Anne Frasier is the New York Times, #1 Amazon Charts, and USA Today bestselling author of the Detective Jude Fontaine Mysteries, the Elise Sandburg series, and the Inland Empire novels. With more than a million copies sold, her award-winning books span the genres of suspense, mystery, thriller, romantic suspense, paranormal, and memoir. The Body Reader received the 2017 Thriller Award for Best Original Paperback Novel from International Thriller Writers. Other honors include a RITA for Romantic Suspense and a Daphne du Maurier Award for Paranormal Romantic Mystery/Suspense. Her thrillers have hit the USA Today bestseller list and have been featured in Mystery Guild, the Literary Guild, and Book of the Month. Her memoir, The Orchard, was an O, The Oprah Magazine Fall Pick; a One Book, One Community read; and one of the Librarians鈥� Best Books of 2011. Visit her website at .
After a foray into some lighter reading, I'm back at home with a story about a psychopathic, serial killer, who used his young daughter as bait, to lure as many as twenty young women, to their death. Now, thirty听years later, convicted serial killer Benjamin Fisher, is ready to disclose the location of the bodies, only if his estranged daughter, Reni, will meet with him and be part of the process. Reni had seemed to have put the past behind her and been a very successful FBI profiler, until she had a nervous breakdown, three year earlier, after hallucinating that her FBI partner was her dad. Now Reni makes her living as a potter, living an isolated life, at her desert cabin.听
San Bernardino detective Daniel Ellis has been obsessed with Benjamin Fisher and his victims, since he was eleven years old and he realized that his mom could be one of Ben's victims. With dogged determination, he learned everything he could about Ben and his victims and even became a detective, in order to continue his research with more resources at his disposal. He recruits Reni in this effort to get Ben to show where the bodies are buried. Both Daniel and Reni are damaged by what had happened to them in the past and by their obsession to find the victims of the killer.听
This is probably my favorite type of book to read and there is going to be a sequel, next year and I'll be there for it. We see the story mostly from the perspectives of Daniel and Reni and the manner of writing seems to keep us a bit at a distance from the characters. Both of these people have learned to hold back, Reni because she is suffering from PTSD and Daniel because he works with murders and bodies, all the time, but can never forget that he's looking for the body of his mother. The landscape is as much a character, in this story, as the humans because Reni grew up in the desert and that is where her father buried the bodies. When Reni falls apart, the desert is where she wants to live, knowing she feels guilty for how her father used her in his murderous games but also for how she misses the loving father she thought she knew.听
Published July 1st 2020 by Thomas & Mercer
Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for this ARC.
for how short this story is, i am impressed that it feels so complete, especially for a mystery/thriller.
its a rather simple plot, so i think that helps things. so many books in the genre rely on multiple twists and turns, but this focuses only on one thing, and i think it does it well. the characters are also compelling and the writing is easily devourable.
i wouldnt hesitate to recommend this to readers who are looking for a quick but engaging crime mystery.
Anne Frasier鈥檚 first book in the Inland Empire series, Find Me, is an impactful and chilling police procedural and psychological thriller. Benjamin Fisher, convicted of multiple killings, has finally offered to lead San Bernardino County homicide detective Daniel Ellis to the victims鈥� graves. He has two stipulations. The first is easy to accommodate (pie from a specific diner), but the second will be a challenge. He wants his estranged daughter FBI profiler Reni Fisher who hasn鈥檛 talked with or seen him in thirty years to accompany them. For the sake of the families, Reni finally agrees.
Daniel is divorced, driven, focused, intense, and determined to help the families find answers and closure. Reni loves the desert, makes pottery to relieve stress from her childhood trauma, is insightful, sometimes doubts herself, and tends to have flashbacks. Both has childhood events that affect them and shaped their careers.
After a chilling prologue, the story gradually builds momentum. However, there are several flashbacks that adversely affect the pacing. Despite this, they provide valuable background on the main characters. There are several twists and turns with some surprises and a couple that were more obvious. Despite a couple of over-the-top action scenes, I went with the flow and became engrossed in the deeply involved plot, incredible setting, and extraordinary, but flawed characters. The world-building is excellent and made the Mojave Desert come alive. The ending does leave a few open questions, but the main mystery was resolved.
Overall, this was a story that hooked me and kept me turning the pages. The author did a great job of weaving the threads together. I look forward to seeing what is next for Daniel and Reni. Readers of mysteries and police procedurals will likely enjoy this series.
