Their investigation take them to a small town deep in the hills of Georgia where something seems to be deeply wrong.
What at first seems like a Gothic eeriness soon hardens into something much more sinister as they discover that for all the evil Jacob committed while alive, his worst secret is still to be revealed. Quincy and D.D. must summon their considerable skills and experience to crack the most disturbing case of their careers - and Flora must face her own past directly in the hope of saving others.
Let's state one thing first : Lisa Gardner is my favourite thriller author. I've read all her books, and I mean *all* her books, even those written under the name Alicia Scott. Yes, huge devoted fan here. What appeals me most are her female characters : whether they are good, they are evil, they are in between, they're not perfect, but they are strong and can hold their own. They're not there merely for decoration, not one bit ! I also love how every time, the victims tell their story, you see things from their point of views, not the one of the investigators.
This is #11 in the D.D. Warren series and Flora Dane has appeared before, since she was rescued by Kimberly in #8. I think it's better if you've read books 8, 9 and 10 to get the full grip of everything that's going on, but other people have read When you see me first and haven't been bothered. There are enough information there to proceed without problems, and Flora isn't the only victim here, a new young girl tells part of her story.
The real difficulty with this young girl is that she has been hurt by a gun shot and has lost all possibility of speech, for ever. How do you tell your story, how do you call for help, how do you make people see that all is not as perfect as it appears to be ? People say she's stupid and she has even lost her name in the process...
The other good point with this novel is how appearances can be deceiving, how a frightening man can be approachable, how a peaceful, quaint little town can be the home of horrors.
I loved how things turned out for Flora, even unexpected things that I thought she could never live with, I loved that I couldn't put this book down and finished it as quickly as I could - in one day, while thinking about it while I worked and would have rather been reading instead ! Lisa Gardner's novels are absolutely gripping, compelling, they speak about situations that seem normal at first yet turn people's lives inside out for ever. My mother used to work in a shelter for children and she told me things that I recognize in those books.
The only bad point ? Now that I've read this book on the day it was released, I have to wait one year - one year ! - for the next to be published !!!
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