D.D. Warren is a Boston homicide detective and the main character in Lisa Gardner’s mystery series. She began as a supporting character in a story about Trooper Bobby Dodge. Lisa Gardner is an international number one bestselling novelist and crime expert. She has readers enthralled from the first page and speculating until the very last.
Detective D.D. Warren is assigned to the homicide division. She is on the hunt for murderers and serial killers. The majority of the cases we follow contain complicated incidents targeting women. She is a solitary and harsh detective who is most at ease on the streets of Boston solving homicide cases.
The series started in 2005 and includes eleven volumes and two short stories. The cases include heinous crimes ranging from a man murdering his entire family to the discovery of mummified remains.
The series doesn’t only focus on solving the murders. Throughout the novels, the detective finds more about herself and what she stands for. She is pushed to her limits and questions if her actions and involvement are worth it. New characters are added from time to time, but Lisa Gardner knows how to make them interesting and loveable by exploring their past and motivations.
D.D. Warren Books in order
Detective D. D. Warren
- Alone (2004)
- Hide (2007)
- The Neighbor (2009)
- Live to Tell (2010)
- Love You More (2011)
- Catch Me (2012)
- Fear Nothing (2014)
- Find Her (2016)
- Look For Me (2018)
- The Guy Who Died Twice (2019)
- Never Tell (2019)
- When You See Me (2020)
- The 7th Month (2012)
- The Laughing Buddha: Malachai Samuels vs. D.D. Warren (2015)
Short Stories/Novellas
Similar books
- Karin Slaughter’s False Witness novel follows a defense attorney’s apparent normal life. But when a big case appears and she has to face her hidden past, things get messy.
- Karin Slaughter’s Will Trent series features GBI special agent Will Trent and his team. Together, they solve the most deadly conspiracy. See Will Trent’s Books in Order.
See also: Linwood Barclay Books in Order.
Most recommended books of the series
- When You See Me (Detective D.D. Warren, #11 (4.26 Goodreads score)
- Catch Me (Detective D.D. Warren, #6) (4.20 Goodreads score)
- Live to Tell (Detective D.D. Warren, #4) (4.19 Goodreads score)
- Hide (Detective D.D. Warren, #2) (4.18 Goodreads score)
- Find Her (Detective D.D. Warren, #8) (4.15 Goodreads score)
Awards
This series of books was nominated for the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award. The novel ‘ Alone’ was a nominee for the Thriller Award for Best Novel in 2013.
Upcoming releases in the series
There are no new D.D. Wanner books planned for the future, but Lisa is sure the series will continue. The latest book published featuring the detective is When You See Me, out in 2020.
Book summaries
Alone (2004)
Alone . . . Massachusetts State Trooper Bobby Dodge watches a tense hostage standoff unfold through the scope of his sniper rifle. Just across the street, in wealthy Back Bay, Boston, an armed man has barricaded himself with his wife and child. The man’s finger tightens on the trigger and Dodge has only a split second to react . . . and forever pay the consequences.Alone . . . that’s where the nightmare began for cool, beautiful, and dangerously sexy Catherine Rose Gagnon. Twenty-five years ago, she was buried underground during a month-long nightmare of abduction and abuse. Now her husband has just been killed. Her father-in-law, the powerful Judge Gagnon, blames Catherine for his son’s death . . . and for the series of unexplained illnesses that have sent her own young son repeatedly to the hospital.Alone . . . a madman survived solitary confinement in a maximum security prison where he’d done hard time for the most sadistic of crimes. Now he walks the streets a free man, invisible, anonymous . . . and filled with an unquenchable rage for vengeance. What brings them together is a moment of violence—but what connects them is a passion far deeper and much more dangerous. For a killer is loose who’s woven such an intricate web of evil that no one is above suspicion, no one is beyond harm, and no one will see death coming until it has them cornered, helpless, and alone.
Hide (2007)
You have good reason to be afraid. . . .It was a case that haunts Bobby Dodge to this day—the case that nearly killed him and changed his life forever. Now, in an underground chamber on the grounds of an abandoned Massachusetts mental hospital, the gruesome discovery of six mummified corpses resurrects his worst nightmare: the return of a killer he thought dead and buried. There’s no place to run. . . . Bobby’s only lead is wrapped around a dead woman’s neck. Annabelle Granger has been in hiding for as long as she can remember. Her childhood was a blur of new cities and assumed identities. But what—or who—her family was running from, she never knew. Now a body is unearthed from a grave, wearing a necklace bearing Annabelle’s name, and the danger is too close to escape. This time, she’s not going to run. You know he will find you. . . .The new threat could be the dead psychopath’s copycat, his protégé—or something far more terrifying. Dodge knows the only way to find him is to solve the mystery of Annabelle Granger, and to do that he must team up with his former lover, partner, and friend D. D. Warren from the Boston P.D. But the trail leads back to a woman from Bobby’s past who may be every bit as dangerous as the new killer—a beautiful survivor-turned-avenger with an eerie link to Annabelle. From its tense opening pages to its shocking climax, Hide is a thriller that delves into our deepest, darkest fears. Where there is no one to trust. Where there is no place left to hide.
