Darkness Lane

Geneva Chase .. a multi-layered character. She's a reporter for a newspaper that may be sold, a damaged woman who is an alcoholic, albeit a high functioning one. She's been married three times, has had two affairs with married men, and always seems to be making the wrong decisions. She is also legal guardian to a teenager, Caroline the daughter of a man she had planned to marry before his death. Caroline's best friend has gone missing and the police turn up a video showing Bobbi Jarvis getting into a car driven by her school coach. Just a few days prior, Bobbi's dad was murdered. Is there a connection? Geneva was the one who found Bobbi's dad ... she's still having nightmares about what she saw. Geneva is also investigating a woman accused of murdering her husband ... after surviving more than 20 years of physical abuse. This case leads her to some very bad men. She's been followed, a gun has been shot through her living room window, and her 'daughter' has been threatened. Suddenly these seemingly unconnected crimes start to merge. Jarring twists and turns include charming movie stars, treacherous diamond merchants, adultery, sex traffickers, and murder. While the clock ticks and Geneva works desperately to find the missing student, she comes to the horrible realization that she's in over her head. This is very well written with a terrific leading character. Geneva is definitely flawed, but she's doing all she can to fight her private demons. Caroline is the typical teenage girl .. a little surly, part little girl part young woman. Although this is second in a series, it does quite well as a stand alone --- just enough background information to keep the reader interested, not enough to keep the reader from wanting to take a look at RANDOM ROAD .. the first book. There's a bit of cliff hanger that leads me to believe there will be a third installment coming. Many thanks to the author / Poisoned Pen Press / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.