When You See Me by Lisa Gardner

When You See Me by Lisa Gardner
Buy When You See Me by Lisa Gardner at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Crime
Reviewer: Sue Magee
Summary: You'll get more out of this book if you've read Never Tell, but it can be read as a standalone and makes for a good read.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 400	Date: February 2020
Publisher: Century
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-1529124392
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For Janet and Chuck, it was a hiking break in the Appalachians in Georgia and pure chance that Chuck went off the beaten track to find a stick. What he found was a human bone and SSA Kimberley Quincy was called in, along with Sergeant D D Warren. Both women were experienced in this type of rather gruesome work but they also called on the services of Keith Edgar, a computer analyst, and Flora Dane who brought something unique to the table. Flora had been kidnapped and held for 472 days by the notorious killer, Jacob Ness. If Ness had anything to do with the current discoveries then what Flora had to say could be invaluable.

It's been a good number of years now, but Flora is slowly recovering from her ordeal. She's growing closer to Keith Edgar, but she's still not certain enough to take any risks, on the basis that if he wasn't the first good thing which had happened to her in a long time, then he was probably a serial killer. Either way, she wasn't going to take any chances - but the way that he seemed able to read her mind was quite uncanny.

What becomes clear very quickly is that there is more than one body for the task force to investigate. On the surface, the closest town, Niche, in Georgia, seems idyllic with its Victorian mansion turned into a B&B and run by the town mayor and his wife. They're good people - they took in their niece when her mother died in the accident which left the girl mute, scarred and limping. She's a waitress in the guest house and D D realises that the girl might not be able to speak, but she's not stupid and has a lot to tell if only they can find a way of establishing communication.

When the bodies started piling up I did feel as though I might need to suspend disbelief: so many dead girls in a relatively small town? Was it really credible? But then I thought of Fred and Rose West in Gloucester, where the residents in the same street hadn't realised what was going on. Niche was on the tourist map with a rapidly-changing population of guests and the staff who looked after them. It could be the ideal location for someone with evil intentions. And this plot takes every advantage of this and delivers a top-class mystery.

Quincy, Warren, Edgar and Dane are known to us. You'll get more out of this book if you've read the predecessor, Never Tell, but it can be read as a standalone. There's enough information about the backstory to keep newcomers from feeling that they're all at sea, but not so much that you don't feel inclined to go back and find out what happened. All the characters come off the page well and I spent far too much time trying to work out who was behind the crimes. It was a good read and I'd like to thank the publishers for letting Bookbag see a review copy.

If this book appeals then you might also enjoy The Things We Do by Kay Pfaltz.

You could get a free audio download of When You See Me by Lisa Gardner with a 30-day Audible free trial at Amazon.co.uk.
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You can read more book reviews or buy When You See Me by Lisa Gardner at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy When You See Me by Lisa Gardner at Amazon.com.

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