Status
Available
Series
Genres
Publication
Bantam (2005), 480 pages
Description
Alone ... Massachusetts State Trooper Bobby Dodge watches a tense hostage standoff unfold through the scope of his sniper rifle. Just across the street, in wealthy Back Bay, Boston, an armed man has barricaded himself with his wife and child. The man's finger tightens on the trigger and Dodge has only a split second to react ... and forever pay the consequences. Alone ... that's where the nightmare began for cool, beautiful, and dangerously sexy Catherine Rose Gagnon. Twenty-five years ago, she was buried underground during a month-long nightmare of abduction and abuse. Now her husband has just been killed. Her father-in-law, the powerful Judge Gagnon, blames Catherine for his son's death ... and for the series of unexplained illnesses that have sent her own young son repeatedly to the hospital. Alone ... a madman survived solitary confinement in a maximum security prison where he'd done hard time for the most sadistic of crimes. Now he walks the streets a free man, invisible, anonymous ... and filled with an unquenchable rage for vengeance. What brings them together is a moment of violence--but what connects them is a passion far deeper and much more dangerous. For a killer is loose who's woven such an intricate web of evil that no one is above suspicion, no one is beyond harm, and no one will see death coming until it has them cornered, helpless, and alone.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Pmaurer
Story centers on what happens in the life of a sniper, who kills in the line of duty, what he thought was an abusive husband. The novel discusses the thoughts that possess the officer, especially when he is contacted later by the wife. Thought provoking, but could have been written tighter, with
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less Re-telling. Show Less
LibraryThing member julie10reads
A police sniper, a corrupt judge, a pedophile and his now adult victim, her four year old son: these are the players in Lisa Gardner’s psychological thriller, Alone. By the way, it’s as much psychological as thriller: a thinking reader’s mystery. (I see it as a film, shot in black and white,
Ms Gardner is able to maintain brutal suspense even while alternating points of view. The reader gets to know what everyone is thinking: this highly effective maneuvre pulls you into the story. You’re the omnipresent witness, seeing the plot unfold from all angles. But Ms Gardner doesn’t let you know how it’s going to play out until the end.
The characters (who weren’t pathological) were believably human and their mistakes understandable and forgivable.
7.5 Recommended to mystery and psychological drama fans.
CAVEAT I don’t enjoy the use of pedophile characters in fiction: in my opinion, it is gratuitous and inappropriate.
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harsh lighting forcing sharp contrasts and sudden, brief close ups.)Ms Gardner is able to maintain brutal suspense even while alternating points of view. The reader gets to know what everyone is thinking: this highly effective maneuvre pulls you into the story. You’re the omnipresent witness, seeing the plot unfold from all angles. But Ms Gardner doesn’t let you know how it’s going to play out until the end.
The characters (who weren’t pathological) were believably human and their mistakes understandable and forgivable.
7.5 Recommended to mystery and psychological drama fans.
CAVEAT I don’t enjoy the use of pedophile characters in fiction: in my opinion, it is gratuitous and inappropriate.
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LibraryThing member carmarie
Reading Alone, it was okay...thrilling in parts, cheesy and predicatable in others. Basically, you're typical mass market paperback thriller. But I cannot say that I won't check out her other books when I need to fill that "I-need-a-thriller" void.
LibraryThing member lsknightsr1
Another Lisa Gardner masterpiece. She always seems to keep me riveted til the very last page.
LibraryThing member MarthaHuntley
Scary and suspenseful; hard to put down.
LibraryThing member miyurose
This is the first Lisa Gardner book I've read, and I thought it was great. It doesn't have the usual male-lead/female-lead dynamic, and Gardner does a wonderful job of keeping you wondering about Catherine for the entire book. At the end, you're still not sure about her. This was a suspenseful book
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that keeps you guessing! Show Less
LibraryThing member EmScape
It's obvious that Gardner has done her research for this exciting thriller. Bobby Dodge is a special forces trooper who is called to a domestic/hostage situation. He ends up killing the husband, but there's a lot more to the story. Is the wife the abusive one? What is wrong (medically) with the
An incredibly realistic suspense novel. No plot holes or characters acting with fuzzy motivations. Beautifully written, despite a tendency toward excessively relating conversations without using dialogue. It was almost impossible to tell who was a 'good guy' and who was a 'bad guy' (with two notable exceptions on either side). Just riveting. I couldn't put it down.
