Review - Look For Me

I received a copy from Netgalley 

This was something I received from one of those read it now for the first 100 members or so. Is usually like murder mysteries and police procedurals so this one caught my eye and I was lucky and quick enough to get in on the read it now. 

However, I didn't realise at the time it was book 9 in an on going detective series. I did flit through some of the mixed reviews on Goodreads and it looks like each book can be read as a stand alone, but of course, coming in on book 9 there's background history to the characters and things about on going relationships you're just not going to know. 

And frankly, the whole thing was kind of bland. The mystery itself was intriguing enough, a family is found murdered, working mom and her boyfriend, and two young children, the teenage daughter and the family dogs are missing. Is the daughter a victim for is she the suspect? And as the investigation continues the narrative is twisted so it could be either one. 

It's a tough case, and the family and the teen girl in question were the only characters I really felt anything for. The mom was a recovering alcoholic who lost her children and worked really hard to get them back. The oldest daughter was the one who took care of the family until CPS got involved and the kids were forced into care. The two sisters stayed together but they were separated from the youngest child, a new kind of hell to deal with. The girls went through a nightmare in the foster care group home they were assigned to. The mom pulled herself together met the legal requirements for having her kids returned to her. Life wasn't easy but it was getting better. They moved and started fresh. 

Then mom met a new boyfriend. A decent guy, but he lived in the area where the nightmare group home was. 

And now there is a tragedy. The two detectives have to piece together what happened to the family. I didn't get much feeling for either of the two detectives, everything felt - at least to me -  two dimensional, boring and wooden. The emotion came from the family drama, and some of the history of what happened to them learned through a series of essays written by the missing teenager about what family means to her. 

There's a second non-official investigator on the case, a woman called Flora, who seems to be some sort of victims' advocate. She survived a horrible tragedy herself (the plot of a previous book in the series) linking her with the detectives. She's struggling to cope but getting on with her life by running a support group for other victims. She was an interesting character, I am actually kind of interested in knowing more about Flora. She became a key part in solving the mystery and helping unravel the case.

The end was a bit eye rolling and over dramatic for my tastes . I'm not interested in going out and get all the other books in this series. I may try this author again in a different series. While the characters were a little dull, there was enough intrigue in the case itself to keep reading to know what happened. And I didn't actually guess what happened.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for the opportunity to view the title.

This is my first read in Lisa Gardner's D.D. Warren series, and from the opening scene, I expected a gripping, edge of your seat thriller. The story is quite dark, and parts were both disturbing and heart-wrenching, including Roxy's poignant personal narrative. Unfortunately, the bulk of this one didn't quite live up to my expectations. The story is lengthy, which wouldn't be a problem if the pace and flow had held my attention, but in this case, it's just long-winded and repetitive. Much of the book bounces back and forth between D.D. Warren and Flora, and often times things we learn from one are reiterated by the other. There's a large amount of dialogue and when there is actually some real action, it feels rushed through, and then on to the next conversation. I gathered from this story that Flora was a victim in an earlier book, and while I appreciate some back story, I got enough from this one that I don't feel the need to read Flora's tale. The repetitiveness of this one became tedious to the point that I set it aside several times and finally pushed through just to see who the killer would be. We do get that answer, but there are so many villains here that it all becomes a bit convoluted. In the end, I didn't hate it, but with so much talk and so little action, I was left with more of a 'meh' feeling than anything else. 

REMINDER:  booklikes has scheduled maintenance next Tuesday so posting early.

See https://www.fictfact.com/BookReleaseCalendar for all the books.  Usually more than 80% of the new releases shown will need to be added to booklikes (maybe something Tuesday's maintenance will help resolve?).

Detective D.D. Warren #9

By: Lisa Gardner

ISBN: 1524742058

Publisher: Dutton

Publication Date:  2/6/2018

Format: Hardcover

My Rating: 4 Stars

Crime thriller queen Lisa Gardner returns following Right Behind You, (2017) landing on my Top Books of 2017 with her latest twisty suspense thriller —LOOK FOR ME. 

Two favorite characters, Detective D. D. Warren and Flora Dane work together to solve a crime. A brutal family murder with one remaining girl missing. 

The last time we caught up with D. D. Warren and Flora Dane (2016) Find Her (Detective D.D. Warren, #8). 

Flora Dane, a former kidnapping victim, turned survivor— held in a coffin box by a sadistic monster for 472 days — on a mission to save other victims from predators, holding on to an obsession of REVENGE, or something else?

