The Third Victim

Rating:
Summary: Rivetting and intense!
Review: As a mother it was difficult for me to make it through chapters one and two, they really aren't for the feeble hearted. But once you get past them you won't be able to put the book down. I thought Gardner's first book was the most rivetting, compelling, well-writen, intense, yet disturbing book I'd ever read. She topped it with this one. The plot is intense, rivetting, complex,disturbing, well-crafted, well-written and the ending is impossible to foresee. The characters are well-developed, interesting and unforgetable. You won't be able to put it down once you start reading it!

Rating:
Summary: A small town is shocked by a school shooting spree.
Review: Bakersville, Oregon is the setting for Lisa Gardner's novel, "The Third Victim". Bakersville is a small, sleepy town where nothing much happens and where everyone knows everyone else's business. Police Officer Lorraine Conner, known as Rainie, has a history in Bakersville. Everyone knows that fourteen years ago, Rainie's alcholic mother, who abused Rainie and who was openly promiscuous, was brutally murdered. Townfolk still speculate as to whether Rainie killed her mother, and Rainie has learned to live with the rumors.

Bakersville's peace is shattered when three people, a teacher and two students, are gunned down in the town's elementary school. More shocking, the killer appears to be Danny O'Grady, the thirteen-year-old son of Bakersville's sheriff, Shep O'Grady. Shep had taught Danny a great deal about guns, and apparently, Danny had put this knowledge to use when killing his victims.

Rainie is the primary officer investigating the case and she has conflicting loyalties. She is devoted to Shep, and she would like to help his son, but she is also a peace officer who is sworn to uphold the law. Rainie's life is complicated when federal and state officers get involved in her case. She is romantically attracted to FBI agent Pierce Quincy, a profiler who is assigned to the case. Quincy is a recurring character in Gardner's books.

In "The Other Victim," Gardner tackles some interesting subjects well. She explores the phenomenon of school shootings, including why they occur and what might be done to prevent them in the future. She also deals ably with the subjects of child abuse, marital discord and children's phobias. Rainie is an excellent protagonist, strong yet vulnerable, and her romance with Quincy is engrossing. Most of the characters, including the sheriff and his wife, and the various police officers assigned to the case, are well drawn.

The problem with the book is the perpetrator. Gardener makes the murderer into an omniscient type who pulls the strings of all the characters throughout the book in a way that I found to be unbelievable. The character of the murderer does not ring true and I found the ending to be the weakest part of the book.

However, Gardner's crisp dialogue and her excellent protagonist, Rainie Conner, keep the book moving at a brisk pace, and "The Third Victim" did hold my interest until the end. I recommend this novel for fans of psychological suspense.

Rating:
Summary: It's Hard To Make Fiction As Fascinating As Real Life
Review: Have you ever tried to watch the fictional Gulf War films, or read the fictional books set during it, after having watched it develop live on your television daily? Well, I have and the "real thing" was a lot more gripping. I have also read all the real life followup stories on the Columbine school killings and it is very hard to top those in shattering impact. Gardner does a very good job with a very similar scenario in her novel. You will enjoy reading it but if you've read about Columbine thoroughly, you may find this fictional counterpart pales in comparison. The two main characters are a woman police officer in a small, peaceful town and the male FBI agent called in to help on the case. We actually join the police officer in the school after the shootings and while the killer may still be in the building. It is a very gripping opening. Once the police have a suspect, there are still troubling aspects to the case about whether there was one killer acting alone or more than one. How much the internet was used to set up the shootings must also be investigated. There is a bit of a romantic scenario that is developed between our two main characters but it is a smaller part of the story. I'd recommend this book as a good evening's entertainment. You will blast right through it as it is that kind of book.

Rating:
Summary: Another excellent thriller from Lisa Gardner!
Review: Having read "The Perfect Husband," and "The Other Daughter," I was well ready to pick up "The Third Victim," when I saw it on the shelf in my store. I gobbled the book in a single night, and have to say that this is definitely of higher calibre writing than the other two.

For one, the character depth of the heroine and the villain is much more complex: I was three-quarters of the way through the book and still unsure of who I could trust, who might be the killer, and why this was all happening. Starting with a contemporary ugly reality: the school-shooting slaying of two students and a teacher, this book takes off from there and continues with a semi-manic pace throughout.

Gardner allows you into the mind of the killer without giving who the killer is away, which is a rewarding experience, but it is in Lorraine, a sherrif in the town where the shooting has happened, that the truly good writing occurs. A woman with a somewhat shady past of her own, this shooting may be about her in some way, and it's a great ride finding out just how.

The only quibble I had with the book was the occasional plot wrinkle that made me blink in confusion. There were a few passages I had to read twice to understand - not many, mind you, maybe only twice, but it did call a minor break in my reading.

