FIND HER is the eighth installment in Lisa Gardner’s D. D. Warren series, and it may be the detective’s most complicated case yet. Though the series revolves around the cases investigated by D. D., the true star of the novel is Flora Dane --- victim, vigilante and survivor.

Seven years ago, Boston resident Flora was kidnapped in Florida while on spring break. She spent the next 472 days trapped in a coffin-shaped box, released only on rare occasions to be abused and violated by her abductor. Gardner begins FIND HER with a chilling chapter in which Flora describes life in the box. Although this is a fate unimaginable to most, Gardner does a remarkable job of describing not only the crushing loneliness and pain, but also the endless desire to do anything --- even hurt yourself --- just to break up the monotony. Although Flora has some distance from her trauma, it is clear that she has not allowed herself to truly heal since her rescue, as all of her thoughts are tied to those 472 days.

Alternating between Flora’s time in the box and present-day Boston, Gardner introduces Flora 2.0, the woman Flora has become since her rescue. Where she was once supposedly lighthearted and carefree, Flora now has become cold, calculating and nearly obsessive in her desire to track down other men like her abuser. When we meet her, in fact, she is throwing back an expensive martini at a bar, not to relax, but to position herself as bait. Though her desire to prevent other girls from her fate may have started out well-intentioned, it is clear that Flora has become reckless. Later that evening, she is kidnapped by an amateur who she immediately kills.

There is no love lost when D. D. first meets Flora. Accustomed to helpful witnesses and shell-shocked victims, she is turned off by Flora’s cold detachment from her experience. She is also surprised --- not pleasantly --- by Flora’s knowledge of police vocabulary and procedurals. When Flora’s FBI victim advocate arrives on the scene, D. D. begins to suspect that there is far more to Flora than meets the eye. She soon recalls Flora’s nationwide, media-driven rescue, but it is clear that she dislikes the girl, seeing her as a dangerous vigilante rather than a victim. Her opinion changes a bit, however, when her colleagues find evidence that suggests Flora’s kidnapper had previously abducted other girls. Although Flora has not committed a crime and, in fact, has helped the detectives, D. D. decides to keep an eye on her. Unfortunately, she does not watch closely enough, and Flora is abducted from her very safe apartment later that evening.

When we next see Flora, she is being held captive in a pitch-black room filled with only a mattress, a bucket and a wooden coffin identical to the one where she once spent 472 days. Her original kidnapper was killed during her rescue, so she knows it can’t be him, but this knowledge does nothing to stop her memories from flooding back. Although she fights to convince herself that she is okay, this is the most she has allowed herself to feel in years, and it is painful. Meanwhile, D. D. and Flora’s victim advocate, Samuel Keynes, are struggling to put together the facts of Flora’s initial disappearance and present-day life, a difficult task considering her detachment and proclivity to silence. What follows is a race against the clock, for both Flora and D. D., as they try to identify Flora’s newest abductor.

In an intriguing twist, chapters alternate not only between Flora and D. D., but Flora’s past as well. In short but vivid scenes, we are walked through Flora’s original kidnapping and all of its emotions, abuses and horrors. Gardner carefully reveals facts of Flora’s history while still keeping readers in the dark about what really happened during those 472 days. As the alternating storylines begin to collide, however, it becomes clear that Flora --- and the reader --- must fully confront her past in order to survive through her present. This is not an easy read for anyone, but Gardner writes with an immediacy that will compel you to flip through pages without ever taking a break. Her powerful descriptions will very nearly crush you, but this will only give you a glimpse of what Flora endured. Gardner definitely has done her research and has a knack for peppering in hard facts about psychology and victimhood with delicious suspense.

FIND HER has an interesting parallel in that both Flora and D. D. have incredible deductive skills, but very little facts to go on. This creates a fascinating structure for readers as they watch the case being solved from both sides. This is not the sort of book where you will solve the case before the characters, as the mystery is complex and often misleading. Gardner’s talent for character development will also keep you on your toes, making for a highly suspenseful read.

Although I have never read a D. D. Warren thriller before, I found myself quickly captivated by her sharp wit and even sharper intellect. The true highlight of the book, however, is Flora. Few authors can create such a cold character who can still elicit feelings from the reader, especially without employing boring clichés and tropes. Gardner does none of this and keeps her narrative fresh and succinct, an impressive balance for any writer. I cannot wait to see where she takes D. D. next.