In LOOK FOR ME, Boston Sergeant Detective D. D. Warren returns with crime scene expert husband, Alex and five-year-old son, Jack. D. D.’s family outing to find a dog for Jack gets sidetracked with a brutal crime. 

A family of five. Two adults, three kids, and two dogs (Blaze and Rosie). Shots were fired. A brutal murder. The responding officers found four bodies. The oldest daughter, a sixteen-year-old female, and two dogs are still unaccounted for. 

The girl’s name Roxanna Baez, Hispanic with two elderly Brittany spaniels and both reported blind. 

D D’s job was to access and strategize. However, has the girl escaped, been kidnapped, victim or murderer? Or was she just not home at the time? 

Juanita Baez and Charlie were the parents. Lola – age thirteen, Manny age nine. Did the father murder the wife and kids and shoot himself? However, the way the shots were fired, they had to rule out the guy as a suicide. 

The mom had a history of DUIs over five years earlier; however, the father had a clean record. No drugs, alcohol, or any high-risk lifestyle. An ordinary family. A family of secrets? Was the daughter the perpetrator? 

They had to find her. 

Flora Dane is a survivor. It has been a year, and now she is teaching others how to live again. Abduction at the hands of Jacob Ness, a serial rapist, and murderer. Flora is a fighter. She had gone from victim to vigilante. 

Mixed with personal and troubling narratives from Roxanna about the perfect family. She was writing after a teacher posed the question about family. 

“A perfect family has to be made. Mistakes. Regret. Repair. You have to work at it.”

We also meet other survivors from trauma and the support group. Flora teaches them that bad people do not want to deal with the powerful. They prey on the weak. Sarah recalls this girl coming to discuss help for a friend.

Gardner skillfully weaves an intricate tale of a family sent away to live at Mother Del’s (abuse, neglect, rape, assault) before coming back to live with their mother and Charlie. Until the mom cleaned up her act. What went on while they were away?

“Where are these perfect families? Can there even be such a thing? One where everything goes so right where no one ever hurts each other? Or is there just me and my family and all of the lessons we’re still learning the hard way?”

After protecting her siblings, from all the abuse while in foster care, Roxanna could not possibly hurt her family? No longer foster kids after three years, they were reunited family in a real house with two dogs. A family ripped apart and brought back together. 

What happened to this family? Motive? In one moment. That’s all it took. Destroyed. Over, Finished. Done. 

Someone is protecting a friend. 

Wow, this was one complex, intense, emotional, multi-layered and twisty roller coaster ride! Gardner keeps you guessing while exploring the dark evil within the foster care system. 

I enjoyed catching with DD and hubby as they try and balance work and family life. Flora, a vigilante, is kick ass and hilarious. (thanks for bringing her back). Two different women. Both with their own demons. 

“Revenge must be revenge, or it isn’t sweet.”

Highly recommend; however, while I always enjoy Lisa Gardner’s books, this one was not as strong as last year’s Right Behind You, in my opinion. 

A special thank you to Dutton and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy. 

JDCMustReadBooks

Flora was held captive for 472 days but when she was found, was she really released from the nightmare that she endured? When found, Flora finds herself obsessed with the cases of women who have gone missing, whether it is for closure or revenge, Flora digs deep into these cases until one day, Flora herself once again in the hands of an abductor. There is anger, denial and frustration as Flora tries to figure out where she went wrong, or did she? The frustration, the self-doubt and the humiliation is repeated over and over in this audio as she watches her life repeat itself. Flora quickly counterbalances these thoughts with ideas on how she is going to save herself from this second abduction. Flora struggles with her new predicament. For Flora knows now that she is smarter and braver this time as she has lived and survived a similar experience before and she has also researched and analyzed cases just like the one is living in. Flora needs to gain dominance over this situation but there are other factors that come into play. As I listen to this audio, I feel that it’s a mental game that Flora is having with herself as she deals with her second abduction.

It’s an emotional novel as individuals have to deal with their feelings throughout the novel. Flora has deep connections with her mother and she becomes part of her motivation to survive while her mother keeps her case alive with the authorities. The other missing women, the police, and the subjects behind Flora’s disappearances all bring their drama and excitement to the novel, creating quite a scene. I found myself getting frustrated listening to Flora’s turmoil of self-doubt over and over again. I understand her dilemma but it seemed relentless after a while. I thought the premise of the novel was creative and I liked how the novel was put together. Even though this was part of a series, I thought it was a good standalone as I hadn’t read the previous novels in this series. I like novels by Lisa Gardner and I would like to read other books in the series.