Say Goodbye

By: Lisa Gardner

Narrated by: Ann Marie Lee, Lincoln Hoppe

Length: 13 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

The best-selling author of Hide and Gone draws us into the venomous mind games of her most terrifying killer yet.

Come into my parlor...

For Kimberly Quincy, FBI Special Agent, it all starts with a pregnant hooker. The story Delilah Rose tells Kimberly about her johns is too horrifying to be true - but prostitutes are disappearing, one by one, with no explanation, and no one but Kimberly seems to care.

Said the spider to the fly...

As a member of the Evidence Response Team, dead hookers aren't exactly Kimberly's specialty. The young agent is five months pregnant - she has other things to worry about than an alleged lunatic who uses spiders to do his dirty work. But Kimberly's own mother and sister were victims of a serial killer. And now, without any bodies and with precious few clues, it's all too clear that a serial killer has found the key to the perfect murder...or Kimberly is chasing a crime that never happened.

Kimberly's caught in a web more lethal than any spider's, and the more she fights for answers, the more tightly she's trapped. What she doesn't know is that she's close - too close - to a psychopath who makes women's nightmares come alive, and if he has his twisted way, it won't be long before it's time for Kimberly, to... SAY GOODBYE

©2008 Lisa Gardner (P)2008 Random House, Inc.

layers upon layers

complex storyline. unnerving. compulsive.
preferred previous narrators for Quincy & Rainey: they sounded weaker in this book.

Keeps you

Wow! this book kept me thinking I knew what was goin on, but bam! Can't quit listening to this one!!! The story was put together, perfectly. this one is a must listen!!

Gardner Best!

This is a very graphic story about one of the most heinous crimes in our country. Gardner presented it without the intent to educate the reader or to raise awareness. She created a griping, shocking story of the worst predators - man - to the most innocent victim - child.

If you are familiar with Gardner you know that she has several detective series. Gardner's protagonist does a lot of introspection. My favorite series is the D.D, Warner. The Tessa Leoni, Pierce Quincy, and Rainie Conner series are not worth the credit.These series deals with detectives who have survived a traumatic experience, which have left them with PTSD; that is my medical opinion. Every story you read with these characters is a rehashing of their past with very little detective story.

This story's features the daughter of famed ex-FBI profiler, Pierce Quincy, Kimberly, who is newly married, pregnant, and a FBI agent. Gardner takes a fresh approach and tells the story from the view of the antagonist. You walk with victims as they endure the depravity of a predator and the lost lives they will never have. You feel helpless as the victims are stripped of their humanity and debased to commit abhorrent acts on others.

I found the story compelling, gripping, and at some points disturbing, yet, I could not stop listening. I did not need to know as much about spiders but it did add to the breadth and depth of the story.

Approximately 3 hours into the book the pace accelerates and all kinds of surprises happen. This book features the most compelling antagonist Gardner has ever presented. Out of all the Gardner novels I have read, this is the best! None of her other books compare to this one.

Sorry to say, this is the only Gardner book worth the credit. Now with all that praise, I feel Gardner did a flimsy job with the linchpin of the story. It is kind of lazy for a writer to keep you for 7 hours with a story and then someone has an out of the box epiphany. That is the reason I gave it a 4 star instead of 5.

The most chilling thriller I have ever heard.

Everything an astute listener could hope for. Difficult at times but done in a way that conveys the horrific situation without explicit details.

Great Book

amazing book, great story, highly recommend to anyone who likes to be a bit creeper out

Very disturbing

Almost didn’t finish this book, as the content about abuse of young boys was extremely disturbing. But I figured a good book does stir up emotions, even if troubling and frightful, so hung with it. Very well written and the ending well thought out. Performance was excellent. If child abuse gives you nightmares.....I don’t suggest this book, but thankfully descriptions of what happened in that abuse was not given. Your imagination takes over. Haunting read. Worth the credit.

WOW! Edge of your seat! LOVE IT!!

This book was so great I wanted to make up places to go to listen to it in my car! Nice job!! The characters were great and the suspense was incredible, up to the last sentence. I want more please!

Wow! The twists and turns!!

Great book!! So many twists and turns and things you didn’t see coming! Loved it!!

Too dark

I usually enjoy Lisa Gardner 's writing but the descriptions of children being raped was too graphic for me.

Unrelentingly depressing

Would you try another book from Lisa Gardner and/or Ann Marie Lee and Lincoln Hoppe ?

I would try another book narrated by these performers. It will be a long time before I can handle listening to another book by Lisa Gardner. I need to recover from this one.

Has Say Goodbye turned you off from other books in this genre?

No. I read crime stories, thrillers, mysteries all the time. I only know of one other book that was as dark and unrelenting as this one and this one was still more difficult.

Which character – as performed by Ann Marie Lee and Lincoln Hoppe – was your favorite?

Rita. She was the only character I actually liked.

Was Say Goodbye worth the listening time?

The book is still compelling. I finished the book while sitting in my car in the garage. It's just a very difficult subject and there is no let up. All of the characters are flawed and difficult to like, including the heroine, except for Rita.

Any additional comments?

I had no problem with the spiders. They don't bother me at all. The scary part was how the author depicts how monsters are made.