It takes all of two pages before Love You More grabs you by the throat, squeezes and has you gasping - WTF is going on. A young, pretty, female state trooper, her dead husband seemingly killed by her own hand and her missing six-year-old daughter. If you aren't intrigued by this story, how it's going to unfold and what long time friends State Police Detective Bobby Dodge and Sergeant Detective D.D. Warren have to do with the case...then you are stronger than me. I couldn't wait to see where this complicated case was headed. Love You More is a barn-burning, page-turning, I dare you to try and put me down kinda book. Although D.D. and Bobby appear in several other of Gardner's books (this is their fifth book together), I think it's fair to say this outstanding book can definitely be read as a stand alone. It was great to see D.D. and Bobby Dodge back in the saddle again working a case. D.D. is a great female character. She's a ball-bustin' Boston Cop, smart, a little rough around the edges, but there is no mistaking that she knows how to work a case and get results. Bobby definitely takes a supporting role - this is all the D.D. Warren show. We are also offered just a little glimpse of D.D`s private life as she deals with a huge personal issue at the same time as she's under the gun to solve this case. Love You More is told from two different points of view. Gardner keeps feeding us little scraps of information as told from State Trooper Tessa Leoni's first person point of view. I kept wondering if Tessa Leoni was really fooling everyone but then I went back to those first two pages and kept wondering to myself - WTF is going on in this book. It was clear as the case unfolded that Tessa Leoni was a master planner, a highly skill strategist and at the end of it all, I admired the lengths Leoni went to and the pain and hardship she endured for her daughter. More than anything Tessa loved her daughter Sophie to infinity and beyond. We also get insight into the police investigation from D.D. and Bobby's point of view. We get to see their decisions, the direction the case is headed and the assumptions being made based on the evidence in this very confusing investigation. No one is above suspicion including prime suspect Tessa Leoni and as the case progresses her police co-workers and an old childhood friend. The twists and turned did not stop. It was tense, it was dramatic, it was masterful in it's story-telling and all the pieces of the puzzle lined up like ducks in a row. I had no idea where the story was going and I love when a story takes you on the kind of journey. I wanted so bad to keep reading and was dying to find out what was going to happen next. At one point mid-way through I thought I had a handle on what was going on and was patting myself on the back thinking I was all that and oh soooooooo smart. D'oh I wasn't even close. There is only one thing that I have a quibble about and that is throughout this whole book D.D. has to come to terms with a life changing moment in her life and she needs to tell her current love about the monumental change that is about to affect their lives. I was disappointed that this issue was relegated to about a paragraph with no resolution. No face to face meeting just a quick phone conversation of "Alex...we need to talk". I can only hope and assume that Gardner is planning on dealing with this little bombshell in the next book. This was an amazing book and I think it would make a kick-butt movie. Loved, loved, loved it.

Reason for Reading: Next in the series. I just love Lisa Gardner. She is in that list of my favourite mystery/thriller authors and I know I'm in for a good read when I settle down with one of her books. This time around D.D. and her partner Bobby enter the scene of a woman who has been beaten violently, her husband is dead in front of her and their six-year old daughter is missing. One key piece of information changes this from the usual domestic violence scene, the woman is a state police trooper and is still in full uniform and the three "shoot to kill" gunshots on her husband's chest have D.D. convinced this was not an abused woman defending her life. Most importantly is the search for the missing child, the woman swears she hasn't seen her since she put her to bed the previous night before going to work the night shift but D.D. is more apt to think that State Police Trooper Tessa Leoni may be trying to get away with murdering her entire family. Just as expected this was a heart-pumping, fast-paced read with everything a fan hopes for. An excellent case, the reader knows more than D.D. and the narrative switches between her investigation and Tessa's point of view. It is through Tessa that the truth of what really happened unravels before the readers eye and we watch how D.D. is able to solve the case following the trail of evidence. In this book Tessa is a fabulous character. A determined woman and an even more determined mother who will go to any lengths to save her child. An excellent entry in the series which brings fresh energy as D.D.'s personal life is mostly left in limbo with a small detail that will bring about a huge change in her life in future books. A great read!

Are you a fan of D.D. Warren? If yes,continue to be intrigued by the character. If you haven't read the books about D.D. Warren that is ok. You don't really need to know the full history of the characters as the author provides some information to let you know the history of D.D. and Bobby. The story grabs you and keeps you constantly guessing. Could not put the book down. The author has a way keeping you interested & guessing on the story line.