Thursday, February 20, 2014

Fear Nothing, by Lisa Gardner

D.D. Warren is injured returning to a murder scene on her own late at night. Still off work and in great pain weeks after the injury, she agrees to see a pain therapist, Dr. Adeline Glen. Ironically, Glen herself has a rare genetic condition that prevents her from feeling any pain, an ailment that causes her to be extremely cautious in the way she lives her life. She is the daughter of a notorious serial killer who stripped skin from his victims and stored it in Mason jars; her sister Shana Day is also a convicted serial killer whom she visits monthly. And, coincidentally, the cases D.D.'s squad is working also involve strips of skin being cut from the victims postmortem.

The theme of this book (to the extent that mysteries have themes) is nature vs. nurture--Adeline was raised by a loving adoptive father, Shana spent her youth in a series of foster homes. The exploration of this theme is not very satisfying and the descriptions of the many crimes that occur in the course of the investigation are a bit too graphic. I was listening to a recorded version of the book and I occasionally felt slightly nauseous during skin-stripping activities.

Definitely not the best in the D.D. Warren series, but if you like your mysteries gory, Fear Nothing may be right up your alley.

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