I'm genuinely at a loss for words.

I mean... wow, what do you even say after a story like this? What you've accomplished here is beyond description. The carefully woven, complex threads of Red John's life and accomplices were amazing - I have never seen a fic writer devote so much effort into world building and the results truly speak for themselves.

Red John himself was exceptionally well done. His back story, the connection to Blake's poem, the duality of the lamb and tiger / Lisbon and Russo, with Jane in the middle... Before reading this story I thought the best depiction of Red John was in Idan's fantastic *In the Cards* but I think you've exceeded her work by creating a genuine, believable sociopath. Well done!

I'd also like to emphasise how happy I am with your character work. EVERYONE is perfectly in character, not a single line out of place. This is the single most important criteria that separates good fic writers from the *great* and you've just breezed through that threshold effortlessly. I'm in awe.

Finally, a huge THANK YOU for making Lisbon, not Jane, the hero of the story. Her entire persona as a smart, badass, devoted, no-nonsense avenging angel shines through every chapter of the story and I can't help but smile like an idiot :)

I'll stop gushing now before I embarrass myself any further. Thank you so much for sharing this fantastic story with us!

Another excellent chapter, loved how you worked The Tenant of Wildfell Hall into this!

I'm still reading through this *very* interesting story but I just wanted to let you know that this is the single best characterization of Rosalind Harker I've ever read in a Mentalist fic. Great work!

This story was so much fun to read, thank you so much for sharing your writing talents with us! The story was quite the emotional journey, and just when I thought we might get an unbearably tragic end, we got a beautiful heart-melting ending instead. Plus all the intrigue, amusement, and horror in between.

While I always marvel at the clever-crazy plans that Jane comes up with, I was thrilled to see LISBON’s brilliance come through in this story. She is so smart and virtuous and capable in her own right, and this story gave her the chance to let those qualities shine.

I also really liked the extended “check-in” phone calls between Jane and Lisbon. It felt like such a natural way for them to spend more time together, while subtly letting them lower their guard with each other. As a result, I think by the time you increased the pressure on these two later in the story, it did not feel like a stretch for them to have such strong feelings for each other. It was entertaining to see those two characters take an alternate path toward each other, without Pike or the TSA having to get involved!

Finally, I think you played up Red John’s theatrical side in this story, and I like how that reduced the discrepancy between his image and who he turns out to be. It’s true that in the end, Red John is “just a man” like anyone else. But in your story, I felt like Red John retained a lot of his trademark shocking/gruesome/creepy qualities in his final showdown with Jane and Lisbon. It was satisfying to learn more about the person who had been toying with Jane for so long, and the outrageous production that RJ concocted made for quite the suspenseful horror story! In short, this story was awesome, and I just want to thank you for the delightful read :)

How have i never left a review here, at the end of this story? I mean , this is only thre 3rd or 4th time reading it since i found it earlier this year, lol. Amazing amazing. You're research is very in depth, characterization is gorgeous, beautiful wordy details, but you make everything feel so effortless to read. It's a marvelous piece, a companion to the series, and a love letter to the show itself :)

This is actually a better conclusion than what they gave us on the show. All those loose threads you picked up! I'm thoroughly impressed. Very well written, you had me hooked until the end.

One little pet peave of mine: floribunda roses (and from your description it hast to be one) will not "expand" or open up after they are cut. They will stay as they are and then wilt after some time.

your fic is so well written and literary, and I absolutely adore it. The plot is complex and well written, there isn’t any plot holes I can find and it’s a mystery that keeps me interested. The character r well portrayed and I appreciate the love and attention u give Lisbon. I find a lot of writers neglect the beauty and strength of Lisbon’s character in favor of focusing on Jane. Me, being the literary nerd that I am love the references you’ve made to the Bronte sisters, William Blake, the Bible, and of course adding actual literary analysis as a part of the plot made the nerd inside me euphoric. 10/10 fic

Hi! First of all I want to tell you that I loved this story! I love the way it's built and how it progresses slowly and steadily to the end. I recently saw the mentalist complete And I have to tell you that I like your resolution much more than the original. I found the Red John ending of the series almost anti-climactic.
But, more than anything, what i enjoy most about your story is the construction of Lisbon's character. In the original series they make it seem almost useless. A pawn of Jean. A girl in love who is left doing nothing, waiting for Jean to solve things. In your story, it is strong and determined and guides the work of the unit. She is still a girl in love but not a damsel in distress.
Thank you so much for writing and sharing this story.
I am not an English speaker so I don't usually leave such long comments. Sorry if some part doesn't have a lot of sense but it's the most I can do with my translation skills.
I plan to continue reading the second part.
Thank you very much again and congratulations on your work!

Wow, amazing story! Thanks!

I've found myself recently sucked back into the world of The Mentalist and have been enjoying going through old stories and finding ones I missed the first time around. This is one of the latter and I'm really glad I found it. I think this is the best Red John focused story I've ever read. You did a phenomenal job weaving all of the threads together in to a very complex and satisfying ended, more satisfying, really, than the show managed to pull off. I can only imagine you had your own bulletin board to keep track of all of the pieces.
I really enjoyed this and look forward to the continuing piece. Thanks for putting so much effort into this.

I’m late to the mentalist, obviously, but LOVE it. However, I’ve read your Red John resolution twice now, and it honestly makes way more sense than the show’s. Thanks for tying it all together, and for such a great set of characterizations!

It's amazing! It's so cleverly written, I really enjoyed it.

Maravillosa historia, gran final, tu red John fue espectacular, seguiré leyendo la continuación.

Loved the story. How strong all the characters are portrayed and such an astute idea for bulletin board. Thanks so much for writing.

OMG this story! I'm just blown away at how good this was. Great characterization, great plotting. Thank you so much for this.