Not too much that will draw me in as fast as flawed characters that you can pull for and a mystery that is twisty and compelling.

I am catching up on books because of an illness so am going off of what I remember and a few notes I made at the time. My apologies for the brevity.

A gripping and psychologically intense thriller that delves into the depths of trauma, survival, and the pursuit of justice. This gripping thriller will leave readers on the edge of their seats, immersed in a constant state of anticipation and uncertainty.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review the advance copy of this book.

** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Copy received through Netgalley

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The Body Reader: Detective Jude Fontaine Mysteries, 01
by Anne Frasier

★★★★★
291 Pages
3rd person, multi-character POV (mostly dual POV, with 1-2 scenes of alternative characters)

Content Warning: detailed mentions of kidnap victims, isolation, memory loss, forced confinement, mental health issues, captivity and violence; detailed descriptions of injuries sustained during imprisonment and from torture; off-page mentions of insanity, paranoia, delusions, miscarriage, rape, GHB, forced drug use, torture, self-harm, sexual abuse, suicide, Stockholm syndrome, photographic catalogue of injuries and years of imprisonment; mentions of off-page humiliation, degradation, dehumanisation, suicide; mentions of decapitation and dismemberment, disposing of bodies, photographing dead bodies; mentions of serial killer trophies; mentions of forced sectioning in a mental health facility; mentions of historic accidental shooting


The Body Reader is a chilling but captivating insight into family secrets, captivity and sanity. Through Jude's personal experiences as a captive, as well as through the investigation into missing young women, Frasier manages to highlight the atrocities of being kidnapped and held hostage while showcasing the way human minds work to suppress evil in the name of survival. And that evil can take root anywhere - envy, jealousy, greed can all inspire evil in the hearts of the most unexpected people.

Jude Fontaine was a detective at the Minneapolis Police Department. One day, while out jogging at night, she went missing. One witness saw her being dragged into a van, but the case was never solved, no clues ever found, and Jude was lost, presumed dead.
Except...Jude has been a captive to a sadistic man for so long, she barely remembers her own name, sure that the months she's been in captivity have robbed her of everything worth living for. Until a blackout hits Minneapolis, and she manages to overpower her captor, escaping into the night.
Shooting her captor and gaining her freedom is one thing, but instinct sends her running for home – to the boyfriend, whose gentle kindness has kept her sane all this time. Only, when she gets there, there's another woman in her place and her boyfriend breaks the awful news...Jude hasn't been missing for months. It's been three years!

With Jude's escape, a combination of events begins to unravel. Her captor is dead and she's free, but she doesn't know the how or why of her abduction. And while taking a look at her possessions, still in evidence, she finds an unexpected missing persons case on her desk, despite being a homicide detective. Things grow curiouser and curiousier as she begins to rebuild her life, leading us on a trail that will ultimately end in betrayal, greed and murder.

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CHARACTERS

Jude is a thoroughly interesting character. She was once funny, a great detective and self-reliant, but now she feels a shadow of her former self, with an uncanny ability to read people's body language and micro-signals. Despite years of captivity, torture and sexual abuse at the hands of her captor, Jude has trust issues and feels shut down from emotion.
Her new partner, Uriah Ashby doesn't want a partner, especially not one with Jude's history, who could become mentally and emotionally unstable at the slightest provocation. With his own tragic past, not yet so long ago that it's stopped hurting, he doesn't feel able to share with her, considering how tragic and brutal her own story is.

Both characters exchange their dual POV to tell the story, and it never failed to keep my attention. Jude is shockingly human, relatable, and vulnerable. She's a lone woman, who has suffered, but she doesn't let it define her. At times, she loses control of the mask, but in a real, human way that only makes you root harder for her recovery. The conflict between Jude and her father – the Governor – is palpable every time they're on page together.
Uriah is a strong, capable detective, but with wounds of his own that endear you to him, and thus to Jude. He's slightly broken, just in a different way, and the way he cares for Jude – first, not wanting her to return to work, for fear of how it will affect her; then, when he begins to see how the work can help her regain a sense of self and purpose – makes him a perfect partner for her. Not only does he doubt her, but he actively puts her safety and mental wellbeing first, even if that's not what Jude would want from him.

The other recurring characters are:
Chief Ortega – she's a strong woman, in a high position of power, but she's smart and relatable. She isn't afraid to be feminine at work, and can balance her home and work life with ease. She's a strong supporter of Jude returning to work, but also not afraid to make the hard call when needed.
Grant Vang – a detective who used to be Jude's partner at work (and a one-time ill-advised lover), he's never really gotten over his feelings for Jude. Though she never returned them as he wanted, he clings to hope they can at least rekindle their friendship.
Governor Shilling – as Jude's father, they have a complicated history. He and his son are vying for a Senatorial position, but Jude's escape threatens to derail that with her obvious mental instability.

