The Third Victim
by Lisa Gardner
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Book Summary Information
Author: Lisa GardnerEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2001-01-30
ISBN: 0553578685
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: Bantam
Book Reviews of The Third Victim
Book Review: Minor Quibbles; Major Accomplishment.
Summary: 4 Stars
If the Amazon Star System allowed the possibility, I'd give this one four and a half stars, rather than four. But it doesn't. So, rounding off, I've given it four.
Let's get my very minor quibbles out of the way first: (1) There's no way a town small enough to need a law enforcement staff of only three people plus a volunteer is going to have a 'Dairy Queen.' They'd be 'lucky' to have a 'MacDonald's.' (2) The inhabitants of such a town would have to be insane to think they could hope to land a Wal-Mart. (3) There are no 'towering mountains' in the Oregon Coastal Range. I suppose an author from the east coast, which this one is, might be tricked into thinking that rolling foothills qualify as mountains, but they don't. (4) There is one small paragraph which violates the Point of View style set up in the rest of the book, and the exception is jarring, as it intrudes the book's 'omniscient' author into the mix-- always a big problem when editors don't catch it, which in this case they didn't.
But that is the sum extent of my quibbles. Other than that, this is a very good example of the type of book it is: the formulaic thriller slash mystery. Great Literature it isn't, but it makes no pretense to be, so there's no need to mark it down any for failing to be so. It's even character-based as opposed to plot-driven, which automatically elevates it several notches above the mid-ranks of the genre.
Lorraine Connor, a young deputy sheriff in a small coastal Oregon town who is tough but unsure of herself, and both vulnerable and quite capable of taking care of herself, is asked to be 'primary officer' at a bloody crime scene-- a school shooting in which two students and one teacher have been killed. The teacher-- the 3rd Victim of the title-- has been 'taken out' with a small caliber shot directly to the forhead, while the two students have been 'shot up' at much longer range. This discrepancy in methodology eventually causes the investigators to believe that there is more than one shooter involved. (A fact which the reader, but no one else, has been apprised of early on.)
The suspense comes in the form of delays and dead-ends in the process of finding out who the 'other' shooter is. One perpetrator, a kid, has already been caught, and has confessed, but refuses to talk about the crime, and for good reason: the other criminal is a serial killer with the ethics of a boa constrictor who knows how to scare kids into refusing to talk, sometimes permanently.
There are subplots galore: (1) Lorraine herself has something to hide concerning another shooting many years ago. Will she end up having to 'tell all' or won't she? (2) There's a nasty big-city investigator on scene, who is trying to undercut Lorraine and steal her case from her. Will he succeed? (3) A troubled FBI agent from Quantico finds Lorraine fascinating. Will they end up in bed? (4) One of the victims comes from a family with nasty secrets to hide. What lengths will other members of that family go to to 'protect' their past?
One of the most refreshing things about this book is that nothing is predictable. Not one of these subplots ends up being resolved in the way you think it's going to be. I can't begin to tell you how relieved I was by that!
I've avoided till now dealing with the true heart of the book, though, so the time has now come. On one level this books is 'mere' thriller, but on a deepler plane it's a fascinating glimpse into the world of disturbed psychology, particularly that of children. I'm not about to give anything away here, but just rest assured that this author has done tons of homework and has created characters who behave exactly the way that real people do. So much so that there is an air of realism to this fictional story that lifts it far beyond the bounds of most examples of its kind.
I highly recommend The 3rd Victim.
Summary of The Third Victim
The past isn't over....An unspeakable act has ripped apart the idyllic town of Bakersville, Oregon, and its once-peaceful residents are demanding quick justice. But though a boy has confessed to the horrific crime, evidence shows he may not be guilty.
Officer Rainie Conner, leading her first homicide investigation, stands at the center of the controversy. It's hitting too close to home, bringing back her worst nightmares, threatening to expose her secret sins. But with the boy's life at stake, she won't let anything stop her from finding the real killer.
With the help of FBI profiler Pierce Quincy, Rainie comes closer to a deadly truth than she can imagine. Because out there in the shadows a man watches her and plots his next move. He knows her secrets. He kills for sport. He's already brought death to Bakersville and forever shattered the community. But what he has really come for is Rainie -- and he won't leave until he has destroyed her....
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