Acclaimed author Lisa Gardner has been delivering complex cases and even more complicated personal issues through detectives Pierce Quincy and Lorraine "Rainie" Conner for nearly two decades. Beginning in 1998 with THE PERFECT HUSBAND and continuing into this year’s RIGHT BEHIND YOU, fans have avidly followed the superior sleuthing and romantic relationship of Gardner’s popular creations, known both for their amazing abilities and traumatic pasts. In this latest installment, Quincy and Rainie are faced with an explosive case that hits a little too close to home --- their 13-year-old adopted daughter, Sharlah.

I will start this review by saying that RIGHT BEHIND YOU is my first Quincy & Rainie novel, but not my introduction to Gardner. While I enjoyed last year’s FIND HER --- book eight in her Detective D.D.Warren series --- I must say that this new one knocks it completely out of the park.

The book begins with an instantly gripping prologue delivered from the perspective of a very disturbed young man. Rather than handing the reader a stereotypical mysterious figure and investigating his past throughout the novel, Gardner delves right into the young man’s psyche, writing about his extremely abusive and drug-addled parents and his only ray of hope: his younger sister. One night, when he is only nine, his father snaps and kills his mother before turning on the young boy and his sister. After a scuffle, the boy kills his father in self-defense and accidentally breaks his five-year-old sister’s arm in a blind rage."

Flipping back to the present day, we meet Sheriff Shelly Atkins, a hometown hero of sorts with her own troubled past. As she goes about her day, she reminisces about her quiet town and how to combat its biggest issue: drugs. When she is called to a shooting at a convenience store, she is not immediately concerned, recognizing that nearly every citizen carries some form of firearm, and mistakes and even small robberies are nothing major. As she arrives on the scene, however, her instincts kick in and it becomes clear that this will be no ordinary night. Once inside, Shelly discovers not one but two brutally murdered bodies and one very suspicious videotape. Rather than hiding, the killer looks directly into the camera, his dark eyes exposing his cold, callous nature.

Switching perspectives once again, we meet 13-year-old Sharlah, a quiet yet deeply intuitive girl who has come to live with Detectives Quincy and Rainie. Although she cares for her adoptive parents, she has suffered many terrible losses in her short life and has a great deal of trouble expressing her feelings to them. Fortunately, Quincy and Rainie are not strangers to trauma and appreciate their quiet household. Gardner’s writing of this small, unlikely family elevates RIGHT BEHIND HER from a simple psychological thriller to a novel with real depth and substance. Each member of the household is carefully written and studied, their nuances and idiosyncrasies all deeply personal yet instantly relatable.

Of course, these three storylines must converge, and when they do, it is not at all pleasant for any of Gardner’s creations. After Shelly identifies the convenience store killer as foster child Telly Ray Nash, she and her team discover that he has murdered two other people earlier that day. With no one to question, they must attempt to track his journey away from the store. This introduces a fascinating character named Cal, who prides himself on his abilities to think like his targets. He does not examine muddy footprints and broken twigs while sniffing the wind, as we see on television. Instead he asks things like, “If I’m a 17-year-old boy who is low on water, which route do I take through the forest?” Although he is always professional, Cal’s interesting take on the case provides readers with a lighthearted foil that is necessary for dealing with the more terrifying details.

Given the severity of the case, it makes sense for the sheriff to call in local professionals Quincy and Rainie. But when they recognize the murderer and his horrifying ties to their adopted daughter’s past, the case takes on a new level of seriousness. As members of the tracking team are attacked and evidence implying that the murderer knows more about Sharlah than he should, Quincy and Rainie must take the reins while protecting everything they hold dear.

To say that RIGHT BEHIND YOU is a page turner is an understatement. Although Gardner begins with a ripped-from-the-headlines murder spree and subsequent chase, she never fails to keep the drama on high, with each new development amplifying the already chilling suspense. Where she really shines, however, is in her characters, each of whom possesses a fully fleshed-out background and some sort of dark motivation. No one in Gardner’s book is entirely innocent, and it will take readers some time to figure out who is a red herring and who is a cold-blooded killer. Telly, for example, is a magnificent study in character development. While he initially comes across as your stereotypical abused child turned vicious killer, Gardner slowly reveals new details about his personality that will tug at any reader’s heartstrings while giving you a bit of a lesson in psychology and trauma.

