Diabolical

By: Jana DeLeon

Narrated by: Julie McKay

Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's Summary

From New York Times best-selling author Jana DeLeon, the third book in the Shaye Archer thriller series.

Nine years ago, the police found Shaye Archer wandering in the French Quarter, beaten and abused and with no memory of the previous 15 years, not even her name. Now, at 24, Shaye is a licensed private investigator, determined to get answers for her clients when the police can't help. But her last case uncovered more than anyone anticipated, and pieces of Shaye's missing past have surfaced with unexpected consequences.

She's starting to remember.

Will Shaye unlock the secrets buried deep in her mind? And more importantly, can she handle the truth if she does?

©2016 Jana DeLeon (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

Well, that ending was a huge surprise!

The novels in the Shaye Archer series should be read in order. I've made comments in my reviews of the prior 2 novels in the series that it is not typical Jana DeLeon stuff; it is much better. Excellent reviews have already been written by Audible listeners Shelley and Yvonne so I'm going to make mine short. The story and the narration are both outstanding. If you like suspense mysteries the Shaye Archer series is highly recommended.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

Archer family secrets and revelations...

Book three in this series has some revelations for Shaye Archer. The book begins in 1938 with a satanic ritual, it then picks up where the last book left off. I would recommend these books be read/listened to in order. Each ends with a cliff hanger and the next picks up from that point.
So, the last ended with a suspect dead and written records showing where he had been trafficking kids for over 20 years. The files are coded but the police are able to decode some of the earlier paperwork that have simpler coding and find information pertaining to the sale of Shaye and the payment to her mother (who recently died from a drug overdose). They also find information showing that the man who purchased Shaye recently purchased another young girl.
This book is a journey for Shaye to discover and confront her demons and hopefully rescue another young girl from the same fate.
Another thriller that I HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
Julie McKay does an outstanding job narrating. I think she gets better with each book!
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Thank You.

15 of 16 people found this review helpful

Great Story, Narration is okay.

Another great story in this series. We finally get to find out what happened to Shaye but I think there may be more to the story..... Just thinking that.

I am enjoying these stories very much, they are fast paced, Shaye is smart and a good PI so far she hasn't had any TSTL moments. LOL I like Jackson the detective, a little romance seems to be brewing here, but it is a very small part of the stories and not taking over the cases Shaye is working on. There are some surprises in this book. And we get more Hustle! Love that kid.

As for the narration, again with I am about to cry or panic voice reading is constant. UGH stop it! at certain times it is required but all the reading like that is not necessary. I do keep listening and it is annoying, but its a good thing the stories are good and fast paced.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

The past always haunts the future

Shaye remembers and even she is surprised! Jana DeLeon did an excellent job writing the backstory of Shaye’s torturer. It began and ended with the New Orleans voodoo and the sins of the father.

Deuteronomy 24:16
“Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin.

The theme of child abuse is still central to the story. The suspense is powerful because another child has been taken. All our characters are on emotional overload empathizing with Shaye and scared for the current victim.

Shaye’s psychological trauma was mirrored in the struggles of the characters of each story. In Malevolent, Shaye to relate to Emma Frederick’s feeling of being stalked. In Sinister, she knew how Jinx felt being captured, tortured, and alone. In Diabolical, her story is being duplicated by the current child abduction. Jana takes our feelings up and down as she gives Shaye a clue and then leads her to a dead end.

The killer appears omnipotent empowered by the One and True God. He seems to be everywhere. Is there only one perpetrator left from Clancy’s ring of deviants? Jackson has a new assignment. He has the opportunity to follow the leads in Clancy’s journals. All the characters play a role in following leads. Hustle works the streets. Corrine works the missing kids angle and Clara was able to find information from the hospital database.

In the final scene Shaye screams, NO, when she discovers the involvement of someone. I also screamed no. I was surprised that I had identified and discarded their involvement.
Jana DeLeon had things so twisted, there was no way I could have unraveled all that happened. I applauded Jana for the originality of the story and the method the first three books interact. My disappointment was the religion of the One True God are not discussed.

What is the meaning in the pentagram on Shaye’s back? The position of the alter is mentioned as being incorrect but we are not told why. The kids were taken to obtain power from the One True God, but what kind or power and why. Why were all three plantation boys abused? Who was the third plantation owner's son?

Because I still had questions relevant to the story I deducted a star.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

best one yet

This one is best yet. We find out who took Shaye and all about her past. The ending will shock you. This is s great series and so opposite of the Sinful series. The narrator is good but she only uses 2 different voices for male characters and it gets hard to distinguish who is speaking at times. Looking forward to the next one.

Dark storyline, excellent series

Not the cozy mystery of Miss Fortune, but an excellent, suspenseful read. These stories are dark mysteries. I love this author. Shaye Archer is a dark, suspenseful series with excellent characters and mysteries. This story has Shaye's past being revealed. Characters from prior books are back. Great author, great series. I held off on reading this one because I knew it would be emotional for the main character and it was. I switched between reading and listening. The narrator is good. She is the voice of Shaye to me.

Good story!

I have a problem with the male voices being the same. There needs to be some variances. The male voice also sounds a bit weak and sorrowful. May not get the rest of the series on audible due to this.

Good story and characters

These books are enjoyable but I really wish the characters would quit nodding. It is distracting.

Jana Keeps on Giving

So far I have really enjoyed the Shaye Archer series, as I have all the other many Jana DeLeon series books. This book was exciting and enjoyable (though a bit dark and creepy at times). Thankfully Jana keeps it from getting too dark and morose, but just enough to shake you a little and keep you a bit on edge. I do like that she does try to lighten the dark mood here and there, which is what draws me to her different style of writing and books. I did enjoy this book and can barely stand the delay in listening to the next one long enough to write this review. Mini Spoiler- I am just a bit saddened by some of the ending, and wish it didn’t go down that way (almost docked a star for it but finally couldn’t do it). Those who read the book will know what that means. Read the books in order please, or you will miss a lot of important character building and background facts.

Frank Rizzoli!?

I'm not anywhere near done with the book, but I just needed to fan girl a little bit. Did anyone else catch the Rizzoli and Isles illusion or was that just me?