This book is a clear indicator of why Lisa Gardner is one of my favorite suspense writers. Good characterization, the story develops naturally and at a steady pace that keeps my interest. Nothing eye rolling or too far from what could be reality (which is kind of scary for this book). I did figure out what was going on before it was revealed, but it didn't spoil the book for me. Great addition to the series.

This sat on my Kindle for a while because I thought I’d be lost since this book is part of the DD Warren series, which I had yet to start. Boy was I wrong! You can absolutely read this book as a standalone and it’s a great one. This was such a bone-chilling thriller that it had me reading until 1am. I loved how the beginning grabbed me and I found myself immediately invested in Flora’s story as a victim and victim advocate. Gardner is a powerful storyteller and I liked how the tension never gave up at any point. Can’t wait to read more books from the series!

Lisa Gardner is an amazing author. Every single one of her novels leaves me wanting more and reading throughout the night because I cannot put them down. "Find Her" is no exception. A great suspense novel, well worth the read!

I’m joining in again with Throwback Thursday which was created by my good friend Renee at It’s Book Talk. She started this weekly feature as a way to highlight old favorites and read books that have already been published. I have so many older books on my TBR that get ignored in favor of review copies and I figure participating in Throwback Thursday will help me to read at a least one older title a week!

It’s a bittersweet feeling now that I’m caught up on this series. Find Her was an absolutely amazing read, but now I have to wait awhile for the next installment (February of next year to be exact) and I’ll truly miss D.D., there really isn’t any other fictional character out there quite like her.

Once again Gardner tackles some heavy, disturbing subject matter this time focusing on abduction. Flora was such a highly complex character, she has literally been through hell and back and I thought Gardner did a fantastic job of portraying a kidnapping victim and their possible mind frame. Flora is very bold in many ways, she chases danger and at times seems unafraid of anything. But then there are times where she is terribly fragile and vulnerable, totally understandable and wholly believable to boot. Her and D.D. clash, but then again who doesn’t tend to butt heads with D.D.? Their dynamic was tense and fascinating, I’m excited to see what happens between them in the next book.

Gardner uses her trademark graphic, gritty writing style and many parts of this was hard to read. Flora tells her story via flashbacks and seeing as how she was contained in a coffin for most of her time in captivity, things were claustrophobic and stifling. Gardner is a prolific writer with a fluid style that keeps you turning pages long past bedtime. Per usual delving too far into this twisty plot would ruin things, but if you’re a Gardner fan and haven’t read this yet, I highly recommend it. If you’ve never read her before I still highly recommend it, it’s an outstanding read and I feel like every crime fiction fan should have the pleasure of meeting D.D.

I just love Lisa Gardner books. She never fails to disappoint and she kept up that tradition with this book.

This one involves a girl who had been held hostage for 472 days. Her story was pretty creepy and very gross during her captivity. The story also dealt with a Stockholm Syndrome mentality acquired by the abductee.

Now, Flora has been found and her abductor is dead. Flora has spent the last five years improving herself in case that happens to her again. And it may just happen, Flora is determined to find a recent girl who did not come home one night.

This book was absolutely awesome and I flew through the pages. And, of course, I stayed up way past my bedtime, but it was worth it. I definitely recommend this if your into suspense.

Thanks to Penguin Group Dutton and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Thrilling, dark, and downright spine-chilling!

This is a gritty, police procedural that takes us on a hunt for a sadist and highlights the enduring psychological effects experienced by those who manage to survive.

The writing is fluid. The characterization is well done with the usual gang back including the stubborn, resilient, determined D. D. Warren whose greatest struggle is accepting and adhering to restricted duty when the clock is ticking and two women are missing. And the plot is an adrenaline-rushing mixture of disturbing violence, gruesome murder as well as some nice twists and turns that definitely keep you guessing.

Once again, Gardner has written a gripping, highly entertaining novel that showcases her exceptional ability to not only delve into the psychological and behavioural actions of the most depraved of society but also those of the victims who suffer by their hands.

Thank you to Dutton Books (Penguin Random House) for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Flora is kidnapped while on spring break in Florida. She spends 472 days as Jacob's captor, sex slave, accomplice and much much more. She manages to escape but the person that comes back is far from the person she was before the abduction. She spends 5 years learning criminal, self defense and anything else that may help in her determination to not let the same things that happened to her happen to anyone else. Throwing herself back into dangerous situations, she gets captured again and it's up to D.D. Warren to find, and save, her.

Lisa Gardner is fast becoming one of my favorite women crime fiction authors. Her fast paced writing and ability to draw you in from the very first page make it so you know before you even pick up the book that you're in for quite a ride and will not be disappointed.