I mentioned earlier that this was my first Quincy & Rainie thriller, but it definitely will not be my last.

Right Behind You is an amazingly quick read that leaves readers looking for more. It is suspenseful and intense. You want the main character to succeed.

The beginning of this book was laugh out loud funny during the chronicling of his trip from down south all the way to Alaska. After arriving in Alaska and being medically retired from the military, Bill Fulton starting selling military stuff like that you can find at any army/navy store on the internet. When he opened his shop in Alaska, he hired other veterans who were suffering from a lack of direction and some PTSD. It gave them a place to call home, and a job they could be proud of. And, of course, his shop carried more than the average army/navy store. He also had body armor and other such equipment. Over time, he attracts the attention of some anti-government militia, with one who was particularly dangerous.

To say more would likely ruin the story for you since most of the above happens very early, near the beginning of the book. It takes off frighteningly fast after that and runs at a breathtaking pace. Told in the first person, since this is a memoir, you feel every prickly fear that Fulton feels and cascades of emotion. I read this book in a matter of two days. This non-fiction book is not usually my type of book, but this story was impossible to put down. This was written with journalist Jeanne Devon and you could see the skill there in the story telling. I had to keep reassuring myself that Fulton didn’t die during the course of his dealings with one particularly dangerous person (I knew he lived to tell the story).

I think this book could appeal to anyone. I almost didn’t read it, but ended up the edge of my seat, biting my nails, and worrying. Now I’ve passed the book on to my husband, and he’ll enjoy the heck out of it too.

Two thumbs up, loved it, loved it! What a great book. I have always loved the Quincy and Rainie books by Lisa Gardner, but this one is especially good. Very interesting story. It had a lot of twists and turns, and you had to figure out who was guilty of what. This book left me wanting more story. I would love to hear more about how Telly's life ends up, and more about other characters in the book. Highly recommend.

We’ve come to expect a good mystery read from Lisa Gardner, and her latest is no exception.
The story starts in a trailer park, and leads us with twists and turns through the lives of the children that lived there. Great page turner.

Loved it! Lisa Gardner does not disappoint! I had already read this book through my public library but appreciated that my wish was granted!

Eight years ago, nine year old Telly Ray Nash beat his father to death with a baseball bat. After stabbing their mother, their father came after Telly and his five year old sister Sharlah May. He defended them, and changed their lives forever. Telly and Sharlah haven't had contact since that day, placed into different foster homes and leading different lives. Sharlah now lives with Quincy and Rainie. She adores her dog Luka, a retired police dog,who is always by her side. Telly is almost ready to age out of the system as an adult and his most foster parents are kind but their focus is on preparing him to live alone. When there is a double murder at a small convenience story, Quincy and Rainie are called in. When Telly is seen on camera at the sight of the double murder and his foster parents are found shot in their bedroom, the manhunt is on. Can Quincy and Rainie protect Sharlah? Can they find him and put a stop to the killings?

This is the 7th Qunicy and Rainie book, but you do not have to have read the others, this is a great stand alone book as well. This is a well written thriller. Just when you think you know what is going on, there is a twist and you are taken on a ride. The characters of Sharlah and Telly are complicated and as the story unravels you get to know them and their past experiences. The story is told by Sharlah and Telly, with Telly's side being told as his memories leading up to the events. Even though Telly and Sharlah have no contact since the incident eight years earlier, the bond they had as sister and brother is still strong and leads them into dangerous situations. The suspense in this book kept me reading long after I should have put it down for bed because I could not wait to read what happened next. A great addition to this series by Lisa Gardner.

So.. this week I truly was visited by the NETGALLEY book fairy and received the 7th book in the Quincy and Rainie series and I was pleasantly surprised. But also just surprised because Right Behind You was published in 2017 and I cannot even recall when exactly I "wished" for this. Lisa Gardner is one of my go-to authors since I was a teen and over the years I have read all of her books and only ever given The Other Daughter a low rating. She's just that stellar of a writer.

