Look for Me

Written by Lisa Gardner

Narrated by Kirsten Potter

In #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner’s latest twisty thrill ride, Detective D. D. Warren and Find Her’s Flora Dane return in a race against the clock to either save a young girl’s life . . . or bring her to justice.

The home of a family of five is now a crime scene: four of them savagely murdered, one—a sixteen-year-old girl—missing. Was she lucky to have escaped? Or is her absence evidence of something sinister? Detective D. D. Warren is on the case—but so is survivor-turned-avenger Flora Dane. Seeking different types of justice, they must make sense of the clues left behind by a young woman who, whether as victim or suspect, is silently pleading, Look for me.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Feb 6, 2018
• ISBN: 9781536609493

Lisa Gardner

Lisa Gardner is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty novels, including Look for Me, Right Behind You, Find Her, Crash & Burn, Fear Nothing, Touch & Go, Catch Me, and The Neighbor, which won the International Thriller of the Year Award. She lives with her family in New England.

Reviews for Look for Me

[candyadams03 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Lisa Gardner can always keep you on your toes thinking about who really is killer and why is that other person in the way Love this woman have a good one

[natalieriley · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I haven’t read many books by Lisa Gardner. I read Find Her that comes before this one. I can see the benefits of reading this series in order, but thankfully it didn’t seem necessary. I liked this suspenseful, mystery well enough. It’s a good story about a family who is murdered, except for the 11th grade daughter and their two blind dogs. A female cop and a trauma survivor work hard to find the missing daughter and find out who murdered her family. I will likely read more of Gardner’s work in the future, but I doubt these books will become a priority.

[marie baroud · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The narrator outstanding and just a great series!!
Loved it!! Great story line.

[Natalie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of her best! The book before this one was great as well.

[Cheri Bozeman · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Once agin, Lisa Gardner is a brilliant storyteller in this edge-of-the-seat page turner!

[kmartin802_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This excellent mystery tells the story of a murder of a family. Juanita Baez, her two kids Lola and Manny, and her live-in boyfriend Charlie are shot to death in a home invasion. The only survivor is sixteen-year-old Roxy. The question is was she lucky to escape or is she the killer? And, in any case, where is she?Sergeant Detective D. D. Warren is hoping for a quiet family day with her husband and five-year-old when she gets the call. A day that should include choosing a new family dog now includes a brutal murder and a mystery.Flora Dane survived 472 days as the captive of a serial killer and now is trying to find a way to survive in the real world. She has become a sort of vigilante looking for other kidnappers, rapists, and predators which caused her to run into D. D. Flora has also started an online support group for other survivors and life-altering trauma. Sarah, one of the other members of the group, meets Roxy and sees she has a problem. Roxy is a new member of the support group. When she goes missing, Flora gets involved. She wants to rescue her.Roxy Baez is also a viewpoint character through her Eleventh Grade essays about the perfect family. She tells of the horrors of foster care that she and her sister Lola endured at ages 11 and 8 when her alcoholic mother loses custody of her kids. Her tale of neglect, abuse and brutality plants the seeds of these events which happen six years later.Together, these three viewpoints weave a story that is filled with mystery and suspense and crimes from murder to child pornography. All of the viewpoint characters are survivors and all have wonderful, hopeful stories to tell.This is my first D. D. Warren mystery but it won't be my last. I am also eager to read FIND HER which tells more of Flora Dane's story.

[bogopea · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Fast-moving suspense about a family of 4 killed and the oldest child and two dogs were missing. Det. D.D. Warren gets the call as lead investigator. She is unwillingly aided by Flora Dane, a survivor of a kidnapping/torture that lasted over a year. Now Flora has an on-line support group to empower women in the ways to be safe. The missing child (teenager Roxy) had reached out to Flora's group just before the murders occurred and Flora insists that she will be able to find her and rule her out as the murderer. And she does. The backstory to the murders and the investigation of them is interesting and keeps one guessing. It is a sad story about the reality of children in foster care and the social service agencies who work to keep them safe. I'd never read Gardner before but thought the book well-written and I enjoyed the main characters.