I was a little apprehensive in going into this series in the 8th book... I'd much rather read series in order. This book did well as a stand alone, however. Although I do wish I knew a little more about D.D.'s background that I missed from the first 7 books, I never felt lost or out of touch in this one. The chapters alternate between Flora's POVs from her first capture to her second and from D.D.'s POV - fresh back in the field after being injured on her last case. Even though this is a detective series, the story mainly focuses on Flora, what she endures, her mind set as she struggles with her new found freedom and subsequent next trapping. I felt like there was little to Detective Warren's story line, and that was fine by me. I was utterly fascinated by Flora's mind and the ability of how the author shows the endurance of a human, a woman, not just physically but mentally as well. We are much stronger than we ever give ourselves credit for. Like strong female protagonists? Love fast paced, page turners that keep you engaged from page one? I strongly suggest you pick up Lisa Gardner's books.

I've read one other Lisa Gardner book, RIGHT BEHIND YOU, and I loved it! So I was excited to get started on this one. Even though it is book 8 in the D. D. Warren series, it read very well as a standalone. I do feel like I should read some of the others, to get to know D. D. Warren better! There are always some references that you won't understand when you jump in so late in a series.

Seven years ago, Flora Dane was a college student kidnapped while on spring break. For 472 days, Flora endured more than she ever thought she could. Flora is a victim turned survivor.

Flora manages to live through her ordeal and has spent the last five years trying to reacquaint herself to normal life. Working closely with her FBI victim advocate, Samuel Keynes, has really been helping her progress along. Her life at home isn't quite the same as it was before her kidnapping - her mother never stopped looking for her and will support her always, her brother is terrified of the person that Flora has become, and she continues to cover the walls of her room in the photos of other girls - the ones that never made it back home.

Boston detective, D.D. Warren, is called to a crime scene - a dead man and the woman who killed him was bound and naked. Learning that Flora has been tangled up with three other suspects since her return to society, Warren is now concerned that she could be trying to be a vigilante of sorts. However, with her knowledge of criminal behavior, Flora might the key to finding an abducted college student. But when Flora is taken, Warren realizes that this person is determined to not let her escape this time, and it is up to her to find Flora.

As will the other Lisa Gardner book I read, the characters are well developed and the police procedural is spot on. Flora, despite what she went through, is a strong female heroine. D.D. Warren is determined, flawed, and will stop at nothing to find the missing girls. The kidnapper made me uncomfortable - a truly sinister human being, but is an outwardly normal man that you could just run into on the street. I feel like some investment or attachment to D.D. Warren is lost because it is the 8th installment in her series. It does read well as a standalone, but I feel like I wasn't nearly as invested in her as others would be.

This story moved at a fast pace - where is the college girl, where is Flora Dane, will D.D. get there in time? What the kidnapper does is horrendous and you hope the girls can escape! I loved this book and I'll definitely keep looking for more from Lisa Gardner.

I give this 4.5/5 stars - simply because I'm so far behind on D.D. Warren's story (even those this reads as a standalone)

Big thanks to Dutton for the copy in exchange for my honest review!

This is a decent murder-mystery / revenge thriller. It was my first Lisa Gardner book, so I can't compare it to others in the series, but the plot moved along quickly and kept me hooked enough to keep reading.

I picked up Find Her after seeing a positive review and was intrigued by the story, which is that Flora Dane had been abducted while on Spring Break in Florida and held captive for more than 400 days. Flora was eventually rescued, and during her survivor's counseling she found a new obsession: tracking down other rapists and killers to try and save more girls. Of course, putting herself in the way of killers and rapists leads to yet another dangerous situation, in which Boston detective D. D. Warren has to try and find her.

(The book review I saw said I could enjoy this novel without having read the previous books in the D.D. Warren series, and that was true. There were some references to what I presume were earlier stories, but I just ignored them, and they didn't affect my understanding of the current plot.)

The book rotates between three perspectives: there are flashbacks to Flora's first kidnapping; there is Flora's current predicament; and there is Warren trying to solve the current case. Gardner's writing is competent but awkward in parts, reminding me how difficult it is to write great crime fiction. In this novel, there were a few too many lengthy explanations and expositions, and of course there was the scene when the killer carefully explains how they did everything, just a few pages before they're caught.

Overall it was a good revenge thriller that I would recommend to fans of the genre.

