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A review by litwithleigh
Find Her by Lisa Gardner
4.0
Writing: 4/5 | Plot: 4/5 (suspension of disbelief required) | Ending: 3/5 tbh
THE PLOT
Flora Dane went through hell for 472 days, and five years later, after burning a man to death, she's snatched again. Is it connected to the Stacey Summers missing persons case? If Flora a victim or a vigilante?
MY OPINION
First things first, YOU NEED TO SUSPEND YOUR DISBELIEF FOR THIS TO WORK. What are the chances of being kidnapped and tortured twice? Unless your Liam Neeson's family in the Taken trilogy, pretty fking low. Usually I struggle to do this but I'm a sicko for a story with the POV of a trapped victim, so I let it rock. And after reading [b:Never Tell|40494791|Never Tell (Detective D.D. Warren #10)|Lisa Gardner|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1549652147l/40494791._SY75_.jpg|62092170] (yes I jump around in a series, and what about it? *Ariana Grande voice*) I had to get Flora's full story. Boy was it JUIIICYYYY!!
Gardner can write, that's for certain. I love her fragmented prose. Flora's flashbacks were everything and more. Gardner perfectly portrayed what a mindfuck Stockholm Syndrome is and why victims don't escape when given the opportunity. The scene where Flora is staring at the cop while locked up in Jacob's rig is chilling... so close, yet so far. Having read Never Tell, I found Flora to be much softer in this book. In Never Tell she is full-on, unemotional, and stoic. I appreciated seeing a more emotionally vulnerable side of her.
My only gripe, other than the ending, is DD seemed MAD insensitive about Flora's background. Ok and one more gripe—unnecessary fat shaming. If you only mention a character's weight when they're fat, and usually in negative context, that's lazy to me. I really don't care if the baddie looked like the fking Michelin man, there's 1391049 other reasons why this person is POS.
SPOILERS ALERT SO SCROLL IF YOU HAVEN'T READ IT
Now, why 3/5 for the ending? Well, I found that the law enforcement officers went full dumbass. You had postcards being sent from major interstates across the Southern US but you never thought trucker?? You went with survivalist?? What kind of survivalist is hiking it up and down from Georgia to Florida multiple times with a kidnapped girl? Me thinks tf not.
And then when they finally narrow it down to their suspect being from Florida, a bartender says hey actually one of the girls you think was kidnapped and described Devon (fried off face guy) as her "play thing" is from Florida, DD and Keyes are like... ok cool but we're really set on the manager being the baddie so stfu? Like broheims, how much more obvious could it be???
All in all, a juicy tale that will scratch your sickest itches. A Criminal Minds episode but on bath salts and I loved it. I will def be picking up more in this series.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: well-written, unique fragmented prose, juicy j story, Flora's character well-developed, you can tell the author did her research on police procedures and Stockholm Syndrome
Cons: unnecessary fat shaming comments, detectives went full dumbass at the end just to create suspense, DD was very insensitive at times
THE PLOT
Flora Dane went through hell for 472 days, and five years later, after burning a man to death, she's snatched again. Is it connected to the Stacey Summers missing persons case? If Flora a victim or a vigilante?
MY OPINION
First things first, YOU NEED TO SUSPEND YOUR DISBELIEF FOR THIS TO WORK. What are the chances of being kidnapped and tortured twice? Unless your Liam Neeson's family in the Taken trilogy, pretty fking low. Usually I struggle to do this but I'm a sicko for a story with the POV of a trapped victim, so I let it rock. And after reading [b:Never Tell|40494791|Never Tell (Detective D.D. Warren #10)|Lisa Gardner|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1549652147l/40494791._SY75_.jpg|62092170] (yes I jump around in a series, and what about it? *Ariana Grande voice*) I had to get Flora's full story. Boy was it JUIIICYYYY!!
Gardner can write, that's for certain. I love her fragmented prose. Flora's flashbacks were everything and more. Gardner perfectly portrayed what a mindfuck Stockholm Syndrome is and why victims don't escape when given the opportunity. The scene where Flora is staring at the cop while locked up in Jacob's rig is chilling... so close, yet so far. Having read Never Tell, I found Flora to be much softer in this book. In Never Tell she is full-on, unemotional, and stoic. I appreciated seeing a more emotionally vulnerable side of her.
My only gripe, other than the ending, is DD seemed MAD insensitive about Flora's background. Ok and one more gripe—unnecessary fat shaming. If you only mention a character's weight when they're fat, and usually in negative context, that's lazy to me. I really don't care if the baddie looked like the fking Michelin man, there's 1391049 other reasons why this person is POS.
SPOILERS ALERT SO SCROLL IF YOU HAVEN'T READ IT
Now, why 3/5 for the ending? Well, I found that the law enforcement officers went full dumbass. You had postcards being sent from major interstates across the Southern US but you never thought trucker?? You went with survivalist?? What kind of survivalist is hiking it up and down from Georgia to Florida multiple times with a kidnapped girl? Me thinks tf not.
And then when they finally narrow it down to their suspect being from Florida, a bartender says hey actually one of the girls you think was kidnapped and described Devon (fried off face guy) as her "play thing" is from Florida, DD and Keyes are like... ok cool but we're really set on the manager being the baddie so stfu? Like broheims, how much more obvious could it be???
All in all, a juicy tale that will scratch your sickest itches. A Criminal Minds episode but on bath salts and I loved it. I will def be picking up more in this series.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: well-written, unique fragmented prose, juicy j story, Flora's character well-developed, you can tell the author did her research on police procedures and Stockholm Syndrome
Cons: unnecessary fat shaming comments, detectives went full dumbass at the end just to create suspense, DD was very insensitive at times