The Survivors Club

by Lisa Gardner

One of today's most electrifying suspense novelists, "New York Times" bestselling author Lisa Gardner returns with a shattering thriller that dares to play on our deepest vulnerabilities. In this masterful new novel, the killer may very well be the one you sympathize with the most...

THE FIRST RULE IS NEVER BLAME THE VICTIM.

They survived what no woman should ever have to endure. Now these three women have the means, the opportunity, and the perfect motive. Are they trying to get away with murder--or is someone trying to make sure that this time they don't get away at all? The Survivors Club... that's what Jillian Hayes, Carol Rosen, and Meg Pesaturo call it. They won't consider themselves victims. They are survivors. They faced the blazing headlines and helped lead the investigation that caught the man who changed their lives forever.

And now that Eddie Como, the College Hill rapist, has been murdered, shot down outside a packed courthouse moments before his trial was about to begin, all three women are openly ecstatic that he's dead. They are also the prime suspects in his murder. Detective Sergeant Roan Griffin knows all too well what can drive even the best people to cross the line. But he has never seen a case quite like this one. No one doubts that the murder of Eddie Como was a professional job, especially when the gunman is killed only blocks away from the shooting.

But questions taunt Griffin: Who ordered the deaths of Eddie Como and his killer? Could three ordinary women have been driven to do the unthinkable? Had someone in the Survivors Club become a killer? Griffin seeks the truth--and finds himself confronted with the leader of the Survivors Club. Jillian Hayes is beautiful, successful, cool as ice, and she harbors a pain that mirrors Griffin's own. Did the horror of what happened to her push her over the thin and desperate line that separates survival and revenge? And if it did, could he blame her--or anyone in the Survivors Club? Then another woman is brutally attacked.

Suddenly, with the city on the ragged edge of panic, gripped in a media and political firestorm of controversy, cover-up, and conspiracy, the hunt is on for a ruthless and cunning killer. For Griffin, this may well be the case that shatters his career. For Jillian, the harrowing nightmare is beginning all over again. Someone is out there. Someone who wants to finish what was started. Someone who wants to make sure that no one survives the Survivors Club.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Romantic Suspense

528 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 21, 2002

About the author

Lisa Gardner is the #1 New York Times bestselling thriller author of the Frankie Elkin series, as well as the Detective D.D. Warren, the FBI Profilers and the PI Tessa Leoni series.

Her current suspense novels feature Frankie Elkin, an everyday, average person who specializes in finding missing people. When the locals have given up, when the media has never bothered to care, Frankie takes on the challenge. From looking for a missing teen in inner city Boston to searching for a missing hiker in the wilds of Wyoming to rescuing a possibly kidnapped girl on a remote island in the Pacific, Frankie is on the case!

Lisa lives in the mountains of New Hampshire with two crazy pups. When not writing, Lisa loves to hike, play cribbage, and, of course, read!

Reviews

[GirlWithThePinkSkiMask · Rating 4 out of 5]

Writing: classic Lisa Gardner (solid) | Plot: good but long winded | Ending: wooolalala

Phat ass trigger warning: r@pe, violence against women and children, stalking, pedophilia

SYNOPSIS

The Survivors Club, aka three women who survived the College Hill Rapist, think they are finally free of their attacker when he is killed at the courthouse. But wait! When another women in r@ped in the same method as they were, it's evident that things are far from over.

MY OPINION

So I actually 'discovered' this book via the Sergeant Detective Roan Griffin Easter Egg that appeared in Catch Me. Don't judge me, but THIS is my 'dream' plot. Idk what it is about a serial r@pist (too much Law & Order SVU) attacking co-eds but if a book has it, 9 times outta 10 ima pick it up. Throw in the potential copycat and I'm sold. Even the length (528 pgs on Kindle) couldn't turn me off this one. (FYI I can now see what people mean when they say Gardner and Karin Slaughter are same same, but different. I'm glad that Gardner doesn't write these marathon books anymore).