Right Behind You takes place in the seemingly quiet town that Quincy and Rainie are now living. The couple are coping with the raising of their foster daughter, Sharlah and beginning the adoption process. Of course, a few grisly murders open the story and are actually related to Sharlah's past.

As always, I don't get very much housework completed when I step into a LG book and this one was a great Saturday evening read. Perhaps not as dark and twisty as some of the author's previous books, but enough substance to keep me riveted.

Some might find it ironic that Sharlah is on the cusp of being adopted by two people involved in law enforcement. After all, eight years ago her older brother, Telly, killed their drunk and abusive father with a baseball bat. While he did it to save Sharlah's life, they haven't seen each other since the incident.

But when a spree shooter seemingly goes on a rampage, and video footage captures Telly on the scene with a gun. Sharlah must face her past, face her brother, and decide what their future holds.

This book had a lot of suspense. Flashbacks to eight years ago kept me wondering what had truly happened that night and what it meant about Telly and Sharlah. The search for Telly in the present was well-plotted out as well, involving everyone from trackers to profilers, which also kept the suspense up. There was one particular twist near the end that, even though it was small, had me gasping out loud with how well Gardner had tricked me.

I also really liked the relationship between Sharlah and her soon to be adoptive parents Quincy and Rainie. While these are reoccurring characters in a series I had not previously read, I still felt very invested in them and their story.

The ending got a little confusing for me. It felt like Gardner had all these ideas for directions the story could go and put them all in. I appreciated that she wanted to take the idea of a "family drama" and really run with it in a unique direction, but the last third of the book could get hard to follow.

This is a gripping read that will keep you in suspense. I wish the ending was a bit stronger and a bit clearer, but this was still a book I couldn't put down.

Wow, this was really good. A year ago, I wouldn't have read a book like this. I was a YA reader through and through but now that I'm reading more genres, I discovered this spell-bounding novel. Quincy and Rainie are wicked cool. And Sharlah is going to grow up and be just as wicked cool. Reading this gave me an insane urge to pursue a career similar to Quincy and Rainie because it was just so attention catching. My heart hurts for poor Telly, though. I wish there was more I could read about Sharlah and Telly.

In Lisa Gardner's latest in her FBI Profiler series, Right Behind You (Penguin Group 2017), the costars Pierce Quincy and his partner, Rainie Conner have retired from the FBI to a fairly small Oregon town where they offer their profiling services to local law enforcement on a consulting basis. The now-married pair wanted to get away from the life-and-death world that stalked their prior careers and thus escape the crazed killers who too often threatened their lives. They are in the last stages of adopting the troubled girl they are fostering, thirteen-year-old Sharlah, when local law enforcement ask for their help to solve a string of grisly murders. It doesn't take long for them to be attributed to Sharlah's  seventeen-year-old estranged brother Telly, the boy who saved her life eight years ago when their father threatened to kill her. The more evidence appears, the more guilty Telly seems but Quincy and Rainie's profiling skills and basic instinct tells them there is more to this than a crazed teen who has snapped.

Where the plot could be typical, Gardner's signature ability to get inside the heads of victim, killer, accused, and law enforcement makes this story a nailbiter from start to finish. With a liberal use of flashbacks, the reader comes to understand how Telly got to this point in life where he'd come to trust, even love, his foster parents--who he is accused of killing--and they represented his last chance for a normal life. As we try to unravel the murders and the bond between brother and sister, Gardner explores family relationships, parents and children, and the loss and regaining of hope.

My only complaint and why it got four stars is that the author repeated information through the eyes of various people. Normally, when authors do that, they share something new but I didn't see that in this story.

Overall, an excellent addition to the series. I'll be reading the next one.

Note: This will appear on my writing blog, WordDreams, Feb. 24th

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Dutton Publishing and Lisa Gardner for the opportunity to read and review her latest thriller - it was awesome!

Unfortunately, although I've read her books before, I hadn't read any of the Quincy & Rainie books. While I'm sure having more of their back story would make this book even better, I didn't feel I lost a thing by not having read them.

Quincy & Rainie are semi-retired profilers, working in a small Oregon town helping police on various cases. They are in the process of adopting Sharlah, a teenager who survived a horrific childhood. When Sharlah was just a toddler, her drunken father stabbed her mom and then tried to kill her older brother, who in turn killed his dad with a baseball bat.