The Neighbor (2009)
A young mother, blond and pretty, vanishes from her South Boston home, leaving behind only one witness—her four-year-old daughter—and one suspect—her handsome, secretive husband.From the moment Detective Sergeant D. D. Warren arrives at the Joneses’ snug little bungalow, instinct tells her that something is seriously off with the wholesome image the couple has worked so hard to create. With the clock ticking on the life of a missing woman and a media firestorm building, D.D. must decide whether Jason Jones is hiding his guilt—or just trying to hide. But first she must stand between a potential killer and his next victim—an innocent child who may have seen too much.
Live to Tell (2010)
“A suspenseful roller-coaster ride.”—Karin Slaughter • “Lisa Gardner always delivers heart-stopping suspense.”—Harlan CobenHe knows everything about you—including the first place you’ll hide. On a warm summer night in one of Boston’s working-class neighborhoods, an unthinkable crime has been committed: Four members of a family have been brutally murdered. The father—and possible suspect—now lies clinging to life in the ICU. Murder-suicide? Or something worse? Veteran police detective D. D. Warren is certain of only one thing: There’s more to this case than meets the eye.Danielle Burton is a survivor, a dedicated nurse whose passion is to help children at a locked-down pediatric psych ward. But she remains haunted by a family tragedy that shattered her life nearly twenty-five years ago. The dark anniversary is approaching, and when D. D. Warren and her partner show up at the facility, Danielle immediately realizes: It has started again.A devoted mother, Victoria Oliver has a hard time remembering what normalcy is like. But she will do anything to ensure that her troubled son has some semblance of a childhood. She will love him no matter what. Nurture him. Keep him safe. Protect him. Even when the threat comes from within her own house. The lives of these three women unfold and connect in unexpected ways, as sins from the past emerge—and stunning secrets reveal just how tightly blood ties can bind. Sometimes the most devastating crimes are the ones closest to home.
Love You More (2011)
Who do you love ? One question, a split-second decision, and Brian Darby lies dead on the kitchen floor. His wife, state police trooper Tessa Leoni, claims to have shot him in self-defense, and bears the bruises to back up her tale. For veteran detective D. D. Warren it should be an open-and-shut case. But where is their six-year-old daughter? and how far would you go ?As the homicide investigation ratchets into a frantic statewide search for a missing child, D. D. Warren must partner with former lover Bobby Dodge to break through the blue wall of police brotherhood, seeking to understand the inner workings of a trooper’s mind while also unearthing family secrets. Would a trained police officer truly shoot her own husband? And would a mother harm her own child? . . to save her? For Tessa Leoni, the worst has not yet happened. She is walking a tightrope, with nowhere to turn, no one to trust, as the clock ticks down to a terrifying deadline. She has one goal in sight, and she will use every ounce of her training, every trick at her disposal, to do what must be done. No sacrifice is too great, no action unthinkable. A mother knows who she loves. And all others will be made to pay. Love you more . . .
Catch Me (2012)
Charlene Grant believes she is going to die. For the past few years, her childhood friends have been murdered one by one. Same day. Same time. Now she’s the last of her friends alive, and she’s counting down the final four days of her life until January 21st. Charlene doesn’t plan on going down without a fight. She has taken up boxing, shooting, and running. She also wants Boston’s top homicide detective, D. D. Warren, to handle the investigation.But as D. D. delves deeper into the case, she starts to question the woman’s story. Instinct tells her that Charlene may not be in any danger at all. If that’s true, the woman must have a secret—one so terrifying that it alone could be the greatest threat of all.
Fear Nothing (2014)
They were daughters of a monster—a father who slaughtered eight prostitutes before dying himself. Dr. Adeline Glen left the nightmare behind, and now she specializes in pain management. Her sister, Shana Day, followed in her father’s violent footsteps, first killing at age fourteen and being incarcerated for more than twenty-five years.After a brutal attack, Boston Detective D. D. Warren needs Adeline’s professional help to recover physically. But when a new psychopath known as the Rose Killer begins a reign of terror, D. D. must also consult the insane Shana—who claims she can help catch the madman.D. D. may not be back on the job, but she is back on the hunt. Because the Rose Killer isn’t just targeting lone women; he’s targeting D. D. And she knows there’s only one way to take him down…
Find Her (2016)
Seven years ago, carefree college student Flora Dane was kidnapped while on spring break. For 472 days, Flora learned just how much one person can endure.Miraculously alive after her ordeal, Flora has spent the past five years reacquainting herself with the rhythms of normal life, working with her FBI victim advocate, Samuel Keynes. She has a mother who’s never stopped loving her, a brother who is scared of the person she’s become, and a bedroom wall covered with photos of other girls who’ve never made it home.When Boston detective D. D. Warren is called to the scene of a crime–a dead man and the bound, naked woman who killed him–she learns that Flora has tangled with three other suspects since her return to society. Is Flora a victim or a vigilante? And with her firsthand knowledge of criminal behavior, could she hold the key to rescuing a missing college student whose abduction has rocked Boston? When Flora herself disappears, D.D. realizes a far more sinister predator is out there. One who’s determined that this time, Flora Dane will never escape. And now it is all up to D. D. Warren to find her.
