Alone

December 6, 2004
For 300-some pages, Gardner (The Perfect Husband
) keeps readers spellbound—not just by her plot but by the beautifully realized character of Massachusetts police sniper Bobby Dodge. He meets his match in Catherine Gagnon, who as a girl was snatched, raped and nearly murdered. Now she's the wife of erratic, rich Jimmy Gagnon and mother of perpetually ill four-year-old Nathan. When Bobby kills Jimmy during a hostage situation at the Gagnons, he does it to save Catherine and Nathan. But was it a righteous shoot, or did Catherine engineer the killing? Judge James Gagnon and his wife, Maryanne, think Bobby murdered their son out of lust for Catherine. As other people start dying, very messily, and the DA and cops come down hard on Bobby, Gardner keeps the tension high and the pace fast. But resolution comes in what may be the clunkiest chase crafted by a pro this year: "Bobby processed everything at once. Three open doorways, three bedrooms. He ran by the first, then the second, and came sprinting into the third just in time to see Maryanne staggering back." Ten pages later, so many characters have run into so many rooms, it's amazing that the right person finally gets his head blown off by the right avenger. But Garner then ends with a neat postlude offering one more twist; her fans will feel requited. Agent, Steve Axelrod.

September 1, 2004
After downing an armed man, a hot SWAT team sniper discovers that he may have been set up to commit murder.

Copyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2004
It was bad enough that Catherine Gagnon survived a horrible childhood abduction where for a month she lived in a cave and was the plaything for her sicko abductor. But now, 25 years later, she faces tragedy again as she fights to keep her son, Nathan. One chilly November night, a police sniper kills her husband, Jimmy, in response to her 911 call claiming he was about to hurt Nathan. Jimmy's death means that his parents, an influential judge and his blue-blooded wife, are more determined than ever to take Nathan from Catherine, whom they see as unfit to mother their only grandchild. True, the birth of Nathan mentally paralyzed Catherine, who could not get past the memories of her abduction and her emotionally absent parents. But is she really the monster the Gagnons and their PI make her out to be? Massachusetts state police special-ops officer Bobby Dodge, the sniper who took out Jimmy, doesn't think so, and unwittingly falls under the spell of the manipulative widow. A twisted, effective psychological thriller.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)

Starred review from December 1, 2004
Bobby Dodge lives an isolated life. Employed as a sniper for the Massachusetts State Police, he is routinely sent into situations that have the potential to escalate. One night, all of his training literally blows up when he is forced to make a split-second decision and kills a man holding his wife and son hostage. The downward spiral that follows threatens Bobby's career and sanity as unseen forces manipulate events to make Bobby appear guilty of murder. What really happened that fatal night? Three-dimensional characters fill out a riveting story that is like a juicy steak: slow broiled to perfection. Gardner's (The Killing Hour) latest thriller is highly recommended for all public libraries [See Prepub Alert, LJ 9/1/04].-Jeff Ayers, Seattle P.L.

Copyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.