Before She Disappeared

 

Before She Disappeared: A Novel (A Frankie Elkin Novel Book 1) by Lisa Gardner. New York: Dutton, 2021. 383 pages. ****

Frankie Elkin has made it her mission to find those who are lost and missing. A recovering alcoholic, Frankie goes from town to town researching cold cases and asking questions. Haitian teen Angelique Bodeau is missing from her high school and seems to have vanished into thin air. Frankie travels to Mattapan, a rough Boston neighborhood, and applies for a job as a bartender to get to know the locals and find Angelique. She soon discovers that no one wants her there including Angelique's family and the police. 

Being accepted is not necessary, however, discovering and uncovering secrets, draws Frankie into a world of drugs, fake IDs, counterfeiting and murder. Frankie has her own demons to fight, and her mission is complicated by her attraction to Detective Dan Lotham. Frankie has found 14 people prior to Angelique, and she is determined to bring her home alive. 

This is the first of two Frankie Elkin's novels, and I thoroughly enjoyed it and read it in two days. I needed to mentally escape, and Gardner's books always fill that vacuum. Frankie is raw, real, and determined not to fail. There is a certain sadness and desperation in Frankie that others can relate to and makes them believe in her and at the same time want to protect and unburden themselves to her.  Can she succeed and stay alive? Will this case bring her the closure she needs, or will she move on to the next missing person? 

The second book is One Step Too Far and I can't wait to read it.

Lisa Gardner, a #1 New York Times bestselling thriller novelist, began her career in food service, but after catching her hair on fire numerous times, she took the hint and focused on writing instead. A self-described research junkie, she has transformed her interest in police procedure and criminal minds into a streak of internationally acclaimed novels, published across 30 countries. 

Lisa lives in New Hampshire where she spends her time with an assortment of canine companions. When not writing, she loves to hike, garden, snowshoe and play cribbage.

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