Bea Reviews Crash & Burn by Lisa Gardner

Publisher: Dutton
Series: Tessa Leoni #3
Format Read: eGalley
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: February 3, 2015
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | OmniLit* | Barnes & Noble |
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Blurb from goodreads:

The #1 New York Times bestselling author’s latest stand-alone thriller, with a cameo by her fan-favorite character, Boston Detective D.D. Warren

My name is Nicky Frank. Except, most likely, it isn’t.

Nicole Frank shouldn’t have been able to survive the car accident, much less crawl up the steep ravine. Not in the dark, not in the rain, not with her injuries. But one thought allows her to defy the odds and flag down help: Vero.

I’m looking for a little girl. I have to save her. Except, most likely, she doesn’t exist.

Sergeant Wyatt Foster is frustrated when even the search dogs can’t find any trace of the mysterious missing child. Until Nicky’s husband, Thomas, arrives with a host of shattering revelations: Nicole Frank suffers from a rare brain injury and the police shouldn’t trust anything she says.

My husband claims he’ll do anything to save me. Except, most likely, he can’t.

Who is Nicky Frank, and what happened the night her car sailed off the road? Was it a random accident or something more sinister given the woman’s lack of family and no close friends? The deeper Wyatt digs, the more concerned he becomes. Because it turns out, in the past few months, Nicky has suffered from more than one close accident. . . . In fact, it would appear someone very much wants her dead.

This is my life. Except, most likely, it’s not. Now watch me crash and burn. blah

Bea's Thoughts:


LOVED IT!  Amazing, awesome, wonderful.

Oh my gosh, I freaking loved this book. (You probably figured that out huh? :D) I wanted to gobble it up but at the same time I wanted to go slow and savor it. I expect I'll need to re-read it because there's so much going on and I'm sure I missed details and nuances. I don't think I've read Gardner before but she's got me now. Oh yeah, she's got me. According to my goodreads shelves, I read a book by Gardner and only gave it 2 stars. I didn't write a review and the blurb is not familiar so I don't recall what I didn't like. But I loved Crash & Burn and that's good enough for me.

So, when this book started I thought I knew where it was going. It didn't take long before I was disabused of that notion. Holy hell, this was a twisty, complicated story. Gardner crafted a story that's deliciously complex and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Our heroine/victim/murder suspect Nicky has suffered multiple concussions in a short period of time and has memory loss. As her recall grows, facts and perspectives keep changing. Truths, half-truths, buried truths, lies, and partial lies, we're never quite sure what's real. Now that could have been a confusing, jumbled mess but Gardner weaves it all together in a tight story that's as much character study as it is mystery. It's not an action packed story, it's very much character driven. Nicky is sympathetic though far from perfect; her husband Thomas is arrogant, protective, and caring. He may also be trying to kill her. Or is he? The story is like looking through a kaleidoscope; turn it one way, you get one picture, but turn it slightly and it all changes. Wyatt, the lead police officer, is suspicious, cautious, and determined. His love, Tessa, is an investigator with a private firm, who gets entangled in the case. Although this was the third book in the series, I had no trouble jumping in and I'm curious about Tessa; I want to know more.

 I was fascinated and captivated from the start and never lost interest. As I said earlier, I kept reading, racing to see what the next revelation would be but I'd also stop, for just a few minutes to savor, enjoy, and think about some of the topics Gardner brought up. She tackles family, duty, memory, happiness, how well you can ever truly know someone, all wrapped up in a story that wasn't just engrossing but utterly enthralling.

From my own perspective...what is memory? What do any of us truly know about the past?...But as I think Sergeant Wyatt can attest from several days in my company, truth can be relative, the mind a fickle beast. What I think I know, and what I actually know...

Towards the end, things started to get a little predictable but the story as a whole was marvelous, and damn good.