Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

Lisa Gardner’s Touch & Go is somewhat engaging, puzzling and essentially a good fit for a weekend read or a plane trip.

The very wealthy Denbe famly – Justin, wife Libby and 15 year old daughter Ashlyn – are kidnapped. The FBI, local law enforcement and private investigator Tessa Leoni race against time to find them. There’s a ransom demand and lots of family secrets. And violence.

I typically enjoy mysteries written with female protagonists – and perhaps that’s part of the problem because Tessa Leoni is just one of the protagonists and I felt very in the dark because of the multiple references to her appearance in a previous novel (I cheated and looked it up online because it was gnawing at me.) That’s not good series writing – Anne Perry, Sue Grafton, Sara Paretsky do it so well that I suppose I’m spoiled.

I was engaged enough to be curious as I turned the pages waiting for the big plot reveal – why were they kidnapped and who was behind it? And I was disappointed. I felt like multiple twists and turns were tossed into the mix with too many characters for me to feel invested in really any of them. It wasn’t a terrible ending, just not quite the intense payoff you hope for as you read.

The major disappointment was the lack of character development – too many characters on the canvas, too many stereotypes (especially the women) and an ongoing meme that women need emotional connections from men to feel whole.

This is a good read if you need a mildly engaging book to occupy your time. I wish I could say more.     But … you can say more by joining the discussion on Blogher. I’ll be joining the discussion all month.