Sunday Suspense: Catch Me by Lisa Gardner

 

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons,

   Welcome to Sunday Suspense, where I showcase some of my favorite thrillers I have read.

 Lisa Gardner is one of the best thriller authors in the business. Her books are addicting and I have yet to read one I did not love. Her Detective D.D. Warren series has delivered some amazing novels. This is one of my favorites and I hope it will be yours, as well.

   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 as 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 discovering 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 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 looks to be identical, forcing the authorities to believe that this may be connected to the 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 be intrigued.

  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. Can Charlene stop a killer from claiming her life? 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 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 and dark.

  I read this novel in part with the narration of Kirsten Potter. Her delivery of the storyline and various characters was handled excellently and I was engrossed in her delivery in the audiobook. 

  Catch Me was a five-star read for me. 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 bedtime. Do not pass this book up. Anyone who is a thriller and mystery fan will love Catch Me. 

  

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