Regardless of those minor stumbles, grab this book. It's a thriller perfect for those of us that like a healthy mix of mystery tossed in to our edge-of-seat-reading.

'Nathan

Rating:
Summary: Another excellent thriller from Lisa Gardner!
Review: Having read "The Perfect Husband," and "The Other Daughter," I was well ready to pick up "The Third Victim," when I saw it on the shelf in my store. I gobbled the book in a single night, and have to say that this is definitely of higher calibre writing than the other two.

For one, the character depth of the heroine and the villain is much more complex: I was three-quarters of the way through the book and still unsure of who I could trust, who might be the killer, and why this was all happening. Starting with a contemporary ugly reality: the school-shooting slaying of two students and a teacher, this book takes off from there and continues with a semi-manic pace throughout.

Gardner allows you into the mind of the killer without giving who the killer is away, which is a rewarding experience, but it is in Lorraine, a sherrif in the town where the shooting has happened, that the truly good writing occurs. A woman with a somewhat shady past of her own, this shooting may be about her in some way, and it's a great ride finding out just how.

The only quibble I had with the book was the occasional plot wrinkle that made me blink in confusion. There were a few passages I had to read twice to understand - not many, mind you, maybe only twice, but it did call a minor break in my reading.

Regardless of those minor stumbles, grab this book. It's a thriller perfect for those of us that like a healthy mix of mystery tossed in to our edge-of-seat-reading.

'Nathan

Rating:
Summary: I Don't Get It
Review: How did the watcher know Rainie's secrets? Didn't anybody ever wonder what happened to the guy who killed her mother--he had a wife and child. Was he a local man? What did Rainie do with his body when she moved it? How did a man as young as Richard Mann supposedly know so much about what Rainie did? It seemed as if he knew what "really happened", then somebody says that he thought she killed her mother and was disappointed that she didn't. This book didn't make a whole lot of sense. Halfway through it I remembered I had read The Other Daughter, and I didn't like that one either.

Rating:
Summary: If you value your finger nails, don't read this book!!
Review: I had never read Lisa Gardner before, so I had no idea what to expect. I was not disappointed. It had me on the edge of my seat from the very first chapter. I read The Third Victim in one seating, and immediately logged on to Amazon to buy all of her books. This book doesn't pull its punches, it has you gripped until the last page, and leaves you deflated when you've finished. Not for the faint hearted!

Rating:
Summary: Very good, Ms. Gardner - Waiting for another book!
Review: I had not read any of the reviews or blurbs about "The Third Victim" before I read the book. When I was reading it and realized it was about a school shooting, I almost put it down, feeling that we have had enough of this subject in the news, I didn't need to read it in ficton.

I'm very glad I didn't leave it. "The Third Victim" is about so much more than 'another school shooting'. I promise you will never see the news in the same light again.

Another surprise for me, was the author's reference back to "The Perfect Husband". This is not a series book however, the reference is made and dropped. I was also surprised that I remembered the previous book so vividly after reading it more than four years ago. That alone is testament to Lisa Gardner's writing ability.

"The Third Victim" is a well plotted mystery with characters who are flawed, but very real. Once started this book is very hard to put down for annoying things like work and sleep.

Rating:
Summary: What a gripping read!
Review: I have read three of Lisa's other books and this one didn't disappoint me at all. She kept me guessing all throughout the book on the identity of the "real" murderer in the book. Whoo hoo. I love a good guessing game ... and guess what? She doesn't reveal it on the last page either ... so if you're like me and skip to read the last page ~~ the secret isn't out of the bag!

Danny, the sheriff's son was found by Rainie, the local deputy, holding two smoking guns in his hands. There were two girls ~ best friends since childhood laid dead a few feet away. And the computer teacher was also dead ... and Danny soon became one of those caught up in the school shootings that has been in the news recently. Only things didn't appear like they should ... and Rainie races to catch the real murderer before anyone else gets hurt. While working on this case, she also comes to grips with her ulgy past.

It's a wonderful read ... just don't read it at night alone in a big house. I made that mistake one night while I was home. You get nervous at every creak in the house. And Lisa does it again ... she grips you with her fascinating attention to details and to the story ... keeps you guessing till the end. What a read!!

2-11-02

Rating:
Summary: What A Thriller and Good
Review: I just finished reading this book and I have to say that this was definetely a great book. Right away the book gets to the thrilling part of the shooting. Then you start to wonder what really happened. It's a Whodunit? You carefully read the whole book so you won't miss a clue and then the shocking thing happens. Rainie's past has come back to haunt her. This is defintely a book to add to your collection of thrillers. The ending is such a shock, and it doesn't make you hate the book..it makes you want to read more books by this author.. This is my new favorite author and I'm sure it'll be yours too.