SHE’S GOING TO PAY by Alexandra Ivy-review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 24, 2025
Leaving Canton, Missouri, behind was no hardship for Jesse Hudson. When she was a teenager, her stepmother and stepsister abruptly disappeared under suspicious circumstances. Their bodies were never found, but Jesse’s father, Mac, became a murder suspect. When he too vanished, Jesse waited months for him to return. Finally, she left, bouncing from one bartending job to another for years.
Now Jesse is back, hoping to quickly sell her father’s old bar before moving on for good. But coming home to Canton’s quiet, cobblestone streets doesn’t go quite as expected. There are memories resurfacing, and ties that haven’t broken. Then her father’s lawyer makes a startling admission: before he disappeared, Mac had discovered that Jesse’s stepmother, Victoria, was living under an assumed name. “Victoria Hudson” never even existed. Who was she really?
Delving deeper, Jesse grows convinced that her father’s assumed death is tied to Victoria’s real identity. And looking to the past is yielding more than secrets. Someone has been waiting for this homecoming, for a chance to unleash revenge for sins real and imagined. And they’ll make sure that Jesse never leaves town again .
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REVIEW: SHE’S GOING TO PAY by Alexandra Ivy is a contemporary, adult, stand alone mystery thriller focusing on Jesse Hudson, years after the disappearance of her beloved father.
Told from omniscient third person perspective ( Jesse) using present day and memories from the past, SHE’S GOING TO PAY follows Jesse Hudson upon her return to Canton Missouri. Ten years earlier, Jesse’s step mother Victoria and step sister Teagan went missing, and her father Mac Hudson was the number one suspect. Charged with their murder, Mac would eventually be released due to a lack of evidence but within hours, Mac would go missing as well. Fast forward to present day, Jesse would return to her hometown of Canton Missouri, to finalize the sale of the family owned bar The Tap Room but from the outset secrets and whispers threaten any chance at a happy resolution as Jesse begins an investigation into her father’s disappearance and the circumstances surrounding the supposed death of her step-mother.
The world building follows Jesse as she struggles to come to terms with what happened and why. From questionable law enforcement, frightened witnesses, a step-mother whose true identity is unknown, and a determined real-estate agent, Jesse suspects there is more to the story than she could have ever imagined.
We are introduced to Jesse’s father Mac Hudson; Jesse’s boyfriend Parker Moreau; Step mother Victoria and step sister Teagan: handyman Noah Allen: real estate agent Reese Skylar: and cafe owner Bea Hartman.
SHE’S GOING TO PAY is a story of secrets and lies, greed and obsession, murder and mayhem, betrayal and vengeance. The premise is dramatic, dark and edgy; the characters are questions, determined, and desperate.
Copy supplied for review
Reviewed by Sandy





