A secluded mountain lodge. The perfect getaway. So remote no one will ever find you.
The promise of a luxury vacation at a secluded wilderness spa has brought together eight lucky guests. But nothing is what they were led to believe. As a fierce storm barrels down and all contact with the outside is cut off, the guests fear that it’s not a getaway. It’s a trap.
Each one has a secret. Each one has something to hide. And now, as darkness closes in, they all have something to fear—including one another.
Alerted to the vanished party of strangers, homicide cop Mason Deniaud and search and rescue expert Callie Sutton must brave the brutal elements of the mountains to find them. But even Mason and Callie have no idea how precious time is. Because the clock is ticking, and one by one, the guests of Forest Shadow Lodge are being hunted. For them, surviving becomes part of a diabolical game.
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In The Dark is a tense, creepy and atmospheric closed-circle whodunit. One of my favourite tropes is the ‘And Then There Were None’ set up and, although the influence of that book is pretty on the nose here, it is a great entry in my best-loved sub-genre!
Loreth Anne White‘s characters are all three-dimensional and distinct so it is easy to follow who is who. There’s a real feeling of suspense and danger as the group’s expectations of the luxury getaway are stripped away and their polite veneers start to crack. Their descent into suspicion, mistrust and desperation is well done, complemented by the increasing ferocity of the incoming snowy storm and the rescue attempts of the authorities.
The dark secret at the heart of the story is shocking, the lodge and surrounding area is skilfully described and some of the scenes are thrillingly terrifying. All the time it is not at all clear who is to blame for their predicament and the full conclusion is a surprise. I read this over a few wintry nights, which was the perfect time, and could barely bring myself to put it down. Highly recommended. Thank you to the publisher for my copy of the book.
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