ARC Review: In the Dark by Cara Hunter

In the Dark
Author: Cara Hunter
Series: A DI Adam Fawley Novel (Book 2)
Publication: Penguin Books (February 19, 2019)

Description: Do you know what they’re hiding in the house next door?

A woman and child are found locked in a basement, barely alive, and unidentifiable: the woman can’t speak, there are no missing persons reports that match their profile, and the confused, elderly man who owns the house claims he has never seen them before. The inhabitants of the quiet street are in shock—how could this happen right under their noses? But Detective Inspector Adam Fawley knows nothing is impossible. And no one is as innocent as they seem.

As the police grow desperate for a lead, Fawley stumbles across a breakthrough, a link to a case he worked years before about another young woman and child gone missing, never solved. When he realizes the missing woman’s house is directly adjacent to the house in this case, he thinks he might have found the connection that could bring justice for both women. But there’s something not quite right about the little boy from the basement, and the truth will send shockwaves through the force that Fawley never could have anticipated.

A deeply unsettling, heart-stopping mystery of long-buried secrets and the monsters who hide in plain sight, In the Dark is the second gripping novel featuring DI Adam Fawley.

My Thoughts: This police procedural begins with the discovery of a young woman and child locked in the cellar of a house lived in by a man who is suffering from dementia. As the police try to find out who she is and if the man is responsible for her incarceration, ties develop to a missing person's case from a couple of years earlier. The missing woman lived near enough to the current case that their houses shared backyards.

As the investigation continues we learn a lot about William Harper, the man with dementia, and his family and Hannah Gardiner, who disappeared, and her husband Rob. We also learn a lot about the various police officers who are investigating the case from the lead Adam Fawley who is still grief-stricken over the suicide of his ten-year-old son to DC Chris Gislingham who is dealing with a new baby and wife who might be suffering from postpartum depression to new officer Erica Somer who begins an ill-advised relationship with DS Quinn who changes women like he changes socks and who wants to be a better detective than he is.

The story is filled with twists and turns. Secrets are revealed and villains are hidden behind sad stories and lies. It was a fast-paced story with lots of interesting detail.

Favorite Quote:

"So this collection - was it valuable?"

Quinn nods. "Could be. Walsh told us they were only worth a few hundred but I happen to know rate examples can fetch a hundred grand or more. Each." I see Somer glance across at him and the effort he makes to avoid her eye. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from Edelweiss. You can buy your copy here.