This was a JUICYYYYY book for sure. From the sniper who got got to the Candy Man case to the College Hill Rapist's return from the dead, there was lots of entertainment factor here. It felt like I was reading a particularly thicc episode of Criminal Minds, in the best way. The only things that kept this from being a 5 star banger was: group interviews a la Scooby Doo (defense lawyer would have a field day), a regular degular citizen outsmarting the police when the answer was about as obvious as Trump's toupe, some *side eye* moments (Molly and Meg. I'll leave it at that), and the unnecessary romance between Griffin and Jillian.

I'd put this up there with the likes of Fear Nothing and Find Her but NOTHING can touch Live to Tell idc!!!!

PROS AND CONS

Pros: well-written, despite the length it wasn't a 'slow burn', JUICY case, wrapped up nicely

Cons: some Scooby Doo moments, unnecessary (and hella unprofessional) romance between Griffin and Jillian

____________________________

For some sick reason, do you want to hear more of my nonsense? Check out my podcast: Novels & Nonsense streaming everywhere.

[Suz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one troubled me for a bit, and I couldn't quite put my finger on why I thought it dragged. I enjoyed most, but it did seem to linger for a bit too long, I wasn’t entranced as much as I normally am. Though come the finale, I was very happy to rate this four stars.

Lisa Gardner is an author I always enjoy, she’s a great thriller story teller, and honestly is a reliable go to source for an entertaining read. As always, my hesitance may simply be attributable to my reading environment and the fact that it’s holiday time in a busy household. I did announce with glee to my extended family just now that ‘excuse me everyone, you’ll be happy to know I have just finished my book’. I got barely a glance!

I loved all the characters that were quickly trying to beat the clock to stop a serial killing psychopathic pedophile convict being released from gaol, he has information that is important to everyone involved. This was a clever scenario, I have never read anything like it before and it was good fun seeing how Griffin and the members of the ‘Survivors Club’ end up on top.

Gotta love a handsome troubled buff protagonist, and Griffin maintained my interest all the way through. The characters that have survived horrible circumstances that were able to form their club were believable and formed a good team. Fans of this author will be happy with this one, as would newcomers as well.

[Mo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one seemed to drag a bit in the beginning but I ended up sitting at the edge of my seat, dying to find out what was going to happen.

. . . that’s what Jillian Hayes, Carol Rosen, and Meg Pesaturo call it. They won’t consider themselves victims. They are survivors. They helped lead the investigation that caught the man who changed their lives forever. Now they are the prime suspects in his murder.

I liked Griffin. He had tragedy in his past and was trying to overcome it. Was hoping for a bit more romance but nope, it was not to be.

Footsteps in the sand. The thought reminded her of the religious poem she'd read as a child ...

His eyes were dark, so blue. She thought she could drown.

I hate you.
I hate you.
I hate you.

[Kat (Books are Comfort Food) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have always been a Lisa Gardner fan and have read most of her books. This one, however, I think is awful. The book was a very slow start, often difficult to follow. I did not enjoy it in the least. I could not bond with any of the characters and I felt this book droned on with details which were paddings to the pages. I don’t care if an office is scraped up to look like a throwback from Barney Miller. I’m sure I’m in the minority on this book and most Gardner fans will love it. Admittedly the book got better around the 65% location. I guess I’m just not a good match for this one.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jillian Hayes, Carol Rosen, and Meg Pesaturo call themselves The Survivor's Club. Each woman survived an attack by the College Hill Rapist. With their help and a lot of DNA evidence, police arrested Eddie Como. But on the day of his trial, Eddie Como is shot down on the courthouse steps. Detective Sergeant Roan Griffin leads the investigation into the slaying. He is looking at the women of the Survivor's Club as the prime suspects in Como's murder. Did one of them take matters into her own hands? When another woman is attacked, Roan begins to wonder if Eddie Como was the actual rapist, or did he have an accomplice who is taking up where Eddie left off?

This book started off slow. I was a bit confused by what was happening. But as I got to know all of the characters, it became very interesting and I was hooked. Another great story from Lisa Gardner. My rating: 4 Stars.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

You'd think I would've learned my lesson. I decided to give this writer a shot because, hey, so many stars, both here and on Amazon! That's got to mean something, right?