Look For Me (2018)
The home of a family of five is now a crime scene: four of them savagely murdered, one—a sixteen-year-old girl—missing. Was she lucky to have escaped? Or is her absence evidence of something sinister? Detective D. D. Warren is on the case—but so is survivor-turned-avenger Flora Dane. Seeking different types of justice, they must make sense of the clues left behind by a young woman who, whether as victim or suspect, is silently pleading, Look for me.
The Guy Who Died Twice (2019)
D. D. Warren was pretty sure she’d seen it all. Then a man walks into police headquarters, attempting desperately to convince the squad that he’s dead. Explaining to him that he’s very much alive, they finally send him on his way…and then hours later, he turns up actually dead. And it’s on D. D. Warren to figure out how and why the dead man died…twice.
Never Tell (2019)
A man is dead, shot three times in his home office. But his computer has been shot twelve times, and when the cops arrive, his pregnant wife is holding the gun. D.D. Warren arrives on the scene and recognizes the woman–Evie Carter–from a case many years back. Evie’s father was killed in a shooting that was ruled an accident. But for D.D., two coincidental murders is too many. Flora Dane sees the murder of Conrad Carter on the TV news and immediately knows his face. She remembers a night when she was still a victim–a hostage–and her captor knew this man. Overcome with guilt that she never tracked him down, Flora is now determined to learn the truth of Conrad’s murder. But D.D. and Flora are about to discover that in this case the truth is a devilishly elusive thing. As layer by layer they peel away the half-truths and outright lies, they wonder: How many secrets can one family have?
When You See Me (2020)
FBI Special Agent Kimberly Quincy and Sergeant Detective D D Warren have built a task force to follow the digital bread crumbs left behind by deceased serial kidnapper Jacob Ness. When a disturbing piece of evidence is discovered in the hills of Georgia, they bring Flora Dane and true-crime savant Keith Edgar to a small town where something seems to be deeply wrong. What at first looks like a Gothic eeriness soon hardens into something much more sinister . . . and they discover that for all the evil Jacob committed while alive, his worst secret is still to be revealed. Quincy and DD must summon their considerable skills and experience to crack the most disturbing case of their careers—and Flora must face her own past directly in the hope of saving others.
The 7th Month (2012)
In her seventh month of pregnancy, Boston Detective D.D. Warren should be taking it easy. Instead, she accepts a small consulting role on the set of a serial killer film shooting in Boston. D.D. figures she’ll be useful to someone for at least one night, serving as a police expert and making a little extra money in the bargain.It seems like a simple task—until the previous film consultant, a former Boston cop, is found beaten to death. Suddenly D.D.’s date with Hollywood gets serious. Extremely pregnant, on the trail of a killer, and surrounded by a hundred and four murder suspects in the middle of a graveyard, D.D. must quickly unravel a tangled web of lies. As another cast member is attacked, D.D. realizes that like it or not, her priorities have changed—and her last desperate hope is that she can catch a killer before she and her unborn baby face mortal danger.
The Laughing Buddha: Malachai Samuels vs. D.D. Warren (2015)
Sergeant detective D.D. Warren gets called to a murder scene in Boston’s colorful Chinatown neighborhood. An antique dealer specializing in ancient Chinese artifacts—ceramics, jade, and stone carvings—is dead from a single gunshot wound. Although he appeared to have no known enemies, Mr. John Wen did have a business card clutched in his cold, dead hand. A card bearing the name Malachai Samuels.A Jungian therapist specializing in past lives and regression therapy, Samuels has also been named a “person of interest” in recent criminal cases involving stolen artifacts. And there is an eight-inch, solid jade Buddha statue missing from Wen’s office. D.D. Warren will have to pay Malachai Samuels a visit—the question is, is he the killer, or can he simply help her find out who is?
3 Truths and a Lie (2016)
Detective D.D. Warren takes on her most intimidating assignment yet: a fifty-minute class meant to educate a horde of bloodthirsty thriller writers on the ways of actual police work. Yet sometimes life really does imitate fiction, as D.D. takes the writers through the reality of one of her most twisted cases—a case that involves a seedy motel room, drugs, prostitution…and a severed leg.
