When You See Me

When You See Me by Lisa Gardner
Penguin Random House: 1/28/20
eBook review copy; 400 pages
ISBN-13: 9781524745004

When You See Me by Lisa Gardner is a very highly recommended thriller featuring Detective D. D. Warren, Flora Dane, and FBI Special Agent Kimberly Quincy. It is a great day when Lisa Gardiner has a new character-driven thriller released so set aside time to read this ASAP!

When hikers discover skeletal remains in the mountains of Niche, Georgia, they are identified as those of 17-year-old Lilah Abenito. She was kidnapped 15 years earlier and it has been suspected that she was one of the earliest victims of now-deceased serial predator Jacob Ness. Because of the ties to Ness, FBI Special Agent Kimberly Quincy and Sergeant Detective D. D. Warren, who have a task force following any clues left behind by him, are on the scenes. They bring along Flora Dane, a survivor of Ness, and Keith Edgar, a computer analyst and true-crime follower.

As volunteers search the mountains for the rest of the remains of Lilah, another mass grave of more skeletal remains is discovered. This escalates the search to include the possibility that the team is looking at a serial killer dump site. Is this where Ness buried some of his other victims? An initial visit to the mayor of Niche, Howard Counsel, and his wife, Martha, at their Mountain Laurel B&B, leaves the team with some questions, including the story behind their nameless maid,  but even more after Martha suddenly, suspiciously hangs herself. The investigation begins to widen at the same time as threats to the team begin to increase.

As is expected from Gardner, the writing is exceptional. The plot is a page-turning, nail-biting, twisty, tension-filled, and emotionally powerful story that will grip you from start to finish. The crimes from the past seem to be stirring up trouble in the present, but the question is who is involved and how is all of this connected. This is a novel that will be very hard to put down once you start it. I admittedly stayed up late just to finish it and it was worth it. 

All these characters are well developed and, quite frankly, loved by many of us, so a new novel with D.D., Kimberly, Flora, and Keith marks an exciting new addition to their stories. The sensitive treatment of Flora's recovery from her trauma at the hands of Ness is handled with compassion and understanding. It is exciting to see some major forward movement in Flora's character development and healing. Along with others, I appreciate the strong female characters.

I really loved this one from start to finish. Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Penguin Random House.