I purchased a copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date was July 1, 2020. --------------------------------------- My 4.18 rounded to 4 stars review is coming soon.
Find Me is an outstanding start to a new series. How do you get past your beloved father being a prolific serial killer who used you as bait to attract the victims? How do you get past despite being FIVE years old, some people still manage to blame you? As if she doesn't have enough guilt on her own. Meet Reni Fisher former FBI profiler. How do you get past the fact your mother disappeared one night and her body never recovered. How do you past the fact that now you have a chance to find her body if the killer's ex-FBI daughter, who had a breakdown, will assist in the case? Meet Daniel Ellis, San Bernadino detective. Meet Benjamin Fisher who made a game out of murder with his daughter. He's just a loving dad who is desperate to see his daughter, and will finally give up the location of the burial ground in order to do so. A fantastically painted landscape, so many characters with a screw loose. So dark and twisted. Give me more. Let me interrupt my regularly scheduled review with a clever aside. Okay, maybe not clever. Frasier's Body Reader trilogy is just as dark, just as outstanding. But wait, there is more: Frasier's Elise Sandburg's four book series, is dark, occasionally humorous , and set in Savannah. Standout event in that one series- Elise was going to try therapy due to her kidnapping and torture by a serial killer. She made the therapist cry and was told not to come back. I love black humor. Okay back to review. I think Frasier flies way under the goodreads radar. I can't imagine why as she is a standout. Its hard to make a serial killer book fresh and original. Frasier manages to do so with Find Me. Just go read it. Then go back and read everything else she has written. Thank you to NetGalley for and ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
San Bernardino homicide detective Daniel Ellis is summoned to San Quentin prison to speak to convicted serial killer Benjamin Fisher, the Inland Empire Killer from thirty years ago. Fisher will reveal where bodies are buried in the Mojave Desert on condition that he meets up with his ex FBI daughter Reni who as a little girl helps him entice the help of the women he goes on to kill. What unfolds takes the investigation in unexpected directions.
This should have been an interesting read as the premise is good but the plodding style, short sentence structure and lack of much description leaves me underwhelmed. I like the characters of Daniel and Reni as their backgrounds are very interesting but the constant flitting backwards and forwards in time becomes irritating and some of the information given doesn鈥檛 add a great deal to the storytelling. There is some excitement on occasions but then it鈥檚 lost with a flashback. The end is unlikely and a bit crazy.
Overall, an average, quick read which is so disappointing as I鈥檝e read this author before and liked what I read.
Find me made me enamoured with the author. Not only because she is freaking good at writing, but because she is also not that good. I'll explain later. This book was very minimalist yet so bold and beautiful.
I wouldn't have known that I was journeying into the part of the thriller genre that says: enough about lone wolf killers. Enough about tattooed, gender defying, solitary, crazy killers. This book is a rejuvenation of the genre. The spooky thing about this is that the person who recommended this book to me is now gone from the internet.
Find me has a lot of stamina. The twists are the meat and drink of the genre, but keeping them coming in such clinical doses is a neat feat. The author has the audience's measure. She knows about your BMI and cooks up a book that can weird anyone out, but reading is not the same as living, of course.
So, Anne Frasier packs a lot of pure venomous force in her books, but only those that begin a series. That's how she operates, don't ask me why. She is frankly average at sequels. If I find that she is planning a new series, that will be manna from heaven. So now you know. Couldn't be clearer.
It's been quite a while ago that I read this book, so the fact that I vividly remember the story is especially telling. Reno, the daughter of a serial killer, has had much to overcome in her life. She now lives alone in the dessert, and lives her life the best she is able. Until, she is drawn into the case, trying to find the graves of her father's many victims. The investigator himself has his own motives and this is a big part of the story a well.
Loved the twists and turns, facts uncovered as the investigation is ongoing. I also loved the dessert setting and these two very sounds and vulnerable characters. This is a evenly told story, both plot and character driven, fairly fast paced as well. It's the first in a series and a series of which I intend to follow. I was thoroughly drawn into this story and look forward to the next.
The desert remains a wide emptiness. But within this vast domain are secrets unveiled by its winds.
Reni Fisher, former FBI profiler, sits in her small cabin located in the heat of that desert in southern California. She listens to the pounding that shakes her front door. Outside on her porch is Homicide Detective Daniel Ellis of the San Bernardino Police Department. Reni knows that by opening her door she will be re-engaging with a past that she longs to bury and keep buried.
