I'm finally joining in with Throwback Thursday and I'm SO excited! Renee at It's Book Talk created this weekly feature as a way to highlight old favorites and read books that have already been published. I have so many older books on my TBR that get ignored in favor of review copies and I figure participating in Throwback Thursday will help me to read at a least one older title a week!

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Release date: January 7, 2014

Publisher: Dutton Books

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Blurb:

My name is Dr. Adeline Glen. Due to a genetic condition, I can’t feel pain. I never have. I never will.

The last thing Boston Detective D.D. Warren remembers is walking the crime scene after dark. Then, a creaking floorboard, a low voice crooning in her ear… She is later told she managed to discharge her weapon three times. All she knows is that she is seriously injured, unable to move her left arm, unable to return to work.

My sister is Shana Day, a notorious murderer who first killed at fourteen. Incarcerated for thirty years, she has now murdered more people while in prison than she did as a free woman.

Six weeks later, a second woman is discovered murdered in her own bed, her room containing the same calling cards from the first: a bottle of champagne and a single red rose. The only person who may have seen the killer: Detective D.D. Warren, who still can’t lift her child, load her gun, or recall a single detail from the night that may have cost her everything.

Our father was Harry Day, an infamous serial killer who buried young women beneath the floor of our home. He has been dead for forty years. Except the Rose Killer knows things about my father he shouldn’t. My sister claims she can help catch him. I think just because I can’t feel pain, doesn’t mean my family can’t hurt me.

D.D. may not be back on the job, but she is back on the hunt. Because the Rose Killer isn’t just targeting lone women; he is targeting D.D. And D.D. knows there is only one way to take him down:

Fear nothing.

Review:

I got behind on this series, I'm sure it was because I got on Netgalley and I became overwhelmed with review copies, but when I was trying to decide what book would be my first pick for TT, this was an obvious choice for me. I love Gardner, she's one of my favorite authors and this D. D. Warren series is so great. Luckily I'm only two books behind so I should be caught up soon.

One of my favorite things about Gardner's books is that she doesn't shy away from hard hitting subject matter and she always keeps things fresh and interesting. This is told from D. D.'s POV as well as Adeline Glen who is a psychiatrist helping D. D. with pain management. Adeline doesn't feel pain at all and this was utterly fascinating to me. On top of a totally interesting premise, the characters are deeply complex and so interesting. D. D. is waylaid with a serious injury and she was so out of sorts. She's the type of detective that can't function without work so her seeing her struggle was another engrossing aspect to the story.

I mentioned earlier that Gardner is a hard hitting author but I want to point out that her books are very graphic and violent. There's always a grittiness to her plots and this was one very dark. You have a killer using sick and twisted methods and sisters whose father was a brutal killer as well, so there are quite a few disturbing scenes. Think Karin Slaughter in terms of style, I love this type of writing but wanted to make it clear that this book is very graphic in case that's not your thing.

There were so many gut punching twists that discussing the plot would just ruin things. If you've never read a Gardner book before, I can highly recommend this series if you're a thriller fan. She's a fantastic storyteller and her writing is captivating AND D. D. is such a great lead character.

Overall rating: 5/5