Live to Tell

Read: February 2018
Rating: 5/5 stars (best of 2018)

The plot: Gardner tells this story from three different perspectives; our main character D.D. Warren, and two secondary female characters. Danielle was the sole survivor of the massacre of her family when she was nine years old and Victoria is a single mother living with her extremely psychologically disturbed eight year old son.

I loved this book and I read it at exactly the right time, as I've recently been reading with interest the news story of a young boy who wouldn't stop screaming during an eight hour flight and was secretly recorded by another passenger on that flight. It prompted a lot of debate online as to what the mother could've/should've done to better control her child, show more whether the passenger was morally or ethically wrong to film the child, and whether passengers would be willing to pay more to guarantee a child-free flight (children being classified by airlines as those aged twelve and under.)

Gardner uses Live to Tell to explore the difficult topic of children who, for a number of reasons, are deemed 'uncontrollable' by mainstream society. Some may have been abused or witnessed trauma and don't know how to process their emotions. Others may have been born to caring and loving parents who want the best for their children but for whatever medical or psychological reason, the child finds it impossible to behave or interact in 'normal' ways with the outside world. The parts of the story where D.D and Danielle meet at the hospital ward and discuss the various children and their coping mechanisms while under the care of the ward were some of the most interesting parts for me. The overarching murder mystery was also gripping and I was surprised by the way the three narratives ended up fitting together to reveal the killer. I really enjoyed this book. show less

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher, and immediately put everything else aside because I've heard such amazing things about Lisa Gardner and her D.D. Warren series. And I wasn't disappointed. This is a great read, with lots of suspense and surprises - a real up-all-nighter. It kept me guessing and doubting and reevaluating right up to the final pages.

I won't say too much about the plot, since the book hasn't actually been released yet. I'll just say the story involves several different crimes which may or may not be related, and it's told from several different points of view. Gardner handles all this shifting around between characters very adroitly, so that it never becomes confusing or annoying. In fact, one of show more the things I loved about the book is the way you get to see its main protagonist, police Sergeant Detective Warren, through the eyes of one of the other characters, in addition to that all-seeing narrator.

Of course, Warren herself is not the most appealing of literary heroines. She's very rough around the edges, with many not-so-endearing foibles and character flaws. She also has a way with suspects and possible suspects that would probably land an actual real-life police detective in very hot water. I have a feeling if a cop in the real world handled things the way Warren does in this novel, he/she would end up getting sued, suspended, or killed pretty quickly. But it's a real testament to Gardner's superb story-telling that I was perfectly willing to suspend all my disbelief while reading this terrific thriller. show less

Worth reading for its vivid treatment of conduct disorder in an institutional setting (a fictional pediatric care ward in a Boston hospital). Conduct disorder in DSM refers to antisocial behavior in children and adolescents. The patients are limited to children with extreme behaviors. Different etiologies are part of the milieu: brain damage due to an infection during pregnancy, extreme parental neglect, autism spectrum, schizophrenia, etc. Treatment is highly labor intensive using licensed nurses, unlicensed MCs, and drugs like Bendaryl and Atavin. The Pediatric Evaluation Clinic of Boston (PECB, loosely—one hopes – based on the Child Assessment Unit of Cambridge, Mass.) is understaffed (seems quite plausible) but lacks security show more cameras (intentionally) and employs a New Age guru (these seem implausible & might have been tacked on for plot reasons). A number of scenes occur in the ward when acting out (screaming, racing, repetitive actions, vandalism, self-injury) seems to spread through the patients like a wave generated by some contingent action; disturbing enough once but even more disturbing in that it seems to be a regular occurrence. The staff here is very dedicated; burnout and exploitation are not part of this world. Three storylines: the investigators (Sgt Detective D.D. Warren is lead), a divorced mother and her disturbed 8 year old (Victoria Oliver and Evan), and one of the ward nurses (Danielle). Warren has obvious fantasy elements (eats like a horse but doesn’t gain weight; very attractive) but has realistic ally negative traits for a series character who is in policework (obtuse, lacks much psychological insight, unempathetic, eats like a horse). The Victoria-Evan relationship has a strong sense of being an enabler scenario `a la Psycho and Bates Motel, but interestingly the author seems to be far more sympathetic to the Norma Bates character than might be expected; it makes the Psycho relationship a lot more nuanced. Danielle’s backstory is the main driver of the plot. Because she doesn’t want to date a guy two families and an additional disturbed child are murdered, and a third family is kidnapped and menaced. The absurdity of the Danielle story is comparable to the planes of existence universe-view of New Age guru Andrew Lightfoot; it suggests that Gardner doesn’t take the story all that seriously (she apparently has a lottery contest for fan names to be incorporated into the novels). The author’s serious interests were primarily with the institutional environment, the Victoria-Evan battered mom relationship, and the reenactment theme. In addition, some of the loose ends in Danielle’s story may also remind the reader that first person narratives (as with false memories) can be unreliable. show less