There's also a POV from a single female character, Fatima, that I'm not entirely sure was necessary. It didn't add much, by being in someone else's POV, and she never pops up again outside of that single scene.
Grant has his own POV, just once, and there are a couple of POV's from an unnamed character, who is also a captive like Jude. This young girl writes in her diary, chronicling her life in captivity, though the threads don't tangle into a picture until much later in the book.

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STORY

What I really liked about the way the story was told was how Jude was never “cured” or “saved”. Yes, she escaped captivity, but there was another cage within her mind that kept her tethered to what had happened to her over the last three years, and that never went away. Eventually, it did lessen, but only after she had answers.

I really loved how it explored the way Jude saw through new eyes, after her escape. How, as a police officer, she'd been irritated and confused when victims of domestic violence never left their captor or when people failed to report a crime. Now, as a victim herself, Jude sees that sometimes the fear of something happening can be a stronger deterrent to leaving than the strength of the hope that longs for escape and freedom.

Through Jude's ordeal, Frasier explores the thin line between fear, experience and paranoia. That when a victim knows the inevitable outcome of an act, they're more likely to do anything to avoid the experience, which can appear as compliance when it's really just a survival technique. For these victims, they will do anything to survive another day, to avoid another punishment, to appease their captor if it means food or water, when they might not have any. It's a very striking, timely portray of coercive control, and the after effect of not trusting your own thoughts or decisions.

I also enjoyed how Uriah was portrayed. First, he's a sensible cop who worries that Jude can't be relied upon in a time of crisis, if she experiences flashbacks or a reaction to a crime. Later, he realises her experiences have given her a unique view of the other side of the fence, so to speak. She sees more, and understands more about the evil they face every day than any other cop. I loved seeing his personal struggle, and how that affected his personal life as well as his professional abilities, attention span, and his emotional stability. It almost made him an even better match for Jude than if he'd been pain-free.

There are a lot of incredible twists and turns in the plot itself, both from Jude's personal struggle and through the investigation she begins. I won't talk about them here, because you really need to experience it for yourself. I will say that I did predict who did what and why, but – unlike other books, where that's always a huge disappointment, to know so early in the book – in this case, it wasn't a disappointment or frustrating. I loved that the clues were trickled throughout the story for us to find and piece together.

Any flaws? Sure. I couldn't believe that Jude was cleared – both mentally, and through training – to return to work after just 4 months. After 3 YEARS in captivity to a sadist, she really shouldn't have been allowed to get back to work so quickly, in a Homicide unit, no matter how short staffed they are. It was the only thing I found unbelievable or unrealistic, though I do understand that it was a huge part of why the plot itself worked out the way it did. It needed Jude to be fresh from her escape, and for those events to still be forefront in her mind while she recovered.

However, because I could see the purpose of it – despite how irrational it seemed – I didn't let it affect my rating, because Jude's emotional and mental journey was SO important to the plot.

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Overall, if you're like me and the blurb had you hooked, just wait for the ride you're in for when you start reading. Because that blurb is highly accurate about what you get, but it also doesn't tell you how twisted and complicated things are about to get. This is one case where you get exactly what was advertised...and more.

It was brilliant from start to finish. I can't wait to read the next in the series.

This is a great start to a new series and I was fascinated by Jude’s story. The writing is exceptional and kept me fully engaged and wanting more.
Many thanks to Thomas & Mercer and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

After being kidnapped and tortured for 3 years, Detective Jude Fontaine has been changed. In both bad and good ways - she needs to heal from so many things; yet some of her skills had been enhanced - like her skills of observation. Needing to understand her abductor, she now sees much more of the body signs that the others. And she is going to need her skills when the various cases of missing girls might be much more than they seems to be.

Mixed feelings. Pluses first - what an unique way of creating the detective! I can absolutely take the "making" of the present Jude and her skill setup, it is both believable and very thrilling. Maybe because I know people who had enhanced their observation skills because there was a need for it (minus the abuse), I can see why Jude might be even better detective after her kidnapping. And why she is also (almost) broken, in a need of healing. I love raw and broken people as my detectives, because they much more understand the human nature and the nature of the real world.
Uriah is the same case. The smart writing prevents them into entering the relationship (at least any soon) - yet there is an undeniable chemistry between them, so the romantic in me can hope for something in the future.
Yet - the mystery of the missing girls is absolutely random and without any need for that "solution". It is as if the authoress resigned to the "whys" and just went to the "thriller" jugular - and she got missing it, precisely because of the brilliant building up of her detective. The bad person here is...who/whos? And why??? The case is very poorly built-up and the reasoning behind it is just unbelievable.
Yet - I like Jude and I want to see more of her cases. Here´s the hoping that her unique skills and personality will be better used!

