Jane Doe by Victoria Helen Stone

I had to wait for what seemed like forever for this book to come back from a very long line of Library Patrons wanting this book so I’m well aware of how far behind I am on the ‘Jane Doe Fan Train’.  But the wait was definitely worth it and I loved every single line of this book. If you haven’t had a chance to read this and are a fan of the mystery/thriller genre, definitely check this one out. It was such an amazing reading experience.

After her best, and only, friend dies of suicide after a horrible romantic relationship, Jane sets out with a new identity and a plan to destroy the man that caused the death of her friend.  

Jane is an amazing character.  She has a mission, she is focused, and she is totally prepared to go all in to take down Steven, the man who destroyed her life.  Jane creates a false identity to work in data entry at an insurance firm where Steven Hepsworth is an unimpressive middle manager.  Using her looks and acting skills to appear meeker and far more insecure than she is, Jane quickly catches the eye of Steven and begins to go on dates with him.  

Steven is the biggest piece of garbage and I hated every word that came out of his mouth and I was so glad the Jane was going to bring him down.  

Anyways.  Jane goes on to drug him and plant cameras in his home to collect her ammunition against him.  She goes to church with him to insinuate herself with his family and most especially, his Pastor father.  But along the way, Jane reconnects with an old college boyfriend and their relationship puts a crimp in her plans to destroy Steven and then move back to her highly successful legal career in Malaysia.  

I don’t want to give away too much more because it is one wild and epic ride!  

Reader friends-this book is intense! I absolutely loved it and then felt a little bit of guilt over loving the character of Jane so much and then very quickly got over it.  Jane is a self-described sociopath and has zero desire to change her ways. She drugs people, videotapes them without their knowledge, and has no problem sleeping with someone if it gets her what she wants.

Jane is such a great character.  She is cold and calculating but the more you learn about her, the more it makes sense.  Her childhood was crap and she has no problem with using people to get what she wants. However, she is very aware of her behavior and has no desire to change and I really respected that.  She was only setting out to hurt someone that deserved it, none of this was done casually. She’s incredibly intelligent, quick witted, and honest about who she is. Steven’s character was arrogant, patronizing, misogynistic, greedy, and just all around arse-hole-ish.  Yeah, just made that one up.

It’s a quick read, just over 250 pages, but there is so much going on that it feels like a heftier book.  Looking back over the many, many books I read last year, this is one of the very best of 2018. It’s definitely the most memorable and I had the most fun rooting for Jane’s character. Also, the author Victoria Helen Stone is great to follow on social media.

I absolutely loved it and would love to hear what you have to say about it.  

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Full disclosure-I borrowed this copy from my local library.  Always check your library first and if they don’t have it, recommend they buy a copy.  We really do like getting recommendations!