Reason for Reading: I am reading this series but started with book #3, since my sister had the first book it was the perfect opportunity to catch up with the series. Having read books 3-5 of this series it was a little strange going back to the first book as D.D. Warren is only a very minor character who is only introduced halfway through the book. Obviously, this book did not start out to be the "D.D. Warren" series. Instead the main character is Bobby Dodge, police sniper, who in the later books is D.D.'s partner. Bobby is called out to an intense domestic scene where shots fired have been reported and he makes his first on the job kill. The woman whose life he has saved turns out to be not only a woman in trouble but trouble herself. Bobby is investigated by Internal Affairs to see if his shot was righteous but the dead man's affluent parents file a civil suit against him for murder. While they also file against the widow for custody of the one grandchild whom they've accused of being mistreated by his mother. Bobby gets wrapped up in the widow's life and finds himself embroiled in the middle of a complicated case where people close to the widow start to be violently killed off, one after another. A very intricate plot with plenty of different angles from which to switch back and forth. The character of Bobby is given a complete background and since having read other books in the series it was interesting to get to know him so much better. A compelling story that deals with multiple themes: police procedural, SWAT teams, serial killer, child kidnapping and murder for hire. All these rolled into one make for an entertaining, detailed plot that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It was quite strange to find D.D. hardly fleshed out as a character though and it will be interesting to see how the second book plays out the situation so that D.D. becomes the star of the series by book 3, leaving Bobby as the second fiddle. I would have enjoyed this even more if I hadn't read it out of order, something I try not to do too often with series.

ALONE by Lisa Gardner My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this novel. It had a lot of twist and turns and stuff going on behind the scenes that leaves you a little clueless for a while, but that's not a bad thing. I liked the characters, they were complex and unique. I love books that have "side stories", usually related to the past, and ALONE did not disappoint in that area. I had myself guessing back and forth what I thought of certain characters - good? bad? victim? predator? It was a fine line, and I think it gave a nice overall effect that deepened the characters. I did find myself a bit confused as all the secret mysteries revealed themselves, seemingly all at once, it was hard to keep them straight. But, most of the things I was questioning got sorted out, and there were some very interested developments that kept my attention. However, I did find myself with some unanswered questions, it felt a little unfinished, but I think that was the way it was meant to be, some of the characters just swarmed themselves in secrets. All in all, ALONE was a great suspense novel, and I'm very curious to see how the rest of Detective D.D. Warren series plays out. Overall Opinion: B+ Check out my blog for more info about this book, including my favorite quotes - http://kaylasbookcase.blogspot.com/ :)

Twist & Turns included,A Fast read with a really different story & lots of action!

You will not be dissapointed in this book. It captures you from the first page. Great characters and suspense throughout. I love all her books but this one is one of my favorites

Another great book by Lisa Gardner. I have read all her works and never been disappointed. Best Mystery suspense and action writer I have come across. You will not be disappointed.

First off, not the book to be listening to if you've got a bad bug and are feeling nauseous. Some graphic content colliding heads with my really off stomach didn't result in a happy moment when this was going. If you've not read Gardner before, she's really worth it - on par with Lisa Scottoline, Kathy Reichs, Tami Hoag and - dare I say it? - Harlen Coben. Her psychological thrillers have extremely rich characters, and rarely does she give you the pat "female victim" role. Her women fight back, fight dirty, and sometimes spend the entire book making you wonder if they're the villain in the first place. "Alone" is about a survivor. Catherine was snatched by a pedophile when she was young, trapped in a dark hole in the ground, and abused for nearly a month. She was found and rescued at random, but has never quite since gotten over her fear of the dark. Years have passed - she has a child, a husband, a life, and now suddenly, things have gone wrong. Bobby, a police SWAT sniper, responds to Catherine's call that her husband has a gun and is threatening the family. In a split second decision, he shoots the husband to save the wife and child. But things aren't at all as simple as they seem - and it might be that someone arranged all of it. Solid thriller, with a mystery as tangled as you can ask for from an author that is very good at so far not growing at all stale with her plot ideas. Even better was the cameo from a "The Perfect Husband" character, which I always like: it lends a sense of continuity and realism to the tale when you bump into other wounded people still going on with their lives. Long story short, go get it, read it, and you'll be just as wrapped up as I was.

I found the first two chapters poorly written, as they had too much detail where it wasn't necessary, and immediately thought I would not enjoy this book. It seemed like somebody did a lot of research on topics and wanted to get it all in the book in one or two chapters. Afterwards, I found myself thoroughly enjoying the book and had trouble putting it down. It certainly kept me guessing as to what the outcome would be. I rated it average, because of the fact that I had to skim through a lot of the first couple of chapters because I got bored with it.

First off, not the book to be reading when you've got a bad bug and are feeling nauseous. I threw up my Rice Crispies late this morning due to some graphic content colliding heads with my really off stomach. If you've not read Gardner before, she's really worth it - on par with Lisa Scottoline, Kathy Reichs, Tami Hoag and - dare I say it? - Harlen Coben. Her psychological thrillers have extremely rich characters, and rarely does she give you the pat female victim role. Her women fight back, fight dirty, and sometimes spend the entire book making you wonder if they're the villain in the first place. Alone is about a survivor. Catherine was snatched by a pedophile when she was young, trapped in a dark hole in the ground, and abused for nearly a month. She was found and rescued at random, but has never quite since gotten over her fear of the dark. Years have passed - she has a child, a husband, a life, and now suddenly, things have gone wrong. Bobby, a police SWAT sniper, responds to Catherine's call that her husband has a gun and is threatening the family. In a split second decision, he shoots the husband to save the wife and child. But things aren't at all as simple as they seem - and it might be that someone arranged all of it. Solid thriller, with a mystery as tangled as you can ask for from an author that is very good at so far not growing at all stale with her plot ideas. Even better was the cameo from a The Perfect Husband charater, which I always like: it lends a sense of continuity and realism to the tale when you bump into other wounded people still going on with their lives. Long story short, go get it, read it, and you'll be just as wrapped up as I was.