Abducted by T.R. Regan REVIEW

Abducted by T.R. Regan
Published by Thomas & Mercer
Ebook
Published 17 July 2012 (first published 29 May 2011)
382 pages
Kindle owner's lending library

WHAT'S IT'S ABOUT

Elizabeth Gardner (Lizzy) is seventeen-years old when she tells her parents she's going out with her girlfriends. Instead, she meets up with her boyfriend, Jared Shayne. As she walks home beneath an inky black sky, her perfect night becomes her worst nightmare.

Fourteen years later, Lizzy is a licensed PI known as the 'one who got away'. When she's not searching for runaway teenagers, working on insurance scams, or talking to her therapist, she's at the local high school teaching young girls to defend themselves. But her world is turned upside down for the second time after she receives a call from Jared Shayne. He's an FBI special agent now and he needs her help. Lizzy has no plans to get involved. Not until Jared tells her the kidnapper left her a personalized note.

EXTRACT

Tall, dense oleander provided cover within the shadows of the night as he watched the front door to the Andersons' house.

WHAT I THOUGHT

I enjoyed Abducted, my first book by this author. I didn't think it was a brilliant thriller but it wasn't bad and I've read a lot worse. I really liked the idea of the novel, a creepy serial killer who uses spiders to torture his female victims and his obsession with punishing the one-that-got-away. At times this is executed really well and Abducted is creepy, tense and unsettling. I particularly enjoyed the chapters from Spiderman's (Lizzy's nickname for the killer) point of view. There is something truly disturbing about being inside the mind of a serial killer. However, Abducted does have its flaws. Lizzy is not believable as a PI. She ignores her gut instinct. She turns a blind eye to odd behaviour that would give an ordinary person cause for concern. She doesn't contact the police when she should. She doesn't have a clue at times and her reactions are sometimes over-the-top. The romantic interest between Lizzy and the man she was dating when she was taken is cringe-worthy. There are too many pointless characters that do nothing but fill pages and slow the plot down. I did enjoy some aspects of Abducted. The novel is well-written and fast paced and has some great moments. Lizzy may be a terrible PI but I liked her as a character; she's feisty, emotional, blames herself for everyone else's problems and comes across as very real. There are some well-written, dark and intense moments in Abduction. However, I'm not sure if I would read other books in the series.