Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. 
I'm going to have to read the first book about Jane especially because I really liked the snarky crazy Jane!

I requested this book before I knew it was actually a sequel to the original novel, Jane Doe, so I downloaded that to read first, hoping that it was good so I hadn't downloaded a book I wouldn't actually read. Luckily I loved it, so I couldn't wait to dive straight into the follow up!

Problem Child follows Jane from the first book as she navigates her new life - settled for the first time with a lover, and doing well in her corporate legal job. She's immediately up to her old tricks when it comes to dealing with those who take advantage of her (or try to), and we see her manipulate every situation to her own advantage, trampling those who try to undermine her. But the story really begins when she receives a phone call telling her that her troubled niece, Kayla, is missing, and no-one is looking for her. Intrigued by the hints that Kayla - who Jane has never met - may be a sociopath just like she is, Jane flies out to her former home town to investigate, and to find the nice she hopes may be like her. If she can find Kayla, might Jane finally find a family after all?

I really loved both books in this series, and am hoping that the open ending in this one means there may be another on the way. Jane is such a brilliantly written character - we see sociopaths portrayed unsympathetically all the time, so it was great to get a slightly different take on it and see her as a real person who just happens to see the world differently. Although some of Jane's responses to situations are off the charts, I loved that she takes no prisoners - it was brilliant to watch her deal absolutely ruthlessly with those who crossed her, and it was sometimes laugh-out-loud funny (the scene after the turbine was delicious!). I also liked the ending (though that's all I'll say about that as I don't want to leave any spoilers!)

I'll definitely be recommending this one, and can't wait to read more from this author. 

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Jane is back and more snarky and vicious than ever. From the ending, there is going to book three and I can't wait. Loved her observations and rants at some parts Jane was hilarious at others she was deceiving and scary.

Our favorite sociopath is back in the new novel, Problem Child. Jane has a job, a boyfriend and a cat. But her co-worker is throwing her under the bus, her boyfriend wants to move in together and she is bored. When she gets a call from one of her brother's baby mamas about one of his spawn, Jane returns to her hometown to help. It is rumored that Kayla is like Jane. Jane is intrigued at the thought of being able to talk to another sociopath.  We meet her parents, her brother, her teachers and find out what shaped Jane. She rescues her niece and and they return to Minnesota. Along the way her co-worker learns to never cross Jane and her boyfriend moves into her new house. AND THAT ENDING! I did not see that twist coming. I can't wait to see Book #3.

Victoria Helen Stone created the character that we didn't know we needed until we read her story.

Problem Child is the lovely yet slightly less impressive sequel to the wonderful Jane Doe.

"Dinner in my underwear with a good book. What a treat."

Jane is as endearing as ever and the pacing throughout was perfect for me. I appreciated Jane's growth curve and her bizarre path to self awareness. She is capable of far more than she first thought, but this of course could end in two very different ways - growth or destruction, and here we see the path to one of those.
I would have liked to see more smut as Jane's relationship with her boyfriend develops. That's just not the Jane books though, which some people will certainly prefer! As with the first book the sexual references are there and are great within context but do not derail the narrative.
The writing style is smooth, witty, and thoroughly enjoyable to read. I adore (the love interest) Luke - he is a warm light and he should be protected at all costs.
Jane's fierce life view is refreshing and I found myself highlighting passages about her feminist viewpoint. So sassy, so well done.
The backtracking is on par with many modern series that would prefer to stand alone as much as within their already established audience. You could read this alone, but you'd be missing out.
I'd absolutely recommend Problem Child if you liked Jane Doe and I'm eagerly awaiting the next part of this series!

[This eARC was generously given to me via NetGalley & Lake Union Publishing in exchange for an honest review.]

