Book review: Gardner's series characters work together in 'When You See Me'

"When You See Me" by Lisa Gardner; Dutton; 397 pages

In Lisa Gardner's "When You See Me," the discovery of a buried body brings together Boston Sergeant Detective D.D. Warren, FBI Special Agent Kimberly Quincy and Flora Dane, who escaped from a sexual predator years earlier, to work together to solve a cold case.

The first discovery is found just off a popular hiking area in the Georgia hills near the Appalachian Trail. When the victim is identified as a missing woman who was believed to have been abducted by the same man who kidnapped Flora, it sends the three women to the area to investigate. Soon other bodies are found, and the evidence leads to them questioning their theory that the man who took Flora was responsible. Is there another serial killer at large?

The small-town mentality of the local law enforcement task force proves to be an obstacle. And while Flora searches for answers for closure to her experiences, Warren and Quincy track down clues once the buried bodies are identified. While they are pursuing justice for these victims, there is another voiceless victim who needs their help, and she's quite alive. When she was younger, she was taken after a traumatic experience and now cannot speak and lives in constant fear. Her goal is to somehow escape with Warren's help without alerting the man holding her captive. Now can she can work up the courage to actually do it?

Lisa Gardner is a master of the psychological thriller that dives deep into the minds of characters that experience trauma and come out stronger from the experience. It's a pleasure to have her three series characters working together in the pursuit of justice, and the case they are trying to solve provides insight into the inner workings of how law enforcement finds answers in such horrible circumstances.