Intriguing story. There was a bit of foul language, but mostly fit the role of the characters and was infrequently used. Well written, and kept me on my toes trying to keep up with all the twists and turns. ( )

Crash & Burn
3.5 Stars

On a dark and deserted stretch of road in a raging storm, Nicole Frank not only survives a horrendous crash, but manages to climb a ravine in search of help for the young girl she insists was in the car with her. However, a subsequent search yields no sign of the missing child, and Detective Sergeant Wyatt Foster is even more baffled when Nicky's husband explains that she suffers from confusion as a result of a rare brain injury. So who is Nicky and why did her car go off the road? Are her recent accidents random or is someone trying to kill her?

An intriguing premise with likable characters. Unfortunately, the pacing is problematic; the twists and turns are predictable and there is little to no progression for Tessa's character.

To begin with, this is classified as book #3 in the Tessa Leoni series. However, Tessa's actual role in the story is minimal at best and most of the narrative is presented from Wyatt Foster's 3rd person POV with some chapters from Nicky Franks 1st person POV.

The mystery revolving around the search for a missing girl and the revelations stemming from the investigation into Nicky's past are very compelling. That said, most of the details that emerge are quite obvious, and the pacing is choppy with excessive internal musings and unnecessary repetition of plot points.

In terms of Tessa's personal storyline, she is now in a relationship with Wyatt and readers are given no information on how this came about following the events of the previous book. There is also a possible threat to her now peaceful life, but this is completely underdeveloped and as Gardner has not announced whether the series will be continuing, the reader is left up in the air.

On a final note, the dual male/female narration of the audiobook is alright although the male narrator sounds childish when narrating the female characters and often comes across as condescending.

All in all, an entertaining psychological thriller, but not one of Gardner's better works. ( )

Following a car accident on a dark, wet road in the Northern Woods of New Hampshire, we meet Nicky Frank, whose only thought is to find her little girl, Vero. But no trace can be found for a second person, including by an intrepid police dog. Sergeant Wyatt Foster is called in to discover that Nicky is on her third concussion over the past six months and suspects her husband, Thomas. Lots of twists, especially Frank and Nicky's mysterious past and constant movement. An okay read, but way too much "Vero wants to fly" and too long to get to the end, which was not as satisfying as other books Lisa Gardner has written. She is better than this one. ( )

I have been a fan of Lisa Gardner for some time now and although this is the third book in the Tessa Leone series it is the first one that I have read. I don't feel like I was at a disadvantage by not having read the prior books, as that is the beauty of Lisa Gardner - it's not so much that the story carries on, it is just that the main character links the books together. Crash & Burn must have one of the best first sentences I have seen for a long time; it starts with the sentence "I died once." immediately drawing the reader in and giving me goosebumps in the process.

The story starts with Nicky waking in a hospital bed with scant recollection of what has happened to her. All she can think of is the mysterious Vero and I could feel her distress creeping out of the pages like curling tendrils of smoke as she wondered what had happened to her. As officers investigate the car accident that brought Nicky into the hospital, there is no sign of anybody else being in the car at the time of the accident. So who exactly is Vero and what has happened to her?

The way the story evolves made me question not only Nicky's sanity but her very identity. There is a lot of mystery surrounding her and her husband so my mind was working overtime as it tried to figure things out. I got some things right and other things way wrong! Although I didn't think this was one of Lisa Gardner's best books, it was a satisfying twisty story with a good amount of surprises.

Crash & Burn tied my brain in knots as I tried to work out the story but, with Lisa Gardner pulling the punches, you really can expect the unexpected.

I received this book from the publisher, Headline, via Bookbridgr in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Too much "wahh wahh waaah" from the main character. Author worked too hard to make her "crazy". There was a twist or two in the story, so that was good. It is a solid 3* story, overall. Bit less "crazy" and it might have made it to 3.5 stars. This is the first and only Gardner book I have read... I would read another. I see that it is book 3 in a Tessa series - I didn't know that from reading the actual book, and Tessa is only a minor character in this book... there is no indication that she has two other books behind her. ( )