Dutton – Penguin Group, February 9, 2016.
Four Stars
Find Her is the eighth book in Gardner’s Detective D.D. Warren series, which
I have never read before, so I can safely say that this novel is a standalone.
There is some backstory about D.D. and her family, but it’s not necessary to
follow the action in this novel. The main focus is on Flora, a woman in her
twenties who was abducted in college and held captive for almost a year and a
half. After surviving her kidnapping, she has focused on training in
self-defense to protect herself – and to go after other possible abductors.
When D.D. first encounters Flora, she must decide whether she is a victim, or a
vigilante.
When Flora is contacted by the parents of another
abducted college student, Stacy Summers, she decides to help in the
investigation – and then she goes missing herself. The novel alternates between
Flora’s present circumstances and flashbacks of her previous abduction. Her
earlier captor, a long haul truck driver named Jacob, dragged her across the
country in a pine coffin and eventually coerced her into helping him commit
crimes against other women. We don’t know how far Flora’s participation went –
and sometimes it seems she isn’t sure, either.
From the first page, the author draws you in to
Flora’s life, and it’s hard to put down until you find out what happens to
Flora and Stacy. Although Flora is tough, sometimes unlikeable, and a potential
criminal, it’s difficult not to sympathize with her. In fact, I genuinely liked
the characters of both Flora and D.D. – even when they were working at cross
purposes, they were both trying their best and living by a personal moral code.
Both characters are strong women working to recover from a difficult past and
learning to live again. There are many layers to them, and no real stock
characters, even in the background.
Gardner is a talented writer who guides us through
gruesome crime scenes and urges us to keep going, with the promise that there
will be some redemption in the end. She allows the reader to truly put
ourselves in the characters’ situations and explore the psychological depths
that both women reach. Her explanations of the mind/body abilities to adapt and
survive are especially impressive. It was disturbing to be inside of Flora’s
head, but so incredibly believable.
The novel is fast-paced and the tension is constant,
as you turn the pages quickly to find out what Flora will do next to survive.
And beyond her current circumstances, we are also given an exploration of what
happens after a victim is rescued. Going back to life as usual is impossible, as
the victim has become someone else through her experience. Flora’s story is intensely captivating, and I
would definitely like to read more from this series.
I received this novel from Netgalley and Dutton –
Penguin Group in exchange for an honest review.
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