Just when I thought I had my favorite book from Anne Frasier.

Right from the start it grabbed my interest and had me gripping the book, holding my breath, breaking my heart and that was just in the first chapter! Detective Jude Fontaine is a strong character. After suffering being kidnapped for 3 years by a sadist and the past from her childhood she is still fighting against crime. Detective Ashby has his own tragic history and that makes him a likeable character for me. Anne Frasier knows how to create incredible realistic characters that aren't perfect or rich and that's what makes the book so engaging to me. I truly hope this storyline continues as a series.

This is a must read!

An engaging, suspenseful tale that’ll keep you guessing! The characters are relatable & the storyline is perfectly placed - looking forward to more with this author!! Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to read & review.

Jude was kidnapped and held captive in horrid conditions for 3 years. When she finally escaped she isn't what anyone expected. Clearly she wasn't normal. She was emotionally repressed with good reason. The most alarming thing about her was how independent and capable she was. I liked being inside her head. Her behavior was weird but it made sense.

Uriah was a great partner for Jude. They both had their issues although they were completely different. They complemented each other nicely. Uriah's depression and determination to keep going clicked with me. I loved these two characters and their relationship. The best thing about it was that there wasn't even a hint of romance.

The mystery was great! It went in a direction that I had not expected. Multiple story lines tied together in unexpected ways. It's not often that mysteries surprise me. It was a twisted story. The characters' backgrounds really added to the already dark tone of the murder mystery. Somehow it managed to be dark without being overly graphic.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For me, this book was not outstanding, but still a great read.
I have trouble to understand why so many people loved this book so much, don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed reading this, it was suspenseful, a bit spooky and really entertaining, but maybe I'm not so much into thrillers and crime books in general to really see the difference compared to other books of that genre.

I saw many reviews, where the readers complained about the misleading title "The Body Reader", because body reading is not really a part of this book. So I looked up the german title of the translation and it said "Ich bin nicht tot", meaning in english "I am not dead". Maybe they should have taken this title instead. Not because I have a problem with it, I didn't find the title misleading or not suitable, but maybe there wouldn't be so many people complaining about it then.
I still liked it and if I find the time, I'd like to read something else by Frasier.

I have to say I really liked this. It's dark. It's interesting. There are so many layers to the story, to the mystery. It's never what you think it is. I've never read anything by Anne Frasier before, though I do have a few of her books on my TBR shelf. I will definitely be moving those books closer to the top of the list.

Everything about Jude is switched off after her return. She has no sense of humour, she is flat and unemotional. She doesn't know how to exist anymore. And this starting point requires the other to have some A+ character development. It's got to be believable, yet on pace with the rest of the book so you don't feel bogged down with "personal issues". I think Frasier really pulled that off. (This needs to be a series.)

Her partnership with Det. Ashby, as well as Jude's undeniable strength and character development, are what really made this novel for me. I was engaged with the mystery, but not as much as I was with their interactions, and Jude's interaction with life itself. It was captivating and gripping (and I wish this was a series!)

At times, the plot felt a bit disconnected as I couldn't see how the crimes were connected. It felt like it jumped around a bit too much, with the only thing tying it together being Jude's issues. Are we investigating Jude's abduction, or the dead girl? Or the head in the helmet? Like what's the deal with her father and brother? The link between all of these could have been a little bit more visible; bread crumbs should have been a bit more obvious, as not to lose the reader along the way.

In the end all threads were tied together, and I was left with a feeling of closure and satisfaction for where Jude's character was left in her growth. (But still, again, make it a series)

Fantastic book about a detective, Jude Fontaine, who was captured and kept in an underground cell for three years. She was brutalized and tortured, and when she escapes, she eventually takes up her duties in Homicide. Her new partner, Uriah, doesn't quite know what to make of her, but they soon are working on a serial killer case together that involves young girls who were drowned.

This was a great suspense! It was dark and had lots of thrills!

Enjoyable book about Minneapolis police detective Jude Fontaine, who was held captive for three years, tortured and raped before her escape. She returns to the police force after her ordeal and with her new partner investigate the case of a young girl who was thought to be a suicide, but Jude insists the girl was murdered, and becomes convinced that cases of other missing girls are connected to this case.
A highly readable, complex but fascinating story, which I could hardly put down.

First book I have read by Anne and now I'm wanting more. It was hard to put down once I really got into it. Well done!