You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
This book really exceeded my expectations, partly because of the average-looking cover art. You know the old adage about not judging books? Well, that really applies to Abducted. It's among the first novels I've read as an ebook, and it was so good I know I'll be re-reading it again and again in the future.
Abducted is the first novel of the Lizzy Gardner series. It takes place in Sacramento, California. The titular main character is a young private investigator with a painful past. In her teens, Lizzy was kidnapped by a serial killer known as Spiderman. She managed to escape, becoming the psychopath's only survivor. The experience changed Lizzy forever. She became a private investigator to stop people like Spiderman, and teaches self-defense classes to young women. I really felt for Lizzy as I progressed through the novel. No teen girl should have to experience what she did. As paranoid as Lizzy may seem, she's not a damsel in distress, though. Despite the constant protection of her teenage-love-turned-FBI-agent Jared Shayne, Lizzy's perfectly capable of defending herself.
Jared is the type of guy I once aspired to become, back during my teenage years. I’d dreamed of working in law enforcement, but I changed my mind, due to the long hours and mortality rate. Anyway, I like how Jared's protective of Lizzy (he acts almost exactly like I would around her), but he’s a bit too hardened, which is no surprise. Jared seems good-natured, incorruptible, and as courageous as Lizzy. He also regrets having spent so much time away from her. It took Spiderman threatening Lizzy for Jared to run back to her. He’s never forgotten her, though. Lizzy has always been in Jared’s mind. He loves her.
The bad guy—dubbed Spiderman for his fondness for spiders—is a really twisted, psychopathic, evil man worthy of a show like Criminal Minds. He thinks he’s doing the world a service by getting rid of girls he deems “bad.” His identity is not revealed until near the end, and it comes as a surprise (at least to me). Although Spiderman had a really bad experience when he was young, that doesn’t give him the right to terrorize teenage girls. Some of the things he does are the stuff of horror. How can such a dark man hide behind a trustworthy guise?
Abducted is a gripping novel that will keep you turning pages well into the night. I liked the protagonist, Lizzy. She’s a broken girl, haunted by her past, but she still assumes the strength and confidence needed to protect others as a PI. I strongly recommend it, especially if you like page-turners or you are a fan of strong female protagonists.
My rating: ★★★★ 1/2
4.5 stars - A fantastic page-turner!
Abducted is the first novel of the Lizzy Gardner series. It takes place in Sacramento, California. The titular main character is a young private investigator with a painful past. In her teens, Lizzy was kidnapped by a serial killer known as Spiderman. She managed to escape, becoming the psychopath's only survivor. The experience changed Lizzy forever. She became a private investigator to stop people like Spiderman, and teaches self-defense classes to young women. I really felt for Lizzy as I progressed through the novel. No teen girl should have to experience what she did. As paranoid as Lizzy may seem, she's not a damsel in distress, though. Despite the constant protection of her teenage-love-turned-FBI-agent Jared Shayne, Lizzy's perfectly capable of defending herself.
Jared is the type of guy I once aspired to become, back during my teenage years. I’d dreamed of working in law enforcement, but I changed my mind, due to the long hours and mortality rate. Anyway, I like how Jared's protective of Lizzy (he acts almost exactly like I would around her), but he’s a bit too hardened, which is no surprise. Jared seems good-natured, incorruptible, and as courageous as Lizzy. He also regrets having spent so much time away from her. It took Spiderman threatening Lizzy for Jared to run back to her. He’s never forgotten her, though. Lizzy has always been in Jared’s mind. He loves her.
The bad guy—dubbed Spiderman for his fondness for spiders—is a really twisted, psychopathic, evil man worthy of a show like Criminal Minds. He thinks he’s doing the world a service by getting rid of girls he deems “bad.” His identity is not revealed until near the end, and it comes as a surprise (at least to me). Although Spiderman had a really bad experience when he was young, that doesn’t give him the right to terrorize teenage girls. Some of the things he does are the stuff of horror. How can such a dark man hide behind a trustworthy guise?
Abducted is a gripping novel that will keep you turning pages well into the night. I liked the protagonist, Lizzy. She’s a broken girl, haunted by her past, but she still assumes the strength and confidence needed to protect others as a PI. I strongly recommend it, especially if you like page-turners or you are a fan of strong female protagonists.
My rating: ★★★★ 1/2
4.5 stars - A fantastic page-turner!
I enjoyed this book but didn't love it. This was a freebie with my Amazon Prime account and is part of a series. It was action packed but got a bit long in the tooth as the story went on and was predictable. I doubt I'll read book two.
I was a little hesitant to start this book. It was a book that I got for my Kindle from an author that I had never heard of before. The price was really low and the premise of the story sounded good so I thought I would risk it. I have unfortunately not had the best of luck with this on previous occasions.