Daniel is on a mission to bring Reni back into the fold. The Inland Empire Killer has promised to reveal the location of his victims from 30 years ago if Reni accompanies Daniel. If this were only a law enforcement situation, it would be one thing. But Reni is a bit too close to the edge on this one. The serial killer is Benjamin Wayne Fisher......her own father.
Reni lives every day with the weight of her own guilt. As a young child of five, she was used by her father to attract young woman into his macabre web. Reni only knew it as "playing the game", but what a deadly game it was. That same guilt was the reason why Reni left the FBI. But there is something about Daniel that convinces Reni to join forces with him in order to bring peace to these families. Reni will never realize the price she must pay for that decision.
Find Me started out as a top-notch psychological thriller with very engaging writing. I was pulled in by the character of Reni Fisher and her embracing of the loneliness and yet the tranquility of the desert as her refuge. I wanted to know more about Daniel and what had happened to his mother so long ago. But it was the final arch of the ending that made me shake my head in disappointment. All the energy went into the build-up with little payoff in the conclusion. Believe me, Reni and Daniel deserved better and so did we.
But, alas, I will still be on the lookout for the next book in this series. Stay away from improbability, Anne Frasier. Hope the next one rides out like a beautiful desert sunset with all the colors aligned.
I received a copy of Find Me through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Thomas & Mercer and to Anne Frasier for the opportunity.
Imagine being the bait to lure young women to their deaths? Imagine being the daughter of a serial killer? Imagine your father, in jail for thirty years asking you, his daughter, to see him for he is ready to reveal the locations of the bodies of the girls he murdered?
Along with Daniel Ellis, a detective, Reni Fisher agrees to meet her father out in the desert where the bodies lie. Then, the unbelievable happens, and Reni and Daniel are off in a quest to find the bodies for Daniel and Reni, now a former FBI profiler, both have an overwhelming desire to find the bodies and bring some closure to their families and of course their own lives. They are both driven by deeply hidden ghosts that haunt their days and make this quest their ultimate goal. As always, danger lurks, and there are evil and strange forces working to see that their goal is never recognized.
There's a lot going on in this story, and Ms Frasier handles the telling with aplomb, building the tension, the circumstances, and the ending with lots of tension, force, and urgency. She makes this book into a compulsive read, filling it with lots of twists that honestly, I never saw coming.
If you are a lover of well done thrillers, this just might be the story for you. I read it in two days and yes, it was that good. Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this very impressive page turning book, due out today, July 15,2020.
Anne Frasier's dark thriller Find Me has a chilling premise. Imagine a little girl being used as a bait to lure innocent, young women to their deaths at the hands of a serial killer. What if she thought it was just a game she was playing with her loving, caring father? Benjamin Fisher, nicknamed the Inland Empire Kiler, because he murdered and buried his numerous victims somewhere between L.A. and Mojave Desert, Benjamin Fisher was Reni Fisher's loving and caring father.
Caught when Reni was eight years old, after one of his victims escaped and identified him (he was her university professor of psychology, Benamin never revealed the places where the bodies were buried. Now he wants to talk. He is willing to lead Detective Daniel Ellis to those shallow graves. It might be true or it might be just a trick to get out of the prison for a day. Daniel doesn't care. He will do anything possible to give the victims' families closure. The only problem is that Benjamin Fisher has a condition. He wants his now 38-year-old daughter to be there. Reni hasn't seen him or been in contact for the last thirty years, since the day of his arrest.
Daniel, who is nothing if not determined, finds Reni and manages to persuade her to cooperate. Reni is a former FBI profiler. Daniel once attended her talk at Quantico and even asked her if she felt complicit in her father's crimes. I won't tell you what she replied, because the whole book is the answer. Daniel also has a personal agenda, although not many people know about it. His mother,who was raising him alone, disappeared when he was a child and he has always suspected she was one of the Inland Empire Killer's victims whose bodies were never found.
The protagonists are well-written characters whose whole lives have been marked by what happened to them when they were children. Reni's mother warns Daniel that Reni is fragile, psychologically vulnerable. There is a reason why Reni had a breakdown and later chose to live as a hermit in a desert cabin, making pottery and healing in the only way she knows. Reni has always had a complicated relationship with her mother, who claimed she didn't know anything about Benjamin's crimes鈥e all know that memories are not always reliable and we often re-assess and modify them to fit the picture which emerges from later experience/evidence. Reni is still struggling trying to make sense of her memories and what was really happening.
The writing is very engaging -it's almost impossible to put this short, compelling book down. You think you have everything figured out and then twists start coming right, left, and centre until the nail-biting end which becomes a race to survive and save another person's life.