No.

This is a police procedural written by someone who has only the vaguest idea about many, many things related to forensics and police work. I am no expert but I read a lot and I like to kid myself I learn stuff. Very little of this novel seemed credible. Why would cops go to bars to interview patrons early in the morning, for example? At 9 AM the only people in there are unlikely to have many functioning brain cells, I would think. Maybe it's different in Rhode Island, I don't know. And the whole "by how many points does the DNA match" question really flummoxed me; it matches or it doesn't, right? DNA doesn't "sort of" match or "almost" match. And would someone who wants to be a professional rapist really consult a convicted pedophile? So many unanswerable questions. Such as, where did a sex offender who works as a janitor get the money to hire a professional hit man? How much sperm can one man produce in only two visits to a sperm bank? Can one really buy a Chanel suit at Nordstrom?

Sadly, in a fit of insane optimism I purchases 2 novels by this author and thus am currently forcing myself through the second one (The Other Daughter, which is producing more unanswerable questions--does it truly take only 44 gardenia-scented votive candles to spell a 6 letter name? And how could said candles burn for nearly 8 hours without anyone noticing the "overpowering" fragrance? Would anyone seriously allow the hired waiter to conduct a crime scene investigation?). My only excuse is that I am on vacation and I have a 4 week old kitten who creates a lot of interruptions and has been costing me much sleep.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5★s

Detective Sergeant Roan Griffin was returning to the job after eighteen months’ absence – his beloved wife Cindy had died from cancer while he was in the middle of the Candy Man case – his rehabilitation and counselling sessions deemed him fit to return to work. But what would this day bring for Griffin? His introduction to The Survivors Club; three women who were brought together by terrible and tragic circumstances – plus the pressure from the case which he found himself heading; a case which would test them all to their very limits…

With a sudden and brutal murder outside the courthouse, the media with possible vision of the shooter and a massive explosion and fire a couple of blocks away, Griffin was thrust into his first day back with a vengeance. As he and Detective Fitzgerald dug deeply into a case which was supposedly solved twelve months prior, what they were finding was causing doubts and fears. And when another young woman was viscously murdered, immediate panic ensued. What on earth was happening? How had the killer orchestrated the latest attack? And would Jillian, Carol and Meg be able to go back to life as it was before; before their lives had been changed irrevocably? Could they actually remain members of The Survivors Club?

What a gripping and intense read from Lisa Gardner. An oldie but a goodie for me! A pace that kept me turning the pages, twists and turns throughout and as I neared the ending, the tension was incredibly powerful. A brilliant thriller and one I have no hesitation in recommending highly.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars

The Survivor's Club is a standalone detective/mystery/thriller.

Lisa Gardner is one of my favorite authors. I have read all of her books. I devour them immediately upon release. I absolutely love both her D.D Warren and FBI Profiler series. I realized that I had never read this standalone. And I was in the mood for a good detective/mystery book.

I think one problem with reading this book now is that this was one of her first books. And she has gotten to be a better more experienced writer.

This book dragged a bit in the beginning. I think part of it was due to the multiple 3rd person POVs. In her recent books she often has 2-3 narrators (one or two in first person and one or two in third person). That is much easier to follow vs how this book was set up. In The Survivor's Club each chapter is someone's name. But that person is not necessarily the only narrator in that chapter. And there are sometimes multiple narrators in the same chapter. And it just switches. This made the book unnecessarily confusing.

The second half of the book was much stronger for me. I got used to how the book switched narrators. And the story-line was very good.

The main characters are Jillian, Carol and Meg. All three women were attacked by the College Hill rapist. They are survivor's and have formed a club called The Survivor's Club.

The main detective in this story is Griffin.

The book starts with the trial for the College Hill rapist getting ready to begin. However, something happens outside the courthouse.

The story was really very strong. And I found the last 100 pages completely riveting.

Overall, this was an amazing story filled with some incredible twists. My only problem with the book was how the chapters and narrators were set up. But the book was so good by the end that I could not put it down.

