Alone in the Dark
by Karen Rose
Publisher: Signet
Release Date: February 2, 2016
We first met hero, Army Ranger turned publisher Marcus
O’Bannion, in last year’s Closer Than You
Think, and the events of that book still haunt him months later—especially
the injuries he suffered saving two kidnap victims. And true to form, he begins
this book attempting to save another victim, one who unfortunately is killed
before he can do so. It’s that murder that brings him back into contact with
the beautiful Cincinnati PD detective, Scarlett Bishop, who has haunted him
since she visited him at his bedside after he was shot.
Scarlett knows that she’s attracted to the handsome
newspaperman with a penchant for rescuing people, but despite her hope that his
presence at the murder scene was as innocent as he claims, she’s not quite sure
she’s ready to trust him. Not to mention the fact that he wore a bullet proof
vest to a meeting with a teenage girl, there’s the fact that he recorded the
entire encounter with a mini video camera. Is he just after a great story, or
was his presence there simply an attempt to help a young woman in trouble as he
claimed. She knows what she wants to believe, but her boss and her cop
instincts tell her to be wary.
What unfolds is a high-octane, complicated, romantic,
angry-making thriller that kept me turning the pages long after my bedtime had
passed. Though I expect a strong mystery plot with a Karen Rose novel, over the
past several books these have become “bigger” both in scope and in complexity.
And Alone in the Dark is no
exception. Along with this super-sized plot comes a higher body count, which at
times is even a bit too much for this thriller lover. Even so, Rose makes me
care about even the most disposable of secondary characters, and even when that
little voice in my head is telling me this couldn’t possibly happen in real
life, I’m riveted to the page and telling that little voice to shut up so I can
finish the story.
As I’ve come to appreciate about her work, Rose doesn’t
stint in the romance department, even when there’s so much more page count
needed to unravel the mystery. There was so much exquisite angst between
Scarlett and Marcus—they’d pined for one another for months before they saw
each other again—and that made their admission of their feelings, and the
consummation of them, that much sweeter. I’m a big fan of the “hero and heroine
work together to meet a goal” trope and Karen Rose always delivers on that. And
even when they’re running for their lives or arguing about which approach to
take when confronting the bad guys, there’s never any doubt that these two are
meant for each other.
Any series reader will tell you that as soon as they finish
one book, they’re wondering whose book comes next, and with this one there are
a number of options. It could be Marcus’s brother Stone and the Animal Shelter
Director who was also injured by the previous villain. Or perhaps it will be
Dani, the sister of Scarlett’s partner Deacon, coupled up with Marcus’s
right-hand-man, who has a gruff exterior and a troubled past. All I know is I
want that book in my hand.
Right. Thrilling. Now.
~Manda Collins