Absolutely read as if it were a true story being told in realtime. Told in 2 voices that were 1 (no spoilers) every time I read it I couldn't sleep. Sad, afraid, disgusted, relieved...all I felt for Flora's situation. The author brought everyone to life with full understanding of each character's professional and personal strengths and demons

I am a huge fan of Lisa Gardner, and love her Detective D.D. Warren series so I was super excited that another one of her books was up for grabs on Netgalley!
Lisa Gardner is my go to girl for a good who done it books. She writes a solid story that kept me glued to my kindle. Find Her has plenty twists and turns that will keep you guessing. The pace that Lisa set for this book was amazing; everything fell into place just when it was meant to. Lisa also has a knack for writing relatable characters that me as a reader felt connected to.
Find Her is an awesome book and I look forward to reading more from Lisa Gardner!

Find Her (A Detective D.D. Warren novel)
By Lisa Gardner

A Lisa Gardner Thriller !

Flora Dane is abducted in Florida while on spring break. Held for four hundred days, she survived, but not her captor.

Years later she is questioned in the death of a bartender, who tried to abduct her.Dective D.D. Warren is on the case.

A Lisa Gardner thriller, it holds the readers attention to the very last page.
5 stars !

I received this ARC from Penguin Random House-Dutton through Netgalley for a honest review.

Thrillers and the like remind me that there are some very nasty people doing some very nasty things in the world, and ‘Find Her’ by Lisa Gardner is an excellent example of such people! Often, the victim becomes another statistic; however, Flora Dane, the protagonist in this particular story, has a survival instinct that defies the most determined of killers! Kidnapped and imprisoned for hours at a time in a coffin like box for more than 400 days, Flora somehow manages to find a way to keep going in the face of the extreme mental, physical and sexual abuse she endures at the hands of her kidnapper – and gets out alive to tell her tale.
Victim turned vigilante, Flora now risks her own life to save others; distanced from her family by mental trauma of her own ordeal, Flora now covers her bedroom walls with pictures of girls and young women who never made it home. Her obsession with one girl in particular leads her back into danger and a past from which someone is determined she will not escape this time.
An enthralling read, and quite terrifying in places. Will keep you reading long after bedtime.

I usually like Gardner, but the intro to this was way, way too dark and manipulative/exploitative to keep reading.

I love Lisa Gardner's books and was not disappointed with Find Her. Well written with an edge of your seat plot. I was glued to this book until the ending.

Flora Dane is a victim .... she is also a survivor. The real question is ... is she also a vigilante seeking revenge for the 472 days she was held captive?

She's been free for 5 years and still doesn't know what 'normal' is. She's lost the closeness the felt for her mother and brother. She is close to only one person ... Samuel Keynes, FBI Victim Advocate.

Detective D.D. Warren is called to the scene of a crime. There she finds a dead man and the bound, naked woman who killed him ... Flora Dane. During her investigation, she finds that this is not the first time Flora has tangled with other suspects suspected of kidnapping young women.

There is currently a missing college student .... and there's a connection. D.D. is going to have to work her way through secrets and lies in order to find her before they find her body.

This is the 8th book in the series featuring this Boston Detective. I've been very happy to read every one of them and in order. As usual, the writing is exquisite, characters are finely drawn. The suspense is spine-tingling and as a reader, I always find myself reading faster and faster toward the highly charged ending.

5 Stars for Find Her ... 5 Stars for the Series

Many thanks to the author / PENGUIN GROUP Dutton / Netgalley for the digital copy. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Find Her is a great installment in the D.D. Warren series! This one finds D.D. caught up in the case of a missing woman. Flora was held captive for 472 when she was abducted on spring break seven years ago. She has disappeared again and it is up to D.D. to solve the case.

I love D.D. Warren, and was so glad to have another book featuring her! This one had a great storyline that kept me reading.

This was phenomenal. I've never read any of the Detective D.D. series and it seemed like a stand-alone book to me.
This was just a perfect psychological thriller from start to finish. It gave me fucking anxiety dude THAT IS HOW STRONG THE WRITING IS!

Here is the breakdown,

Flora Dane is a survivor. She was kidnapped and held for 472 days and we learn every detail in seriously horrible flashbacks. Once free she tries to come to terms with her freedom and new life after living a nightmare at the hands of a madman. Bringing other predators to justice is her main focus.
When Flora disappears AGAIN, Detective D.D. Warren and her team, along with Flora's FBI victims’ advocate try to find Flora as well as other victims.
I applaud Ms. Gardner for her research to provide us with such an accurate portrayal of the emotions of the victims of sexual predators.
This was a chilling thriller with many creepy moments that nightmares are made of.