[Eve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mystery, Crime, Thrillers
Publication Date: August 05, 2004

Three women who have survived being attacked by a rapist, decide to form a rape survivors club to support each other. When the rapist, Eddie Como is arrested and his trial day has finally come, someone goes after Eddie, and kills him in front of all the journalist gathered there to cover the trial...

Beginning was interesting but I did not care for constant POV changes. Just when you get into one POV, author switch and start with another POV or timeline. They took away good flow and my enjoyment of the book. I wasn't as invested in the characters or emotionally moved by them. I wasn't surprised about the reveals and all those POV changes felt like I'm trying to watch a movie but ads constantly interrupt me from watching it.

“What I learned is that it's arrogant to be certain of anything. The world is a complex place and only idiots or assholes think they know it all.”

[Melissa (Semi-hiatus Very Behind) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exciting suspense. Rape victims fight back their rapist is killed and then supposedly kills again. Would have liked more of a surprise ending, but overall a good book.

[Jan Alixopulos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I call Lisa Gardner the "QUEEN OF CREEP". All of the novels I read by her (including a few D.D. Warren books) seem to have a well developed sense of creepitude. Creepy, sleazy, smarmy and just..I dunno: foul. Child in peril? We got it. Screwed up adults because as children they were in peril? We got it.

The Survivors Club fits into this genre nicely; I mean the bad guy molested and murdered 10 children and buried them in his basement. See what I mean?

And yet, here I am.. a lover of her CREEPINESS. Her female characters are often borderline hysterical (thinking now of 'Rainie Conner')and sometimes I have a difficult time cheering for them. They may drink too much, carry too many weapons, and live lives that lack self control, purpose or even a hint of self discovery. I find myself sometimes cursing them as traitors to our sex.."Grow a pair, dang it!"..but again.. I am a lover of the CREEP.

So The Survivors Club, a stand alone novel, is true to form with the effed up women, aka child in peril motif. I must say though, that compared to her several other books, she pulls her punches here. There is the creep but it is a bit restrained. Thank god.

Detective Roan Griffin as hero is wounded, driven, and severely depressed after his wife dies. Wouldn't you know his next door neighbor, a super nice guy who helped Roan tend to his dying wife is ::GASP:: a KILLER OF CHILDREN. Griffin is the detective who finally busts this guy, but the whole sordid case took its toll on Griffin, who has to take an 18 month medical leave. (meaning: nutcase)

He no sooner comes back to work when he is assigned a nasty case involving a murder of a rape suspect, and a car bomb which may have killed a hitman. Roan has to deal with The Survivor's club, for these 3 women were the victims of the rape suspect. And they want blood. They want justice. Most of all they want their lives back.

Good luck with all that since all three women have (why am I not surprised) issues. But wait, there is more. One more woman is raped with the DEAD suspect's DNA on her. What the??

This whole mess involves the Survivors' Club, the child molester/murderer, city police, state police and the ubiquitious press. I dare not say more; this book is a page turner (if only to escape the creep), and once again, Lisa Gardner makes us cringe, shudder and admire the very creepy throne she sits on.

[Robin Reynolds · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first time reading this author (I've been reading a lot of great new-to-me authors lately!) and I'm not even sure at what point of the book I was totally sucked in, but sucked in I was. I noticed a lot of reviewers mentioning the slow start, and yeah, it did take a little bit to get interested. I found the prologue to be a bit confusing, and once I started the first chapter the prologue went completely out of my head. It wasn't until I sat down to write this review that I suddenly remembered the prologue and thought “oh, that's what it was about!” The epilogue, on the other hand, was very welcome and left me feeling a little warm and fuzzy, despite the harsh subject matter in the main body of the book.

I'm very character driven – if I had to choose between plot and characterization I'd go with the latter every time. This book has a lot of characters, but they were easy to keep track of. I very much liked Detective Griffin. I mentioned in the last review I posted that I'm partial to emotionally wounded heroes and law enforcement, and I was drawn to Griffin pretty much right off the bat. And I loved the interplay between Griffin and Detective Fitzpatrick. I know Griffin and Waters were long time friends, but he and Fitz made a great duo, and some of their comments to each other made me smile, and occasionally even laugh a little.

