Lizzy Gardner Books In Order

Publication Order of Lizzy Gardner Books

Lizzy Gardner is the central character in a series of romantic novels written by Theresa Ragan. She’s is a run-away victim of a dreaded serial killer, who thereafter finds it behooving to work as a Private Investigator besides teaching young lassies self-defense.

The series was launched in 2011, when Ragan released Abducted as the first novel in the lineup. All the books in the series revolve around Lizzie, a young girl whose primary drive in life is to help those around her. She’s portrayed as incredibly kind, intelligent and very gutsy.

She’s an all-rounded figure in the novels, and one that would go to whatever length, including putting her own life at risk, just to save the life of one girl in Spiderman’s trap. As a result, young girls turn to her for help whenever they are caught up in a tough jam, as they’re certain she’s so concerned about their welfare.

Though still ongoing, the series currently features five novels: Abducted, Dead Weight, A Dark Mind, Obsessed, and Almost Dead.

Abducted

Abducted is the first novel in the Lizzy Gardner series, self-published by author T.R. Ragan. It features Lizzy Gardner as the central character, whom we are told was kidnapped by a serial killer by the name of Spiderman who then held her hostage for weeks.

But through her wit and determination, she managed to free herself, coming off as the first girl to ever survive Spiderman. She’s therefore christened “the one who got away” in the novel.

To overcome the trauma, she starts her own PI (Private investigation) in attempt to unravel non-dramatic cases around her. Then during her part-time , she holds regular seminars in which she uses them to teach young girls how to defend themselves when attacked.

This gives her a sense of peace. More so after news get around that a man who’s thought to be Spiderman has been apprehended. But her relief dies off shortly after when a young girl’s body is found dumped, alongside a note saying “Spiderman is back and is after Lizzy.”

On the overall, Abducted is a fun book to read. It’s a decent thriller, full of intrigue and suspense.

Lizzy on the other hand is a damaged character, not complex or layered, but exactly what the novel needs for a lead role.

We are also introduced to Jared, the boyfriend whom they snuck out with prior the kidnap. At the moment, Jared is an FBI agent, who calls in, even though they haven’t spoken for years, to alert Lizzy that the man apprehended isn’t Spiderman as reported earlier. The real Spiderman is still out there and is on the hunt for her.

Spiderman has a penchant for torturing his victim using creepy crawlers, before murdering them eventually. He’s on a mission to teach bad girls a terrible lesson in accordance to the degree of their vices.

The book has quite an impressive number of plot swells. Lizzy alongside Jared, Sargent Jimmy Martin and one of Lizzy’s self-defense students are all set to rescue the latest victim from Spiderman’s den, someone so dear to Lizzy that she’s willing to risk her own life for her.

What gets the story more interesting is the fact that the killer’s blood sister is also on a hunt for him. And she’s willing to give out any information that may give away his brother to anyone on a mission to take him down.

Ragan uses similar names for a number of characters in the book—Winters, Warner, Crawford, Walker, and Crowley. Plus most of the characters are on the verge of divorce if not already divorced, which sort of peppers the whole story making it even more interesting and realistic.

To every avid reader out there, this book is one of the books that make you yearn for more. Yearn for more of Lizzy’s wit, plans and actions, or more from Spiderman when he doesn’t strike. And while you thought Spiderman was really a bad man, his actions are to some extend justifiable. He doesn’t just torture people. He tortures bad girls who are disrespectful to their parents. It’s therefore a book you may want your children to read because it bears a strong moral lesson that parents inculcate to their children.

Dead weight

Dead weight is the second book in the series. The plot takes place a couple of months after Lizzy, Jared, Jessica, and Hayley (another damaged high school student), thwarted the ruthless serial killer. But things are a bit more intense for Lizzy this time round.

First she has to solve the case surrounding a missing teenage girl who apparently disappeared after running away from home. No one knows her whereabouts and everybody suspects she’s the latest Spiderman’s victim.

Two, she’s has another different case now involving a missing obese woman, who somehow got obsessed with a well-known fitness guru. Her sister has assigned the case to Lizzy, and she’s fully convinced the guru had a hand in her sister’s disappearance. Only Lizzy can solve such a case. And she surely will.

The most interesting segment of the book is when we’re introduced to a story surrounding the disappearance of the obese woman’s friend. First she gets herself kidnapped and then locks herself in a fitness cabin. Her plan doesn’t pay off though, but it makes the story more interesting.

Another tertiary plotline revolves around Hayley, who appears to have lost her mind as she desperately plots revenge against her one time assaulter, Spiderman.

Compared to the first novel, Dead weight takes a drastic tonal shift. Unlike in Abducted, where Lizzy and her friends are constantly at risk of abduction from Spiderman, Dead Weight shifts its focus off Lizzy and zones in more on mysteries. This makes the story completely unique from the first, though one can clearly tell the connection. Hats off for the author for not making the story predictable!

Here, we have a Lizzy who’s on the verge of throwing in a wet towel. But she possibly can’t, despite all her effort to get over her past and lead a more peaceful life.

Instead of going after the man who ruined her life, she finds it easy to let go than keep on following him, which for now has become some sort of mickey-and-mouse game. But as much as she tries to bury her head and forget her past, people around her can’t just stop rubbing her nose in it. Not when she’s the only hope remaining. So she takes up the two cases, only to realize that whatever she’s required to solve is by far a bigger chunk than she can possibly chew. This forces her to ask for help from Jessica and Hayley, but will Hayley be of any help when she’s busy chasing ghosts in the streets of Sacramento in the middle of the night?