A Dark and Secret Place: A Thriller

YA fantasy writer Jen Williams takes a detour with her latest, the adult thriller A Dark and Secret Place. Heather Evans returns home after her mother’s suicide, despite their long separation and estrangement. As she is sorting through her former home, she discovers some letters addressed to her mother from an infamous local serial killer. Although Michael Reave has long been in prison, copycat murders resume just as Heather arrives in town. Heather and DI Ben Parker assume that this secret relationship from her mom’s murky past is connected to the recent cases. DI Parker arranges for Heather to meet with the incarcerated Reave to see if he will confide in her or provide insight on the new crimes. Bit by bit, Heather comes to realize that the mother she knew was vastly different from the one she is unveiling. She also begins a stuttering, awkward romance with the DI. If all of this sounds familiar, that’s because you have read many recent novels that use the same tropes and caricatures. Williams attempts to resuscitate the worn formula with various twists and last-minute reveals. Unfortunately, A Dark and Secret Place brings no conceivable innovation to the genre. Its many diversions, superfluous details and last-minute clues ultimately lead nowhere. In trying to squeeze in all the trite thriller elements, Williams has allowed her new novel to wander wildly toward an ending that fails to thrill or satisfy.

I received a free electronic ARC of this interesting thriller from Netgalley, Jen Williams, and Crooked Lane Books. I have read A Dark and Secret Place of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. I am pleased to recommend Jen Williams to friends and family who enjoy thrillers and horror tales - this is a combination of both, with a little bit of fairy tale thrown in as well. The premise of this novel sucked me in and I must admit that although I generally set horror of this magnitude aside I was compelled to finish this one. Heather Evans is an ex-reporter who was fired from her last newspaper and is trying to make a go of it as an independent journalist. Her relationship with her mother was never good and she left home at 16 years old, shortly after the death of her Dad. She is an only child and is called home on her mother's unexpected suicide. Colleen Evans was basically her only relative and though there was a sad, bad history between them, Heather must do the right thing and handle the funeral and sorting out her mother's home. Which she can handle, despite the unexpected sorrow she feels when coming across things that her mother treasured. Until she unearths twenty-five years of letters addressed to her mom, letters sent by Michael Reave. The Red Wolf. It was a name recognized by almost everyone, especially in Lancashire and Manchester - a name synonymous with serial murder in England. Michael Reave wrote frequently to Colleen, from prison for most of those years, many of them years when Heather's Dad was still alive and the center of their family. And it was obvious that Colleen was writing back, asking questions he answered, sharing memories from their youth. Though she obviously never mentioned her husband or daughter. Heather cannot help but follow through on this information, find out what her mother could have had in common with a man who murdered so many many women. Share these letters with the police, see if there is a connection between Michael Reave and the currently busy copycat serial killer working in Lancashire and environs now. Perhaps she might then find out enough about Colleen to understand her better. And she shutters to think of how Michael Reave might fit into her own family tree...

Unsettling, creepy, psychological thriller. I had to stop in a few places and walk away. Dark Grimm Fairy Tales lay the ground work. First time author for me. Even with a format I don't care for I was compelled to finish the book, It tied my stomach in knots as I followed Heather through the pages, It left me tossing and turning long after I finished. I would recommend with caveats as there is animal abuse that was a too descriptive for my taste, Interestingly enough the murders of red wolf (for the most part) were not as descriptive. I am not a fan of the Before and Present in a book, I don't like being pulled from one point of time and into another (needless to say I don't read books with time jumps, ha) I am really a tad befuddled in the best way to describe and share this book so I will settle for - disturbing. Thank you for the arc, I freely volunteer my unsolicited thoughts and opinions..