While there's lots of other dialogue between different characters, there's also a good bit of internal dialogue, which I like, and plenty of action. I don't know that I was ever on the edge of my seat, but I was certainly immersed in the story, in all the stories as the narrative focus shifted from character to character. By the end of the book I was reading late into the night, unable to even think about sleeping until I finished the last page.

[Vintage · Rating 3 out of 5]

Effective but gruesome suspense novel, a Silence of the Lambs meets Law Abiding Citizen. Not for the faint of heart. In fact, this is the book to read if you are taking a self-defense course or thinking of taking one. It will definitely spur you on.

PLOT:
Suspect of several vicious rapes, one ending in death, is about to go to trial with irrefutable DNA evidence. He's gunned down at the courthouse steps, and his sniper is killed in a car bomb. The story spreads out and involves the "survivor's club" of his surviving victims, an emotionally damaged detective, a serial pedophiliac killer, various cops and tangential family members.

I recently read At the Midnight Hour which was written by Lisa Gardner under another name. THESE TWO BOOKS ARE NOTHING ALIKE!!!

Back to the show, it's a suspenseful book and accelerates even more toward the end, but it is graphic and somewhat stomach turning.

There was a point towards the end as detectives, bad guys, police, victims are all reaching maximum impact with some mighty poor decisions made by higher ups when all I could think if was a quote from Galaxy Quest,

Have you guys EVER seen the show?

[N☆zr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book by Lisa Gardner that I have read, and I enjoyed it. Well-paced and gripping until the end. Rape and murder are never easy to read, and this story is no different. Yet, I continued to finish it. I'll look into her other novels.

[Sakinah Al Taleb · Rating 5 out of 5]

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This book starts with some guys trying to figure out how to rape females and leave someone else’s DNA.
Is that even possible?!
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It got me then bored me, and my head couldn’t consume all of the informations there. Eventually I put it down for 3 years.
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This week I decided to read it as I‘ve read more of Lisa’s books and loved them all.
And I’m glad to do so. I ended up enjoying this book much more than my first try. “The audiobook was a great help”.
. .

It was fantastic, clever and unpredictable. It left me on the edge through the entire second half of the book.
AND The ending was super satisfying that it recharged me for the rest of the day. .
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Complicated :yes.
Slower than it should be :yes,
Longer than it should be: yes. .

Despite all of these points; I just couldn’t give it less than 5 stars ♥️.
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5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
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Wouldn’t recommend it for beginners in Eng language or for anyone whom just started reading crime fiction. .
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‎تبدأ الرواية بحديث يدور بين شابين او اكثر حول امكانية اغتصاب الفتيات وترك دي ان اي لشخص مختلف تماما.
‎هل هذا ممكن الحدوث؟ .
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‎رواية ليست بالسلسة أبدا ،، تبدأ احداثها منذ الصفحة الأولى ،، ولكن الإسهاب في الوصف واستخدام الكلمات الجنائية بكثرة جعلتها معقدة.
‎تركتها على الرف لمدة ثلاث سنوات ،، وخلال هذا الأسبوع قررت معاودة قراءتها ،، خاصة أنني قرأت عدة كتب للكاتبة نفسها وجميعها كانت مميزة.
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‎سعيدة جدا باتخاذ هذا القرار ♥️ .. وجدتها في هذه المرة أقل تعقيدا وأكثر وضوحا ،، واستطعت الاستمتاع بها لحد كبير.
‎القضية شائكة ،، مترامية الأطراف ومتداخلة،، ولكن ذكية لحد مبهر. والنهاااية مرضية بشدة.
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‎بعض السلبيات:
‎بطيئة بعض الشي وأطول مما ينبغي.
‎المصطلحات الجنائية والقضائية كثيرة.
‎دقة وصف الأماكن كان مملا بعض الشيء.
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‎وبرغم كل هذه السلبيات لم استطع تقييمها بأقل من ٥ نجمات. .