[Kathryn Mathias · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another excellent read by Lisa Gardner. This one, while it can be read as a stand-alone story, is a good follow up to the preceding story "Find Her" - where you get to know one of the main characters: Flora. I found this tale to be completely absorbing. The author uses a lot of psychology during the unfolding of the drama and suspense, yet it doesn't overwhelm the plot the way some books do when applying so much psych to the motives and actions of the characters. Highly recommend this. Not something that can be read quickly by skimming or you might miss an important detail.

[NNEAMAKA PAYNE · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It seems ages since I read a D.D. Warren's book and gosh it was good! I was not able to put it down!

In Look For Me we meet up again with Flora the survivor and she actually threatens to take over from D.D. as the most important character. There are lots of murders, some clever detective work from Flora as well as D.D. Warren, and a totally unexpected murderer. I did not have a clue who it was going to be.

A very enjoyable book as I have come to expect from Lisa Gardner and it looks as though the next book will feature D.D. and Flora working together again which I certainly look forward to.

[Marisa Castilo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Lots of twists and turns. Hard to put down. Amazing!

[Ellen · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Story was different but Very intriguing. I didn’t see the ending coming

[Lyn Decker · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Predictable and unrealistic. Good try but comes up very short

[lauren2013_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Look For Me
3 Stars

Homicide detective D. D. Warren and survivor turned vigilante Flora Dane team up to locate a teenage girl who may or may not have murdered her entire family.

The purpose of a prologue in a novel is to set the stage. Unfortunately, the prologue in this installment is completely superfluous as it has nothing to do with the rest of the book.

With that out of the way, Look for Me has a great deal of potential. The case is compelling, mainly due to the realistic and insightful portrayal of the foster system in the United States. I found it particularly interesting that the focus was not on the oft-presented abuse by adults, but rather on the traumas that children inflict on one another.

There is also some good character development for both D. D. and Flora. Life as a loving wife and mother to a precocious toddler has softened D. D.'s edges and made her more likable than the prickly defensive detective from the beginning of the series. In contrast, Flora is coming to realize just how risky her choices are, both for herself and for others.

Gardner's trademark alternating perspectives between first person for Flora and Roxy, and third person for D. D. adds intensity and allows the reader to truly identify with the characters although I'm still not sure what to think of Flora's character - does she really care about justice or is it all about revenge?

[randall6hansen · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I do love Lisa Gardner's creation -- Sgt. D.D. Warren -- and this tale, while a bit farfetched in the end -- does bring to light many interesting subjects while also trying to solve a mass murder... stories of abuse, neglect, bullying, fear, foster care, self-defense, and so much more. Definitely an enjoyable read.

[niaomiya · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love this series! Sergeant Detective D.D. Warren finds herself working with survivor-turned-avenger Flora Dane to find a missing teenaged girl, the only apparent survivor of the mass murder of her entire family. Or is the teenaged girl a suspect? As D.D. and Flora go their own paths in the search for Roxanna Baez, they learn of her family's complicated past and have to determine how much of the past is to blame for what is happening in the present.Lisa Gardner's writing always hooks me right from the start and never lets me go. She keeps the story moving at a fast pace. The chapters alternate focus between D.D. (told in 3rd person) and Flora (told in 1st person). I liked this variance - the 1st person voice is always more intimate, and I felt that I was really getting into Flora's head whenever it was her chapter. The 3rd person voice basically helped move the plot along faster. Toward the end of the book, the voices alternated within the same chapter, with just a break between voices. This mimicked the rising tension and increased pace of the plot as things came to a head. Everything started moving faster.When I first picked up this book, I wasn't sure that I would like having Flora as such a big part of it. I didn't really like her in the last book. As it turns out, I liked her very much in this book. The way Gardner uses her but stays realistic to Flora's inner demons really worked. I look forward to reading book #10 with more of Flora and D.D. working together.

[nwieme-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It started out with me quickly turning pages to see what was going to happen next... then kind of fizzled. Too much blahbity blah - almost like trying too hard to make it twisty and turny and eh.