Reports come in of a shooting in a gas station of the clerk and a customer. When surveillance video comes back, it appears that Sharlah's brother, Telly, is responsible. The manhunt begins and Quincy & Rainie are involved, which becomes more complicated because of their relationship to Sharlah.

This is a thrill ride of a book - I raced through it, heart pounding! Highly recommended!

4.5★★★★ Stars

Genre: Mystery/ Suspense
Type: Book 7 in the Quincy & Rainie Series
POV: First Person – Multiple

Telly Ray Nash had a brutal childhood; the horrible circumstances where he was raised forced him to basically care for himself and his little sister. The father was abusive and the mother was no better they only cared about their next high or drink. I found myself feeling so affected by his story I wanted justice for him and his sister. After so many years of living without a home, at seventeen Telly was adopted by a wonderful older couple and he finds himself trying to learn how to be a grown up and make good decisions even if he feels like he could never be better.

"I had failed and messed up and all these years later I still heard my baby sister's scream and no matter what Frank and Sandra said, I didn't know where to go from here."

After a traumatic event; Sharlah was adopted by FBI profilers Quincy and Rainie. The adopted parents knew exactly how traumatized Sharlah was and they did everything in their power to keep her protected and helped her heal even gave her an ex-fbi dog which I found amazingly cool. However; some things are hard to forget and they knew to not expect otherwise. I love how they trusted her and made her feel like their real daughter and the relationship Quincy and Rainie had as a couple was incredible.

"If my brother is a monster, then I'm the one who set him down that path."

The book opens up with Sheriff Shelly Atkins and her law enforcement team trying to find a young male who murdered few people in a gas station. All the clues lead to one person and I found myself questioning everything and needing answers. This book was so good; I devoured it in one setting. We had several things going on in this story; the fbi trying to solve the murder case, the tracker who volunteer to track the killer in the woods and then we have the relationship of the profilers with their daughter. We also see the internal battle of Telly trying to do what he thinks is best and Sharlah's healing process to feeling normal. I had so many emotions and feels while reading this one; I enjoyed every moment of it. This book will be appealing to readers who enjoy suspense, fbi, detective stories and believe in second chances.

Lisa is my go to author for fast paced and great thrillers. Would read the phone book if she wrote it. This did not disappoint

I am not sure why I haven't read more of these book in this series as I am a big fan of Lisa's writing. She just has a way of investing in a well thought out story. I am not deeply invested in Quincy and Rainie's story and to be honest they played a more minor role in this story, it was more about their soon to be adoptive daughter Sharlah and her brother Telly.

The two siblings were separated after Telly killed their father, after he violently stabbed their mother. As it was self defense he was never charged, and he was only nine years old. While both carry their scars and they both struggle to move forward it seems trouble has followed Telly.

After Telly's foster parents are found murdered and two more victims are found dead, after he appears on the security cam, the race is on to find Telly and to stop the threat for more violence. The facts don't add up though, and everything is more than it seems. A closer look at foster relationships, family dynamics and the damage a violent upbringing can bring.

“Family. Something that can be found. Something that can be made. The caseworker has preached it to me for years. But I never really believed. Even when Rainie and Quincy first sat me down, I remained skeptical.”.....

This is the 7th in the Quincy and Rainie series. (FBI Profilers) Definitely a stand alone book. I’ve not read any of the previous books, but will now. I want to know Quincy and Rainie better.

The story starts with a little girl, Sharlah, and her older brother, Telly. A tale of an abused and neglected childhood that ends in murder.

As time goes, Sharlah is fortunate enough to find a family that wants her. Quincy and Rainie are her current foster family. Thank goodness for their background, it’s going to take everything they’ve got to protect their family.

Telly isn’t as lucky as his little sister. Something has set him off. He’s now being hunted by law enforcement. Is he guilty? Can Sharlah save him? Is he coming to take back what he’s lost? What did Telly do?

I was so entranced from the very first page! Such a sad series of events that then turned into a thrilling story line. People are murdered, innocent and the guilty. It’s a twist to find exactly who is innocent.

