What Lies in Darkness

Christina McDonald scores big with the brilliant second book in the Jess Lambert series, What Lies in Darkness. Favored to be one of the best suspense thrillers of the year, her new novel brings back the intrepid detective Jess Lambert, who was an NYC paramedic before moving to Black Lake. The small town of Black Lake was meant to be a peaceful getaway for Jess. Instead, it ripples with secrets, disappearances, betrayals, and murder.

Late Christmas Eve, a car carrying the Harper family crashes. Sixteen-year-old Alice is injured, but when she hears her father yell at her, she runs. Later, she finds out that her parents and sister Ella have disappeared from the accident scene. Alice is certain they’ve been murdered. But without bodies and witnesses, nothing can be done or proven. 

A year later, Alice is living with her aunt Mel and Uncle Jack when Ella’s bloodstained backpack is found in the basement of an abandoned house. Jess Lambert investigates the reopened, complicated case involving multiple characters who hold secrets and have entangled lives. Even Jess finds her own past entwined with these people and, in the end, uncovers a surprising twist that not only shocks her but will shock the most ardent crime reader. 

McDonald is a masterful storyteller, writing edgy and captivating prose and dialogue that will suck you in. She deftly weaves back and forth through alternating timelines and points of view. Her detective, Jess Lambert, has become one of my favorites as she is no superheroine nor a do-gooder. She struggles with a physical disability incurred in a car accident that killed her daughter, Elsa, and is traumatized and riddled with guilt over her daughter’s death. The trauma results in a touch of the supernatural, creating a unique genre-bending twist. What stayed with me long after reading What Lies in Darkness is the heartbreaking, deep bond between Jess as a mother and a daughter who has died, plus the unforgivable depths some people will go to keep secrets buried for their own gain. 

Although this book can be read as a standalone, I suggest first diving into These Still Black Waters, number one in the series. Then, follow that with the prequel novella, The Stranger at Black Lake. Both give depth and understanding about Jess’s past and what is to come in What Lies in Darkness. You’ll thank me afterward, as this is the gritty, haunting, riveting thriller summer-binge you’ve been craving.