Last year I was scrolling through tweets about the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate, England when I saw some of the best marketing for a new book that I have ever seen - petit fours with the title of Lisa Gardner's forthcoming (now out) novel, Find Her. So simple yet so amazing. I get hungry and think about the book every time I see this photograph.
My wife is a huge Lisa Gardner fan. (I tried reading one and was horrified to discover it was about a serial killer who uses spiders and I had to stop reading - irrational fear of spiders.) My wife is also a real-life, big city detective and a big reader (who also reads much faster than I do) and she loves these Lisa Gardner books. Most police work is dull and frustrating, occasionally heart-breaking. And most crime and mystery fiction is completely unrealistic and implausible if you know how things really work - much suspension of belief is required. But somehow these Lisa Gardner books always win rave reviews from her. Gardner is especially good on evidence, I am told.
In exchange for an advance copy of Find Her, I made Detective Sweetie (her name in phone calls/text messages) give me a brief review:
Lisa Gardner did it again!
I am an avid Lisa Gardner fan. I have read all her books at least twice. With that said, I will admit that when I read the synopsis of "Find Her" I was a bit skeptical. I wasn't sure if I could get behind a victim turned vigilante. Boy, was I wrong. From the very beginning Gardner draws you in with her complex characters and a story that keeps the reader wanting more. Alternating between past and present, Gardner weaves an amazing web that makes "Find Her" impossible to put down. Clear your calendars folks, once you begin "Find Her" you won't want to stop.
I'm tempted to start reading this book next - but first, I have to find a good bakery.
