Love You More

June 27, 2011
When a Massachusetts State Police trooper shoots and kills her husband, Boston Homicide Det. D.D. Warren sets about figuring out what parts of the trooper's story are true, and, most urgently, where the trooper's missing six-year-old daughter might be. The story is told from two perspectivesâthe detective's and the trooper's. Kirsten Potter reads the narrative for Warren with a strong, bold voice, and Katie MacNichol creates a nicely contrasting youthful, unsure tone for Trooper Leoni, buckling under family and career pressures. Both performers take on other characters with aplomb, male and female alike, and MacNichol's efforts as a young child are especially successful. Gardner's intriguing crime story takes unexpected turns, and the pace, the suspense, and the mystery make for compelling listening. A Bantam hardcover.

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.

Kirsten Potter and Katie MacNichol perfectly depict Detective D. D. Warren of the Boston Police and Massachusetts State Trooper Tessa Leoni, who has confessed to shooting and killing her husband--in self-defense, she says. The case appears perfectly straightforward--except that Tessa's 6-year-old daughter has disappeared. D.D. has her own personal issues as she investigates the murder and soon discovers that family secrets are involved. The narrators' voices consistently match the personalities of the women and the pace of the action. Potter and MacNichol use a thoughtful pace and tone for character exploration and a tone of urgency as the story moves closer to solving the disappearance of Tessa's daughter. The narrators work together to keep listeners engaged with the many plot twists in this police procedural. S.C.A. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine