Missing persons specialist Frankie Elkin is on an isolated island off the coast of Hawaii.
Her mission: to find Lani, the missing sister of a Death Row serial killer known as the Beautiful Butcher who is awaiting execution in just three weeks’ time.
According to the Beautiful Butcher’s sources, Lani is being held captive by her millionaire ex-boyfriend on the island. The only way to gain access is for Frankie to go undercover.
But can Frankie really trust the word of a serial killer?
Plus, this island is no paradise with deadly creatures and suspicious co-workers at every turn, and an incoming tropical storm about to cut her off from the outside world.
Could this be Frankie Elkin’s most dangerous case yet?
I'm delighted to be hosting the blog tour for Still See You Everywhere by Lisa Gardner today. Many thanks to Penguin Books and Tracy Fenton from Compulsive Readers for inviting me and for advance copy of the novel, received through Netgalley.
Still See You Everywhere is the third book in Lisa Gardner's Frankie Elkin series and it's a welcome return for a character who has become one of my favourites. Frankie has no official job title, but over several years she has become a missing persons specialist. She takes on the cold cases and as such never stays in the same place for very long. In Before She Disappeared, she was in Boston, while One Step Too Far saw her in rural Wyoming. It means this series constantly feels fresh and each new book can be read as a standalone. However, it's worth mentioning that there are mentions of her previous cases, and particularly her ordeal in Wyoming, so if you prefer to avoid any spoilers, I'd recommend reading the earlier novels first.
Still See You Everywhere is a breathtakingly tense and shocking thriller but it is so much more besides. This is an emotive, intense character study of a woman who has spent so long searching for others but all the time has been lost to herself. She is thoroughly unsettled by her visit to a serial killer on Death Row in Texas, but nevertheless agrees to head to a remote atoll off the coast of Hawaii to look for the 'Beautiful Butcher's' missing teenage sister, Lea. Keahi Pierson is a terrifying creation; a woman who ruthlessly slaughtered eighteen men, without remorse. However, as the prologue and then her own words to Frankie reveals, her story is a tragic, violent one. Lisa Gardner cleverly makes it clear that she is an incredibly dangerous woman but still manages to elicit some sympathy for her.
Frankie is understandably unnerved by her visit to the prison; one of my favourite aspects of this series is how down-to-earth she is and despite everything she has done or seen, her reactions are consistently believable. She accepts the case despite her reservations and before long is headed for Hawaii and then Pomaikai. The atoll is being developed into a luxurious, eco-friendly, sustainable resort by super-rich tech mogul, Sanders Macmanus – the man accused of snatching Lea when she was just a small girl. It's once she's on the isolated island that the tension really starts to rise but there are lighter moments too, with her self-deprecating sense of humour ensuring she is an immensely likeable figure, despite being so evidently damaged.
She is still haunted by the horror she endured in Wyoming and her vulnerability here, as she contemplates her tragic past and the person she has become as a result, is superbly expressed. Lisa Gardner heightens the sense of suspense to almost unbearable levels at times but the twisty, nailbiting plot is never at the expense of the empathetic, affecting characterisation. Frankie is joined by a group of people, who, like her, choose to lead transient lives and it's ironic that she is perhaps more at home among them than she's been for years, while still being utterly terrified and tested to her absolute limits. As a returning reader, I am already invested in Frankie's story but Lisa Gardner also takes care to richly develop her supporting cast too and I grew to care deeply for many of them too.
The vivid sense of place is exceptional and Pomaikai is evocatively brought to life, with its beauty juxtaposed powerfully with its more hazardous elements. The island's wildlife – especially its crabs – make a memorable impression but it's the geographical features which are perhaps most pertinent. Even under the most tranquil conditions, wifi coverage is patchy and communications are difficult but factor in a dramatic tropical storm and a deadly cat-and-mouse hunt, where Frankie is forced to question everything while under suspicion herself, and the stage is set for a high octane, emotional climax. Having seeded the novel throughout with a rising atmosphere of foreboding, Lisa Gardner seamlessly turns nervous doubt into abject terror.
I tore through Still See You Everywhere; this explosive, heart-rending thriller is a compulsive, action-packed read and a moving exploration of love, loss and what it means to belong. My favourite in the series so far, I very highly recommend it!
Still See You Everywhere is published by Century, a Penguin imprint. Purchasing links can be found here.
Follow the blog tour, details are below.
About the Author
Her novel, The Neighbour, won Best Hardcover Novel from the International Thriller Writers and the Grand Prix des Lectrices de Elle in France. She was also recognized with the Daphne du Maurier Award in 2000 for The Other Daughter. Lisa received the Silver Bullet Award from the International Thriller Writers in 2017 for her work on behalf of at-risk children and the Humane Society.
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