Hide (Detective D.D. Warren #2) by Lisa Gardner

You have good reason to be afraid. . . .

It was a case that haunts Bobby Dodge to this day—the case that nearly killed him and changed his life forever. Now, in an underground chamber on the grounds of an abandoned Massachusetts mental hospital, the gruesome discovery of six mummified corpses resurrects his worst nightmare: the return of a killer he thought dead and buried. There’s no place to run. . . . Bobby’s only lead is wrapped around a dead woman’s neck.

Annabelle Granger has been in hiding for as long as she can remember. Her childhood was a blur of new cities and assumed identities. But what—or who—her family was running from, she never knew. Now a body is unearthed from a grave, wearing a necklace bearing Annabelle’s name, and the danger is too close to escape. This time, she’s not going to run. You know he will find you. . . .

The new threat could be the dead psychopath’s copycat, his protégé—or something far more terrifying. Dodge knows the only way to find him is to solve the mystery of Annabelle Granger, and to do that he must team up with his former lover, partner, and friend D. D. Warren from the Boston P.D. But the trail leads back to a woman from Bobby’s past who may be every bit as dangerous as the new killer—a beautiful survivor-turned-avenger with an eerie link to Annabelle. 

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I’m so excited to be at the beginning of a new Lisa Gardner series! I loved her other series – Quincy and Rainie – so I’m looking forward to reading more about these new characters. The series is about D.D. Warden, but the first two novels in the series are mostly about one of her colleagues, Detective Bobby Dodge. The first novel, Alone, almost solely focuses on Bobby, whereas Hide does have a bit more of D.D. I’m curious on how the series will switch over to be more focused on D.D Warden (who – fun fact! – is the name of the author’s neighbour).

I was wondering the whole time how Annabelle Granger would fit into the story. I was hooked right away by her story where she talked about randomly one day her family moved her away from her home in Boston and then being on the run. She is now alone and scared of what her family was running away from. The only thing is that she has no idea who she is hiding from since her parents never told her anything!

I really enjoyed the ending and didn’t see so many of the events happening. I loved it how it all came together. The only negatives were that D.D. wasn’t the main focus on the novel and to be honest, she seems so much more interesting than Bobby. My other negative was that I didn’t enjoy how Catherine Gagnon (previous character from Alone) was brought into the novel. I didn’t find it really necessary to have her be in the novel.

4 calculators out of a potential 5. If you are a fan of thrillers then check out Lisa Gardner’s novels and in the meantime I’ll be working my way through the series!

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Right Behind You (Quincy & Rainie, #7) by Lisa Gardner

Eight years ago, Sharlah May Nash’s older brother beat their drunken father to death with a baseball bat in order to save both of their lives. Now thirteen years old, Sharlah has finally moved on. About to be adopted by retired FBI profiler Pierce Quincy and his partner, Rainie Conner, Sharlah loves one thing best about her new family: They are all experts on monsters.

Then the call comes in. A double murder at a local gas station, followed by reports of an armed suspect shooting his way through the wilds of Oregon. As Quincy and Rainie race to assist, they are forced to confront mounting evidence: The shooter may very well be Sharlah’s older brother, Telly Ray Nash, and it appears his killing spree has only just begun.

As the clock winds down on a massive hunt for Telly, Quincy and Rainie must answer two critical questions: Why after eight years has this young man started killing again? And what does this mean for Sharlah? Once upon a time, Sharlah’s big brother saved her life. Now, she has two questions of her own: Is her brother a hero or a killer? And how much will it cost her new family before they learn the final, shattering truth? Because as Sharlah knows all too well, the biggest danger is the one standing right behind you.

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I love this series and I love Quincy and Rainie! It was interesting reading the author’s note at the end of the novel where Lisa Gardner said that she let her fans pick her next series novel. She was surprised that it was a large majority for Quincy and Rainie, instead of her more recent series (Detective DD Warren and Tessa Leoni). Thank you fans for picking Quincy and Rainie!

This isn’t the best novel in the series, but I could argue that it is the most emotional. First, you have Quincy and Rainie who are ready to adopt their foster daughter, Sharlah. Sharlah is made for Quincy and Rainie. She is quiet, stubborn and doesn’t let others tell her what to do. Second, there is Telly, Sharlah’s brother. Telly killed his parents eight years ago and is now on a killing spree.

I really loved Telly and I was trying so hard not too. You have a boy who is about to become a legal adult, who is still struggling with his feelings from eight years ago. Is he a zero or hero? I was emotional reading the past flashbacks with him and his foster parents. I wanted him so badly to be a hero.

The ending wasn’t super amazing, but that wasn’t what made this novel great. You felt for all of the characters, even the bad guy who was ready for his next kill. I don’t want this series to end!

4 calculators out of a potential 5. Read this novel, read this series! It’s amazing!

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The Survivors Club by Lisa Gardner

They survived what no woman should ever have to endure. Now these three women have the means, the opportunity, and the perfect motive. Are they trying to get away with murder–or is someone trying to make sure that this time they don’t get away at all? The Survivors Club… that’s what Jillian Hayes, Carol Rosen, and Meg Pesaturo call it. They won’t consider themselves victims. They are survivors. They faced the blazing headlines and helped lead the investigation that caught the man who changed their lives forever. 

And now that Eddie Como, the College Hill rapist, has been murdered, shot down outside a packed courthouse moments before his trial was about to begin, all three women are openly ecstatic that he’s dead. They are also the prime suspects in his murder. Detective Sergeant Roan Griffin knows all too well what can drive even the best people to cross the line. But he has never seen a case quite like this one. But questions taunt Griffin: Who ordered the deaths of Eddie Como and his killer? Could three ordinary women have been driven to do the unthinkable? Had someone in the Survivors Club become a killer? 