(And, like I said about the research: my husband is in law enforcement, and he gets irritated with a lot of books/movies/tv shows for inaccuracy. This book did not irritate him at all.)
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child? Also, the wife, Catherine, had been abducted and sexually abused when she was 12. How much does that situation have to do with what happens in the present?An incredibly realistic suspense novel. No plot holes or characters acting with fuzzy motivations. Beautifully written, despite a tendency toward excessively relating conversations without using dialogue. It was almost impossible to tell who was a 'good guy' and who was a 'bad guy' (with two notable exceptions on either side). Just riveting. I couldn't put it down.
(And, like I said about the research: my husband is in law enforcement, and he gets irritated with a lot of books/movies/tv shows for inaccuracy. This book did not irritate him at all.)
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LibraryThing member mikedraper
Mass. State Tpr. Bobby Dodge is a sniper for the State Police. He's called to a hostage situation. He arrives and sets up surveillance just in time to see a man pointing a gun at his wife who is holding a child. Bobby sees the man's finger tighten on the gun and shoots him before he could kill his
Gagnon's wife, Catherine, had been abducted when she was a teenager. She was held underground for twenty eight days while her abductor abused her. She was resuced when hunters heard her cries.
Gagnon was abusive to his wife. They met through a suicide help line. Catherine couldn't get help because Gagnon's father was a powerful judge who would stop Catherine's attempst to discredit his son.
Now that Jimmy has been killed, the Judge focuses on Jimmy and Catherine's son, Nathan. Nathan has been hospitalized a number of times with an undiagnosed illness. Judge Gagnon says that Catherine is an unfit mother and he wants custody.
The author sets the stage and slowly reels the reader in, as if she were a demolition expert because the story explodes with suspense in the final segments.
Bobby is a well described character. The author, Lisa Gardner, tells us enough of Bobby's history that we understand his determination to help Catherine when no one else seems to want to help. Catherine herself is a sad character. So many things go wrong for her that the reader wonders how this can happen. However, again, the author provides the answers in a well polished, dramatic story.
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wife. The man's name was Jimmy Gagnon.Gagnon's wife, Catherine, had been abducted when she was a teenager. She was held underground for twenty eight days while her abductor abused her. She was resuced when hunters heard her cries.
Gagnon was abusive to his wife. They met through a suicide help line. Catherine couldn't get help because Gagnon's father was a powerful judge who would stop Catherine's attempst to discredit his son.
Now that Jimmy has been killed, the Judge focuses on Jimmy and Catherine's son, Nathan. Nathan has been hospitalized a number of times with an undiagnosed illness. Judge Gagnon says that Catherine is an unfit mother and he wants custody.
The author sets the stage and slowly reels the reader in, as if she were a demolition expert because the story explodes with suspense in the final segments.
Bobby is a well described character. The author, Lisa Gardner, tells us enough of Bobby's history that we understand his determination to help Catherine when no one else seems to want to help. Catherine herself is a sad character. So many things go wrong for her that the reader wonders how this can happen. However, again, the author provides the answers in a well polished, dramatic story.