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[Amy Barro · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read several books from this author and I have to say that this was disappointing. This book was slow to start and at times difficult to follow. The concept of the book is clever but was not well executed. Please, consider reading her other books, don't let this turn you off because you will be missing out.

[Amanda McGill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Lisa Gardner’s novels and I was thrilled to find a stand alone novel by her! If you have never heard of her, I would recommend her Quincy and Rainie series, starting with The Perfect Husband. So, so amazing!

The Survivors Club was a brilliant stand alone that has everything that I want from a mystery – likeable characters, lots of action and a surprising mystery.

The novel started off in so many different direction – a sniper on a rooftop, a police detective returning back to work after a leave of absence, and a woman recollecting about the worst night of her life. I loved how all of the storylines connected and I had no idea what was going to happen.

One of my favourite mysteries this year!

[Sara Ennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 2006 I was in Venice, Italy, with two good friends. Back then, you had to go to internet cafés to be able to communicate with people back home. On one of our stops at the local café, I checked out a stack of books left by other visitors. One of the books was called The Survivors Club by a woman named Lisa Gardner.

Back at the hotel, I could not put the book down, even though we were in Italy. I’d never read anything like it – I think it was my first thriller. The characters, the pacing, the twists all had me sucked in. I loved it.

Recently I did a road trip to Las Vegas from Iowa. Since I was traveling on my own, I loaded up on audiobooks and podcasts, and playlists. I decided to revisit The Survivors Club to see if it was as good as I remembered.

Spoiler alert: It is. Twist, after twist, after twist. I’m trying to remember a recent book that had as many twists as this one.

The premise: Three very different women form The Survivors Club after they’re attacked by the same man. The book opens the day the man’s trial is set to begin. Except before the guy even gets into the courthouse, he’s killed. And the women are suspects. A few days later, another woman is raped… and the dead man’s DNA is found at the scene. How? The surprises are just beginning.

My one ‘eh’: it goes on a bit too long. But this would have been one of her first thrillers (she wrote romance originally), and I’ll happily forgive that.

[Kara Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. A good book, but I felt it went on too long. The last seventy five pages were the most intense, and brought the ending to an appropriate closure. I liked the characters, and I can see them in future books. Not sure if that’s the case as this was written in 2002. Gardner is a good writer, but this book faltered in its length.

[L A Hatfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not her best, but pretty readable. Alot of twists and turns, some rather ridiculous sub-plots that weave into the main theme....it wasn't my favorite but it did keep me til the end. Sometimes I feel like Lisa's a little obsessed with the theme of murdered little boys. Another one of her books I read and was mortified by, I can't remember the name and have no intentions of ever reading it again - she really dives into those gory details of child molestation and rape that in all honesty, I think only a completely sick mind would write, and sometimes I wonder about that. This book wasn't about that, but you do get enough detail about a child murderer within the story to make your stomach turn.

All in all, decent writing, a few ridiculous scenes and ALOT of belief suspended just to get through it. Her fiction is so far removed from reality it will never be mistaken for biographical lol.

[Dan Ries · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve been reading a lot of slower paced epic historical fiction novels, so I was looking forward to a fast paced ‘thriller.’ I noticed that Lisa Gardner’s novels tend to be highly rated on this site so I decided to introduce myself to her writing, starting with one of her non-series novels.
While I did appreciate the primary antagonist character she created (David Price), I found most of the other character development in this novel to be rather shallow and their interaction with each other to be rather corny.
Semi-spoiler ALERT:
Then there is the climax scene of the novel…I realize that this is fiction (and I’m willing to grant authors a bit of unrealistic activities) but I found myself almost laughing at how Ms. Gardner brings all of the main characters together. I don’t think I’ll be exploring any of the other highly rated novels of Lisa Garner’s anytime soon.

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

The funny thing is I can't figure out exactly why I didnt love this book. It had all the lements right. Characters that interested me, plot twists that were surprising at times. Well paced. yet it didnt work well for me. Maybe it is because it seemed implausable to me. But that shouldnt be it - I enjoy that many times.

