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Live to Tell: A Detective D. D. Warren Novel Review

I just love it when I find an author who I know will consistently give me a book that I will have a hard time putting down. It doesn't happen very often, but there are a few. I have read numerous books by Lisa Gardner but for some reason she slips my mind when I am looking for a book to read - couldn't possibly be the HUGE stack of books on my TBR pile.

But, when I saw this book was going on virtual book tour, I jumped at the chance to review it. And once I started reading, like always, I found it almost impossible to put down.

The thing about this book that I found so fascinating was the way she focused on the psychologically damaged children. How sad that this happens to children over time, or they are born with it. I felt such sympathy for Victoria as I have been in a similar situation and can't imagine having to choose between my two children, even if my living situation with one of them was the nightmare that she dealt with - even with the little rays of sunshine, how do you keep your sanity?

Turn to Danielle..a past of her own that 25 years later still haunts her. Part of the problem is that she hasn't fully disclosed all the details of the night that changed her life, and what really was going on with her and her father. But, it is coming up on the anniversary and when two detectives arrive at her job to discuss a previous ward of the unit where she works she has a feeling it has started again.

D.D. Warren is a Seargant for the police department, and when she is pulled away from a date to a crime scene she knows it must be bad. And it is - a whole family dead, the father clinging to life. But, did the father really do it? It is unclear and when he dies they have to work even harder to try and put the pieces together. When less than 48 hours later a similar crime is committed, they have wonder...is there a connection here? What are the odds that these are two unrelated crimes that just happen to have the same MO?

This story is told alternating between the three women, but flows effortlessly. The story gripped me from the start - no easing in on this one. But, that was ok because it was like a train picking up speed and by the end I literally couldn't read fast enough to find out what was going to happen next. Highly recommended!

(I would give this 4 1/2 stars but can't on Amazon)

Live to Tell: A Detective D. D. Warren Novel Feature

ISBN13: 9780553807240
Condition: New
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Live to Tell: A Detective D. D. Warren Novel Overview

He knows everything about you—including the first place you’ll hide.

On a warm summer night in one of Boston’s working-class neighborhoods, an unthinkable crime has been committed: Four members of a family have been brutally murdered. The father—and possible suspect—now lies clinging to life in the ICU. Murder-suicide? Or something worse? Veteran police detective D. D. Warren is certain of only one thing: There’s more to this case than meets the eye.

Danielle Burton is a survivor, a dedicated nurse whose passion is to help children at a locked-down pediatric psych ward. But she remains haunted by a family tragedy that shattered her life nearly twenty-five years ago. The dark anniversary is approaching, and when D. D. Warren and her partner show up at the facility, Danielle immediately realizes: It has started again.

A devoted mother, Victoria Oliver has a hard time remembering what normalcy is like. But she will do anything to ensure that her troubled son has some semblance of a childhood. She will love him no matter what. Nurture him. Keep him safe. Protect him. Even when the threat comes from within her own house.

In New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner’s most compelling work of suspense to date, the lives of these three women unfold and connect in unexpected ways, as sins from the past emerge—and stunning secrets reveal just how tightly blood ties can bind. Sometimes the most devastating crimes are the ones closest to home.

Live to Tell: A Detective D. D. Warren Novel Specifications

Lisa Gardner Interviews Detective D.D. Warren

Lisa Gardner: D.D.--What do you find most fascinating/frustrating about working with the new guy, crime scene expert Alex Wilson?
D.D.: Alex seems sharp. Knows his blood spatter--I respect that in a guy. ‘Course, he’s been teaching at the Academy, which is one thing, while we’re now standing in a Dorchester home with five dead and carnage in every room. I don’t want lectures, I want results. This was a family--according the neighbors, even a nice family who seemed to actually like one another. Until, of course, the father snapped and killed them all. Or did he? These are the kinds of questions I gotta ask, and Prof Alex better be ready to answer.

LG: When did you know you were going to have your own novel?
D.D.: First time I walked on scene in Alone. Please, I’m five times tougher than fellow detective Bobby Dodge and twenty times smarter. Plus, I look damn good in Jimmy Choos. Let’s see the former sniper do my job in my heels, then we’ll talk.

LG: What's the most difficult case you've ever had to handle? Why?
D.D.: These past two family homicides. For one thing, any crime involving kids wrecks you a little. For another...I don’t believe in coincidence. Here are two families, totally different neighborhoods, socioeconomics, lifestyles, etc., yet they both wind up the same way, dead. Now, what are the odds of two totally different fathers going whacko in exactly the same way? I don’t believe it, but my boss isn’t into gut feel. All comes down to evidence. I would like some. Really, it would be nice right about now. Yo, Alex...

LG: What is the thing you love most about being a Boston P.D. Sergeant?
D.D.: Being in charge, calling all the shots, being the boss. Did I mention being in charge?

LG: What's on your nightstand? What's in the drawer?
D.D.: On my nightstand--back issue of the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin I keep meaning to read. In the drawer--emergency stash of chocolate, couple of condoms (don’t I wish), and a Kindle loaded up with the latest J.R. Ward steamy hot, seriously action-packed vampire novel. Tell anyone, and they will never find your body.

LG: Favorite food?
D.D.: I’ve always been partial to Italian. Which my squadmate Phil, told Alex all about. Now, Alex claims to be a serious Italian cook--apparently his mother is a Capozzoli and they know their Bolognese. A little wine, a little homemade pasta, a little tiramisu. All I gotta do is pick up the phone, tell him a time and date...one phone call. How hard can that be? One little call.

