Ratings3
Average rating3
For fans of Kathleen Barber and Julia Heaberlin comes a chilling psychological suspense from award-winning author Jen Williams about a woman who discovers her late mother had a decades-long secret correspondence with a serial killer, begging the question: how well do we know our own family and even ourselves? When prodigal daughter Heather Evans returns to her family home after her mother's baffling suicide, she makes an alarming discovery--stacks and stacks of carefully preserved letters from notorious serial killer Michael Reave. The "Red Wolf," as he was dubbed by the press, has been in prison for over twenty years, serving a life sentence for the gruesome and ritualistic murders of several women across the country, although he has always protested his innocence. The police have had no reason to listen, yet Heather isn't the only one to have cause to re-examine the murders. The body of a young woman has just been found, dismembered and placed inside a tree, the corpse planted with flowers. Just as the Red Wolf once did. What did Heather's mother know? Why did she kill herself? And with the monstrous Red Wolf safely locked inside a maximum security prison, who is stalking young women now? Teaming up with DI Ben Parker, Heather hopes to get some answers for herself and for the newest victims of this depraved murderer. Yet to do that, she must speak to Michael Reave herself, and expose herself to truths she may not be ready to face. Something dark is walking in the woods, and it knows her all too well.
Reviews with the most likes.
I read this book because I enjoyed the Winnowing Flame trilogy by Jen Williams.
The beginning was promising and had me hooked : the atmosphere was dark and the author managed to build a nice bit of insecurity. I really like the writing style.
However Heather is very unlikable and all the other characters are dull. Nikki in particular is the perfect no-personality side-kick.
I am not used to police mysteries but I still found the story very predictable. The culprit was obvious from the first time they appeared even if their motives were not.
In general I was disappointed since the strength of the Winnowing Flame trilogy were the world-building and imaginative elements that we do not have in A dark and secret place. The plot or characters do not make up for it so this strikes me as “just another serial killer story”.