When You See Me by Lisa Gardner|Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner unites three of her most beloved characters—Detective D. D. Warren, Flora Dane, and Kimberly Quincy—in a twisty new thriller, as they investigate a mysterious murder from the past...which points to a dangerous and chilling present-day crime.
FBI Special Agent Kimberly Quincy and Sergeant Detective D. D. Warren have built a task force to follow the digital bread crumbs left behind by deceased serial kidnapper Jacob Ness. When a disturbing piece of evidence is discovered in the hills of Georgia, they bring Flora Dane and true-crime savant Keith Edgar to a small town where something seems to be deeply wrong. What at first looks like a Gothic eeriness soon hardens into something much more sinister...and they discover that for all the evil Jacob committed while alive, his worst secret is still to be revealed. Quincy and DD must summon their considerable skills and experience to crack the most disturbing case of their careers—and Flora must face her own past directly in the hope of saving others.

When You See Me by all accounts should have been one of those really immersive police procedurals.  That my dear friends is not what I got…although it does seem that I’m in the minority with those feelings.  I was expecting a full-blown luxurious slap up meal and instead I got a shit sandwich.  I should go on record and state that I haven’t read any of Lisa Gardner’s other offerings, but this did let me down.  Elements just didn’t work for me and the first 40% of the novel about looking for bones, after bones, after bones just ended up having the opposite effect for me – monotony. 

As I’m led to believe, Flora Dane features in When You See Me and a few more recent Lisa Gardner books.  As aforementioned I can’t comment on the other books, but Flora Dane’s presence just never felt authentic.  It also didn’t feel like she really contributed much to the taskforce.  She was brought along for the ride when a young girl’s skeletal remains are found in a Georgia town, ultimately it is discovered that she had been missing fifteen years and they put two and two together and got six billion.  They believed this could have been an early victim of serial killer Jacob Ness – Flora’s kidnapper and tormentor. 

First of all, why on earth did finding these random bones automatically link this victim straight to Jacob Ness?  Plot Armour – most likely.  I’m almost certain that all it would have triggered, AT THIS POINT, would have been a cold case.  I sincerely doubt it would have given rise to a highly expensive and time-consuming task force.  It went from producing connections that were just plain ridiculous to the plot becoming way too outlandish.  I did however enjoy the motherly relationship between D.D. Warren and Bonita, it gave us a break from the monotony and gave us the only bouts of mystery contained within When You See Me.

When You See Me was just an all-out mess.  Given the subject matter I should have felt empathy and compassion, but I ended up feeling no tangible connection to any of the characters.  We also have a trash fire of a sex scene to contend with, and, WHAT WAS WITH THE SUPERNATURAL ELEMENT?  It did not add up…nothing did!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the copy of the book.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lisa Gardner, a #1 New York Times bestselling thriller novelist, began her career in food service, but after catching her hair on fire numerous times, she took the hint and focused on writing instead. A self-described research junkie, she has transformed her interest in police procedure and criminal minds into a streak of internationally acclaimed novels, published across 30 countries. She’s also had four books become TV movies (At the Midnight Hour; The Perfect Husband; The Survivors Club; Hide) and has made personal appearances on TruTV and CNN.

Lisa’s books have received awards from across the globe. Her novel, The Neighbor, won Best Hardcover Novel from the International Thriller Writers, while also receiving the Grand Prix des Lectrices de Elle in France. She was also recognized with the Daphne du Maurier Award in 2000 for The Other Daughter. Finally, Lisa received the Silver Bullet Award from the International Thriller Writers in 2017 for her work on behalf of at-risk children and the Humane Society.

For a bit of fun, Lisa invites her readers to enter the annual “Kill a Friend, Maim a Buddy” Sweepstakes at LisaGardner.com. Every year, one Lucky Stiff is selected to meet a grand end in Lisa’s latest novel. Past winners have nominated spouses, best friends and even themselves.

Lisa lives in New Hampshire where she spends her time with an assortment of canine companions. When not writing, she loves to hike, garden, snowshoe and play cribbage.

Lisa Gardner