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I love Lisa Gardner’s novels and I was thrilled to find a stand alone novel by her! If you have never heard of her, I would recommend her Quincy and Rainie series, starting with The Perfect Husband. So, so amazing!

The Survivors Club was a brilliant stand alone that has everything that I want from a mystery – likeable characters, lots of action and a surprising mystery.

The novel started off in so many different direction – a sniper on a rooftop, a police detective returning back to work after a leave of absence, and a woman recollecting about the worst night of her life. I loved how all of the storylines connected and I had no idea what was going to happen.

5 calculators out of a potential 5! One of my favourite mysteries this year!

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Say Goodbye (Quincy & Rainie #6) by Lisa Gardner

If you have a fear of spiders, then this is not the book for you! It is crawling with them!

For Kimberly Quincy, FBI Special Agent, it all starts with a pregnant hooker. The story Delilah Rose tells Kimberly about her johns is too horrifying to be true—but prostitutes are disappearing, one by one, with no explanation, and no one but Kimberly seems to care.

As a member of the Evidence Response Team, dead hookers aren’t exactly Kimberly’s speciality. The young agent is five months pregnant—she has other things to worry about than an alleged lunatic who uses spiders to do his dirty work. But Kimberly’s own mother and sister were victims of a serial killer. And now, without any bodies and with precious few clues, it’s all too clear that a serial killer has found the key to the perfect murder . . . or Kimberly is chasing a crime that never happened.

Kimberly’s caught in a web more lethal than any spider’s, and the more she fights for answers, the more tightly she’s trapped. What she doesn’t know is that she’s close—too close—to a psychopath who makes women’ s nightmares come alive, and if he has his twisted way, it won’t be long before it’ s time for Kimberly to . . . SAY GOODBYE.

Sadly this wasn’t the best book in the Quincy and Rainie series. It focuses on Kimberly Quincy – who is 5 months pregnant! Yay! There was a little bit of Quincy and Rainie, but sadly not enough as they took a backseat role. I do like Kimberly, but I didn’t like her as much as in The Killing Hour.

This book is very creepy and disturbing. There is a lot of references to spiders (each chapter opens with a spider fact) and very uncomfortable scenes with young boys. This book won’t be for everyone.

I wasn’t too impressed with the ending. I had guessed a few of the reveals early on. The past scenes really throw you off because you aren’t sure who the boy is and how far in the past it takes place. There is also a old woman’s perceptive where a young boy keeps coming to her house. I was really confused on what time this was suppose to be taking place, but it all works itself out in the end.

3 calculators out of a potential 5. My least favourite book in the series because of both the humans and spiders that made my skin crawl.

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Throwback Thursday – The Perfect Husband by Lisa Gardner

I decided to start my own Throwback Thursday by reviewing a book that I had read exactly a year ago (give or take a few days). I will post my review from a year ago and provide my thoughts from today and see if I feel differently about the book.

Since I’m new to the blogging world, this allows for some of my older reviews to get posted and I can recommend (or not recommend) the books I have previously read.

I’m so happy that the book that I finished reading on March 21, 2017 was The Perfect Husband by Lisa Gardner (this was not planned)! This is the first book in one of my favourite series and features one of the creepiest villain that I have ever read about!

Goodreads Review from March 21, 2017:

Lately I have been reading a lot of books about abusive husbands and their now ex-wives trying to escape them. When I first read the description I thought “Oh man, here we go again. Another abusive husband”. But wow, this book was so much more and I was terrified of this ex-husband!

Tess married a very handsome, thoughtful man who she thought was the perfect husband. Of course, he wasn’t. He was a psychopath. He killed 10 women in brutal ways and Tess helped put him in jail. Of course, he never thought his wife would be the one to lock him up, so he wants revenge. Tess knows that he won’t stop until he has killed her, so she is getting ready for the fight of her life.

I’m surprised that this series is about Quincy & Rainie, since we never meet Rainie and Quincy is a minor character. This story is all about Tess, JT (a man Tess has hired to train her) and crazy psychopath ex-husband Jim. I liked Tess, I tolerated JT and was totally freaked out by Jim.

I was on the edge of my seat the entire time just waiting to see what Jim would do next. I would of liked more details about how Tess figured out who Jim really was and how they took him down.

Just a note for those thinking about picking this one up, it’s really graphic. What Jim does to his victims is not for the faint of heart and there is also a lot of graphic sex scenes.

Can’t wait to see what the rest of the series is like!

Update from March 22, 2018:

I was just talking about this book last Sunday to my family! My dad asked me for some book suggestions and I recommended The Perfect Husband. He then made a joke about how my mom could of wrote the book because he knows he is the perfect husband! My mom was silent on the subject and my husband, Kevin, commented that she may not feel that way in a few weeks since he has begun his retirement!

I feel that Lisa Gardner wrote this novel as a standalone and then later developed the FBI Profiler series featuring Quincy and Rainie. I love Qunicy and Rainie and can’t recommend the series enough. Each book is so unique starting with The Perfect Husband.

My rating (4 calculators) remains the same for The Perfect Husband. Gardner did an excellent job scaring the heck out of me with Jim Beckett as the worst ex-husband ever. I didn’t love how the focus was on Tess and JT and would of preferred to see Tess planning to take down her husband when she discovered he was a murderer (instead of through flashbacks).

What book did you read a year ago? Have your thoughts changed on the book?

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