Catch Me by Lisa Gardner

Pros: Very interesting thriller with a few nice twists
Cons: None for me
A very interesting thriller with some decent twists. Way to go, Lisa Gardner!
Catch Me started out a bit ho-hum; I thought I was in for a fairly predictable ride.  But it zigged when I was expecting a zag, and pulled off some genuine intrigue.
You really have to feel bad for Charlene Grant. She believes she is going to die.  She knows the exact date and time, and there’s only a few days left.  What has led her to this conclusion?  Her two best friends were both murdered – same day and time, one year apart.  Now it’s year number three, and it’s logical to believe that she’s next.  She’s pretty convinced this is going to happen, but she’s not going to take it lying down.  She’s doing everything she possibly can to protect herself. But her friends’ murders have never been solved; their crimes are pretty darned perfect.  Charlene is very afraid.
Detective D.D. Warren is on the case. Well, it’s not really a case.  Not yet, anyway.  But D.D. is intrigued by Charlene’s story and wants to do whatever she can to help her.  The problem… D.D. isn’t certain Charlene’s story is 100% accurate.  A few things about it just don’t ring true.  Is Charlene really the next victim just biding her time?  Or is something far more sinister going on?
For those unfamiliar, D.D. Warren is a Boston police detective. She’s definitely someone you want on your side, if you ever need help.  In this book, the 6^th in the series, D.D. is a new mom, juggling this new stage in her life, with her extremely demanding job.
I liked Catch Me.  It definitely held my interest.  Without giving anything away, let me just say that it has a mixture of several elements that make thrillers exciting.  And quite a few surprises.  Even when I thought I had it all figured out, I was wrong.
It has characters that are easy to like, and who are drawn with a great combination of sainthood and flaw. D.D. is mostly likeable but she’s certainly not perfect. She grows throughout the series, and now she gets to add “motherhood” to her impressive resume.  In Catch Me we get a glimpse of her parents, which helps us to understand some of her personality quirks.
Of course Charlene is a one-book character, but she, too, is drawn quite well, with a fascinating mixture of personality traits. Through an intense prologue, as well as insight into her nightmares, we get to understand her past as well as her present.  We come to understand why she does the things she does.  And, of course, we root for her, hoping her murderous destiny does not pan out.
Overall, Catch Me caught me.  Give it a try if you’re a thriller-holic, like me.
Also by Lisa Gardner:
Fear Nothing