This was another @netgalley book as I thought I would tackle some of my outstanding books. My nephew helped with this photo but he’s actually not a problem child at all. I wanted to use my other nephew but he wouldn’t cooperate (#problemchild jks 😂)
📕
The book is about a woman named Jane who has a unique personality trait...she’s a sociopath. When a niece she has never met goes missing Jane is called upon to return to her hometown to try and find her. 
📕
I was really hooked from the start as the character Jane is terrific. She is a strong woman and the author did an amazing job with her character. I was pleased that the beginning started off great as I don’t find many books do this. The middle part was somewhat uninteresting and slow but it definitely picked up at the end and finished strong.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn there was going to be a sequel to ‘Jane Doe’ and jumped at the chance to read it.
Jane is still Jane. Cold, distant and slightly odd. When we catch up with her again she is busy plotting the down fall of another (deserving) man while trying to maintain a ‘normal’ relationship with her boyfriend Luke. 
Jane doesn’t care about other people, her family even less, until she learns her teenage niece Kayla has gone missing and decides to investigate. And the only reason Jane is interested in finding Kayla is to see if she is a sociopath like herself.
I must admit I struggled with finishing ‘Problem Child’ due to it’s pacing. The book opened really strong and then got a bit weighted down in the middle. And I don’t think the story really recovered. This has affected my rating for the book, going from a 4 star at the beginning to a 3.5 stars overall. 
I will look out for book 3 in the series, just to check in on Jane and her antics.

4⭐️
Normally, I’m not a sequel type of reader, but when I saw that there was another Jane Doe book, I knew that I had to read it. (I also really have this thing for reading about problematic sociopaths)

Jane is back, only this time she’s in love...,errr I think it’s love? This story follows Jane, who receives a phone call that her 16-year old niece is missing. Being the superhero that she is, she decides that she has to be the one that finds her.

Jane’s scandalous dialect and quick witted attitude made this book. This was a fairly quick read for me, and I also had a lot of fun during it. I’m hoping to read more about Jane in the future.

I had such high hopes for this book after reading "Jane Doe," which I LOVED. Unfortunately, this book felt very much like it was just bridging the gap between books 1 and 3. Jane is still my favorite sociopath and I enjoy seeing how she views the world around her, but my goodness was the middle of this book tedious. Here's hoping book 3 returns Jane to her former glory.

I’d  like to thank Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the arc I received of Problem Child. I remember what a surprise Jane Doe turned out to be so when I found out this was a sequel to it I immediately requested it. Unfortunately, this book wasn’t half as good as the first. I also detested Jane, I don’t understand why she’s so obsessed with food. Is is supposed to be because she’s a sociopath so she doesn’t care how her figure looks so she eats what she wants? Because that’s how it comes across to me.

Problem Child is a psychological thriller that I could not put it down. Well written and interesting. The characters are well developed and creepy. A great series and must read.

Jane is back with a vengeance.  In this book she is searching for her missing neice, and is more of a sociopath than ever. The middle of the book was a little slow but what an ending!
Many thanks to Lake Union Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Jane is a character that isn’t easily forgotten. You can be an avid reader and she won't be one that will easily slip the mind. She sticks out among a sea of protagonists like a sore thumb. Mostly because she is a sociopath with a knack for destroying lives in the most deceiving and psychotic way possible. And that is exactly why readers fall for her. She is a bad bitch and we fucking love it. Yet I can’t help but feel like something went horribly wrong with this sequel.

I never thought that I could claim to be bored while reading any novel involving Jane. In fact, it seems criminal. But all of my notes talk about how nothing has happened. Don’t get me wrong, the first chapter was the venomous women that I fell hard for. But after that, Stone navigates away from the feel of the first novel and takes a new approach. Problem Child focuses a great deal on the mind and thought process of Jane verses her actions. Some reader’s will love this, reader’s like myself will find it incredibly boring. I spent most of the book bored and making comments about how much of the details and happenings seemed like filler. After finishing and internalizing what was read, I understood it was a deeper look into Jane’s psyche. But it sort of fell flat. I have many theories on why that is.

First, I think with this novel we see less of the sociopathic behavior. Instead, we are often told and reminded she is a sociopath but we see less actions indicating this. Based on the previous novels, I think some expectations will not be met in that regard. Actions speak louder than words in this case. Where is the woman who destroyed a pastor’s life? I miss that mean girl.

Another one of the problems is the synopsis. It is incredibly misleading. When I read this synopsis, I thought I would be getting a story about Jane dealing with her sociopathic niece. While that does happen, it literally doesn’t happen until the tail end of the book. Otherwise, the story is just detailing Jane eating, drinking and traveling around pretty much. Again, an in depth look into her mental workings. But honestly, fuck that. I want an in depth look into Jane outwitting her niece. It should have been an epic battle of the sociopaths. But it wasn’t. Instead you meet the “problem child” in the last 20% of the book. Not only was the synopsis misleading, I find the title to be as well.

