‘A master of the thriller genre’ David Baldacci
‘Full-on action’ Sunday Times
‘The very definition of the word "unputdownable"' Tess Gerritsen
‘Masterful. Not to be missed’ Karin Slaughter
‘This thriller has enough twists and turns to make you dizzy. If you haven’t read Frankie Elkin yet, start now!’ Lisa Scottoline
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Missing persons specialist Frankie Elkin is on an isolated island off the coast of Hawaii.
Her mission: to find Lani, the missing sister of a Death Row serial killer known as the Beautiful Butcher who is awaiting execution in just three weeks’ time.
According to the Beautiful Butcher’s sources, Lani is being held captive by her millionaire ex-boyfriend on the island. The only way to gain access is for Frankie to go undercover.
But can Frankie really trust the word of a serial killer?
Plus, this island is no paradise with deadly creatures and suspicious co-workers at every turn, and an incoming tropical storm about to cut her off from the outside world.
Could this be Frankie Elkin’s most dangerous case yet?
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STILL SEE YOU EVERYWHERE is the third book in Lisa Gardner's Frankie Elkin series. I have read the author before but not this series, but found myself right at home from the start. The setup is the traditional detective novel, very familiar, but with a twist. Think The Big Sleep - the detective, Philip Marlowe, visits a prospective client, who wants him to find a missing person, Rusty Regan - immediately you know where you are. Here we have Frankie Elkin, unlicensed and self-driven missing persons investigator, visiting a prospective client, and being asked to find her missing sister. However, in this case, the client is a serial killer, a woman on death row for the murder of 18 men, who wants Frankie to find the sister she lost touch with 12 years ago, whom she believes is being held captive by a tech millionaire, The Beautiful Butcher's ex, on an isolated island in the Pacific.
So, we have echoes of The Big Sleep, The Silence of the Lambs, Glass Onion, perhaps a bit of Jack Reacher in our nomadic central character. We also have an intriguing protagonist in Frankie Elkin, and a talented author in Lisa Gardner, who takes these familiar elements and builds a singular, unusual and pulse-pounding thriller, which bears comparison to the influences. I liked Frankie a lot. She is driven by a need to fight for those forgotten, or ignored, by the traditional authorities, witty and funny, yet full of self-doubt and uncertainty. The plot is full of twists, keeping the reader guessing right until the end. The supporting characters are rounded and interesting, and some of their backstories could make for very readable novels themselves. Lisa Gardner's prose is excellent and makes you want to continue reading, her dialogue is realistic and natural. Above all, her research is incredible, and used to flesh out the story rather than being an information dump. Nothing I learned pulled me out of the exciting events but, later, I was inspired to learn more about Pacific atolls, and disturbing coconut crabs, and wolf spiders, and pirate treasure (yes, pirate treasure...)
I thoroughly enjoyed STILL SEE YOU EVERYWHERE and will be exploring Frankie's other adventures. Thanks to Century Books UK, Compulsive Readers and, of course, Lisa Gardner for the opportunity to take part in the BlogTour.
