When You See Me

Turn the pages quickly, tension, uncontrollable pace of heart beats, quickly what happens next, not fast enough, read, read and read, tearing my hair out, finally oh no I don’t want it to end. Epilogue 😫 😫 😫 and thus emotionally drained after reading the incredible When You See Me from Lisa Gardner.Bonita- You have my heart! ‘Bonita’ for me is the song La Isla Bonita by Madonna but now it will always resonate in my mind as the girl who rose from utter depths of hell and fought towards a beacon of light rising from ashes to conquer her fear and be triumphant against evil.Hindus in India worship ‘Kali’ who is believed to be the destroyer of evil forces, one glimpse at the picture and you would understand why Bonita at the end left me with the picture of Kali in my mind.I may sound like a broken tape but once again I’m at loss for words to describe the latest thriller from Lisa Gardner. She is unparalleled in the genre of crime thrillers. Now that I actually think, If I am questioned about the books that I wouldn’t mind re-reading, my answer would be Lisa Gardner and Sandra Brown’s novels. The Other Daughter was the first book that I have read by this author and since then I have fallen hook, line and sinker for her plots and characters and DD, oh my God how much have you grown from the almost hate inducing rude and stubborn attitude to the jelly in my hand mom to Jack.So many mysteries centered around small towns and suddenly the claustrophobic feel has started giving me heebie-jeebies. When You See Me begins with a prologue that doesn’t impact much, of course reading too many thrillers we have read similar opening chapters. But then the ride begins. Human bones identified as Lilah Abenito has been discovered in a quaint mountain town called Niche that caters to hikers doing the Appalachian Trail. Was she the victim of the dreaded seral killer Jacob Ness? Soon a task force is formed lead by SSA Kimberly Quincy of FBI and which includes Sergeant D.D Warren, Flora Dane, the survivor of 472 days of torture at the hands of Ness and also Keith, a true crime aficionado and a superior expert in computers.“Something happened here. Something really bad. Real question is, is it over yet?”Old skeletons have come to light and before long, the investigation changes from 15 yr. old mystery of mass graves to current mystery with bodies piling up leaving the investigating team stunned. The story progresses thru DD, Kimberly and Flora. There’s also another voice whose story leaves the reader teary-eyed and sad. Flora has come a long way from the broken woman she was not just surviving but learning to live taking her chances with Keith, there were some really sweet moments between them that was uplifting, and DD’s instincts still razor-sharp that leads to a chilling climax.Fair warning readers, some parts describing the misery of girls being kidnapped and tortured can be hard to read and When You See Me can probably be read as standalone but it is highly recommended to read them in order especially from DD Warren #8, Find Her as the story of Flora Dane and her strength needs to be understood in its whole entirety.Many Thanks to LisaGardner, NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for a chance to review this book.

It's been a while since I read a Lisa Gardner, but I was intrigued to see a book uniting both Kimberly Quincy and DD Warren. I'd never really liked DD, but had been quite a Quincy fan. In this book however, DD is the far more interesting character, with Kimberly appearing somewhat beige. There is also Flora, a survivor from, I presume, a previous book that I haven't read and who is a civilian, but brought along to help with the case as it has links to the man, now dead, who held her captive for more than a year.This would be a 4 star book, except that it took about 100 pages to get going. Lots of setting the scene and not much happening. However, when it all did start happening it moved on well. I loved the character of 'Chiquita,' who wasn't in it much to start with. She was plucky and clever under incredibly horrendous circumstances. (No spoilers.) Once she came into it in a bigger way I started to root for her and wanted to know how things turned out...and Miss Gardner may have been clever enough at the end to get me to want to buy the next book!

I am not a fan of the Flora Dayne stories, but here Gardener adds Kimberly Quincy and DD Warren as they search for more bodies from Jacob Ness’s crimes. I enjoyed this adventure and completed it in 4 sittings. It is fast paced and absorbing. I like the style of prose from the perspective of each of the main characters. Where Gardner does particularly well is developing strong characters aside from her detectives. In case of point, we have Flora Dane as a strong and complex character and in this story we are introduced to the orphaned dumb ‘stupid girl’. Named Bonita, Gardner pulls all our emotions as we shout out to help protect poor Bonita. The plot was also strong set amongst a small US hillside town where it is believable that all sorts of nonsense and misdemeanours can occur aided by a group of locals, and out of sight of most of the town.

An edgy thriller with haunted characters and a masterfully constructed plot you won’t want to miss. When You See Me very cleverly brings together several characters from Gardener’s previous books in an intoxicating and unforgettable story of a town where dark secrets lurk just beneath the surface.One body in the hills leads to more bodies and more secrets, all propelling toward one explosive ending. Heavy on police and FBI procedure to start, the book then takes off, shrewdly weaving past mysteries with present investigations.A compelling, emotional, and sometimes disturbing read, When You See Me is Lisa Gardener at her finest.

Grab hold of your emotions because this is going to be a rough ride. Imagine the horrors that exist in this world, then multiply them. This novel takes you on a journey which exposes these horrors that people are capable of, the lengths they will go to for selfish gain, with no thought for others, for humanity. You will be shocked, frightened for the characters who feel so real. But you won’t be able to stop reading…

This book starts with the murder of a mother and a young girl left alone with the killer. . It then takes you on a helter skelter ride to a small town, set amongst a forest hiding a deadly secret. What a brilliant read. I couldn't put it down. Loved the characters, the setting, everything about this book. One of my favourite reads this year (and I read a lot!!). If you love a great thriller this book is for you.