Find Her

Flora Dane is a victim .... she is also a survivor. The real question is ... is she also a vigilante seeking revenge for the 472 days she was held captive? She's been free for 5 years and still doesn't know what 'normal' is. She's lost the closeness the felt for her mother and brother. She is close to only one person ... Samuel Keynes, FBI Victim Advocate. Detective D.D. Warren is called to the scene of a crime. There she finds a dead man and the bound, naked woman who killed him ... Flora Dane. During her investigation, she finds that this is not the first time Flora has tangled with other suspects suspected of kidnapping young women. There is currently a missing college student .... and there's a connection. D.D. is going to have to work her way through secrets and lies in order to find her before they find her body. This is the 8th book in the series featuring this Boston Detective. I've been very happy to read every one of them and in order. As usual, the writing is exquisite, characters are finely drawn. The suspense is spine-tingling and as a reader, I always find myself reading faster and faster toward the highly charged ending. 5 Stars for Find Her ... 5 Stars for the Series Many thanks to the author / PENGUIN GROUP Dutton / Netgalley for the digital copy. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Find Her is Lisa Gardner’s latest D.D. Warren book (the eighth book in series). Florence “Flora” Dane was kidnapped seven years previously and held captive for 472 days by Jacob Ness (what a horrible experience). Flora has never returned to the happy go lucky girl she was before the attack. Sergeant Detective D.D. Warren is called out to a scene and finds Flora Dane naked with zip ties on her wrists. A bartender “rescued” her at a bar and then kidnapped her. Flora used resources in the garage (where he put her) to attack him. The man is now dead (and a little crispy). Warren finds out that this is the fourth such incident that Flora has been involved in. Was Flora an innocent victim in these incidents or a vigilante? Stacey Summers, a Boston College student, is missing. No one has been able to find her. Then Flora goes missing. Are the cases related? Was Flora kidnapped or is she trying to rescue Stacey on her own (playing vigilante again)? Follow D.D. Warren as she sets out to find both women. Find Her is different from Lisa Gardner’s other books. The majority of the book is written from the victim’s point-of-view. How it feels to be kept in a small box by a kidnapper. It goes on for many, many pages. It was just not enjoyable or a good part of the book. I like the crime. Following the mystery to the end (this part of the book was good). These parts with the victim (what she was thinking, doing, what the attacked did to her) seemed to drag and were difficult to get through (I started skimming through them). I give Find Her 3.5 out of 5 stars. The novel is just not up to Lisa Gardner’s normal standards. This will not, though, stop me from reading her books in the future. I received a complimentary copy of Find Her from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Quite an interesting ride! I never suspected the ending. Mystery, detective, psychological study -- all the elements I love if the story is written well. I feel the author drives points home a little often, repeating herself, but that's only a minor distraction. We get to know the troubled and courageous Flora Dane here and her unique, chilling story. Looking forward to reading more Lisa Gardner books.