Love You More

January 17, 2011
Near the start of Thriller Award–winner Gardner's gripping fifth novel featuring Boston PD Sgt. Det. D.D. Warren (after Live to Tell), D.D.'s former partner and one-time lover, Det. Bobby Dodge, of the Massachusetts State Police, asks her to look into what appears to be a clear-cut homicide case. The evidence suggests that Tessa Leoni, a state trooper colleague of Bobby's, shot and killed her abusive husband, Brian Darby, who may have kidnapped her six-year-old daughter, Sophie. But Tessa won't talk about her bruises, her husband, or what might have happened to her child. D.D. examines every detail about the family, while Tessa uses her skills to manipulate the investigation. From Tessa's point of view, we learn about her and Brian's courtship, his affection for Sophie, and how the marriage began to disintegrate. Gardner sprinkles plenty of clues and inventive twists to keep readers off-kilter as the suspense builds to a realistic, jaw-dropping finale. Author tour.

February 1, 2011

In her fifth case (Live to Tell, 2010, etc.), Sergeant Detective D.D. Warren takes on one tough mother.

Tessa Leoni is smart, brave, resourceful and quirky, among other character traits that bring to mind, yes, D.D. Warren, who might well be her mirror image. For instance, Tessa believes unshakably in the doctrine of my way or get lost, convinced that her way has been sanctioned by whatever gods there may be and is consequently the only sensible way out of trouble and strife. She is as stubborn about that kind of thing as D.D. would be under similar circumstances. Tessa, a Massachusetts state trooper, and D.D., a Boston homicide cop, both view law enforcement with high seriousness. In fact, if asked to furnish a list prioritizing life-callings, it's a no-brainer that both women would rank only one item before it: motherhood, which might, curiously enough, bear directly on the instant hostility that newly pregnant D.D. feels for Tessa on first meeting her. This takes place in Tessa's kitchen, where her husband has only recently lain dead, three bullets in his chest. No mystery how they got there. She fired them, Tessa explains, and one look at the severe bruising of her face—a broken cheekbone among other injuries—testifies in her behalf: A battered wife has, with considerable justification, shot her abuser. But where, wonders D.D., is 6-year-old Sophie? What's happened to the daughter everyone says Tessa loves so deeply? And, most importantly, most infuriatingly, why isn't Tessa more eager to help the police search for her? Was it already too late for Sophie? And could Tessa possibly be complicit? The all but unflappable D.D. shudders: "How could a woman...How could a mother..."

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Starred review from January 1, 2011

Tough-gal detective D.D. Warren (Live To Tell) is grappling with her own personal issues when she is assigned to a case that makes her life seem easy. State trooper Tessa Leoni overcame a difficult childhood and alcoholism to become a loving single mom to her daughter, Sophie, and a respected police officer. After three years of marriage to merchant mariner Brian, everything seems to be going great, despite his erratic work schedule. So why is D.D. called to a crime scene where Brian's been murdered, Tessa's nearly beaten to death, and Sophie's missing? Things get even more interesting when Tessa confesses to the murder but has no idea where her daughter is. D.D. knows that Tessa's spinning a web of lies, but getting to the truth will take quite a bit of work. VERDICT Gardner's characters are fully drawn (this reviewer was not even aware that Warren is a series character), and her taut storytelling and dizzying plot will appeal to fans of Harlan Coben. [Author tour; library marketing.]--Rebecca Vnuk, Forest Park, IL

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from January 1, 2011
Detective D. D. Warren of the Boston police and Massachusetts state trooper Bobby Dodge are together again, this time not as lovers but as partners in the investigation of a state trooper who shot and killed her husband. Tessa Leonis bruised face leads to speculation that she retaliated when her husband hit her. But theres a lot that doesnt fit the model, not the least of which is the disappearance of the couples six-year-old daughter, Sophie. Could Tessa, by all accounts an exemplary officer and an exceptionally devoted mother, have shot her husband three times in the chest and then killed her own child? If so, where is Sophies body? Just when D. D. thinks she has it all figured out, a curious new piece of the puzzle emerges. Gardner deftly entwines the stories of the two women officersone, newly pregnant, charged with solving a strange case; the other a mother who, as it turns out, would do anything to protect her child. Having already produced a dozen successful thrillers, Gardner proves herself not only a very clever storyteller here, capable of pulling together a complicated series of events, but also a writer able to invest her characters (particularly her female ones) with emotional substance. Compelling and unexpected, this tale of mystery and maternal devotion shows Gardner at her very best. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Winner of the 2010 International Thriller Award for The Neighbor, Gardner hits an even higher mark this time and will have a national marketing campaignauthor tour, TV advertising, online saturation bombing, etc.to support her.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)