A woman and child are found locked in a basement room, barely alive...
No one knows who they are- the woman can't speak, and there are no missing persons reports that match their profile.
The elderly man who owns the house claims he has never seen them before. The inhabitants of the quiet Oxford Street are in shock. How could this happen right under their noses? But DI Adam Fawley knows that nothing is impossible.
And that no one is as innocent as they seem.
I loved Close to Home which was the first in this series so I was so pleased to be asked to review In the Dark. It is a fantastic thriller, clever, relevant and scarily realistic.
A young woman and toddler are found locked in a dark, damp cellar. Nobody knows who they are or how they got there. The owner of the house suffers from dementia and he is adamant that he didn't know they were down there. DI Adam Fowley takes up the case but it's not going to be easy, especially when everyone involved has something to hide.
Cara Hunter delivered a fantastic debut with Close to Home but personally I think In the Dark is even better. It was such a roller coaster read, each time I felt that I worked it out, it all unravelled in front of me and I had to start all over again.
As with her first book, Cara intersperses the story with news reports and interview transcripts. It makes the whole thing very realistic as you are seeing the case from different people's points of view.
I was seriously impressed with how the author tied everything together at the end, there weren't any loose ends or unanswered questions, it was very satisfying to have it all concluded.
I hope there is more to come in this series, DI Adam Fawley is an excellent character; he is at the height of his career, he has enough baggage to make him interesting whilst avoiding the many cliches I have come to expect from this genre.
If you are a fan of clever psychological thrillers then do not miss out on this book. I have the prologue to share with you, Cara Hunter draws you straight into the action:
Her other senses lurch awake. The dripping silence, the cold, the smell. Mildew and something else she can’t yet place, something animal and fetid. She moves her fingers, feeling grit and wet under her jeans. It’s coming back to her now – how she got here, why this happened.
How could she have been so stupid.
She stifles the acid rush of panic and tries to sit up, but the movement defeats her. She fills her lungs and shouts, flinging echoes against the walls. Shouts and shouts and shouts until her throat is raw.
But no one comes. Because no one can hear.
She closes her eyes again, feeling hot angry tears seeping down her face. She is rigid with outrage and recrimination and conscious of little else until, in terror, she feels the first sharp little feet start to move across her skin.
Many thanks to Penguin for inviting me to take part in this tour, don't forget to check out the other stops!
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