Yes, it’s a tragic tale of the aftermath of abuse, but it’s also a tale of the people who have the hearts to save them. Great ending! I love the well developed characters. You just step into the story and it sweeps you away.

I’ve read other Lisa Gardner books (DD Warren series), and I’m never disappointed. Always exciting story lines, clever twists. If you like a good crime drama, FBI, police stories, Lisa Gardner has just the book for you.

Thank you Lisa Gardner, Netgalley, and Penguin Group Dutton

A Spree Killing and Finding Your Place in a Foster Family

Telly and Shalah Nash grew up in an abusive home. One night their drug addicted father stabbed their mother and took after the kids with a kitchen knife. Nine-year-old Telly managed to kill his father with a baseball bat, but in the process he broke Shalah’s arm. Because of the trauma, the siblings have been separated for eight years.

Each child has found a foster family they can begin to love. Shalah lives with Quincy and Rainie, FBI profilers, and a retired police dog, Luka. Shalah has gradually begun to love and trust her foster parents and they are ready to adopt her. Telly has also found a family he feels comfortable with. Frank and Sandra Duval, a science teacher and a homemaker, took Telly on as a project to get him ready to face the adult world when their own son, Henry, went off to college.

The security the siblings are finding is shattered when Sandra and Frank are found brutally murdered. Quincy and Rainie are recruited to help in the search for Telly who they believe is on a spree killing triggered by something that happened in the Duval family.

The characters in this book are all working on trust issues. The author has done an excellent job showing how difficult it is for foster parents and their children to deal with trust issues. The problems of teens coming from abusive homes are well portrayed. It’s worth reading this book because of the well developed characters.

The plot is good and has a number of twists. The author lays down enough clues that you can play the game along with the profilers. However, the beginning of the book is rather slow. As Quincy and Rainie try to discover what could have caused Telly to snap, they go over the same story numerous times. The action doesn’t really get going until after the middle of the book.

I enjoyed the book and recommend it. If you’re looking for violence and sex, this isn’t your book. However, it you like thrillers with well done psychological background, you’ll enjoy this one.

I received this book from Penguin Random House for this review.

13 year old girl (Sharlah) living in foster care discovers that her older brother (Telly) is on a killing spree.

Let me start by saying that I'm not usually a huge fan of murder mysteries and detective stories. This one, however, was definitely the exception, mainly because of the main character, Sharlah. My heart ached for this poor, 13 year old girl who spent the last 8 years living in foster care after her parents were killed by her older brother, Telly, who was 9 at the time. What happened on that fateful day, and why? Is there more to her story? Is there more to Telly's story?

Now, let's fast forward to present day ... Is 17 year old Telly really the one responsible for the current killing spree happening in the small town of Bakersville, Oregon? Is Telly a hero or a zero?
Instead of focusing on the psychopath and the reasons why he's committing such heinous acts, this story also includes background information about the victims, as well as those affected by the murders... and I loved it! In fact, I've dubbed it "a murder mystery with heart" because it tugged at my heart strings and even made me tear up a couple of times.

Side Note: I loved that this story included a German Shepherd named Luka for Sharlah to love and bond with, and I loved the dedication at the beginning: "To all the once-in-a-lifetime dogs..."

This was my first time reading anything by this author, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Even though this was number seven in the series, I had no problem reading it as a stand-alone. I did, however, get the feeling that there is a LOT more to know about Sharlah's current foster parents, Quincy and Rainie, but that only makes me want to go back and read the entire series!

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

So this is my first book with Quincy and Rainie and I am so hooked! I was hooked from the beginning to the end, and I didn't see the ending coming at all!

So my favorite books are those you can read without putting them down. That make you want to stay up just to finish it. This is one of those.

This is also one of those I feel like if I try to review much about the book I might blow it for someone else. So, read the synopsis and then just know if you like suspense you have a winner here! I cannot wait to go back and catch up on the other of Quincy and Rainie!

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lisa Gardner has done it again. She has written a great mystery that keeps you guessing until the very end. The main characters, Pierce Quincy and Rainie Conner have been in previous books. They are preparing to adopt a thirteen year old whose brother once killed their father. Now Quincy and Rainie are investigating a double murder which seems to be leading to the brother as the murderer. Again, this is a great thriller and worth the read.