Book Review: Catch Me by Lisa Gardner
Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons!
Time goes by and authors will write novels that either continue a favorite character's story, or they will create new characters. But what happens when a writer takes all of their characters from various books and has them all working together?
You get the tense thriller, Catch Me.
Catch Me is written by Lisa Gardner and is the sixth novel in her best-selling detective D.D. Warren series. It is published by Penguin Random House under their Dutton Books imprint. In this rapid-fire crime thriller, Gardner brings all hands on deck to help solve a murder that has yet to be committed.
One night in upstate New York eight year old Charlene Grant killed her mother in self defense. She and her sister had suffered years of abuse and psychological terror from their mother. And on that night Charlene emerged the only survivor of her household. Her aunt came for her shortly after and brought her to New Hampshire to her inn in the Mount Washington valley. New to her school, she met and became best friends with Jackie and Randi. The three girls were inseparable all through their school years. But after their high school graduation, Charlene's friends moved away, and she went on discover more about herself in Colorado. At least this is how Charlene remembers the events of her life. But her mind is fractured and riddled with terrifying secrets that she has buried deep within her psyche.
Years later Jackie and Randi have both been murdered in their homes a year apart on the same date. No sign of forced entry and a killer is still on the loose. Charlene believes that a year later the one who killed her best friends will be coming for her. And for a year she has been preparing to face off against their killer. Self-defense, time at the firing range, and a job as a Boston police 911 operator have sharpened Charlene to a point. But a year passes fast and it is only four days until the one year anniversary of Jackie's murder. Before she either meets her maker or ends a killer's life, she needs someone to investigate who is doing this. She chooses Sergeant Detective D.D. Warren.
Fresh off her ten-month maternity leave, D.D. is back in action investigating the murder of a pedophile who was shot in the head in his apartment. His and another sex offender's case look to be identical, forcing the authorities to believe that this may be connected homicide. But outside the crime scene a mysterious note and Charlene arrive to give Warren another case to solve. After hearing Grant's story, D.D. cannot help but to be intrigued.
A sex offender's murder, Charlene's impending demise, and her soon-to-be-visiting parents' arrival fills up the detective's plate. But Sergeant Detective D. D. Warren has faced worse...or has she?
Meanwhile across town kids are being targeted by a pedophile that contacts his victims through a children's online computer game. Charlene is also dealing with an abused child case that she has (against protocol) decided to investigate on her own. But Charlene is determined to make her last four days on Earth count. Are the cases that D.D. and Charlene are involved with connected? Can Charlene stop a killer from claiming her life? And will D.D. be able to tolerate her mother's visit on little sleep and pots of coffee alone? Time will tell. But hurry... there are only four days left.
Catch Me is like a Lisa Gardner character family reunion. She has managed to bring in almost every character that she has created over her lengthy career. Assisting Charlene in her training is J.T. Dillon (from the Perfect Husband). While poised to aid D.D. Warren in preventing the murder of Charlene Grant is ex-FBI profiler, Pierce Quincy and daughter, Kimberly Quincy (from the FBI Profiler series), and Roan Griffin (from the Survivor's Club). Chapter after chapter I was engrossed in the rich mythology that was pulled from the Lisa Gardner's vast writing past. And each appearance is carefully placed within this mystery, serving us with delectable dishes of clues.
Catch Me covers some pretty heavy subjects that include depictions of often horrific child abuse. This hard-edged part of the book refused to shy away from the truth, as many who work in law enforcement can attest to: the truth is often worse than we think. But through all of the sadness we are introduced to some of the bravest kids I have ever read about. And Gardner's balance of D.D. Warren's love for her newborn, Jack (whose birth occurred in the novel the 7th Month), helps soften the awful truths laid out. And Gardner even threw in an adorable puppy named Tulip for good measure. It was an excellent balance of light with the dark.
Returning in the best performance that I have heard from her yet, Kirsten Potter does the narrating chores for the audio book. Her delivery of each character was incredibly given. I was often breathless listening to her style of story reading. All I have to conclude with is that listening to Kirsten Potter read a book will help you greatly with house cleaning. I was so engrossed in her amazing narration that I powered through laundry, dishes, and vacuuming without even paying attention. I was done with my chores in no time, leaving me in an out-of-breath heap on the couch afterward. Dear Penguin Random House...please never lose Kirsten as Lisa Gardner's narrator. She is a keeper.
Catch Me was a five star read for me. Every twist, every turn of this taut thriller was coiled like a cobra ready to strike. I was dumbfounded by how she took what I thought I knew as the truth and slowly morphed it into something I was not expecting. There was not a moment that I was bored. And the narrative zipped along brilliantly, making this novel a two day event that kept me up past my bed time. Do not pass this book up. Anyone who is a thriller and mystery fan will love Catch Me.
Have fun reading this week. Let me know in the comments below what you are reading.