The setting of the Mojave desert is very atmospheric. It isn't just gorgeous sunsets and majestic Joshua trees, it's a place that can kill or heal you, depending on how prepared and how attuned you are to nature. This is the only place Reni feels safe in, because it's the place that lets her be herself, not an accidental passenger in other people's journeys. The place that helps her sort her memories, feelings and dreams.
To be honest, the book ends in an open way. It could have been a standalone- there is a sense of closure and most things are cleared and explained. There are other things which remain a secret and might or might not be revealed in the next book. Can't wait to read it and find out which direction Anne Frasier chose for this fascinating series.
I had forgotten that the main character, Reni Fisher, was so focused on birds, an obsession of mine over the years. I'm unsure why I felt the need to read this again, but it was a very strong urge and that may have been a factor. I am bumping the rating from 3 stars up to 4, reasoning that wanting to reread it and reading it just as quickly the second time indicates that I am really engaged with the work.
Reni is the daughter of serial killer Benjamin Fisher, used by him as a lure for his victims while she was a child. A heavy burden to bear and the major reason that she became an FBI agent. A mental episode where she mistakes her partner for her father leads her to retire from the Bureau and retreat to the desert. She is persuaded to assist Agent Daniel Ellis when her father seems willing to give up locations of his victims. Little does she know that Daniel has his own dark history.
If you are curious about nonfiction concerning the families of these murderers, I suggest looking for . Go into it aware, however, that it is truly about the daughter. (She makes it plain that far too many people are way too interested in her father and have completely ignored her.) Also interesting is , a memoir by a woman who was involved with that notorious man. These people are collateral damage in the killers' lives.
Original Review
I'm struggling with the rating of this book. On the one hand, I felt like the author tipped her hand just a little too obviously. On the other hand, I read it fast and didn't want to stop. Also, I'm starting to wrestle with the issue of fiction glorifying serial murders and the people who commit them. I feel somewhat guilty that I enjoy this genre, but I also think that it doesn't hurt anyone if I like it. Something that I'm going to have to work out for myself, I guess.
I guess we are all amateur psychologists, attempting to understand those around us. And because we value being able to predict the behaviour of others and understand their motivations, I think we fixate on people who behave in antisocial ways. It's kind of like rubber necking to see a car accident--we're attempting to learn from the misfortune of others and avoid it ourselves. If I can just spot the dangerous person, I can get away unscathed, goes the reasoning. At least I think that what motivates me.
I loved the desert setting that Frasier uses here. Maybe this harks back to my teenage years of reading Zane Grey. I haven't personally spent much time in desert habitats, I'm a grassland girl. But I have to agree with the main character Reni when she says, 鈥淚 cope by looking up and out. That's where I find help. Nature never lets me down.鈥� Birds have always been my thing and there are very few places on Earth where you can be outside and not see a bird pretty quickly.
I'm going to give this 3 stars, but that's just my feeling about my reading experience today. I think I might have rated it more highly if I'd read it several years ago.
Anne Frasier knows how to create characters that are strong, intense and dark; characters who are flawed and fighting their own personal demons but yet have a sense of nobility and heroism about them. I have previously read the third book, The Body Keeper, in her Detective Jude Fontaine Mysteries and loved it. Needless to say, I loved every minute of reading this book as well! Looking forward to reading more in this new series. Reni Fisher and Daniel Ellis are a great new addition to the already diverse world of homicide detectives.
I received an e-Arc of the book from the publishers Thomas and Mercer and the author via NetGalley.
