Review: Say Goodbye by Lisa Gardner

Say Goodbye
by Lisa Gardner



My Rating:


Having lost her mother and sister years earlier to a sadistic killer, Kimberly Quincy is no stranger to death and tragedy. As an FBI Special Agent on the Evidence Response Team, she deals with both on a daily basis. She is now 5 months pregnant and struggling with the logistics of becoming a mother and keeping the demanding job that she loves.

Unfortunately for Kimberly, things are about to take a major turn for the worse. A young prostitute named Delilah Rose contacts Kimberly with a shocking story that seems almost too terrifying to be true. Delilah fears that a dangerous individual, who goes by the moniker Mr. Dinchara (an anagram for arachnid), has done something horrible to her roommate. It seems that Dinchara has an obsession for spiders, prostitutes and various other unusual amusements. Due to the lack of evidence, Kimberly is reluctant to pursue the case, but she soon changes her mind when she finds out that Delilah is also pregnant. Motivated by sympathy for Delilah and the guilt that she still feels from the deaths of her mother and sister, Kimberly decides that she just can not turn her back on the obviously scared Delilah Rose. She teams up with Special Agent Sal Martignetti who has anonymously received the names of several other missing prostitutes that are also suspected to be connected to Dinchara. Together, they uncover a twisted web of deceit and murder that becomes increasingly dangerous with each step that moves them closer to the truth.

Please be aware that this book deals with some disturbing social issues such as rape, child abuse and prostitution. They are necessary to the storyline and, as noted by the author in the Acknowledgments section of the book, the information was obtained from actual cases. However, if reading about these subjects is upsetting to you, than you might want to pass on reading this book.

Say Goodbye is a well-plotted and extremely wild ride, filled with lots of thrilling twists and turns. About halfway through the book, when the pieces start to fall into place, I simply could not put this book down. The author leaves subtle clues throughout the story, but saves the big surprises to be revealed at the end.

I particularly enjoyed reading about Kimberly's hopes and concerns regarding her pregnancy. It helped to show a softer side of her character. It also added a great deal of tension to the story. Pregnancy can be a very emotional time in a woman's life, even for the toughest of us. Add to that, a life-threatening case, a strained marriage and an unwanted attraction for a coworker and you will have a definite recipe for disaster, or at the very least, a throughly entertaining story.

The little snippets of information about spiders at the beginning of each chapter adds a distinctly unique element to the story. I found these to be very interesting facts, most of which I had no prior knowledge of. They also added to the overall creepiness factor of the tale.

If you are looking for an intensely chilling, fast-paced read that is sure to keep you up all night, this book surely will not disappoint. Just be sure to leave your lights on and lock all the doors. You might also want to have a can of bug spray handy, just in case.