Because there is always time to read,
Xepherus3
All written content and top logo (c) Copyright 2018 by Thomas Bahr II
Book cover is (c) Copyright by the publisher
You get the tense thriller, Catch Me.
Catch Me is written by Lisa Gardner and is the sixth novel in her best-selling detective D.D. Warren series. It is published by Penguin Random House under their Dutton Books imprint. In this rapid-fire crime thriller, Gardner brings all hands on deck to help solve a murder that has yet to be committed.
One night in upstate New York eight year old Charlene Grant killed her mother in self defense. She and her sister had suffered years of abuse and psychological terror from their mother. And on that night Charlene emerged the only survivor of her household. Her aunt came for her shortly after and brought her to New Hampshire to her inn in the Mount Washington valley. New to her school, she met and became best friends with Jackie and Randi. The three girls were inseparable all through their school years. But after their high school graduation, Charlene's friends moved away, and she went on discover more about herself in Colorado. At least this is how Charlene remembers the events of her life. But her mind is fractured and riddled with terrifying secrets that she has buried deep within her psyche.
Years later Jackie and Randi have both been murdered in their homes a year apart on the same date. No sign of forced entry and a killer is still on the loose. Charlene believes that a year later the one who killed her best friends will be coming for her. And for a year she has been preparing to face off against their killer. Self-defense, time at the firing range, and a job as a Boston police 911 operator have sharpened Charlene to a point. But a year passes fast and it is only four days until the one year anniversary of Jackie's murder. Before she either meets her maker or ends a killer's life, she needs someone to investigate who is doing this. She chooses Sergeant Detective D.D. Warren.
Fresh off her ten-month maternity leave, D.D. is back in action investigating the murder of a pedophile who was shot in the head in his apartment. His and another sex offender's case look to be identical, forcing the authorities to believe that this may be connected homicide. But outside the crime scene a mysterious note and Charlene arrive to give Warren another case to solve. After hearing Grant's story, D.D. cannot help but to be intrigued.
A sex offender's murder, Charlene's impending demise, and her soon-to-be-visiting parents' arrival fills up the detective's plate. But Sergeant Detective D. D. Warren has faced worse...or has she?
Meanwhile across town kids are being targeted by a pedophile that contacts his victims through a children's online computer game. Charlene is also dealing with an abused child case that she has (against protocol) decided to investigate on her own. But Charlene is determined to make her last four days on Earth count. Are the cases that D.D. and Charlene are involved with connected? Can Charlene stop a killer from claiming her life? And will D.D. be able to tolerate her mother's visit on little sleep and pots of coffee alone? Time will tell. But hurry... there are only four days left.
Catch Me is like a Lisa Gardner character family reunion. She has managed to bring in almost every character that she has created over her lengthy career. Assisting Charlene in her training is J.T. Dillon (from the Perfect Husband). While poised to aid D.D. Warren in preventing the murder of Charlene Grant is ex-FBI profiler, Pierce Quincy and daughter, Kimberly Quincy (from the FBI Profiler series), and Roan Griffin (from the Survivor's Club). Chapter after chapter I was engrossed in the rich mythology that was pulled from the Lisa Gardner's vast writing past. And each appearance is carefully placed within this mystery, serving us with delectable dishes of clues.
Catch Me covers some pretty heavy subjects that include depictions of often horrific child abuse. This hard-edged part of the book refused to shy away from the truth, as many who work in law enforcement can attest to: the truth is often worse than we think. But through all of the sadness we are introduced to some of the bravest kids I have ever read about. And Gardner's balance of D.D. Warren's love for her newborn, Jack (whose birth occurred in the novel the 7th Month), helps soften the awful truths laid out. And Gardner even threw in an adorable puppy named Tulip for good measure. It was an excellent balance of light with the dark.
Returning in the best performance that I have heard from her yet, Kirsten Potter does the narrating chores for the audio book. Her delivery of each character was incredibly given. I was often breathless listening to her style of story reading. All I have to conclude with is that listening to Kirsten Potter read a book will help you greatly with house cleaning. I was so engrossed in her amazing narration that I powered through laundry, dishes, and vacuuming without even paying attention. I was done with my chores in no time, leaving me in an out-of-breath heap on the couch afterward. Dear Penguin Random House...please never lose Kirsten as Lisa Gardner's narrator. She is a keeper.
Catch Me was a five star read for me. Every twist, every turn of this taut thriller was coiled like a cobra ready to strike. I was dumbfounded by how she took what I thought I knew as the truth and slowly morphed it into something I was not expecting. There was not a moment that I was bored. And the narrative zipped along brilliantly, making this novel a two day event that kept me up past my bed time. Do not pass this book up. Anyone who is a thriller and mystery fan will love Catch Me.
Have fun reading this week. Let me know in the comments below what you are reading.
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Because there is always time to read,
Xepherus3
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All written content and top logo (c) Copyright 2018 by Thomas Bahr II
Book cover is (c) Copyright by the publisher
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