Find Me by Anne Frasier is a great start to a new series, it's definitely not the book you think it's going to be the twists are so unexpected and shocking. It's a very engrossing and pacy thriller which will keep you flipping pages until the early hours. It's definitely worth reading 馃摉
"Find Me" is reminiscent of another Amazon First Reads mystery, "A Killer's Wife" by Victor Methos, about a jailed serial killer who wants to get close to his estranged daughter. In both books a family member works with the FBI. There the similarity ends, because the plot of "Find Me" is too unbelievable and stupid. The protagonist, Reni Fisher is the daughter of the serial killer and has worked as a top FBI profiler. I imagine you don't achieve that position without a deep understanding of psychology and yourself. Yet we are supposed to believe that Reni is so shattered by the crimes that she witnessed as a young girl that she cannot recognize the inconsistencies all around her. That her own mother rejected her as a baby. That her grandmother killed her husband. That Maurice, a bachelor, next door neighbor and best family friend has had a relationship with her mother and the jailed serial killer for the last 30 years without any suspicions. And Reni's partner in trying to solve the mystery, homicide detective Daniel Ellis is not much better. He allows himself to be overcome and beaten by a middle age woman he suspects of murder. And if this is not enough, we are expected to believe that after Reni has been pushed off a cliff by her mother and surely broken bones in her body, she able to crawl back up the mountain and walk mile after painful mile until she can flag down a passing motorist. When she finally get a lift, does she call 911 or an ambulance. No she goes to an award ceremony to confront her mother who is being honored. That's right. The mother, after trying to kill her daughter and another witness who is lying bleeding to death in the trunk of her car, has gotten all dressed up as the guest of honor. Talk about compartmentalization! The predictable end reads like a Hollywood script. Yes, Reni and Daniel walk off into the sunset, but not as lovers ... yet. And as for the title of the book, are the dead bodies asking to be found? A better title would be Little Wren or The Inland Empire Killer. I cannot believe all the 4 and 5 star rating this book earned on 欧宝娱乐.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Find Me is the start of a new series set in California about former FBI profiler Reni Fisher, the daughter of a convicted serial killer, and homicide detective Daniel Ellis, who believes Reni鈥檚 father killed his mother when he was a child. I鈥檇 read and enjoyed the four books in this author鈥檚 Elise Sandberg series, and am always slightly conflicted when characters I鈥檝e enjoyed getting to know are seemingly abandoned in favour of a new series, but feel this was a good start with interesting new protagonists.
Reni lives alone in the Mojave desert, two years after a nervous breakdown forced her to quit the FBI, still ravaged with guilt about being the unwitting lure for the women killed by her father thirty years earlier. Benjamin Fisher contacts San Bernardino Detective Daniel, saying he is finally ready to reveal the location of their graves, but only if Reni accompanies them. Daniel must persuade her to confront her fears if they are to bring closure to the families, but can he trust her when she can鈥檛 trust herself?
This is the third series I鈥檝e started in the last year or so about daughters of serial killers, which is an interesting new (to me, at least) trope, as long as it doesn鈥檛 become over-used. It鈥檚 told in third person from both Reni and Daniel鈥檚 perspectives, which worked well. I thought I knew where this was going until about 30% when it went in a completely different but rather welcome direction. Further clever twists follow, although I found the final part increasingly implausible. If you can suspend disbelief, the ending is satisfying, and leaves things open for a sequel, which I will happily read. Frasier writes well, and the desert backdrop is an important part of this story.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC which allowed me to give an honest review, and apologies to the author for the delay in providing it. Find Me is available now.
Imprisoned serial killer Ben Fisher finally offers to lead detectives to the graves of his victims on condition that he is joined by FBI profiler Reni Fisher, his estranged daughter, who as a little girl, he had used as bait to lure his victims. Lots of promise here, and some good characterization, but I felt it got lost nearer the end and the ending itself tested belief. It was a fairly good read but one that failed to live up to the early promise.
San Bernardino detective Daniel Ellis is about to have a defining moment in his personal life and his career: convicted serial killer Benjamin Fisher, known as the Inland Empire Killer, has agreed to lead him to the graves of his victims after 30 years. But first 鈥� Ellis has to get Fisher鈥檚 daughter Reni to agree to accompany them.
Ellis is hesitant to ask knowing that Reni鈥檚 time as a successful FBI profiler was cut short after concern with her mental health. Not to mention Reni was used as a young child to lure unsuspecting women to their deaths at the hands of her own father, a fact she still cannot forgive herself for. But now is the chance to give closure to the families 鈥� including Daniel Ellis, who has long suspected his mother was a victim of the Inland Empire Killer.
Wow, I have had a winning streak with thrillers recently! I usually have to limit how many I consume over the short term because I get frustrated quickly with the same tired old formula. Find Me by Anne Frasier is a compelling read, I was completely invested in Reni and Daniel鈥檚 back stories, their present motivations, the search for the bodies, and the truth that is slowly revealed. This was a quick read with short but gripping chapters. My only issue was a few minor events at the end that felt too convenient but it didn鈥檛 ruin this fast paced story!
It wasn鈥檛 until I was mid-way in that I realized this is the beginning of a series and I鈥檓 very curious to see where this one goes. This doesn鈥檛 end with a cliffhanger but a few of the plot points should lead us into another page turner!