Okay, I have one other complaint. In this novel, I feel as Jane lost some of that sociopathic edge that we love. She isn’t supposed to “care”, yet she most certainly does especially about her relationship. As a reader, I don’t want to see growth in Jane. That is not why I love this character. I love her for her ruthless ways. I need her to remain scantless otherwise who am I even anymore?

Overall, I wasn’t really impressed with this novel. I think Stone took away some of the core components that made Jane Doe the success it was. I understand the approach taken but it just did not resonate like it should have. I really hope Stone unleashes the fury should there be a third installment. I’m jonesing for it.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for a copy of Problem Child.

Ooooh yay this was a good one! 

I loved Victoria Helen Stone's previous book, Jane Doe, so I was ecstatic when I got approved for an ARC on NetGalley.

This was exactly what you'd expect from good ole' Jane! I love her character and miss seeing females like her in fiction. It's not everyday you get inside the mind of a sociopath! I'm not on her level (I don't think), I have emotions, I can cry over nothing, and I definitely experience love. Yet... and that's a huge yet... I can relate to her SO MUCH! I loved getting to know her and reading about her life after the first book.

The book itself read pretty fast. I enjoyed being alongside Jane as she journeyed back to her family home whilst looking for her niece, Kayla. There's a lot of doubt as to Kayla's behavior. Is she similar to Jane? Could this be a genetic trait? Or is she just like the rest of us, boring, normal, yet missing.

The first third of the book was the best. I loved Jane's methods of manipulation and getting information to further her investigation. There was a storyline that I felt got cleaned up way too easy and way too fast.

The ending was great and I believe it definitely leave a third book waiting in the wings, and you best believe I will pick that up if VHS decides to write it.

An enjoyable and interesting read. Jane the  lawyer in this book demonstrates and describes her behaviour as that of a sociopath. It gives a great insight and understanding of someone with  sociopathic traits. How she manages her life and the issues involved. These are well intertwined with an exciting and entertaining storyline. I thoroughly recommend this book.

Thanks to  NetGalley, publisher and author for kindly letting me have an ARC in exchange for my honest review. I really liked this author's previous book, "Jane Doe". I was so happy to get this new book, which I thought would be a sequel. This book started so much fun like the previous one. I enjoyed this story although not as much as the previous one. Jane seemed to be growing a heart on this one. I liked Luke's character a lot. I also liked Jane's cat a lot. I still like the author's storytelling style. I look forward to her next book.

I haven’t read the first book in the series but I don’t feel like missing anything major as the characters are well depicted and the story it’s not following any major twists apparently. 
She seems to be Dexter female clone and the author has done a great job in showing how a psychopath can live their lives with no worries and emotions for anyone but the chosen ones as in this case her boyfriend, who was a bit obvious to everything around him in my opinion ( that’s a very nice way of describing him 😅) 
Investigating her niece disappearance, she finds out that Kyla is actually more like herself and hopefully a third book will be written as honestly, I’m interested in what’s going to happen with their relationship. 
It’s a good story overall, it stalls a bit in the middle but it’s perfect for the genre lovers.

What a fantastic follow up from the first book Jane Doe. We learned in book one that Jane was a sociopath and had got to see what made her so. This book follows on brilliantly and we get to meet a new character which lies close to Jane's ice cold heart. Jane is such a well developed character and such a sociopathic bitch. It's hard not to find yourself loving her. I finished this in a few hours and immediately want more. Really hope book 3 is on the way.

I have not read any of Jane's other books yet so I was worried I would be confused, but that did not happen. The character of Jane is written SO well. She maintains such an air of a sociopath so consistently throughout the whole novel, which is often hard to pull off. The middle was a bit slow and convoluted for me, but it picked back up towards the end! The end was unexpected and much too short for me, but it seems as if there might be another book in the works.

What a fantastic character Jane is. 

I do love Victoria Helen Stone as an author and having read about Jane before I was very excited and grateful to be allowed to read this pre-release.

This book is also excellent. 

Jane is a sociopath who feels nothing for anyone and loves nothing more than to stir up trouble when she is bored. Successful in life after a basic trashy upbringing,  she is now a lawyer who uses her powers to locate her missing niece. Why does she want to locate her when she cares about no one? Because her niece has been described as a mini Jane, so she wants to see her for herself. 

The start of this book is great,  the middle is slightly slow,  but it appears to be a story and character build for the next book.

The ending is unexpected, gripping and over far too quick!