June 27, 2011
When a Massachusetts State Police trooper shoots and kills her husband, Boston Homicide Det. D.D. Warren sets about figuring out what parts of the trooper's story are true, and, most urgently, where the trooper's missing six-year-old daughter might be. The story is told from two perspectivesâthe detective's and the trooper's. Kirsten Potter reads the narrative for Warren with a strong, bold voice, and Katie MacNichol creates a nicely contrasting youthful, unsure tone for Trooper Leoni, buckling under family and career pressures. Both performers take on other characters with aplomb, male and female alike, and MacNichol's efforts as a young child are especially successful. Gardner's intriguing crime story takes unexpected turns, and the pace, the suspense, and the mystery make for compelling listening. A Bantam hardcover.
January 17, 2011
Near the start of Thriller Award–winner Gardner's gripping fifth novel featuring Boston PD Sgt. Det. D.D. Warren (after Live to Tell), D.D.'s former partner and one-time lover, Det. Bobby Dodge, of the Massachusetts State Police, asks her to look into what appears to be a clear-cut homicide case. The evidence suggests that Tessa Leoni, a state trooper colleague of Bobby's, shot and killed her abusive husband, Brian Darby, who may have kidnapped her six-year-old daughter, Sophie. But Tessa won't talk about her bruises, her husband, or what might have happened to her child. D.D. examines every detail about the family, while Tessa uses her skills to manipulate the investigation. From Tessa's point of view, we learn about her and Brian's courtship, his affection for Sophie, and how the marriage began to disintegrate. Gardner sprinkles plenty of clues and inventive twists to keep readers off-kilter as the suspense builds to a realistic, jaw-dropping finale. Author tour.
