tried to drive her crazy and have Becca committed again in order to get to her trust fund. Becca is living in her Aunt Charlie’s “witch house” with Oscar, the black cat, trying to figure out her next step. Stefan has almost drained her trust fund and there is little hope of recovering the money. Her mother and cousin, CB, are pushing her to move home to New York but something is keeping Becca in Redemption. There is unfinished business like remembering what happened to her friend Jessica who just disappeared when they were in high school. If only she could remember that night. You see, Becca was the last person to see Jessica alive. Or was she?
Becca’s 16 year-old almost ex-step-daughter, Chrissy, is in foster care but is wasting away. Chrissy needs a bath and clean clothes but most of all she needs someone to love her and no matter what happened before, Becca desperately wants to be that person. History begins to repeat itself when animals go missing and are found mutilated and Peeping Toms are reported. Remembering that night becomes a priority for Becca when Jessica’s niece Brittany, who is her spitting image, goes missing. Can Becca put the pieces of the puzzle together in time to find Brittany? Can Becca remember “the evil that was done” or will she continue to block out the past?
Once again, Michele PW has left me on the edge of my seat with a book that I could not put down. I hear that the next book is due out in the Spring of 2019 and you better believe that I will be in line to read it! My rating is a very strong 5 out of 5 propellers!
After reading “it began with a lie” I had to read this book to find out what did happen to Jessica! This was again a page turner and I read it in just a couple of days. I enjoyed it and look forward to finding more from this author.