Crash and Burn - Lisa Gardner

I'm a fan of  Lisa Gardner's DD Warren series and had expected this latest book to be another featuring the Boston PD detective. She does make a cameo in Crash and Burn, but this is a stand alone novel.

Nicky Frank crashes her car on a rainy night. She manages to crawl out of the wreckage, desperate to find a little girl named Vero. When police come upon the scene they mount a full scale search for the little girl. Nicky's husband is also located - and he tells them to call off the search. There is no little girl - Nicky has suffered more than one brain injury and is delusional. Or is she? Sargent Wyatt Foster has his suspicions and opens an investigation.

Gardner does a great job of playing with the reader. Nicky has memories but they're fractured. Her husband Thomas is evasive and secretive. Is there really anyone named Vero? The story is slowly played out as memories surface and Wyatt makes progress.

There were two readers for this book -  Christina Traister and Mikael Naramore. Although there are readers who can cover every part,  I do enjoy having two performers, especially when there are male and female roles. Both were excellent and conveyed the tension and mystery of Gardner's book.

Listening to a book provides a different experience than the written version. There was one line that is repeated throughout the story - "Vero wants to fly." Now it probably wouldn't have bothered me as much reading it - but I was so sick of hearing it by the middle of the book! (And I had an urge to count how many times Nicky said it)

Minor quibble aside, it was a good suspenseful listen. I did have things pretty much figured out by the end, but Gardner inserts a last twist before the final pages. A good read/listen but not my favourite from Gardner - I'll be watching for the next DD Warren.

Listen to an excerpt.

Coming Clean - Kimberly Rae Miller

Thanks to the popularity of reality television, there are few people these days who are unaware of the term 'hoarding' or 'hoarder'. But when Kimberly Rae Miller was growing up, the term was not as well known.

Kimberly is the child of hoarders. And she's sharing her story in her memoir Coming Clean.

I chose to listen to Coming Clean. The author herself read the book and this only served to intensify her story.

Kimberly's father saved information - papers of all sorts, unable to throw anything out. Over the years, the paper (and more) overtakes their home, the pipes burst, the front door won't fully open, they're living with rats, bugs, filth, feces -  and only discovered after they move, a stranger in the attic. Her mother became a compulsive shopper, only adding to the mix and the mess.

Miller has fond memories of her childhood - she is a much loved child. But as a child Kim had no idea that their family was 'different'. Slowly she comes to the realization - and knows that she has to keep her home life a secret. As time passes, the hoarding takes a toll, both mentally and physically, on Kim and her parents. Still, they are unable to stop collecting.

Miller expresses  her story with honesty and candor, sharing her hopes, fears, and attempts to forge her own life, while still caring for her parents.

"We see people with a mental illness living their worst nightmare on TV because they’re desperate for help and will put themselves in that situation. Of course it’s a spectacle. But as a child of a hoarder, I can show this through eyes of love. I love my parents."

Coming clean was an eye opening account and an excellent listen. Frightening, heart-breaking and real. Listen to an excerpt of Coming Clean.

You can find Kimberly Rae Miller on Facebook, on Twitter and at her blog.