Book Review: The Third Victim

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

The Third Victim     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Lisa Gardner
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Romantic Suspense
Bantam, Jan 2001, $6.99, 384 pp.

In Bakersville, Oregon, instead of himself, Sheriff Shep O’Grady surprisingly places Deputy Raine Connor in charge of the mass murder scene at the elementary school. The killer cleanly shot in the head information technology teacher Melissa Avalon. Two little girls were also killed but with multiple bullets. Much of the physical evidence is already damaged due to the chaos that occurred before Raine arrives on the scene, but more contamination follows. Raine arrests Danny on suspicion of murder. He confesses to the shootings. His father further contaminates the crime scene before Raine can get him to leave.

The State sends Homicide Detective Abe Sanders, a methodical cop, to take charge of the case. FBI Special Agent Pierce Quincy leaves his dying daughter to also join the investigation. Quincy tells Raine he has some doubts about Danny being the killer because of the precise way the teacher was murdered. As the trio works together, a town wonders why a good little boy would do such a bad thing. Overwhelming evidence points towards the lad but some items lead to a more professional murderer yet no clear suspect surfaces.

Though everyone struggles with the shock of school children murdering their peers in schoolhouses, this novel is a taut well-written thriller. The characters are well constructed so that readers can understand how they react to events during the murders and its aftermath. Still, this is a difficult topic to read a fictionalized account on true events such as what happened in Colombine. Still, as with the author’s previous novels such as THE PERFECT HUSBAND and The Other Daughter, Lisa Gardner provides an exciting, non-stop thriller.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner