Book Review: Touch and Go by Lisa Gardner

 

 

ISBN-13: 9780525953074

Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)

Publication date: 2/5/2013

 

Synopsis:

This is my family:  Vanished without a trace…

Justin and Libby Denbe have the kind of life that looks good in the pages of a glossy magazine. A beautiful fifteen-year old daughter, Ashlyn. A gorgeous brownstone on a tree-lined street in Boston’s elite Back Bay neighborhood. A great marriage, admired by friends and family.  A perfect life.

 

This is what I know:  Pain has a flavor…

When investigator Tessa Leoni arrives at the crime scene in the Denbes’ home, she finds scuff marks on the floor and Taser confetti in the foyer.  The family appears to have been abducted, with only a pile of their most personal possessions remaining behind.  No witnesses, no ransom demands, no motive.  Just an entire family, vanished without a trace.

 

This is what I fear:  The worst is yet to come…

Tessa knows better than anyone that even the most perfect façades can hide the darkest secrets.  Now she must race against the clock to uncover the Denbes’ innermost dealings, a complex tangle of friendships and betrayal, big business and small sacrifices.  Who would want to kidnap such a perfect little family?  And how far would such a person be willing to go?

 

This is the truth:  Love, safety, family…it is all touch and go.

Normally when I write a review, I like to write it as soon after reading the book as I can. That way it’s all fresh in my mind.

However, I’ve waited a couple days to write this review because I wanted to let it all sink in. And really, I’m disturbed. Not because I didn’t like the book. I did, very much. But this book was definitely more suspense than romance. And by definition, romance novels have a happily ever after. And I can’t say that this one did, which is why I am disturbed, and why this book received 4 1/2 stars instead of 5.

I hate blog posts with spoilers, so I hate to even say that much about the book. But I want you to know what to expect if you pick up a copy.

This story is about the kidnapping of an entire family. Part of the book is told in third person, and part in first person. It was an interesting mix. The author basically takes us through the dissolution of a family structure and shows us what happens when an already unstable unit gets put through the ringer.

There were parts of this book that made my chest hurt because I felt such empathy for the character. Of course I have never been through what she was going through. But I found myself thinking that if I were going through that, that is exactly how I would feel. The author uses simple, non-dramatic language that allows the emotions of the characters make a direct hit. And I was never bored, the plot kept me reading till the wee hours of the morning.

Again, I want to talk about what happened, but I don’t want to ruin it for you! I did guess who the “bad person” was, but not until very late in the story. And even then, the author had laid enough ground work with other possibilities that I wasn’t entirely sure. Ahhhhh, I wish I could say more. But I won’t. All I will say is, if you like a good suspense story, go buy this book!

If you are looking for something to read this weekend, check it out here:

Touch and Go