Product Description

State Trooper Bobby Dodge watches a tense hostage stand-off unfold through the scope of his sniper rifle. An armed man has barricaded himself with his wife and child. His finger tightens on the trigger and Dodge has only a split second to react ... Twenty-five years ago, Catherine Gagnon was buried underground during a month-long nightmare of abduction and abuse. Now, her husband has just been killed and her father-in-law blames Catherine. Mr Bosu was in a maximum security prison for the most sadistic of crimes. Now he's free ... and filled with an unquenchable thirst for vengeance. A moment of violence brings Bobby and Catherine together - but what connects them is much more dangerous. A killer is loose. No one is beyond harm, and no one will see death coming until it has them cornered, helpless, and alone ...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #49320 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-19
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

IMAGE magazine
'A dark and disturbing thriller.'

Review
'A dark and disturbing thriller.' (IMAGE magazine )

'This is a terrific psychological thriller - and another novel with a clever final twist to send the reader away happy.' (Peter Guttridge THE OBSERVER )

'Gardner has written a fine novel full of twists and it could go all the way for her.' (Mark Timlin INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY )

'There is an impressive air of gathering menace in this thriller, and you begin to understand why the strap on the cover reads 'Don't turn out the lights!' This is not a book you'd want to read in alone in a dimly lit place.' (Matthew Lewin THE GUARDIAN )

'This fast-moving thriller is a notch above Gardner's previous books and makes her a match for many of her best-selling compatriots.' (Susanna Yager SUNDAY TELEGRAPH )

About the Author
Lisa Gardner sold her first novel when she was just 20 years old. In 1993 she graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in international relations. She lives with her husband and daughter in New Hampshire.

Customer Reviews

Taut family psycological thriller!
A similar family pschological thriller to the popular 'Little Face' but I liked this better. The book delves into the extent a Mother goes to protect her son, amidst hostile in-laws and an abusive husband. The extra plot here is that the husband is killed by a police sniper during a domestic altercation, and the story considers the point of view from the policeman. Did he do the right thing or was he somehow set up?

Both Mother and cop have dark pasts which add to the psyche and keep the twists going to the last few pages. Good stuff!

Thrilling
Alone by Lisa Gardner is an amazing crime story. It al began with the death of Jimmy Gagnon, son of Judge Gagnon. Jimmy was killed by State trooper Bobby Dodge who with a tactical swat team was trying to defuse a supposedly domestic abuse hostage crisis. But the judge and his wife believe Jimmy's wife, Catharine Gagnon engineered the crisis to get rid of their son, so they want their only grandson taken from her. They start by suing Bobby Dodge and with that unfolded incidences which invokes Catherine's past as a victim of a pedophile half a century back.

Embroiled in the mystery of the unfolding drama is the lurking presence of the serial rapist, manipulation by the late Jimmy's parents, the helplessness of the grandson, Catherine's calculating nature and Bobby Dodge's determination to resolve the mysteries behind all the deaths around. Just like USURPER AND OTHER STORIES you are thrilled until the last pages of the book.

Ordinary
I bought this book because it had some outstanding reviews on its back cover, from some well-respected publications. I must say I was disappointed however, as I never felt the book lived up to its expectations.

Parts of the book were well written, and with good characterisation, but the storyline on the whole was too predictable, from the very beginning it was obvious what was going to happen. Certain parts were not that well thought through and left some major plot holes.

Overall, the book is worth three stars, it could have been exceptional, but ends up being ordinary.