I will just chalk it up as - I can see why others really like it and I LIKED it but not as much as I thought I should have

[Joyce Peak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lisa Gardner's books are all hard to put down, full of negative emotions and learning to cope.
This book is about 3 women who survived rape and/or assault and they call themselves the Survivor's Club. They are trying to give support to each other. They still harbor a lot of fear, nightmares, and stunted relationships that used to be strong. Rape, murder, and assault
of women continues, and finding the right man to stop this violence has not proven to be
easy.

[Tom S · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one. A good police thriller with lots of twists and turns. My 1st book from this author, definitely on the read list now.

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was good but, it dragged a bit too.

[Alex Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

Getting close to the end of Lisa Gardner's published books and I'm still having a good time. I may not love all her books, but they're always entertaining and I'm never against reading another.

In general, this book felt a little overblown. Like there was just constantly too much going on. Too many characters, too many bad guys, too many melodramatic backstories. I like a good amount of drama in my thrillers, but I felt this needed to be much more simplified. I only spent a couple days on it, but even getting close to the end I had a hard time keeping all the characters straight and read one whole passage thinking it was a flashback with a long dead character when it was really happening in the present with one of the main cast. It was all too much to keep track of.

The ending of this got rather disjointed. There were a half dozen characters involved and it jumped between them frequently, like every few paragraphs for a while. It felt like a cheap way to make the ending seem fast paced and more dramatic, when really it just took me out of the story and made it difficult to follow.

There was also the problem that some of the backstories seemed more interesting than the current book I was reading. There was this whole bit about a pedophile case the main detective had worked two years before that seemed way better, and I was honestly a bit disappointed to find out it wasn't its own book.

But overall, it was fun. At the end of the day, that's all a thriller really needs to be for me. It wasn't fantastic, but I like cop thrillers and this took me for a good ride, like Gardner always does. It wouldn't be on the top of my list of recommendations, either from her (Find Her is my favorite so far) or for thrillers in general (Karin Slaughter is fantastic), but I had a good time with this and I'm sure I'll have a good time with the next of her books that I pick up.

[Sally Lindsay-briggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an entertaining, exciting book with well drawn characters, plenty of action (a prisoner shot, a man car bombed, and a kidnapping. Three survivors of rape portrayed the many horrible after effects of assault and rape. Griffin is the tough, handsome cop who pulls it all together. Who was the real rapist? You are kept guessing until the end and then it all erupts in drama and suspense.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn’t wait to get through the twists and turns of this book to discover what happened. Good book. I’ve never read anything by her before. Rape is very hard for me to read about, so I was grateful it wasn’t in graphic detail. It’s bad enough that it happens in the first place.

[Chana · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Survivors in the Survivors Club are three women who were the victims of rape by the same man. It points out how devastating rape really is. Rape doesn't get a lot of acknowledgment as the horrifying crime that it really is. There are prevalent attitudes in society that a woman "asked for it" or she put herself in a compromising position by the party she attended or the liquor she drank or the boy she want out with or the clothes she wore. I've heard the attitude that it is only the "feminists" who are making a big deal of rape and that a lot of it is intended as entrapment of men and boys. I also think that porn promotes the idea that women want to be forced, and if they complain about it afterward it isn't because they didn't like it at the time. Rape is also a very under reported crime as it is humiliating to report it and to go through whatever questioning and proof will be needed. I don't know if it is just our religious training or what it is, but we all, men and women, tend to blame ourselves for anything bad that happens to us. When a woman blames herself for her own rape and she is ostracized or treated as a liar or complainer; that is a pretty devastating combination.
So this book is murder mystery "entertainment" with a solid dose of what it means to be a rape victim. And what happens if the person who is accused turns out to be the wrong person. The author kind of turns the whole situation around and looks at it from different angles. I thought it was unrealistic in some ways but that that didn't matter as the book was a stage setting in which to look at the serious problem of rape.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,2