Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons!
Thirty years ago Veronica "Vero" Sellers vanished without a trace from a playground. Her domestically-abused mother mourned her child, and the search eventually ended. Now, decades after the disappearance, a woman is found badly injured on a dark road in Northern New Hampshire. Bloody, confused, and desperate she calls out a name that has not been spoken in years, "Vero". For Investigator Tessa Leoni and Sergeant Wyatt Foster, this may be a name deadly enough to put them both six feet under.
Crash and Burn is the third novel in Lisa Gardner's popular Tessa Leoni series. It is published by Signet paperbacks, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Taking place six months after the events of Touch and Go, Tessa Leoni and Wyatt Foster have taken their relationship slow. Things are going well, and with Tessa's past, at times Wyatt feels that she may not be as open to their relationship as she could be. But he is dedicated to his new life with Tessa, and is agreeable while she sorts out what is in her head.
Then one night, Nicky Frank is found on a New Hampshire road, bloody and injured. She calls out for what appears to be a little girl that was in the car that she had crashed. Wyatt and Kevin (the ever-present Robin to Wyatt's Batman) begin to investigate the woman's accident. After a while her husband, Thomas, enters the picture, explaining that her concussion from her accident totals three that she has suffered over a short period of time. Thomas appears patient with Nicky, but she still calls out for Vero. Thomas explains that they do not have a child, and that the name is one Nicky calls out often.
In Boston Tessa meets with Sergeant Detective D.D. Warren, who is dealing with her fall from the book Fear Nothing. D.D. may not be able to return to being a homicide detective if she is not cleared for duty. That gives Tessa the idea to set D.D. up with an interview with her firm, Northledge Investigations, as a possible new hire. But D.D. has other news that shatters their lunch date. The gun that killed hitman John Stephen Purcell has been recovered from its grave at the bottom of a stream with partial prints. Three years ago Tessa had used the weapon to silence the hitman for his involvement in the death of her husband and the kidnapping of her daughter. D.D. has her suspicions about Tessa's involvement, but has never pursued the case. Now Tessa is unsure whether she will ever escape the events of three years ago.
A woman with traumatic brain injury calling out for a missing girl. The ghost of a deed done in the past arises. And the beginning of a new mystery brings Tessa and Wyatt face to face with terrible truths. The past collides with the present and all involved may crash and burn.
Crash and Burn is a frantic ride through the depths of the results of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). We are brought into the confusion of Nicky Frank's head, and are given clues as to what actually happened that rainy Wednesday night when her car became airborne, and crashed several feet below the road she was on. When the truth of the little girl called Vero was revealed, it was a sad and often tragic tale that tugged at my heart. I applauded the narrative's bold portrayal of alcoholism, domestic violence, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I was finding myself constantly striving to piece together the history that was being laid out by Nicky Frank. Wyatt Foster's return was everything I had wished for with his down-home attitude, and dedicated police work. D.D. Warren's involvement in the story was a welcomed addition, further adding to the detective's own story. Surprisingly Tessa Leoni had a smaller narrative than I would have expected. She seemed to step back from the tale, but what parts Tessa did have were fun and exciting. She has definitely learned a lot from her mistakes.
I read this book in part with the duel narration of actors Christina Traister and Mikael Naramore. Traister handled Nicky Frank's story, doing well with the woman's constant battle with her own memories. While Naramore handled the remaining parts of the novel involving Tessa and Wyatt. I particularly liked his portrayal of Wyatt's partner, Kevin, who was played very much like Burt Ward's Robin. This made me smile. They did well together presenting the story to readers and complimented one another nicely.
Crash and Burn was a four star read for me. I enjoyed the story and Gardner's knack for mixing her characters together to tell a tale. Lisa Gardner has never let me down as a reader, and I love reading books set in her inter-connected novels. Thrills. Mystery. Scares. Gardner never disappoints.
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