Book Review of 'Love You More'

Who do you love and how far would you go to save her?

A D.D. Warren novel by Lisa Gardner

Synopsis

The Massachusetts State Police are called to the residence of Tessa Leoni, a young State Trooper from their barracks. Her husband lies dead on their kitchen floor and Tessa claims she has shot him in self-defense. Her bruises and injuries appear to back up her tale. But the worst part is that her six-year-old daughter, Sophie, is missing.

Because the state police cannot investigate one of their own, Detective D.D. Warren of the Boston Police Department is called in to handle the homicide investigation. Bobby Dodge, investigator for the State Police (and D.D.'s former lover) is assigned as liaison to work with Detective Warren. Bobby's input is helpful in seeking to understand the inner workings of a trooper's mind.  Would a trained police officer shoot her own husband and would a mother harm her own child?  

Tessa is hospitalized for her injuries and is represented by her Union Rep and a lawyer and is not immediately available for questioning. The investigation into how and why Tessa's husband, Brian Darby, was shot three times mid-torso with Tessa's own police revolver is nearly stalled while they wait for Tessa to be able to answer their questions.

An Amber Alert is put out state-wide for Sophie while D.D. And Bobby try to sort out the crime scene.

Meanwhile, for Tessa Leoni, the worst has yet to happen. She has nowhere to turn and trusts no one even as the clock ticks down to a terrifying deadline. Tessa has one goal in sight and uses her training  to do what must be done. Because ~ a mother knows who she loves!

Summary

Love You More is Book 5 of 11 in Lisa Gardner's D.D. Warren suspense novels series. 

This story features two very believable female protagonists. Trooper Leoni tells us her own story in the first person while Warren's investigation is narrated in the third-person. Tessa Leoni's motives are discovered as the story continues, but her passion and conviction draw us in even before we know whether she is guilty or innocent. The reader roots for Warren and Dodge to make sure justice is done, but we cannot argue with Tessa's absolute drive to find her daughter.

Fans of Gardner's D.D. Warren series will definitely enjoy reading Love You More.

*Love You More Book Review is written by Wednesday Elf.

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One Step Too Far – Book Review

 Book 2 in the new Frankie Elkin mystery series by Lisa Gardner. 

Last June I reviewed Book 1 (Before She Disappeared) in the Frankie Elkin series. At last, Book 2 has arrived ~ One Step Too Far. 

Frankie Elkin is a recovering alcoholic who travels the country searching for missing people. She does this for no money or recognition. Her reason is known only to her, but she feels compelled to search for those whom the police have given up on due to too many other cases that CAN be solved, and when the public no longer remembers and the media has never bothered to care. 

Synopsis of One Step Too Far

Wyoming Wilderness -Image Source: Pixabay

A young man goes missing in the wilderness of Wyoming. He and his 3 best friends had gone on a camping trip in the mountains for his bachelor party prior to getting married. The trip was Timothy O'Day's choice of a pre-wedding time with his friends. Tim was a very experienced camper who knew the woods and surrounding wilderness well. 

A set of circumstances caused Tim to leave the campsite and somehow disappear completely. He left behind his guilt-ridden groomsmen, two heartbroken parents, and a pile of clues that don't make any sense. Numerous searches were conducted, yet no trace of him was ever found.

Five years later, Tim's father is organizing one last search in an attempt to find what surely has to be nothing but bones now. But it's time for closure. The rescue team is made up of eight people, including the 3 best friends from that fateful night, a trained woodsman friend of the father, an experienced guide and a woman with her search & rescue trained dog.

Frankie Elkin doesn't know the woods, but she knows how to find people. She joins the rescue team, despite their reluctance. As they hike into the mountains, it becomes apparent that something dangerous is at work in the woods. Someone seems to be trying to stop their search. Time is running out and Frankie and the search party soon discover that evil waits for those who go one step too far..... 

