Abducted (Lizzy Gardner #1) - Book Review

In Abducted by T.R. Ragan, fourteen years ago, Lizzy Gardner was kidnapped by a man she calls "Spiderman" because of his obsession with using poisonous spiders to torture the girls he kidnaps. She manages to escape after two months, the only victim of Spiderman's to live. Now, Lizzy is a private investigator and also teaches self-defense to help young girls if they are ever attacked.

After Lizzy escaped from her abductor, Spiderman has stopped killing but has the need to find the "one that got away." She has betrayed him and now he seeks his revenge.

This "thriller" was incredibly disappointing. I was bored before even getting halfway through the book, and then I was annoyed at all of the problems with Abducted. I am just going to list them...

1. All of the characters seem to forget their cell phones in their car or the battery dies, just when they need it the most.
2. The common link between ALL of the victims is missed by the police and it's way too obvious to miss.
3. Lizzy is the WORST private investigator on the face of the earth. She ignores her intuition and ignores odd behavior every other scene. Plus, there's several times where she doesn't contact the police when any person would.
4. There are some really pointless characters in this book and I felt as though their mini-stories were just a way of dragging the plot along.
5. I read almost 400 pages, waiting for a twist that never came. When it was revealed who Spiderman was, I was not in the least bit suprised.
6. For a book released in 2012, I'm pretty sure it's common knowledge that you don't have to wait 60 seconds before a trace starts on your phone when set up by police.
7. Nobody ever takes Lizzy seriously besides her love interest.
8. There are dates and times (Law & Order style) which indicate a change of scene. In my opinion, if you're going to do that, add the place as well so you know which character you're supposed to be following at the time.
9. Anything exciting or action that happens is short and quickly cuts to a new scene and when the author goes back to that storyline I was always disappointed.

I don't understand why this book has so many five star reviews. There was nothing amazing about it at all. There was only one character, Hayley, that I actually liked and her storyline wasn't very long. She is the only reason I am rating this book 2 stars instead of 1.

Abducted is the first book in The Lizzy Gardner Series. Luckily, there's no huge cliffhanger at the end where you need to read the next one to find out what happens. Yes, there's some unanswered questions, but I don't care enough to find out those answers. I will not be picking up any more books in this series.

Overall, I rate Abducted (The Lizzy Gardner Series #1) 2 out of 5 stars. I would not recommend this book considering the amount of great thrillers out there.