WHAT'S DONE IN DARKNESS by Laura McHugh - Review & Giveaway

 


WHAT'S DONE IN DARKNESS (Penguin/RandomHouse) is my first Laura McHugh thriller and it certainly won't be my last. It's a tight pithy book that sucks you in at the very beginning. It's told in alternating time lines, I really got to know the Sarabeth character and her family of zealots.

17 year-old, Sarabeth Shepherd's family left one cultish Arkansas church for a more rigid one. The family doesn't believe in books, television or movies and the women wear their hair to their waist and long dresses. Everyone works on the farm. Her family regards her as the problem child and Sarabeth dreams of turning eighteen so she can runaway. She's working at the family farm stand one day when a truck pulls up and what appears to be a man wearing a mask gets out, chases her down and kidnaps her. A week later she's found uninjured on the side of the road in a bloody slip. Her family doesn't believe she was kidnapped. They think she ran away for attention. Once she turns eighteen she does runaway, hoping to put her childhood behind her for good.

Nick Farrow of the Missouri Highway Patrol, Missing Persons Unit contacts her because he thinks her captor may be kidnapping women again and he hopes she'll help him. But the last thing, Sarabeth now known as Sara wants to do is revisit that time in her life. She's moved on. Her friends don't know about her past, she has a job, friends, a house, but in many way she's still trapped. Eventually she agrees to help Farrow and she has to confront her past to unravel the truth. 

I felt the tension building while reading WHAT'S DONE IN THE DARKNESS. It's a rather short novel, so there was no let-up until the very surprising ending. I didn't see it coming.  

I felt sad after reading WHAT'S DONE IN THE DARKNESS knowing that many cults exist that don't respect, particularly women's rights. I don't doubt women are being held today against their will and even killed by radical cult leaders. There's a lot of dark woods in this country.

Laura McHugh is the author of The Weight of Blood, winner of an International Thriller Writers Award and a Silver Falchion Award for Best First Novel, and the Missouri Author Award for Fiction. The Weight of Blood was named a Best Book of the Year by BookPage, the Kansas City Star, and the Sunday Times (UK), and was also nominated for an Alex Award, Barry Award, and GoodReads Choice Award (Best Mystery and Best Debut). Her novel Arrowood was a finalist for the 2017 International Thriller Writers Award for Best Novel, and The Wolf Wants In was named one of the best books of 2019 by Library Journal. 

A lifelong Midwesterner, McHugh lives in Missouri with her husband and children.

Thanks to Penguin/RandomHouse we have one copy to giveaway. Just tell us if you enjoy real crime stories and why. We'll announce a winner soon. Good luck.

GIVEAWAY: USA only please.




Comments

  1. MrsBumblesJune 22, 2021 at 9:25 AM

    I love true crime stories. It's very difficult to lose your focus as you try to pay attention to every detail so you know how the crime was solved or who committed the crime if you don't already know. The thought process of a killer fascinates me, as does profiling. It does blow my mind that it seems the subject matter "well" never runs dry. So many horrific crimes.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Padmini RaoJune 22, 2021 at 11:13 AM

    I love true crime stories because I’ve always like scary stories even as a child. I love horror movies as well. I like to be entertained. suzie_rao@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. diannekcJune 22, 2021 at 3:41 PM

    I enjoy true crime stories, I guess because you know they really happened. When true crime stories are on TV, it's hard to stop watching.
    Dianne. diannekc8(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  4. bn100June 22, 2021 at 4:09 PM

    sure, to find out what happened

    bn100candg at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  5. travelerJune 22, 2021 at 5:48 PM

    True crime stories are fascinating and intriguing since they are authentic. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  6. KatherineJune 22, 2021 at 7:02 PM

    What's Done in Darkness sounds incredibly hard hitting! I like pretty much all the subgenre's in crime fiction. With respect to true crime, it's fascinating to learn more about crime scenes and the investigation aspect, and satisfying to learn that there is some resolution to the case (which is generally the situation if it's being written about or shown in a TV program) for the victim and those who love them. khpinelake (at) gmail (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  7. JoJune 23, 2021 at 6:33 AM

    yes, they grasp you.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Kayla Book Lover in FloridaJune 25, 2021 at 5:32 PM

    Yes! So entertaining!

    ReplyDelete

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