I found Lisa Gardner's new book, Live To Tell, difficult to read at times. Not difficult in a negative way, but difficult in that she puts you right in the middle of the action, the broken people, broken children, the death that seems to be everywhere. I could feel the terror as she wrote of the crime scenes, the fear that seem to peek out from every page, the weaknesses of humans as they attempted to find sense in a world where everything seemed lost. When you read this book you will not want to put it down, but you will need a break from standing beside the characters as they fight for their very lives.

Just when you think you have things figured out another twist leaves you spinning. I was hooked by the end of the prologue. I absolutely could not put this book down. From childhood traumas, the pains of motherhood and the shadowy depths of the mentally ill mind Lisa Gardner has woven a thrilling story with memorable characters.

This being the first book I have read by Lisa Gardner; I can say it definitely will not be the last. Though “Live to Tell” is part of the D.D. Detective Warren series, this novel is an independent read. There were some parts that would have been better understood with knowledge from the previous series; however, there was enough information for the current story and just enough to spark my interest to read the other novels in the series.
D.D. Detective Warren works on a case which an entire family is brutally murdered which points to the father, who commits suicide. While she searches for answers, another family fall victim to senseless annihilation. As Detective Warren continues her investigation, she finds the families are show more connected to one hospital and Danielle, a pediatric psych nurse, with a history of her own.
The novel is one you won’t want to put down. The story is filled with suspense and just when you think you figured out who the murderer is, you’re wrong. Gardner did a great job grabbing my attention on the very first page and kept the thrill throughout the book. I am going to add Gardner’s other books to my “bucket list”. show less

In Lisa Gardner’s newest entry into her D. D. Warren series, Live to Tell, D.D. is investigating a brutal and heartbreaking crime. An apparent murder-suicide has occurred in one of Boston’s neighborhoods, and the father, who is a suspect, is barely alive in the ICU. Mostly written off as a murder-suicide, Detective Warren believes that there is more to this case. Investigating this tragedy will bring D.D. to a pediatric psych ward, where she meets Danielle Burton. Danielle is a nurse who specializes in the care of severely disturbed children and is the survivor of a family murder much like the one D.D. is looking into. The anniversary of her family’s violent deaths is fast approaching, and when D.D. and her partner arrive at the show more hospital, Danielle fears the past is being repeated.

One of my personal hallmarks of a successful book is if, after I finish it, it sends me off to google. After completing Live to Tell, I was googling like a mad woman. I found the basis of the book, severe childhood mental illness both frightening and fascinating. We’ve all heard the phrase, “he/she was just born bad”, but I’ve never really thought before what it would mean to have a child with an illness like this. And after reading this novel, I have a newfound respect for the pain a mother must go through when her child looks at her and says in a sweet clear voice, “I’m going to kill you with a knife while you sleep.” Imagine, having to lock up your knives, after counting them to make sure your sweet faced little 7 year old hasn’t taken one. It’s just incomprehensible to me.

I’ve read the first two books in this series, but somehow missed the third one. I enjoy Gardner’s writing and I’ll make an effort to read The Neighbor, the one I missed. I didn’t have any trouble with what was going on, I think this book could stand very well on its own. Every book in the series, builds the characters a bit more, showing us the complex people they are, but never in a “smack us over the head” with it. And like getting to know someone in “real life”, the characters are added to in such a way, that if we miss a book, we can pretty much figure it out as we go along.

Gardner, as usual, never disappoints. Never pedantic or boring, Lisa Gardner knows how to write a good thriller. If you’re a fan of the the genre, Live to Tell is a don’t miss entry! show less