A Dark and Secret Place by Jen Williams [Book Review]

Book Review

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BOOK INFO

Title: A Dark and Secret Place

Author: Jen Williams

Publisher: Crooked Lane Books

Publish Date: June 8, 2021

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 3/5

A Dark and Secret Place by Jen Williams

BOOK BLURB

When prodigal daughter Heather Evans returns to her family home after her mother’s baffling suicide, she makes an alarming discovery–stacks and stacks of carefully preserved letters from notorious serial killer Michael Reave. The “Red Wolf,” as he was dubbed by the press, has been in prison for over twenty years, serving a life sentence for the gruesome and ritualistic murders of several women across the country, although he has always protested his innocence. The police have had no reason to listen, yet Heather isn’t the only one to have cause to re-examine the murders. The body of a young woman has just been found, dismembered and placed inside a tree, the corpse planted with flowers. Just as the Red Wolf once did.

What did Heather’s mother know? Why did she kill herself? And with the monstrous Red Wolf safely locked inside a maximum security prison, who is stalking young women now? Teaming up with DI Ben Parker, Heather hopes to get some answers for herself and for the newest victims of this depraved murderer. Yet to do that, she must speak to Michael Reave herself, and expose herself to truths she may not be ready to face. Something dark is walking in the woods, and it knows her all too well.


A Dark and Secret Place by Jen Williams

MY REVIEW

Heather returns to her childhood home after her mother’s suicide. While going through her mother’s things, she discovers letters between her mother and a notorious serial killer, Red Wolf. Not only is Heather struggling to understand why her mother would commit suicide, she is now concerned with the stack of mysterious letters. Red Wolf has been in prison for 20 years, and Heather decides to talk to him to find out about his connection to her mother. Heather wants to understand what was happening with her mother, but she is also drawn into a mystery when copycat killings start happening. With a series of new murders, people start to wonder if the police caught the real Red Wolf.

A Dark and Secret Place has a dark and eerie atmosphere. When Heather visits with Red Wolf, he uses twisted fairy tales to tell her stories. Heather is not exactly a likable character, and I had a hard time connecting with her. Still, the story was intriguing, and I wanted to know where it would lead.

A recommended read for fans of psychological thrillers and dark fairy tales. A Dark and Secret Place is atmospheric, disturbing, and haunting.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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