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Monday, February 29, 2016

Find Her by Lisa Gardner

Find Her is the latest book by author Lisa Gardner in her D.D. Warren series of mysteries.  It tells the story of Flora Dane, a woman who was kidnapped as a college student on her Spring Break trip and held for 472 days.  At the end of that time, Flora is rescued and comes home to her family.  Seven years have passed and Flora is again brought to the attention of police.

D.D. Warren is on restricted duty with the Boston P.D.after her injuries in a previous book.  She's supposed to be handling the things that a Detective Sergeant handles and letting her team investigate.  She's supposed to be managing and supervising from a desk.  That's not really D.D.'s style though, and she arrives at a crime scene to learn that a woman, naked and with her hands bound, has killed a man.  She's done it in a very unusual way.  That woman is Flora Dane.  And Flora doesn't want to identify herself or talk to the police.  Instead, she's asked for FBI Victim Specialist, Dr. Samuel Keynes.

I'm not really going to share much else about the story except to say that another college girl has been abducted and all of Boston has been searching for her, including Flora.  And Flora, who has never been the same girl she was before her captivity, has been learning how to defend herself.  Is Flora a victim?  Is she a vigilante?  These are the questions that D.D. and her squad need to answer.  But then, Flora herself disappears again and things get really complicated.

I've read several books by Lisa Gardner.  She writes both series and standalone books and they sometimes cross over between settings.  I really liked the previous D.D. Warren book, Fear Nothing.  I like D.D.'s character a lot and there wasn't as much of her in Find Her as I would have wished.  Plus she had the restricted duty, so she was supposedly constrained in what she could do.  I wasn't all that enamored of Flora herself.  She was a tough cookie and had painstakingly put herself back together after her long period with her kidnapper.  But, at great cost.

This book tells the current day story interspersed with Flora's kidnapping experience.  I usually like that method of relating the narrative, but I somehow didn't care for it as much here.  It might have been because I have read several books in the last few months that concerned situations sort of similar to this.  I'm really not sure I can put my finger on it.  I did like this book because I finished it.  I don't finish books that I dislike.  Perhaps it is just that I didn't get as much of the character that I do like a lot and too much of a character that I wasn't all that interested in.

In any case, I'll continue to read Lisa Gardner's books.  I find that some books by favored authors work better for me than others.  Many reviewers have found Find Her quite gripping.  Don't let me put you off of it.  I am curious to know how D.D. will fare in her next book and whether some other characters will show up again at a later time.

I also want to thank the publisher for giving me a copy of Find Her.  It was most appreciated.

24 comments:

  1. Thanks for your candid review. It definitely sound like a gripping premise.

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    1. It was gripping, Pat. I like the way this author tells a story.

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  2. Thanks for the review! She's one of my favs but I'm not up to date on any of her series, though I love DD.

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    1. I love her too. Hope you like this one when you get to it.

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  3. Enjoyed your review, Kay. I have this audio book in line to be review and was wondering how D.D. was going to handle being on restricted duty. Sometimes with a long running series the newest book doesn't quite hit the spot, but we keep loving them anyway.

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    1. Exactly. You caught my intention perfectly. It always happens, doesn't it? Not ever book by a favorite author is a favorite book.

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  4. I've really liked some of Gardner's books, but have been pretty "meh" about others. She's always on my list, though. :)

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  5. Thanks, Kay, I agree with your thoughts on this one. While I loved it probably more than you did, I can see how more of D. D. would have been delightful. She is a detective I enjoy, because she is both tough and kind. I did like seeing bits of her home life, and maybe it would have been good to see more of that. Thanks for sharing...and for visiting my review.

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    1. I thought you'd probably understand. D.D. is a great character. And I love hearing about how she balances home and work.

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  6. Lisa Gardner is a hit or miss for me. I think I am more willing to try her stand alone's. I am rather picky with series and don't always enjoy them. Thanks for your honestly as always, finishing is definitely a positive.

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    1. Yes, I've come to the point in life where if I am really not liking the book, it's not happening. Way too many books to sample out there.

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  7. I've been on the fence about this one. I do want to try Lisa Gardner but I also have a 19 year old daughter who is away at school so this one just felt a bit too much for me! I think I will try the author but this doesn't sound like her best even though it was good.

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    1. Maybe try a different one, Katherine. I liked the previous one in the series - FEAR NOTHING.

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  8. An author I have been curious about, but never read. Maybe one day soon!

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  9. I share your sentiment about the characters in books, that sometimes they tend to concentrate more on the characters whom we aren't really interested in. Anyways, I want to try her book one day.

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  10. Sounds like this was a weaker book in the series. That's too bad, but in some ways, I suppose, not that unexpected. At least that's what I've found with series books. I do want to give this author a try one of these days.

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    1. It was for me - probably not for others. That what happens with series books though, right? they can't all be your favorite.

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  11. It does sound like I enjoyed this one much more than you but I have to agree that it is probably because I haven't read this series before. One of the rare times that it might have been better that I read a series out of order :) Don't worry, I have plans on going back and reading the rest of the books in this series. Thanks for the honest review!

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    1. I always hate to sound negative, but I think that I'm moving toward the direction of pointing out things that didn't work well for me. When you read as many series books as I do, there have to be some of them that are perfect fits.

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  12. I've been hearing a lot about this book lately and it is on my Kindle to read. I've read a couple of her books and find some more entertaining than others but I'm looking forward to this. Let's see how it goes!

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    1. I'll be curious to hear what you think. I suppose it was just my disappointment over not as much D.D. as I wished for.

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Thanks for stopping by! I am so happy to hear your thoughts and will respond as soon as I can. Happy Reading!