Summary 

Amazon gives mixed reviews of this book. Some readers love it, some hate it. I liked it. I liked the character in the first book in the series and was interested in seeing what happens with Frankie in Book 2. I am also a fan of author Lisa Gardner and her 23 other suspense novels. I enjoy her style of writing. I particularly like the fact that she ends the story, then does another chapter of an Epilogue, filling you in on all the things that happen after a situation is resolved. Many books leave you to wonder. Lisa answers the questions you may have been left with. 

So, if you are a Lisa Gardner fan and like suspense stories with a continuing character, I recommend One Step Too Far. I would suggest you begin with Book 1 – Before She Disappeared – as the author makes a few references to things that happened to Frankie on her first missing person's case in Boston. 

Related Links of Lisa Gardner Book Reviews:

• Before She Disappeared, a Frankie Elgin Book 1
• Catch Me. a Detective D.D. Warren Mystery
• Right Behind You, a book in the Pierce Quincy/Rainie Conner FBI Profiler series 

*Book Review of One Step Too Far written by Wednesday Elf

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Before She Disappeared by Lisa Gardner – A Book Review

Before She Disappeared introduces us to Frankie Elkin, an ordinary woman and recovering alcoholic who has more regrets than belongings, more sad stories than happy ones. To cope with them, she has devoted her life to finding missing people the rest of the world has given up on. This seems too often to happen to minorities. 

When the police have given up, when the public no longer remembers, when the media has never bothered to care, Frankie starts looking. For no money, no recognition, and most of the time, no help. Why does she do it? 

Maybe the question shouldn't be why am I doing this, but why isn't everyone looking?

                                                        ~Frankie Elkin

Synopsis

Frankie gets her new cases from online research; from national chat rooms where family members and concerned neighbors compare notes on various missing persons cases. There are too many such cases for local resources to handle, so Frankie, and others like her, step into the vacuum. 

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Frankie's new case, the basis of this story, brings her to Mattapan, a Boston neighborhood with a rough reputation.  She is searching for Angelique Badeau, a Haitian teenager who vanished from her high school months earlier and has never been found. The Boston PD did search for Angel for awhile, but is just about convinced that she is basically a runaway who doesn't want to be found.  Angel's family believes differently.

As Frankie begins to ask questions, she discovers that someone doesn't want them answered. As she takes risks to discover the truth, Frankie might become the next person to go missing. 

Summary

Lisa Gardner has written 23 suspense novels to date, including this one just published in 2021. Her novels are well written and enjoyable to read.

*Reviewer's Note: Lisa Gardner, best-selling author of suspense novels in both her FBI Profiler Series and her D.D. Warren Series, appears to have begun a new series with this Frankie Elkin thriller.  Before She Disappeared is listed as a Frankie Elkin Novel Book 1.  One Step Too Far (a Frankie Elkin Novel Book 2) will be released on January 18, 2022. It is available for 'Pre-Order' here.

*More Reviews of Lisa Gardner Books on ReviewThisReviews.com

• Catch Me
• Right Behind You

Book Review of "Before She Disappeared" written by 

~Wednesday Elf

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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CATCH ME …. CAUGHT. Two Book Reviews

Reading is one of life's greatest pleasures...

There's No Such Thing as Too Many Books! Postcard by friendlyspirit

Recently I came home with four books to read; two by a couple of my favorite writers. Since I was looking forward to reading all of these books, it didn't matter which one I read first. Therefore I simply picked up one and began to read. 

When I finished the first one, I picked up the next book.  About half-way through the story, my eyes happened to catch the title CAUGHT and it suddenly struck me that the book I had just finished was titled CATCH ME.  How interesting ~ Catch Me – Caught!   Quite a coincidence as those titles definitely fit in with the category of my favorite genre – Mystery/Suspense/Thriller!  If you are a mystery book fan, you might also be interested in reading these two books, so let me tell you about them.

