MINM Review: LOOK FOR ME by Lisa Gardner

Bestselling author Lisa Gardner has written an engaging police procedural with a plot, characters, and a finale almost operatic in their poignancy. Look For Me resonates within the current cultural shift toward empowerment of survivors, and the reckoning of those that abuse their positions of power. The novel partners Boston Sergeant Detective D.D. Warren with Flora Dane of Gardner's 2016 release, Find Her. Flora is a former captive, now a survivor, survivalist, and renegade avenger. With the additional aid of another survivor and Flora Dane mentee, the women work together to investigate the cold-blooded murder of a family within the family's home. Naturally, the deeper they delve into the case, the more multifaceted it becomes. Look For Me is dramatic and psychological. The author has a flair for snappy, police procedural dialogue, and her extensive research for this novel is apparent. It is also very evident that Ms. Gardner poured her heart into this book, and anyone who reads Look For Me almost certainly can't help but do the same.

 

Publisher's Blurb:

In #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner's latest twisty thrill ride, Detective D. D. Warren and Find Her's Flora Dane return in a race against the clock to either save a young girl's life . . . or bring her to justice. 

The home of a family of five is now a crime scene: four of them savagely murdered, one—a sixteen-year-old girl—missing. Was she lucky to have escaped? Or is her absence evidence of something sinister? Detective D. D. Warren is on the case—but so is survivor-turned-avenger Flora Dane. Seeking different types of justice, they must make sense of the clues left behind by a young woman who, whether as victim or suspect, is silently pleading, Look for me.

Best for Crime Fiction Readers:

  • Who enjoy reading about strong, tough, female cops (and their female, confidential informants) who have plenty of chutzpah.

  • Who enjoy reading American police procedurals. Look For Me is character-rich crime fiction, with the main emphasis being on analyzing all of the evidence, and putting together the pieces of the jigsaw to solve the case.

  • Who enjoy reading about interpersonal family dynamics and particularly, about the unique bond of sisterhood.

  • Who don't mind reading about children at risk and in peril. This is not described in a graphic and/or gratuitous way, but serious, socially-relevant topics are addressed.

  • Who appreciate spy and military crime fiction. What?? you may say. While Look For Me does not actually fall into those subgenres, there are a number of scenes of reconnaissance and surveillance of various "targets" that may appeal to readers who enjoy that aspect of espionage or military thrillers.

  • Who appreciate crime fiction that opens with action, suspense, and danger that pulls the reader immediately into the story.

    Pages: 416 (Paperback)

MINM Overall Rating: 4/5 Stars

Have you read Find Her by Lisa Gardner? If so, are you looking forward to revisiting the character of Flora Dane?

Mystery in Minutes would love to hear from you!