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LibraryThing member delphimo
This story is set in Massachusetts about a State Trooper who also works with the SWAT team as a sniper and a domestic violence case that ruined his life. Bobby Dodge answers a call for the SWAT team and kills a husband who has a gun pointed at his wife and son. The killed husband just happens to be
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the son of a powerful judge, and the abused wife just happens to be a girl found 28 days after being abducted during the holidays, twenty-five years ago. The story involves the man sentenced to 25 years in prison, an incestuous marriage, a boy with a rare genetic disorder, a heartless woman, and unresolved relationship problems. The story starts slowly and then picks up speed, with a predictable ending, but the ride is worthy and exciting. Show Less
LibraryThing member asomers
I was told this was the first D.D. Warren mystery in the series. I was disappointed that she didn't figure more prominently. It was still a nail biter. I'll definitely go one to book no. 2
LibraryThing member sjames78226
Definitely a very exciting read with a good twist at the end. I cant wait to read the next book
LibraryThing member mybookcloset
This is the first book by Lisa Gardner I've read, and I enjoyed it very much. It's a page turner that seemed very realistic to me. So interesting right from the first to be in the head of the police sniper as he does his job, which on this night included shooting a man who was holding his wife and
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son a gunpoint. Then after the shooting to have him go through what you never see on the TV cop shows, being suspended, evaluated by a psychologist, and possibly brought up on murder charges. Of course the people involved are not as they at first seem and as bits of background information on each was revealed I found the book harder and harder to put down. Show Less
LibraryThing member LivelyLady
Listened to this abridged mystery while driving across Arizona and New Mexico. It is a very suspenseful story of Bobby, a SWAT team sniper, who, in the line of duty, shoots a man. And that is just the beginning of his story. A plot developes involving Bobby and everyone in his life as well as the
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widow of the man he shoots. The ending, while the mystery is solved, still has threads hanging. I could see a sequel...don't know if Lisa Gardner ever thought of that???? Show Less
LibraryThing member chrissywest
Alone was captivating. I was pulled into the story right from the beginning. I really enjoyed the characters. They were all very individual and smart in there own way. Catherine and D.D (the female cop) were stong woman and Bobby seemed sweet, but seemed to be his own worst ememy, because of his
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past with his family troubles. I was inpressed how the author really pulled the many sub-plots together. There was the pedophile who kidnapped Catherine decades earlier, the conflict with Catherine and her in-laws over custody of Nathan, the investigation into the shooting, Bobby’s relationship with Dr. Elizabeth Lane. All these sub-plots were all linked together well. I really enjoyed this book! Show Less
LibraryThing member BogartFan
Another really great page turner from Gardner. Quick witted and smart, and she doesn't fall back on recurring characters like a lot of writers, creating original thrillers every time out. Sniper Bobby Dodge kills Catherine Gagnon's husband when he barricades himself with them in a hostage
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situation. The wife, who suffered through an agonizing experience 25 years prior, held captive underground and abused, is suddenly being stalked by the very man who did that to her, having been released from prison. What follows is an awesome read, right up to the last page. Highly recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member dianaleez
Those who have read earlier Lisa Gardner suspense novels should be warned that her 2005 breakthrough novel "Alone" is a much leaner and meaner story than they may have come to expect from Gardner, who manages here both to tighten her plot and to create characters of lasting interest.
"Alone"
But did Trooper Dodge read the situation correctly? Who was the victim? The distraught wife turns out to be Catherine Gagnon, who survived a childhood kidnapping and rape, and has learned to use her incredible beauty to manipulate the men in her world. Also, according to her in-laws, she is an unfit mother who may be responsible for her four-year-old son's frequent trips to the ER. Was Jimmy Gagnon, Catherine's husband, a loving father attempting to end his marriage and save his son, or a drunken bully?
Is Bobby Dodge a hero? Or a murderer? As the Boston Police Department team, led by Bobby's former lover, D.D. Warren, investigates the shooting, Bobby faces a civil suit brought by Jimmy's parents.
Gardner has written a tight novel filled with memorable characters. Bobby, Catherine, and D.D. are each fully developed, complex characterizations. There are no easy answers in this mystery and the suspense builds with each chapter.
Four Stars. The bottom line? "Alone" is a tightly written suspense novel containing interesting and well developed characters. However, the `shoot out' near the end, as many reviewers have noted, is difficult to follow and clumsy.
"Alone"
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introduces Bobby Dodge, Massachusetts state police sniper, who is called to a domestic hostage situation - a young mother and her small son are being held prisoner by her gun-wielding husband. As Bobby watches through his rifle scope, the screaming husband moves to pull the trigger and Bobby becomes the only one who can save the woman and child. But did Trooper Dodge read the situation correctly? Who was the victim? The distraught wife turns out to be Catherine Gagnon, who survived a childhood kidnapping and rape, and has learned to use her incredible beauty to manipulate the men in her world. Also, according to her in-laws, she is an unfit mother who may be responsible for her four-year-old son's frequent trips to the ER. Was Jimmy Gagnon, Catherine's husband, a loving father attempting to end his marriage and save his son, or a drunken bully?
Is Bobby Dodge a hero? Or a murderer? As the Boston Police Department team, led by Bobby's former lover, D.D. Warren, investigates the shooting, Bobby faces a civil suit brought by Jimmy's parents.
