Book: Find Her
Author: Lisa Gardner
Pages: 416
Read: On the Kindle
Read in: 2 days
Plot Summary: Flora Dane is a victim.
Seven years ago, carefree college student Flora was kidnapped while on spring break. For 472 days, Flora learned just how much one person can endure.
Flora Dane is a survivor.
Miraculously alive after her ordeal, Flora has spent the past five years reacquainting herself with the rhythms of normal life, working with her FBI victim advocate, Samuel Keynes. She has a mother who’s never stopped loving her, a brother who is scared of the person she’s become, and a bedroom wall covered with photos of other girls who’ve never made it home.
Flora Dane is reckless.
. . . or is she? When Boston detective D. D. Warren is called to the scene of a crime—a dead man and the bound, naked woman who killed him—she learns that Flora has tangled with three other suspects since her return to society. Is Flora a victim or a vigilante? And with her firsthand knowledge of criminal behavior, could she hold the key to rescuing a missing college student whose abduction has rocked Boston? When Flora herself disappears, D.D. realizes a far more sinister predator is out there. One who’s determined that this time, Flora Dane will never escape. And now it is all up to D. D. Warren to find her.
Things I Liked: Quick list:
1. The premise was very interesting. A victim turned vigilante! What is not to love?! Very Jessica Jones, if you ask me! The premise had me at hello, so to speak!
2. This book is the eight in the Detective D.D. Warren series and even if one has not read all the preceding books, it does not matter. There is nothing much in the way of continuity that you'd miss if you've not read all seven previous books- I haven't and I didn't once feel like I was missing out on something.
3. Flora is a very interesting character. We see her transformation from a happy-go-lucky college student to an abused, battered, torn-down and destroyed victim of physical, sexual and psychological abuse to a girl who was working hard to get her life back on track and by finding and stopping sexual predators.
4. This book has some very incisive and well-researched insights into how sexual predators and psychopaths break down their victims. It is done so well and is so scary that it makes you shudder. Lisa Gardner has spoken to specialists in the FBI and the Boston Police Department to make her depiction of Flora's captivity and torture seem close to life. She has done such a great job.
5. Flora's mother- Rosa- is also a wonderful character. She is strong and brave and never stops being worried and believing in her daughter even when Flora comes home broken and a total stranger.
6. DD is also a great character. She is dedicated and determined and very sharp. Does not miss a thing and is always willing to go above and beyond to help victims and arrest the perps.
7. The twist in this book is quite nice and not-very obvious. Always a good thing. The person who kidnaps Flora (in present day) is not the most obvious up until the ~67% mark of the book and that, for me, is always a wonderful thing!
8. Even though this is a 400+ pages book, nothing is really superfluous or "just there". The narrative is gripping and the book moves pretty fast.
Things I Didn't Like: Nothing as such. This is a good thriller to read.
Rating: 4/5
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