Ben Fisher sits on death row in a California prison for the murder of multiple women. He was sentenced 20 years ago. Reni, his 5 year old daughter was used as bait. Sick isn't it?
20 years later, Fisher is ready to tell where the bodies were buried. His only stipulation is that he wants his daughter to be present.
The story was pretty darn good. Who doesn't love serial killer books. The only thing that bothered me was the execution. One of the twists was a little bit silly.... however, it didn't ruin the whole book. Thank heavens this is a series. Can't believe I hadn't heard of Anne Frasier before. 4 猸愶笍猸愶笍猸愶笍猸愶笍
This book, which I snagged as an Amazon FirstReads pick, is the first in a series - and after finishing it, I'm already chomping at the bit for the next. It features Daniel Ellis, a detective in San Bernardino, California; he took over the case of a serial killer from a retired detective. The killer, Benjamin Fisher, has been in jail for 30 years or so, but so far he's refused to reveal the locations at which he hid his victims' bodies.
Out of the blue, Ben asks to see Daniel - and this time, he says he's willing to take the police to the bodies. But only, he adds, if his daughter Reni, a former FBI profiler, comes along (they've been estranged ever since he went to jail). As a young girl, Reni's father used her to lure his victims - all women - to him for the kill. Needless to say, that left Reni traumatized, with memories she can't quite pull together to make sense. Daniel, too, was traumatized as a child when his mother abruptly left him, never to return. His unspoken connection to the killer? Ever since Ben went to jail, he's been convinced that his mother was one of the serial killer's victims.
Finding Reni isn't terribly difficult, but convincing her to see her father again - even if it might bring closure to the victims' families - is another story (well, actually, it's part of this story). She's been living in the middle of the Mojave Desert, believing that some or all of the victims were buried there. Needless to say, she agrees, and the next part of the saga begins.
Much more of their journey than that I can't reveal without spoiling the story for others, but suffice it to say it's an exciting trip, with several twists (nothing much came as a big surprise, but the action kept me plodding onward right to the end). Very entertaining and a great beach read, I'd think - all that sand would make you feel like you're right there with Daniel and Reni.
This series is about a serial killer (on death row in San Quentin) and his effect on the family he left behind along with the families of his victims. I don鈥檛 read a lot of books where the story is based in CA, especially in LA. However, most of this story is based in the Mohave desert, which is several hours and hundreds of miles from LA, so there鈥檚 none of that LA bull$#!^ going on in this story.
By the halfway mark, I began to suspect a twist in the story was coming and, sure enough, by about the 65%-70%, the twist was introduced, which led to yet another twist, at which point, I began to suspect the end of the story. Despite all that, Frasier still surprised me with the additional twist and shocking end. I liked and enjoyed this book very much, especially the way Frasier unfolded the story. Frasier is also a very good writer and storyteller and this psychological thriller she has written, with it psychologically messed up MC鈥檚 and the chaos that is their lives, was a good story. I look forward to reading the sequel.
Be warned, this review has spoilers, so please don't read any further if you haven't yet read the book and don't want plot points ruined for you!
I had high expectations for this book based on the 4 and 5 star reviews from readers and critics. I am really torn about this book.
On the one hand, it was an interesting premise and there were some unique twists to the story (some I anticipated and some that took me by surprise).
On the other hand, I really struggled with how inept and clueless both Reni and Daniel came across at times, especially when they were both members of law enforcement and investigation.
I could overlook and accept the whole Reni dragging herself across the desert in her injured state because, hey, people have been known to do amazing things while suffering from injuries. But then she shows up at her mother's awards dinner without calling the police and maybe filling them in that there's a serial killer still at large? I mean, she tried to call Gabby to warn her, but doesn't call 911 with her rescuers' borrowed phone?
Then there was the whole Rosalind rampage at the end. Everything about it just seemed cartoonish to me. Just so ridiculous and difficult to swallow, especially Daniel being stupid enough to get in the car with her and not just slap her ass in handcuffs for being a murder suspect after her daughter just announced that she's a serial killer to all the people at the awards event.
