Say Goodbye - Book #113

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| Title |Say Goodbye |
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| Author |Lisa Gardner |
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| Genre |Adult Mystery |
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| Pages |360 |
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| Publisher |Bantam Books |
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| Copyright |2008 |
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Synopsis (from web-site)

For Kimberly Quincy, FBI Special Agent, it all starts with a pregnant hooker. The story Delilah Rose tells Kimberly about her johns is too horrifying to be true—but prostitutes are disappearing, one by one, with no explanation, and no one but Kimberly seems to care. Dead hookers aren't exactly Kimberly’s specialty and the young agent is five months pregnant—she has other things to worry about besides an alleged lunatic who uses spiders to do his dirty work. But Kimberly’s own mother and sister were victims of a serial killer. And now, with no bodies and precious few clues, is she chasing a crime that never happened? Kimberly’s caught in a web more lethal than any spider’s, and the more she fights for answers, the more tightly she’s trapped.

Why I read ItMy college roommate, Lincoln Hoppe, is an actor and improve comic who also supplements his income as a reader for books on tape. Unfortunately I usually learned about books he worked on after I had read them. Most notably would be King Dork and The Gargoyle. So I went to his website and browsed his resume until I found a book I would want to try (he has read quite a few young adult books) AND my library system had on tape (well CD in this case). That is how I settled on Say Goodbye.

The Good

For what it’s worth, the story moved forward at a good pace while applying all the requisite drama.

The Bad
This is a prime example of why I eschew most American crime fiction. The killer was a Serial killer who kills and disposes of his victims in overly elaborate ways, while at the same time actively engaging the authorities in an ongoing dick measuring contest. With most crime dramas I read I come away with the feeling that it could happen here in my small little town, but with this stuff I feel like someone has been watching too much TV. Plus the crimes presented where pornographically violent beyond reality.

The Ugly (my opinion)
Too much choreographed and stylized play acting and not enough real crime and investigative work. As I have said before that is my preference and not a problem per se with the actual book. If you like the standard American fair and find the likes of Rebus and Wallander too boring, then this book will be perfect for you.

As for the reason I got this book; Lincoln did fine. It is always pleasant to hear the guy who used to sleep in the next room talked about violently murdering people. I am betting he now gets treated like that poor guy who played Satan in those church movies.

Mormon Mentions
None, but a Mormon does 30% of the reading on the book on tape.

Author Biography
Lisa Gardner is an American author of fiction. She is the author of several thrillers including The Killing Hour and The Next Accident. She also wrote romance novels using the pseudonym Alicia Scott. Raised in Hillsboro, Oregon, she graduated from the city's Glencoe High School. As evidenced by her 2003 work, "The Killing Hour," Gardner has been heavily influenced by the box office smash and best selling book The Silence of the Lambs. Her novel Gone is set in a fictionalized version of Tillamook, Oregon.[1] As of 2007, Gardner lives in New Hampshire.