Sunday, January 24, 2021

REVIEW: Before She Disappeared by Lisa Gardner


Before She Disappeared 

by Lisa Gardner

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Released on 1/19/21


From #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner, a propulsive thriller featuring an ordinary woman who will stop at nothing to find the missing people that the rest of the world has forgotten


Frankie Elkin is an average middle-aged woman, a recovering alcoholic with more regrets than belongings. But she spends her life doing what no one else will--searching for missing people the world has stopped looking for. When the police have given up, when the public no longer remembers, when the media has never paid attention, Frankie starts looking.


A new case brings her to Mattapan, a Boston neighborhood with a rough reputation. She is searching for Angelique Badeau, a Haitian teenager who vanished from her high school months earlier. Resistance from the Boston PD and the victim's wary family tells Frankie she's on her own--and she soon learns she's asking questions someone doesn't want answered. But Frankie will stop at nothing to discover the truth, even if it means the next person to go missing could be her.

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My Audiobook Review:
 

I have been a huge fan of Lisa Gardner for years now… possibly even a decade. I have eagerly awaited her DD Warren and Quincy’s books over time. I was really excited to see her releasing a standalone story. I found Frankie to be a great lead. I was rooting for her to unravel everything, if not to find them, then for her own piece of mind. Something to quite those dreams and nerves. I really, like really, appreciated that Gardner didn’t just make her independently wealthy for to make things easier. She gives us a broke heroine that doesn’t have her life together at all. It’s refreshing to that instead of doing what could make the story easier. I applaud her for taking a harder road there.

I found myself quickly immersed in the story of the missing girl(s). I’m used to putting the story together piece by piece and I usually have most of it together by halfway through. That didn’t happen with Before She Disappeared. I felt like I was missing so much until that last like 8%. Then I had most of it together but still not all of it. Lardner much have put this story together piece by piece because it was layered like a complex puzzle. I can’t thank her enough for working my mind and stretching my imagination! I know this is supposed to be a standalone but I wouldn’t mind learning more about Frankie and all the secondary characters. It feels like they all have some skeletons in their closets.

Hillary Huber was amazing as the narrator for this entire book. She did change her voice, she did other languages, she did accents. Amazing in my opinion. I felt she sounded authentic and I was pleasantly surprised when she was really able to step into the characters shoes and just portray them. I looked her up, she wasn’t a name I clearly recognized but she seemed kind of familiar. Sure enough, I’ve listened to several audiobooks she’s narrated. I’d happily listen to another audiobook narrated by Miss Huber.

Thank you Brilliance Publishing for the complimentary copy of this audiobook with the hope that I would leave an Unbiased Opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that... my opinions.


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About the author:

Lisa Gardner, a #1 New York Times bestselling thriller novelist, began her career in food service, but after catching her hair on fire numerous times, she took the hint and focused on writing instead. A self-described research junkie, she has transformed her interest in police procedure and criminal minds into a streak of internationally acclaimed novels, published across 30 countries. She’s also had four books become TV movies (At the Midnight Hour; The Perfect Husband; The Survivors Club; Hide) and has made personal appearances on TruTV and CNN.

Lisa’s books have received awards from across the globe. Her novel, The Neighbor, won Best Hardcover Novel from the International Thriller Writers, while also receiving the Grand Prix des Lectrices de Elle in France. She was also recognized with the Daphne du Maurier Award in 2000 for The Other Daughter. Finally, Lisa received the Silver Bullet Award from the International Thriller Writers in 2017 for her work on behalf of at-risk children and the Humane Society.

For a bit of fun, Lisa invites her readers to enter the annual “Kill a Friend, Maim a Buddy” Sweepstakes at LisaGardner.com. Every year, one Lucky Stiff is selected to meet a grand end in Lisa’s latest novel. Past winners have nominated spouses, best friends and even themselves.

Lisa lives in New Hampshire where she spends her time with an assortment of canine companions. When not writing, she loves to hike, garden, snowshoe and play cribbage.

 

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