I also had a hard time overlooking some things that probably should have been caught by an editor. For example, it's stated at the beginning of the book that Reni has shiny Auburn hair. In fact, it's talked about in detail (the style it's cut in, how shiny it was as a child, how long it is now). Now, I know Auburn hair can be on the darker side, but when she and Daniel meet with Gabby, Reni's hair is a topic of Gabby's inner thoughts and how dark it is, "...not black, not that dark, but it still reminded Gabby of a blackbird's wing." Well that seems pretty freaking dark to me and not Auburn. But the one that bothered me even more was at the end when Reni goes into Rosiland's open arms (her evil embrace as it's stated) and feels the gun her mother had jabbing her in her belly. When she hears the gunshot and is expecting to feel the pain, but sees that Daniel has shot Rosalind in the forehead...from his position on the ground...when Reni was between him and Rosalind...and about six pages prior it was stated that Reni had to bend to speak into the microphone her mother had been using at the awards ceremony because Reni was taller than her mother. That Daniel must have been one hell of a marksman. Yes, I know his skill was mentioned at the beginning of the book, but come on!
I would have loved to give this book 4 stars, but I honestly struggled to even give it 3 with some of the things that bothered me about it. However, despite my issues, I did like both Reni and Daniel. I felt there were good bones to this book and some original twists and surprising moments. It's those things that pushed my rating to 3 stars.
It looks like there is going to be another book with these characters. I did like this book well enough that I will most likely read it to see what comes next for them.
鈥淥ther people spent their free time going to movies or going out to eat or visiting museums. She looked for women her father had killed.鈥�
Meet Reni Fisher, whose convicted serial killer father, Benjamin, is currently being housed at San Quentin State Prison. Reni was a victim to her father too, but in a different way. He used her as bait to lure in his victims. Even though suffering an incredibly traumatic childhood, Reni grows up and uses her experience to become an FBI profiler.
Benjamin has agreed to lead Daniel Ellis, lead San Bernardino detective, to the graves of all the women he murdered. Daniel is extremely attached to this case because he believes that his own mother was one of Benjamin鈥檚 victims. Even though Reni is estranged from her father, she wants all the victims鈥� families to have the much-needed closure that they deserve. So, she agrees to assist with the case. Reni and Daniel want peace for their own sake as well. However, not everything is what it seems, and things go extremely wrong from the very beginning.
This mystery thriller did not disappoint and truly packs a punch for being only 282 pages. It is incredibly fast paced, captivating, and full of suspense and surprises. There are many twists and turns, so hold on for a crazy ride. I enjoyed putting together the pieces of the puzzle to this story and was enthralled throughout. This is the first book in the 鈥淚nland Empire Series鈥� and this was the first book that I have read by this author but it will NOT be the last. I am looking forward to reading the next installment, 鈥淭ell Me鈥� in this series. Do yourself a favor and add this one to your TBR list!
Many Thanks to Net Galley, Thomas & Mercer and Anne Frasier for a chance to read and review this book. All opinions are expressed voluntarily.
#FindMe #NetGalley
Most fans of thrillers would have read enough serial killer books but rarely are books focused on the family of a serial killer. Find Me by Anne Frasier is chilling not because of any gruesome killing, well that too, but coz of the emotional abuse and trauma that children of serial killer face. The story is dark, the opening chapter itself causing a spiky heartbeat. The author鈥檚 portrayal of the use of an innocent child for a parent鈥檚 whim is stark and graphic.
In fact, the whole book is about the trauma that not just Reni as Benjamin Fisher鈥檚 daughter and victim of his crimes is going thru but also how the loss of a mother shaped the entire life of Detective Daniel Ellis. 30 yrs. of searching for her father鈥檚 victims hasn鈥檛 given Reni the peace and freedom from guilt and I was really thankful that there was only a small part of Ben Fisher as Anne Frasier鈥檚 writing is so vivid that I didn鈥檛 want to read any more manipulative techniques on Reni.
I loved both Reni鈥檚 and Daniel鈥檚 character as individuals who have faced baptism by fire and still be strong although the emotions are sometimes crippling them. The final chapters with its terrible reveals had me literally on my feet trying to keep my thumping heart under control. The atmosphere created in the story is another plus as the desert and the skies adds a layer of vastness and limitless boundaries.
A psychopathic serial killer thriller that does not go where you expect. This was some seriously good shit.
After serial killer Ben Fisher finally agrees to reveal the locations of his victims to our damaged detective and the daughter he used as bait; a while chain reaction of events kicks off that keep you engrossed for 300 something pages.
This was good. It was gritty, dark, and you were never lead to obvious clues or plot points to get the story moving. I had absolutely zero idea about the ending and I really really enjoyed this.
If you鈥檝e read In My Father鈥檚 Basement, you may at first be lulled into a false sense of deja vu. Don鈥檛 become complacent, however, or the twists and turns may just knock your legs out from under you! Frazier does a brilliant job creating characters we both like and root for, whilst at the same time planting seeds of doubt about each of them. Without offering spoilers, I will say that for me the only place this one fell short was in the incomplete closure, though I suppose that leaves the door open for a sequel.