CATCH ME by Lisa Gardner

 

CATCH ME was written by Lisa Gardner in 2012 and was a finalist in the 2013 'Thriller Award for Best Novel'.  For fans of Lisa Gardner, you'll be delighted to know that the story features one of Gardner's well-known continuing characters, D.D. Warren, homicide detective with the Boston P.D.

As the story opens, Det. Sgt. Warren has just returned from maternity leave when she and her team are called to a murder scene.  Ordinarily, D.D. would be in peak form, being a workaholic who loves her job, but two hours of sleep after a night up with baby Jack has left her cranky!.

As D.D. is leaving the crime scene, a woman named Charlene Grant (Charlie) shocks her with an incredible story.  In the past two consecutive years, Charlie has lost her two best friends, each murdered at 8 p.m. on January 21 with no known motive.  It is now just 4 days until the next January 21 and Charlie believes she is next in line to be murdered.

D.D. Warren is busy with her latest homicide, which is discovered to be connected to a vigilante gunman who is killing pedophiles in Boston, while trying to cope with exhaustion due to her new baby and complicated home life.  Now it appears she also needs to look into the murders of Charlie's friends to find answers before the January 21 anniversary.

 Is Charlie in danger, or is she hiding behind a terrifying secret?  This Number 6 in the D.D. Warren series will keep you on the edge of your seat!

Lisa Gardner, Author

Lisa Gardner (nee Lisa Baumgartner) is a crime thriller novelist with 17 books to her credit. Four of her novels have been made into movies.  She has written two series with continuing characters and several non-series stand-alone books.  One series includes the cast of Pierce Quincy, an ex-FBI profiler, his partner 'Rainie' Conner, a cop, and his daughter, FBI Special Agent Kimberly Quincy.  Gardner's other series takes place in Boston and features either D.D. Warren, a police detective or Bobby Dodge, a state police sniper. 

Lisa came up with a fun way to involve her readers.  She created a “Kill a Friend, Maim a Buddy” Sweepstakes where you can nominate the person of your choice (even yourself) to die in Lisa’s latest novel.  Check out how the sweepstakes works and some really amusing facts about this author on the Lisa Gardner website.

CAUGHT by Harlan Coben

 

Harlan Coben is another of my favorite mystery authors.  In CAUGHT, written in 2010, Coben tells a complex story about seventeen-year-old Haley, pride of a loving New Jersey family, who suddenly goes missing, and a reporter, Wendy Tynes, who uses her nationally televised news program “Caught in the Act” to expose sexual predators.  Dan Mercer, a social worker who works with troubled teens, becomes the latest person to be exposed by Wendy.  But is he really guilty?

Is there a connection between the missing girl and a predator?  Is Dan guilty as accused, or can the reporter not trust her own instincts?  In Caught, Harlan Coben takes us through an exciting, tension-filled story about guilt, grief and our capacity to forgive. The ending will surprise you.

 

 

Harlan Coben, Author

Harlan Coben, an award-winning mystery fiction author, bases most of his non-series stories in his home state of New Jersey.  Of Harlan Coben's 27 novels to date, he now has 60 million books in print worldwide, and his last eight novels have all debuted as #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.  CAUGHT is one of these.

Ten books feature Myron Bolitar, a former basketball star who turns sports agent after injuries curtail his pro career.  His office is in New York City and he seems to end up investigating a number of complicated problems (including murder) involving the athletes he represents.  The Bolitar series are suspenseful thrillers, yet are often surprisingly funny.

Since 2011, Coben has written 3 Young Adult novels featuring Mickey Bolitar, Myron's nephew, a high school student who comes to live with his uncle after his father is killed and ends up with his own set of adventures.

Harlan Coben lives in New Jersey with his wife and 4 children.  Visit the Harlan Coben website to read about all his books.  I'm currently reading his latest just published in March 2015 ~ The Stranger.

Writers are Readers!

Before one becomes a writer, they are first a reader.  My family and I have a deep Love of Reading.

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Happy Reading!

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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