Review: Fear Nothing by Lisa Gardner

Title: Fear Nothing   

Author: Lisa Gardner 

Series: Detective DD Warren #7 

Published: January 2014, Dutton Books 

Format: Hardcover, 400 pages 

Source: Publisher  

In #1 New York Times bestseller
Lisa Gardner’s latest pulse-pounding thriller, Detective D. D. Warren
must face a new fear as a serial killer terrorizes Boston.

My name is Dr. Adeline Glen. Due to a genetic condition, I can’t feel pain. I never have. I never will.

The last thing Boston Detective D. D. Warren remembers is walking the
crime scene after dark. Then, a creaking floorboard, a low voice
crooning in her ear. . . . She is later told she managed to discharge
her weapon three times. All she knows is that she is seriously injured,
unable to move her left arm, unable to return to work.

My
sister is Shana Day, a notorious murderer who first killed at fourteen.
Incarcerated for thirty years, she has now murdered more people while in
prison than she did as a free woman.

Six weeks later, a
second woman is discovered murdered in her own bed, her room containing
the same calling cards from the first: a bottle of champagne and a
single red rose. The only person who may have seen the killer: Detective
D. D. Warren, who still can’t lift her child, load her gun, or recall a
single detail from the night that may have cost her everything.

Our
father was Harry Day, an infamous serial killer who buried young women
beneath the floor of our home. He has been dead for forty years. Except
the Rose Killer knows things about my father he shouldn’t. My sister
claims she can help catch him. I think just because I can’t feel pain
doesn’t mean my family can’t hurt me.

D.D. may not be back
on the job, but she is back on the hunt. Because the Rose Killer isn’t
just targeting lone women, he is targeting D.D. And D.D. knows there is
only one way to take him down:

Fear nothing.

My thoughts: Another thriller that hooked me from the opening paragraph and kept me engaged the whole book! I’ve been a fan of Lisa Gardner after first coming across her back in 2010, when asked to review her book, Live To Tell, the 4th book in her Detective DD Warren series. Since then, I’ve read all the books in that series and was eagerly awaiting this latest installment, book 7.

What I love about these books is that these crime thrillers are always fast-paced, with lots of twists and turns. Lisa Gardner creates the most interesting characters – some of the most craziest nut-jobs I’ve ever read about in some cases – and this only seems to enhance the storylines, adding to the suspense and tension, with their nuttiness.

Interestingly enough, this is the second thriller I’ve read this year that explores the concept of nature vs. nurture; Lisa Unger’s In the Blood being the other. In this case, Lisa Gardner questions whether certain things are genetic.  For example, if your father is a serial killer, is there a possibility that
you will develop those tendencies, too? This is a question that haunts Dr. Glen, making her quite a fascinating character.

I loved catching up with DD in this book. Having her injured and thus sidelined added a new dimension to her, making her a more vulnerable character. She needed to rely on others to get things done – not really something she’s accustomed to doing. It will be interesting to see what happens next for DD – this injury was pretty severe. Will she be back to the old DD in the next book or will this affect her career? I guess only time will tell!

Books in this series: 

1. Alone                                     5.  Love You More
2. Hide                                      5.5  The 7th Month
3. The Neighbor                       6.  Catch Me
4. Live to Tell                           7.   Fear Nothing