Thursday Thrillers: Crash and Burn (Tessa Leoni #3) by Lisa Gardner

 

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons,

   

  Crash and Burn is the third novel in Lisa Gardner's popular Tessa Leoni series. It is published by Signet, an imprint of Penguin Random House. 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 Foster begins to investigate the woman's accident, which grows increasingly suspicious.  In Boston Tessa Leoni meets with Sergeant Detective D.D. Warren, who is dealing with her fall from the book Fear Nothing. D.D. has news that shatters their lunch date. The gun that Tessa had used to silence the hitman responsible for the death of her husband and the kidnapping of her daughter has been recovered from the bottom of a stream. D.D. has 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.

  Crash and Burn is a frantic ride. 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 crashed.  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. All of the plots came together to deliver a tense-filled finale. 

  I read this book in part with the dual narration of actors Christina Traister and Mikael Naramore.  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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