I did enjoy Epilogue and Acknowledgments!

[khal_khaleesi · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

(This review will be on my blog All the Ups and Downs soon).

First and foremost, Look for Me by Lisa Gardner can be read as a standalone novel. You do not need to read the previous books to understand this one.

Wow! What a book! This is a book I never wanted to end. I usually don't read detective books, but there was something about the book blurb that drew me in. I was glad that I gave this book a chance. It did not disappoint me at all.

The world building was done amazingly. I admit that I don't know a lot about police work and all of that, but it was definitely believable from the little I do know. I found myself immersed in the world of the detectives and trying to figure out what was going on.

The pacing of Look for Me was excellent. It was really fast paced, but it wasn't so paced that I didn't know what was going on. I found myself not wanting to put this book down. I wanted to know what happened next. I ended up finishing this book in less than 24 hours.

I enjoyed the plot although it is sad. Yes, the whole whodunnit plot has been done so many times before, but Lisa Gardner made it feel brand new. There were a lot of twists and turns throughout Look for Me. The plot was mainly unpredictable although towards the last quarter of the book, I had pretty much figured out who the killer was. Still, I found myself devouring this novel. I needed to find out who the killer was for sure. The ending didn't feel rushed and provided enough closure to me. All my questions were answered.

The characters were all realistic feeling. No one seemed over the top or anything. I felt like I knew each one of the main characters and supporting characters towards the beginning of the book. I actually cared for the characters, and they all felt like good friends. My favorite character was D.D. Warren, the detective. I don't know what it was about her, but I just liked her a lot. Gardner did such a great job describing each character, that I could picture each one in my mind while reading about them.

I enjoyed the dialogue and the writing in this book. Everything just flowed together quite smoothly. There is some swearing in the book, but it's not over the top. The dialogue was believable for each character, even the teens.

I would really love if this book was made into a movie. I feel like it would probably do really well. Yes, Look for Me by Lisa Gardner is that good! It's got a great story line and great characters that are hard to forget even after the book has ended.

I would recommend this book to everyone aged 16 . There is reference of sexual abuse (although not graphic, violence (although not too graphic), alcoholism, and swearing (although it's not over the top. This is definitely a book you don't want to miss!

[carlathelibrarian · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Although this is the ninth book in the D.D. Warren series, she almost takes a backseat in this book to Flora Dane, the survivor from previous stories. The story begins with a family annihilation of mother, father, and two siblings. One family member, 16 year old Roxanna is missing as well as the two dogs. D.D. gets the call, all hands on deck and has to leave her husband and son to pick out the family dog at the rescue centre. The whole story takes place within a couple of days, but there is a lot of background given during the story which makes it seem to be a lot longer. Roxy, her sister Lola and brother Manny were taken away from their mother five years earlier and went into foster care. The flashbacks from Roxy and Lola's points of view were bad. They were placed in a foster home with older children who bullied them terribly. As the story progresses, we learn about their time at Mother Del's. Even when their mother got them back, their time in foster care left scars that would impact their later life.

The foster care system was examined and left wanting in most situations. Although Manny lived in a nice loving home, the homes with several children living together were often worse than the home the children had been taken from, at least in this story. With not enough funding and not enough foster parents, the program set up to protect children did not always succeed in doing just that. The workers themselves, are often overworked and do not have the time to oversee everything the way they should. The series of reports written by Roxy about The Perfect Family, also give us insight into her thoughts and what happened to the family. It also gave D.D. and Flora clues to find her. The characters, even though often talked about in flashbacks, were well written and came alive to me in the story. The feelings of the children in the foster home were often sad to read about. The pacing in this story was good. I found myself having a hard time putting this book down. The ending was sad, but there was not much else the author could do with this character. I did not know who had done the killing. I thought I knew, but of course was wrong. This was another good addition to the series by Lisa Gardner. Even though the drama and turmoil of Roxy told more of the story than the actual mystery itself, I still very much enjoyed this book. I recommend it to lovers of suspense stories with some human drama involved. If you like Lisa Gardner books, you should enjoy this one. The publisher generously provided me with an ARC via Edelwiess.