5 Not As It Seems Stars * * * * 1/2 Spoiler Free Lately, I have been reading more Mystery/Thrillers. I use to read them almost exclusively back in the day, before my turn to romance. It seems by reading these books, it keeps my mind fresh for everything else.
Find Me by Anne Frasier came to me through a NetGalley promotion in my email. I am thrilled it did. This hooked me from the first page and never let go. The way it was crafted reminded me of how I felt when I started Huntress Moon by Alexandra Sokoloff, completely enthralled.
I think going in "blind" with only the blurb to guide you is the way to do this. It grabs you from the start, takes you through a maze of feelings and characters, and then builds from there.
If you liked Silence of the Lambs or any other serial killer tale, this will be your jam. I have done my own investigating, and it looks like another book with these characters may happen. Please do, Ms. Frasier.
~~~~~ Before Reading ~~~~~ This is hooking me right from the first page! 鈼忊赌⑩棌鈥⑩棌鈥⑩棌鈥⑩棌鈥⑩棌鈥⑩棌鈥⑩棌鈥⑩棌鈥⑩棌鈥⑩棌鈥⑩棌鈥⑩棌鈥⑩棌鈥⑩棌鈥⑩棌鈥⑩棌鈥⑩棌鈥⑩棌鈥⑩棌鈥� Mirror, Mirror On The Wall... Who Seems To Be... The Most Disturbed Of All...
We Know Convicted Serial Killer... Benjamin Fisher Is A Twisted F#@k... He Killed Many Women... Innocents All...
But He Wants to See His Daughter... So He Offers What... Detective Daniel Ellis Needs... The Place Where All Those Women Lay...
But Only If His Little Girl... All Grown Up Helps... Reni Fisher, Now... FBI Profiler Feels Trapped...
Her Past, Detective Ellis' Past... The Questions Personal To Them... All Have the Echos of the Women Crying...
Find Me (Inland Empire #1)-July 1, 2020
A gifted copy was provided by author/publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.
The writing was good and the mystery was pretty well done and surprising. All of the reveals in regard to the murders and the killer caught me off guard and I really liked how they were executed. I actually gasped when one of them happened because it was so so well done.
My problem with the book, and why I'm giving it such a low rating, was that Daniel and Reni made one stupid decision after the next and put themselves in situations that seemed to only exist so the book would go on for longer than it should--there seemed to be no other reason beyond that for those kinds of conflicts. A lot of the supposedly tense and dangerous scenes, and even some of the shocking ones at the beginning, wouldn't have happened if both of them stopped and used their brains. The fact that they had law enforcement training just made it worse.
Wow, what a book! I've been in a bit of a reading slump and this was on Prime Reading's First Picks list for this week, so I figured I'd give it a try. I don't read your typical adult crime/mystery novels very often, but Find Me makes me wonder why. I read this book in just over 24 hours and I'm still thinking about it. It was fast-paced, it had the perfect blend of revealing answers while presenting more questions, the trauma depicted in the characters felt authentic, there wasn't any pushed romance, the crime is dreadfully chilling, and I did not see the end coming.
If you're looking for a suspenseful & thrilling ride with serial killer vibes then this is the book you need to read. I found Find Me to be a super read! It had a super tense plot with strong characters. I absolutely loved Reni & her story. . I'm glad I picked up this book that gave the creepy vibes and chills - everything I need in a book. For some reason, with the desert atmosphere & the story about a serial killer, I kept imagining Ben Fisher as Keith Carradine because of a Criminal Minds episode I watched years back. It's funny how certain things can trigger such memories- yikes! I liked the fact that this book was set in such a unique place - the Mojave Desert, than most of the others I have read. Who'd have thought a desert can be fascinating?
Given that this was just the first book in the series, it provided great insight into the lives if Reni & Daniel. Both characters had their own set of demons, were flawed & yet saw it through till the end of this messy & personal case. I can't wait to see what this team finds next on their hands! For the most part of this book, the focus was on Reni's memories & experiences as a serial killer's daughter. Daniels's own demons add to the character of this book and both together make for a very interesting read. Find me was a brilliant start to what I believe will be a great series. This book is a page-turner for sure! I think I've been discovering some really talented authors lately - all thanks to NetGalley!!
Thank You, NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer & Anne Frasier for an arc!