LG: You drive that butch police car all day. What's your idea of a dream ride?
D.D.: Walking on a beach. No car, no pager, no shoes. Just me, the wind, the waves and the cry of the gulls. I’d probably go nuts within minutes, but it would be nice to give peace a chance.

LG: Can you ever see yourself partnering successfully with another cop? Or are you the quintessential lone wolf?
D.D.: Excuse me, I love my squad and my squad loves me. Neil is one of the finest detectives around, plus better him than me viewing all the autopsies. And Phil--hey, family man, great wife, four kids, works in homicide to escape the violence. Gotta love Phil. They have my back and I have theirs. Life is good.

LG: I'm a woman traveling alone, staying in a hotel. What are your top three tips to keep me safe from psychos?
D.D.: Most hotel crimes have to do with property theft. Unfortunately, a guest walking in on a burglary, or a thief breaking in assuming the room’s vacant only to find a guest present, can lead to violence. Thus, your best defense is to always use the deadbolt, and always advertise when you’re “home,” so to speak.

Bolt all locks anytime you’re in the room and hang out the Do Not Disturb Sign
Double-check door is closed and latched (failures happen more than you think)
Try to avoid staying in rooms closest to the elevators and/or stairs--these rooms are more frequently targeted by thieves as the location allows for quick getaways.

LG: Do you have any scars?
D.D.: Maybe, but you should see the other guy. Give as good as you get, that’s always been my motto.

LG: What's the most you've ever spent on a pair of shoes? Describe!
D.D.: Silver sequined Jimmy Choos, on sale 0. Should never have bought them, but they’re really pretty and when I wear them, I don’t look like a cop, walk like a cop, or think like a cop. How does that commercial go...? Oh yeah, priceless.

LG: If you had to: dog or cat?
D.D.: No! Never! Don’t even think it!

LG: Tell me something I don't know about you.
D.D.: I like mobiles. Don’t ask me why. But there’s something cool about looking up and watching the various shapes and colors slowly twist around. Sometimes, after a really bad day, I go home, close my eyes and create mobiles in my head--maybe one with bright origami animals, or another with silver geometric shapes. I let them go round and round, til finally I can sleep. Then when I wake up, I’ll know something critical about the crime--a piece of the puzzle I missed the day before, a clue I’d overlooked. I think it’s from focusing on patterns. That’s what crimes are, really--very violent patterns that a good detective must deconstruct, then rebuild in her head.

LG: Worst crime scene?
D.D.: The mummified remains of six girls on the grounds of the abandoned mental institute in Mattapan. Never saw anything like it, never want to again. Funny, that was Bobby Dodge’s first case as a detective (Hide)--got him a wife, and now a baby girl. But he never talks about it, and neither do I. Sometimes, finding justice for the victims isn’t enough, but it’s all we got. So a good detective walls it up, puts a Do Not Disturb Sign on that section of memory and walks away. Gotta in this job, or you’ll go mad.

LG: What do you wish you knew five years ago?
D.D.: Can a working woman have it all? Five years ago, I sweated my job. I worried I wasn’t working smart enough, closing cases fast enough. Now, I sweat my entire life. Am I working too hard? Missing out on other parts of life? Maybe I should take Alex up on his offer of homemade alfredo, except can I really be the detective I need to be, while trying to be the girlfriend I’d like to be? Can’t figure it out. So I wish that I’d realized five years ago, how good I had it. That focusing only on my policing career was a luxury I’d never have again. Spoken like a true workaholic, huh?

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Customer Reviews

A spine tingling suspense - DK's Reviews -
Live to Tell: A Detective D. D. Warren NovelI must say that I really enjoyed this book. I haven't read any of Lisa Gardner's books before and OMG what a great suspense. I felt that this book was very well written and has great details and wonderful characters. I was drawn into this story from the very beginning and it just kept getting better and better. There are parts that just make your skin crawl with the details of some of the things she describes. You get caught up in this story and feel as if you are there and that is one of the things I like about this book. Another thing I like about this book is it has many twists and turns and I didn't have it figured out in the first two chapters. This story keeps you thinking and on the edge of your seat and then at the end of the story I just had to think about what a great mind she must have to come up with a story like this.

True pageturner - Jodi - Georgia
So I don't know D.D. Warren; never bought any previous books. That is not the central character, though, as fully developed, likeable and tough as Ms. Gardner makes her, the true characters in the book are the narrators. Those are Danielle, who works as a nurse at a child psych ward, and Victoria, the recently divorced mother of a psychopath who is only eight years old. The chapters that features their narrations were the best of the book. Their emotions were well-rounded, and they kept the story so tragic and so horrifying that I wanted to comfort them so badly. The chapters that featured the police investigations were great, and the book kept me guessing as to not only who the killer was, but certainly why they did it. Gardner tied up a lot of loose ends, and it made for such an intriguing story that I just could not put it down. Well done!

Can't put it down! - Mary Jo DiBella - Rochester, New York USA
This is a story of something we all see on the news, but which families and society in general are ill-equipped to handle. To describe it in detail would, I think, constitute a spoiler, but we've all seen it and we all react with horror and consternation.

There are several stories here but they all tie together. The prologue describes the annihilation of an entire family except one single survivor, a child. The family has clearly been murdered by the father, but there's more to this story than meets the eye.

Fast forwarc to the current day and other families are dying, again apparently at the hands of the fathers...but why all of a sudden are entire families being murdered? What, if anything, do these families have in common?

I don't want to give spoilers so I won't say more, but I will say that I literally could not put this book down. That's not unusual for books from this author, who always writes a tightly gripping thriller.

Read it when you have a bit of time to spare, because once you start you will not want to do anything else until you finish.

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Tuesday, August 24, 2010