Find Her by Lisa Gardner

Find Her
By Lisa Gardner

Fabulous.  A tight, taut thriller.  I could not put this one down.  The author deftly leads you in several directions about what is happening and what did happen - her use of flashback here is brilliant.

Told from three perspectives - a modern day police sergeant in charge of a case; the 27 year old woman at the center of a new and violent crime being called self-defense; and that same young woman five to six years prior when she herself was a kidnapping victim.  Then, she goes missing again and all bets are off.  What is happening?  Has she done this to herself?  What really went on during the 472 days of her former captivity??  How is her case related to another missing girl in Boston?   And what exactly is an FBI Victim Advocate anyway?

This novel is serious, intense but not too violent, a thriller in the old fashioned sense but with added psychological drama and repercussions galore.  This is the 8th of the D.D. Warren series but I did not really find it a problem that I had not read any of the others.  There is a reference to an injury D.D. is still recovering from in this novel that happens a novel or two back, but it does not impede the storyline here.  Although, I do find myself wondering what D.D. stands for.......

***The author includes a lot of the trauma and emotion that a hostage/kidnap victim undergoes, especially a long term hostage.  There is a bit of a claustrophobia aspect here as well as the almost casual mention of continued sexual assault during the captivity, so beware.  But it is not the main point of the story so the author does not dwell here.  Also, as a sidenote, I really like the cover of this one - shattered, torn apart, demanding in its command for a title.  I would definitely read more by Gardner, I think her books would be perfect for a lazy afternoon or long plane ride - hello summer!!!!