Catch Me by Lisa Gardner

In three words:

Gripping, exciting, thrilling

 

 

What I thought:

I have been a huge fan of Lisa Gardner after discovering her books about 2 years ago, and I particularly like the Detective D.D. Warren series of which Catch Me is the latest. Her books always start with an intriguing prologue that grabs you by the throat but actually gives away very little meaning that the rest of the book is up to you to work out. I still have a lot of Gardners’ books to read (yay!) so I can only speak for the ones that I have read so far, but what I have found (and liked) is that there is usually an ureliable narrator at the helm. In some cases this is deliberate (for reasons that become apparant later on) and in some cases (i.e. Catch Me) it is because the narrator can’t actually remember any more than she’s telling us so we are muddling through in the same way that she is.

Charlie Grant (or Charlene Rosalind Carter Grant as she insists upon being called) tracks down Boston Detective D.D. Warren on 17th January to ask for help: she thinks she only has 4 days left until she will be murdered. On the last two January 21sts her two best friends, Randi and Jackie, were murdered a year apart and Charlie thinks she will be next. As well as working on what appears to be a serial killer of paedophiles , D.D. is intrigued enough to check out Charlie’s story at the same time, and becomes more so when it appears that the two cases may be linked…

You don’t have to have read all (or indeed any) of this series to be able to get full enjoyment out of this book (I have read only the latest 4 which means I can now go back to D.D’s roots and see where she started out) but I do like the fact that I have seen her character develop. Once hard-nut workaholic D.D. is now mother to 10 week old Jack and living with partner Alex and for once actually looking forward to getting home after a shift. Old habbits die hard though and D.D. ins’t one to let a case go cold and her spidey-senses start tingling like mad towards the end of this one.

What I also liked about this particular book was that characters from some of her other series’ had cameos too; in fact quite a few of them did. Again, if you’re not familiar with Gardner’s books you wouldn’t even notice (and it wouldn’t spoil the book in any way) but for fans this was actually a real treat.

Verdict: One of my favourites. I ripped through it in no time at all and enjoyed every page. Highly recommended for crime fiction fans.

 

(Source: I recieved this book from NetGalley)

 

Love You More by Lisa Gardner

In three words:

Gripping, unreliable, thrilling

 

 

What I thought:

I have been a fan of Lisa Gardner’s books for a while now, but for some reason she doesn’t seem to be as well known in the UK as other crime writers. I hope that changes soon as her books really are great!  I am especially loving this series starring Detective D.D. Warren who is one of Boston’s top homicide Detectives.

Love You More is a gripping thriller that opens with State Tropper Tessa Leoni being arrested for the murder of her husband and the disappearance of her 6 year old daughter. Tessa’s narrative takes the reader back and forth through her relationship with Brian and their last moments together and it becomes clear early on that she may not be a reliable narrator, as her story often changes, but why does she do this? The reason does become apparant nearer the end – and it’s a good one! Interspersing Tessa’s story is Detective D. D. Warren and her race to find missing six-year-old Sophie. D.D. is a great character – she’s fiesty, funny (without trying) and kick-ass; I love her. The switching between the two perspectives keeps the plot fast-paced and interesting too, espcially as you are wondering who to believe most of the time.

Verdict: As with all the previous books of Gardner that I have read, this one is equally as addictive and has twists and turns a-plenty.

  Have you read any of the D.D. Warren series yet? Or any of her other books?

(Source: this book was sent to me from Headline Rerview who have just taken over as Lisa Gardner’s publishers and this edition is available on 2nd Feb 2012)