When You See Me: A Novel: A D.D. Warren and Flora Dane Novel, Book 11

When You See Me (Detective D.D. Warren, #11) by Lisa GardnerDetective D.D. Warren, FBI Special Agent Kimberly Quincy, Flora Dane and true-crime enthusiast Keith Edgar head to a small Georgia town. Once there they know something is very wrong.Together they try to piece together an old crime, buried human remains, recent deaths (that seem to be) connected. What they are about to uncover is evil at its core. (But) that won't stop them. Lives are in danger as they fight to uncover the truth.Moving at a fast pace (with) engaging dialog told from alternating characters, brought me deep into the story. Attention to detail, with plenty of chilling, suspense filled moments. Tension builds in this emotionally charged thrill ride. I was hooked and could not put it down.Overall I found When You See Me enjoyable. I highly recommend to those who enjoy a great procedural/crime-thriller/suspense. Lisa Gardner fans will not want to miss this read. Fantastic!

Having read every book Lisa Gardner has written (excluding those penned under the name Alicia Scott), I always fear with each new book that the quality will start to dwindle. But, so far, Ms. Gardner has not let me down! When You See Me is as captivating as any book before it, if not more-so. The story is absolutely compelling, and so engrossing that I read it in one sitting upon its release.In general, one of my favorite things about Ms. Gardner's novels is the deep and detailed research she clearly undertakes to get the story right. However, unlike some authors who want to include every single fact they uncovered during their research, often resulting in a 700-page tome, Ms. Gardner does a masterful job of blending research details into the overall storyline, allowing you to learn new things while still progressing at a rapid clip.A particular strength of When You See Me itself is the convergence of three of Ms. Gardner's major heroines (Warren, Quincy, and Dane) in one novel. In order to bring the three characters together, I think some creative liberties were taken. For example, I'm not sure how realistic it is that a Boston police detective and a vigilante victim of a serial killer would be asked to assist an FBI agent in an investigation in rural North Georgia that might involve said serial killer. I feel like that may be a stretch (but, honestly, I don't know enough about the interactivity between law enforcement agencies to be sure either way). However, for those of us who have grown to know and love these characters over many, many books, the payment of a small amount of "suspension of disbelief" to have all of our favorites in one place is totally worth it.As I find it more and more difficult to find quality writing and realistic stories, especially in the thriller/mystery genre, I am becoming increasingly thankful for rock solid authors like Ms. Gardner and the hard work they put into maintaining their high standards.In closing, if you're in the market for a great story, definitely check out this novel. And don't worry if you haven't read any of the previous books - all of Ms. Gardner's books are written so that they can stand alone. If you're a fan of the series and wondering if it holds up, it totally does!P.S. Because I always appreciate when people mention "read-alike" authors in their reviews, I thought I would pay it forward: If you like Lisa Gardner and the D.D. Warren series, you may also like Robert Dugoni's Tracy Crosswhite series (7 novels to date) and Barbara Nickless's Sydney Rose Parnell series (3 novels to date, with the 4th to be released in June 2020).

For me, the story moved along slowly. I was intrigued right away when the bones were found in the beginning of the story but from there it was a bit boring. I like the strong female characters, each having qualities that bring the story together but I am not a fan of D. D. I wish there were more chapters with Kimberly instead. Overall, a good suspense but not a fast enough flow to the story. Didn't keep my interest.

I always and did jump ahead a few lines because I was impatient and sensed what the next action was going to be. This not bad of yo discredit the author. I enjoy Lisa Gardner!s books.

I love Lisa Gardner so I was really looking forward to this book but overall I found it a letdown. First of all its important to know that this book is a continuation of Flora’s story and what the team discovered about Jacob Ness before this book so this is not a book that would make sense without that background. Personally I feel like I have read enough about Flora and her abduction with Ness so I wish it had gone in a different direction. There is a lot of time spent with Flora on how she is doing and coping with everything which to me just feels like more of the same. Her computer programmer friend is back but I did not feel like he was as fully developed or as interesting as he was before. This book has a shifting POV between Flora, D.D., Kimberly and an unarmed girl who is tied up in the story. Unfortunately Kimberly is more of a cameo in this story. She heads the task force but really gets very little page time. The story really spends most of the time alternating between Flora and D.D. For the most part I found D.D. had the most compelling chapters.At the start of the novel there is the discovery of skeletons buried in the woods. As the team starts investigating in this small town the story quickly moves into what was going on in this town and who is involved. Weird towns have never been plots that hold any interest for me so I can’t say I was happy with the plot of this book. To her credit the author did manage to keep me turning pages and held my interest in this book. A good portion somewhere in the middle was compelling and I found myself enjoying both plot lines between D.D. And Flora instead of wishing I were reading only about D.D. I felt like the ending and some of the plots were ridiculous. It’s one of those unrealistic over the top endings that this author does not normally write. I was also let down by the lack of twists. There’s also not a lot of follow through on some of the plot elements. Normally this author writes her books in a way that you have to pay attention or you won’t see what’s coming but in this book there’s really not a lot going on in this one.I can’t say I regret reading this book because I do love this series but it’s just not her best. I don’t think this is a must read even for huge fans of this series. Anything that happens in this book if it’s carried over into the next one would be quickly explained. I really hope the next book has more going on and a new mystery with her trademark unexpected plot twists.

I really enjoyed that the story is told from multiple points of view. That made the story much richer and affecting.

It's such a heart-wrenching story. There is so much sadness that is overwhelmed at times. Once again, Lisa Gardner has written a hard-hitting novel, which is just brilliant. This author never fails to create a great story that will hold you gripped from page one.

It took a while for RD to grow on me and I haven't read a book with her in by Lisa Gardner for a time but this was a riveting exciting thriller

executed. With a very apt and explosive ending. A perfect read for winter days, becoming more and more enthralled with rhis exciting author

I love the on going adventures of DD,Flora and Kimberley and I hope there is more to come,looking forward already to the next

Not one of her best, but readable. The early books were better in my opinion.