What Lies in Darkness
Christina McDonald
347 pages
Thomas & Mercer
published July 16, 2024
Amazon | Goodreads | Bookshop.org
Genres: Mystery, Thrillers, Psychological, Paranormal
I was such a fan of These Still Black Waters. The characters. The twist. This one had a lot to live up to. And it did.
I’m a fan of police procedurals. But this series is a little different as it focuses on characters outside of the police and at times it seems that the police are secondary characters. There is still a case and an investigation but there is also a huge focus on the characters affected by the case. It’s a clever way to stand out in this genre.
All that said I love the detective in this one. Jess has a lot of demons that she brings to the table as she investigates. I loved that her story progressed in this one. She’s paired with a different partner in this one and has the added burden of adjusting.
This book can be read as a stand alone but I highly recommend reading book one first. You’ll see a lot about Jess and that twist in the first book was epic.
I can’t wait to see what’s up next for Jess.
About the book
Late Christmas Eve, the Harper family’s car crashed on a desolate stretch outside Black Lake. Sixteen-year-old Alice was found injured by the side of the road—alone. It was as if her parents and younger sister, Ella, had simply disappeared.
One year later, Alice is still dealing with nightmares and unanswered questions when she and her friends find Ella’s bloodstained backpack in the basement of an abandoned home. As Detective Jess Lambert investigates, she uncovers dark secrets that put her on a collision course with her past. Jess’s only witness is haunted by her own ghosts—ghosts that might ultimately be connected to Jess.
Jess will do anything to find out what happened to the Harpers—no matter how deep she has to dig. Because neither the living nor the dead are giving up their secrets easily.
Leave a Reply