Catch Me: A Detective D.D. Warren Novel
*Starred Review* It’s hard to imagine Boston detective D. D. Warren slowing down, but back to work after a blissful, eight-week maternity leave, she’s determined to strike some sort of balance in her life. Her first case, however, renders that an impossibility. An alleged serial killer is targeting pedophiles. While D. D. and her crew may sympathize with this vigilante murderer’s motives, they’re hell-bent on handling justice the right way and catching the killer. Meanwhile, D. D. is contacted by Charlie, a young woman who claims that she will be killed on January 21, just as her two former best friends were murdered on that date in the two consecutive years prior. While D. D. would like to dismiss Charlie as crazy, the facts are there to support her assertion. As the two investigations develop, it becomes apparent that they could be linked. Gardner really pulls you in the middle of the drama, alternating Charlie’s first-person retelling of the horrible circumstances of her life with the third-person narration of D. D.’s investigations. The creepy meter is off the charts—though not sensationalized—with children the target of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse at the hands of both strangers and parents. And, somehow, miraculously without any contrivance, Gardner’s conclusion delivers a welcome glimmer of hope.      HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Last year, Gardner had three titles on different New York Times bestseller lists; her latest D. D. Warren novel will launch a new streak for 2012. --Mary Frances Wilkens--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.