[kmjessica · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book keeps you guessing all the way through and is a great read. I Never wanted to put the book down. D. D. Warren is a character in a series of books by Lisa Gardner, and a GREAT series to read.

I'm a big fan of Lisa Gardner and have read everything she has written. With that said sometimes when reading everything from an author I tend to start getting bored with there writing and character's. This is NOT the case with Lisa Gardner and Look For Me. This is the second book with the character Flora Dane. And she really makes the story that much more interesting. I also recommend you read Find Her. It is the first book with Flora Dane.

Look For Me is about a young girl who loses her family and is frightened and on the run. She has survivor victims on her side trying to help her and a smart detective trying to figure out if she killed her family, Or if it was the 2 kids who terrorized her and her sister in the foster home they were in. Or it could be a host of other people who may have something against the family.

[musichick52 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Each one of the characters in this murder mystery is either damaged, troubled or at the least, having trouble with the lives that they have been given. It starts off with the mass murder of four of the members of a family of five. The surviving female teenager goes missing and is the primary suspect. At first. The detective and the community activist for victim's rights join to solve the case. Much to each others annoyance, that is. We are taken on a kitchen sink ride through just about every despicable situation there is. Physical abuse, mental abuse, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, foster home conditions, rape, bullying, harassment, and on and on. The ending was a bit predictable since we had just about run out of possible murder suspects. My thanks to the author and the Penguin First to Read program for a complimentary copy.

[ouroborosangel · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Flora Dane, the damaged but kick-ass victim-slash-vigilante from Gardner's last book, Find Her, returns in this 9th novel of the Det. D.D. Warren series. This is a solid, solid mystery involving a family shooting, foster kids, bullies and a missing teenager. My heart took a beating on this one, but so worth the read.

[susan.macura · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Detective D.D. Warren and survivor Flora Dane join forces to help Roxanna Baez, the only survivor of a family that was brutally murdered in their home one morning but one who has disappeared. Filled with twists that I never saw coming, we follow the case as it unfolds, adding more and more suspects to the mix. Meanwhile, as the search for Roxy continues, we find out what happened to her and her sister while in foster care, as well as how that time period affects the present through Roxy's writing assignment for her English class. The end was surprising.

[jfe16 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An “all hands on deck” call interrupts Detective D.D. Warren’s quiet day with her family; soon she’s at the scene of a multiple murder. Someone shot everyone in the house; a teen-aged girl is missing. But nothing is quite as it seems and soon D.D. finds herself working with abduction survivor Flora Dane. As the detectives investigate, they discover that there are many more questions than there are answers. Is the missing girl a victim? Or is there another more sinister reason for her disappearance?In this, the ninth outing for Detective Warren, perfect families and the foster care system come under scrutiny. A taut, tightly-woven plot will keep readers guessing as they try to unravel the mystery surrounding the missing teen and the murdered family. Believable characters, heartbreaking situations, and unexpected reveals combine to keep readers on the edge of their seats.Highly recommended.

[carol420 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

So many "What if" moments throughout this story. I found it very disturbing with the children being harmed...an entire family destroyed...and irreparable damage to the soul survivor. I've read this series for years and the cases were always interesting but this one leaves the reader with a hollow, dark, feeling. Not badly written by any means...just disturbing.