Well, I needn't have worried. Abducted pulled me in from the very first page, the very first word and while the book did have a few things that didn't mesh well for me, overall I really enjoyed the book.
When Lizzy Gardner was 17 she told her parents she was going to hang out with some friends before they left for college. What she really did was spend time with her boyfriend. Not wanting to get caught in a lie, Lizzy gets dropped off down the street from her house. On her walk back home she gets abducted by a serial killer who had already killed 3 girls. She was held captive for 2 months before she was able to escape. Even though she had thought her past was behind her, she still suffers from the nightmares and jumps at every sound. Her life has not been a peaceful one and now the man that kidnapped her so long ago is back.
Lizzy Gardner has certainly had a difficult life after her abduction. There was a lot wrong, but I liked that she was trying. She was trying to live a more normal life, she was getting help and she was helping others. She didn't just give up even though there were times that she wanted to. She was the perfect blend of strength and vulnerability.
The book is told from alternating POVs. Lizzy's isn't the only voice that we hear. We do get the killer's perspective and I think in that regard it made the whole mystery of who this person's true identity anti-climatic. I think, for me, it would have been more impactful if we didn't know anything else about the killer except from the phone calls and messages sent. Then the reveal at the end would have been a little more shocking I think.
Regardless, Ragan didn't pull any punches. I've found with other books I've read that oftentimes the "evil-doer" gets this bad reputation for things he/she's done in the past and when they pop up again in the present their "bad-assed" persona falls flat. Not here. The Spiderman is just as twisted (maybe even moreso) as he was when he took Lizzy initally 14 yeard ago. It really drove home the creep factor.
I liked the story between Jared and Lizzy. I'm a sucker for romance stories with a past and they certainly have a past. But I like that they seem to be working through everything because they do still care about one another.
This is apparently the first book in the series. This book could completely be read as a stand-alone. It has a very precise beginning and end. I'm not sure if I will continue reading the other book(s) but I'm not ruling it out either.
Well, I needn't have worried. Abducted pulled me in from the very first page, the very first word and while the book did have a few things that didn't mesh well for me, overall I really enjoyed the book.
When Lizzy Gardner was 17 she told her parents she was going to hang out with some friends before they left for college. What she really did was spend time with her boyfriend. Not wanting to get caught in a lie, Lizzy gets dropped off down the street from her house. On her walk back home she gets abducted by a serial killer who had already killed 3 girls. She was held captive for 2 months before she was able to escape. Even though she had thought her past was behind her, she still suffers from the nightmares and jumps at every sound. Her life has not been a peaceful one and now the man that kidnapped her so long ago is back.
Lizzy Gardner has certainly had a difficult life after her abduction. There was a lot wrong, but I liked that she was trying. She was trying to live a more normal life, she was getting help and she was helping others. She didn't just give up even though there were times that she wanted to. She was the perfect blend of strength and vulnerability.
The book is told from alternating POVs. Lizzy's isn't the only voice that we hear. We do get the killer's perspective and I think in that regard it made the whole mystery of who this person's true identity anti-climatic. I think, for me, it would have been more impactful if we didn't know anything else about the killer except from the phone calls and messages sent. Then the reveal at the end would have been a little more shocking I think.
Regardless, Ragan didn't pull any punches. I've found with other books I've read that oftentimes the "evil-doer" gets this bad reputation for things he/she's done in the past and when they pop up again in the present their "bad-assed" persona falls flat. Not here. The Spiderman is just as twisted (maybe even moreso) as he was when he took Lizzy initally 14 yeard ago. It really drove home the creep factor.
I liked the story between Jared and Lizzy. I'm a sucker for romance stories with a past and they certainly have a past. But I like that they seem to be working through everything because they do still care about one another.
This is apparently the first book in the series. This book could completely be read as a stand-alone. It has a very precise beginning and end. I'm not sure if I will continue reading the other book(s) but I'm not ruling it out either.
I liked it quite a bit. Ragan connected the reader to all of the characters pretty quickly, and most of the character voices were convincing. The only thing I had a hard time accepting was the characterization of the killer, the "how he got this way" story. I guess I've studied enough to think it wasn't severe enough to create a serial killer.
A solid 3.5 star book. I figured out who the serial killer was very quickly which was a bit disappointing. It kept me interested enough to continue reading the series.
This book was so predictable and almost ridiculous at the end that I wanted to cry in frustration. I don't think I'll be listening to any more Lizzy Gardner themed books...
Like a bad Lifetime movie or something
good sense of characters, good storyline
This was a complete waste of my time. There were entirely too many points of views, sub plots, and just stupid characters. I could not believe half of the things that happened in this book.