Gardner has written a tight novel filled with memorable characters. Bobby, Catherine, and D.D. are each fully developed, complex characterizations. There are no easy answers in this mystery and the suspense builds with each chapter.
Four Stars. The bottom line? "Alone" is a tightly written suspense novel containing interesting and well developed characters. However, the `shoot out' near the end, as many reviewers have noted, is difficult to follow and clumsy.
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LibraryThing member CherylsPearls
Lots of twists and turns and some big surprises here. I did like the book, but it contained a little too much emphasis on sex for my taste. On the other hand, there is plenty of incest and pedophilia to go around in the story and that explains it. I can't figure out why Detective D.D. Warren is the
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heroine as she only appears a few times in the book; Bobby Dodge was a much more interesting character. I'm sure I will try the next book in the series but I hope the author doesn't continue to use sex in every plot. Show Less
LibraryThing member PermaSwooned
I liked this novel mainly about state police sniper Bobby Dodge, and introduces detective D.D. Warren. The first of a new series, evidently. A lot of surprises and twists and turns. It was a good thriller type story, and I thought Gardner unveiled the psychological aspects very well. I actually
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liked it better than some of her other books, so will try to find the next in the series. Show Less
LibraryThing member DomingoSantos
An otherwise good novel marred by expletives using the name of Jesus Christ whom many readers, including this one, revere and honor. The author had many options when it came to expletives; however, the use of Jesus Christ or Christ or Jesus was gratuitous, and it was particularly galling when it
I won't read Gardner again.
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was used in conjunction with a vulgar term. I won't read Gardner again.
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LibraryThing member LaBibliophille
Good crime drama. Interesting premise. Quick read!
LibraryThing member creighley
Fast-paced. A Superior Judge exercises his powers to keep a dark family secret from the light of day.
LibraryThing member latorreliliana
Young girl captuted and buried underground. She marries man with an incestuous past. His father wants her child so he can hide fact he married his half sister, because her child has a gentic disorder. A bit unbelievalbe, especially when .. of course beautiful heroine is fighting for her life,...
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and author comments on how beautiful she looks. Show Less
LibraryThing member sms352
I enjoyed it and will probably read more Lisa Gardner; there seem to be recurring characters. The depth of involvement with a suspect by a policeman was a little far fetched. I certainly want to read more about the female detective, a former love interest of Bobby's.
LibraryThing member DarlenesBookNook
This is a new author for me, and it is also a book that is first of the Detective D.D. Warren series, although I have no idea why it is called that because D.D. Warren plays a very minor role in the book.
From the author’s website: “In a split second of time, police sniper Bobby Dodge takes the
I had initially planned to give this one 3.5 stars. For me, the beginning of the book read too much like a police tactical how-to manual…way too much detail and my attention span was beginning to wane. But the action-packed ending upped my rating to 3.75. There are some disturbing issues in the book, so be forewarned.
The narrator, Anna Fields, did a good job.
I plan to read more of this series.
I actually give this book 3.75 stars and not the 3.5 stars shown, but there is no option!
From the author’s website: “In a split second of time, police sniper Bobby Dodge takes the
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fateful shot, killing a husband who appears on the verge of murdering his wife. In the cold light of day, however, it becomes clear there was more to the scene than meets the eye. As Detective D.D. Warren investigates her fellow officer–and uncovers the dirty secrets of a privileged Boston family–the body count quickly climbs. No one is safe, and no one will see death coming until it has them cornered, helpless and alone.”I had initially planned to give this one 3.5 stars. For me, the beginning of the book read too much like a police tactical how-to manual…way too much detail and my attention span was beginning to wane. But the action-packed ending upped my rating to 3.75. There are some disturbing issues in the book, so be forewarned.
The narrator, Anna Fields, did a good job.
I plan to read more of this series.
I actually give this book 3.75 stars and not the 3.5 stars shown, but there is no option!
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LibraryThing member moosenoose
There wasn't anything particularly wrong with this book, but at the same time it just wasn't right. I didn't relate to or connect with any of the characters and found my attention drifting quite often. I took this book to London for a weekend away and that is exactly what it is suitable for - a
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quick weekend read. I wouldn't buy any books by this author and am glad I borrowed this one. Show Less
Subjects
Language
Original publication date
2005-07-11
Local notes
Fiction