Suffer the Children

Lisa Black

Aug 2018 · A Gardiner and Renner Novel Book 4 · Kensington Books

About this ebook

The investigative team hunts for a possible killer stalking a juvenile detention center in this crime thriller by the New York Times bestselling author.

The body of fifteen-year-old Rachael Donahue—abandoned by society and violently unapproachable—was found at the bottom of a stairwell at Firebird, the secure facility for juvenile offenders in Cleveland. For forensics expert Maggie Gardiner and homicide detective Jack Renner, Rachael’s death comes with a disturbing twist—the girl may have been involved with a much older man.

But Rachael’s not the only resident at the center to come to a dead end. A ten-year-old “wild child” has overdosed in the infirmary. The back-to-back tragedies appear to be accidents. But Maggie and Jack suspect a cold-blooded murderer is carrying out a deadly agenda.

Meanwhile, Maggie’s ex-husband gets nearer to uncovering the secrets that she and Jack must hide—and that makes it even harder for them to protect a new and vulnerable victim from a killer with unfathomable demons.

Ratings and reviews

Suffer the Children by Lisa Black Gardner & Renner # Maggie and Jack have an uneasy relationship built on both knowing something about one another that neither wants out in the open. Both also work together to find criminals. Maggie works in forensics and Jack is a homicide detective. Not much is said about either’s personal lives or interests as theirs is a work relationship…mostly. We do know that Maggie is divorced and her ex is a policeman with the ability to expose secrets perhaps better left…secret…at least better for Maggie and Jack. With the uneasy truce in place Jack and Maggie find themselves in a juvenile detention center after the death of a female teenager who seems to have leaped to her death. Seemingly is what the murderer wants everyone to buy into but as one after another of the youth ends up dead it seems that someone has it out for these imprisoned young people who are far more likely to grow into criminals than responsible adults. As the story unfolds it slowly becomes clear just who the murderer is and what the reasoning behind the killings is. It also seems that the vigilante killer, killing rather despicable miscreants that otherwise seem to avoid justice, might be exposed eventually by Maggie’s ex-husband. I do wonder if there is romance in the future for Maggie and Jack but unless they begin to have interaction outside of work it seems doubtful…maybe… I have to say that I was not drawn in and kept on the edge of my seat and often felt the story was being told rather than that I was in the thick of it but it was solid overall and I will read more in the series to find out what will or will not happen with the vigilante killer, Maggie and Jack. Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC – This is my honest review. 3-4 Stars

About the author

New York Times bestselling author Lisa Black introduced the characters of Maggie Gardiner and Jack Renner in her acclaimed suspense novel That Darkness and continued their story in Unpunished, Perish, Suffer the Children, and Let Justice Descend. As a forensic scientist at the Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office, she analyzed gunshot residue on hands and clothing, hairs, fibers, paint, glass, DNA, blood and many other forms of trace evidence, as well as crime scenes. Now she is a latent print examiner and crime scene analyst for the Cape Coral Police Department in Florida, working mostly with fingerprints and crime scenes. Lisa is a member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, the International Association for Identification, and the International Association of Bloodstain Pattern Analysts, and she is a Certified Crime Scene Analyst and Certified Latent Print Examiner. She has testified in court as an expert witness more than sixty-five times. Her books have been translated into six languages. She lives near Fort Myers, Florida. Visit her on Facebook, Twitter, or at www.lisa-black.com.