[simplykelina · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

3.75I read my first Lisa Gardner book last year and loved it. She was an author I really wanted to read more of this year, so I was really excited to get a chance to review Look For Me. This started off really intense, and I knew I was not going to want to put it down.This starts off with several different characters and their stories. I really enjoyed all three stories, and I could not decide who I wanted to read more about first. I will say as you get to know Flora, Roxy, and Sarah your heart will break for each of them. It was really sad to see what happened to our characters. I like how they are all intertwined into the mystery surrounding finding Roxy. There was only tiny glimpses into what happened to Flora and Sarah and I wanted more of their stories. I know this is the 9th book in the Detective D.D. Warren series, so I am not sure if any of the books follow their stories in more detail. If they do, I know I want to read them too.I also enjoyed how most of Roxy’s story is told through an essay she wrote for school. I do not want to say much more about that, but the story of her life is very emotional and sad.This will leave you guessing and asking out loud, “what is happening?” There were so many times I thought I had something figured out just for the next twist to be unveiled. I loved the writing and descriptions. The scene when the children were found and how they were found killed me. It is little details like that though that really make a great story, and Lisa Gardner is great at the details.The one thing I have seen in both books I have read by this author that I am not a fan of is the repeating of information. This happened a lot in this story, and I found myself skimming these sections as the events continued to repeat as things unfolded. I could do without all the recaps on the case. Overall, I am not normally a huge fan of detective stories, but I really enjoy Lisa Gardner and her style! I am loving her work and cannot wait for more.

[susan0316 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'm always excited when a new DD Warren book is published and LOOK FOR ME did not disappoint! Another book of this police investigator at her best. Even though she is now a wife and a mom, her police cases remain an important part of her life and defines who she really is. She may be kinder and gentler on her off time but she is still a 'kick-ass' investigator when she's on a case.NOTE - this is book 9 in the DD Warren series and to get the most out of this series, you really need to read the books in order.While trying to solve a horrific crime that left a husband, wife and two of their children dead and one missing, DD gets some outside help that is at first unwanted but becomes pivotal to solving the crime. Flora Dane from book 8, a survivor of an abductor who kept her imprisoned for 472 days. Flora has become a vigilante and doesn't have to follow the same rules as the police department. It takes these two strong women - DD and Flora to try to find the missing teenager and determine if she killed her family or if she is a victim and her life is in danger. This was a real page turner with a surprise ending that I didn't see coming.This is a wonderful story about the love within a family despite what they have faced in the past. They are terrible scenes about the life the kids lived in the foster care system and they bullying that they received in school. I love this series and can't wait to see what DD Warren does in future books.Thanks to First to Read for a copy of this book to read and review.

[dplyle · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Lisa Gardner is one of my favorite authors. And for good reason. She’s good. Very good. Case in point: LOOK FOR ME, the latest in her D.D. Warren series. The story has too many twists and turns to count, but it’s the characters that drive it, and make it impossible to put down. The story revolves around three tough and smart women: Detective D.D. Warren, of course; Flora Dane, a survivor and avenger who teaches other survivors how to navigate life, and seek revenge; and the irrepressible Roxy, a sixteen year old whose entire family has been massacred. Is Roxy a victim, or a killer? If not her, then who? And why? With Roxy on the run, D.D. and Flora must find her and uncover a dark truth. This is a great story.DP Lyle, award-winning author, lecturer, story consultant

[beamis12 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

3.5 I have read most of the books in this series, though I seem to have missed the last one. A family is murdered, all but one, the eldest sister who now seems to be missing. D. D. Warren, will eventually team up with survivor Flora, and I liked these two working together. Actually Warren takes a back seat in this one, and it is Flora who will provide most of the forward momentum in this case.Although, shortly after the middle of the book, I had some pretty good guesses on how this would turn out, and found it rather predictable, there were a few things that made this a better read. The foster care system, both sides examined, though of course the less than ideal home received most of the focus. I liked that Gardner tackled this system, the placement homes often not much better, sometimes worse than the homes the children are taken from. Not enough funding for this important program which supposedly was set up to protect children. Also, not enough of a labor source to provide the amount of overseeing it requires to be done correctly. There is also a series of essays, written by the missing girl, titled The Perfect Family, and this was both poignant and well done. Gives the reader a special insight to what was happening within the murdered family, as well as a look at her thoughts. For me, this was one of my favorite parts.These two reasons were the reason I went to a four in my rating. The pacing of the story was even, and the ending was rather sad. So all in all a good story for this sisters read where most of us were between the three and four mark. More than a mystery though, it was the personal elements that made the story.ARC from Edelweiss.