thriller

This is a stand alone book even though Kovac & Liska have a chapter in the initial investigation. This book really wasn't up to the usual suspense & good thriller that Tami usually writes. A little disappointed but I will still read her books ( )

I figured out most of what happened when I got part way thru the book, but this was another great read by Tami. ( )

This is the first book I've read from this author, and I'll definitely read more. Dana is the only victim of a serial killer to survive. She has horrendous injuries, both physical and mental, and suffers from PTSD. When she finally arrives home, she's drawn into the mystery of her best friend's disappearance many years previously.
The book starts a little slow as the author details Dana's therapy from her severe brain injuries; she can't complete small tasks, can't always think of a word she wants, and blurts out her thoughts. She was a news reporter and knows she won't be able to ever go back to that job, but she can focus on research, and her friend Casey's unsolved disappearance is what she investigates. As she gets closer to a possible solution, she puts herself in more and more danger.
Ms. Hoag does a nice job of obfusticating the real killer but I still figured out the mystery before the end. This is a good read though, and the author does a nice job of showing how someone with PTSD copes. Johnny, Casey's old boyfriend and a suspect in her disappearance, also has PTSD and a brain injury from his tour in the Iraq war. Dana thinks of herself as two different people, one before her abduction and one after. It was interesting to see her introspection in looking back at her younger self.
This is definitely a good book for the beach or a trip read. ( )

Mental note. Never ever read two dark books back to back again. I seriously had to take a reading break. Dark Places and Cold Cold Heart just made me long for sunshine and rom-com movies.

Dana’s harrowing story and her return to small town life have rekindled police and media interest in the unsolved case of her childhood best friend, Casey Grant, who disappeared without a trace the summer after their graduation from high school.
Terrified of truths long-buried, Dana reluctantly begins to look back at her past. Viewed through the dark filter of PTSD, old friends and loved ones become suspects and enemies.
Questioning everything she knows, refusing to be defined by the traumas of her past and struggling against excruciating odds, Dana seeks out a truth that may prove too terrible to be believed…

This is a continuation of the story from Tami Hoag's last book, The 9th Girl. We find out about the serial killer who eventually kidnaps Dana and rapes and beats her repeatedly with the goal of turning her into his "9th girl". I have to say I have a tough stomach, but others who may get triggered by books that go into rape and abuse may want to skip this one.

I think the reason why this one stuck in my head so bad was because Dana creeps into your skin. When we first start the book we are taken back to her about to be taken and killed by the serial killer, Doc Holiday. However, through the thought running through her brain that

Where there is life, there is hope


Dana manages to save herself.

The change in her face and personality to everyone around Dana makes you cringe and feel for her. Going from a good looking woman excited about her career and then turning into someone that can't stand for anyone to touch her with nightmares that would have grown men weeping was a lot for her to take.

Prayer. She had prayed and prayed and prayed, but no one had come to save her.

I thought Ms. Hoag realistically showed the trauma that Dana goes through and her recovery. How many times do you read a book like this and the person magically wakes up and is all better. Maybe they have a nightmare or two and the hero comes in and holds her so it makes everything all better.

Reading Dana calling herself "Before Dana" and "After Dana" and realizing that not many people were interested in "After Dana" just pulls at you. Throwing herself into finding out what happened to her best friend Casey I thought was very interesting. I was more invested in Dana and her interactions with other people though than her figuring out what happened to Casey. There was also an odd side plot that involves Dana and her stepfather that never really gets resolved so I am curious about that. Maybe Ms. Hoag will take that up in a future book.

You do want to shake Dana's mom a lot in this book since she seems to have her head fully buried about her husband, and that her daughter is not going to be the same person anymore. There was a scene where her mother is encouraging Dana to go out on a date with a former boyfriend that I cringed at.

We eventually get to what happened to Casey and who was involved though the identify of the killer didn't surprise me. If you read carefully, you could tell who it was going to be and why.

We do get a welcome look at Kovac and Tinks again. I hope that Ms. Hoag brings them back for another book. I love Kovac and Tinks.

That said, the ending just kind of happened and as I said there was the lack of resolution between Dana and her stepfather and that's why I gave this book only four stars. ( )