When You See Me, by Lisa Gardner {Book Review + Giveaway}

I seem to be getting myself entangled with quite a few established series books these days….. quite unintentionally. Oi vey. Today, I bring to you another book review, and no surprises for guessing that it’s a thriller…titled, When You See Me.

Synopsis for When You See Me

FBI Special Agent Kimberly Quincy and Sergeant Detective DD Warren have built a task force to follow the digital bread crumbs left behind by deceased serial kidnapper Jacob Ness. And when a disturbing piece of evidence comes to light, they decide to bring in Flora Dane who has personal experience of being imprisoned by Ness.

Their investigations take them to a small town deep in the hills of Georgia where something seems to be deeply wrong.

What at first seems like a Gothic eeriness soon hardens into something much more sinister as they discover that for all the evil Jacob committed while alive, his worst secret is still to be revealed.

Quincy and DD must summon their considerable skills and experience to crack the most disturbing case of their careers – and Flora must face her own past directly in the hope of saving others.

My Review

Characters and Story line

When You See Me is my 2nd Lisa Gardner book, and when I read Never Tell(my first), I hadn’t realised that the book was part of a series. So I was surprised when we revisited characters in this book…..and I needed to seriously jog my memory to remember what I had read in the previous book well over a year ago. Once I started reading though, it felt so familiar.

Flora Dane survived being help captive by Jacob Ness, so when it seems Jacob may be responsible for a body discovered in the Georgia, Flora is ready to help the task force get some answers. I like Flora’s character….she is pained, but strong. She also has so many insecurities and it’s only natural considering everything she’s been through. The team around her, DD Warren and SSA Kimberly….the characters are solid. They are a real support team for her, but they also don’t coddle her, which I liked. Keith….Flora’s friend, is a bit too perfect, but I was rooting for them in this book, to become something more…. Do they, don’t they? You’ll have to read to find out…..

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed Lisa’s writing style….it immediately had me engrossed. I love the humour and the way she tells the story, she just reeks of experience and expert penmanship.  The prologue was immediately gripping and so well written, that I could not turn the pages fast enough to find out what had become of poor little Chiquita….

Lisa also does a great job of creating a very eerie and ominous sort of atmosphere. I felt scared, I held my breath….which is everything you want in a thriller. However, I felt like the bad person was so bad….so evil, that it was almost laughable. That aspect of their personality really distracted me from the story at times. That being said though, I was really invested in the characters and their pain. Bonita, I was so concerned for her and so sad for the life that she had led.

My rating

When You See Me has a Goodreads rating of 4.31 stars out of 5. I’m going to rate it at 3.8 stars. The only thing keeping me from a 4 star rating, I just felt like the antagonist was a bit too much.  There was just so much evil that it seemed to far fetched to me at times. Otherwise, great writing, great plot and I really cannot wait for the next book in this series.

Are you a Lisa Gardner fan? If you’d like a chance to WIN this book and a few others, head to THIS Instagram post where you can choose up to 3 new titles if you win! Huge thanks to Penguin Books SA for sponsoring the books for this giveaway!

Disclaimer: This book was sent to me by Penguin Books SA in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.