A very nice follow up to [b:And She Was: A Novel of Suspense|12199930|And She Was A Novel of Suspense|Alison Gaylin|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348808008s/12199930.jpg|17172565]. I hope the author continues the series. ( )

AUTHOR Gaylin, Alison
TITLE: Into the Dark
DATE READ 05/18/2016
RATING 4.5/B+
GENRE/ PUB DATE/PUBLISHER / # OF PAGES Suspense/ 2013/ Harper Collins / 370 pgs
SERIES/STAND-ALONE: #2 B renna Specter
CHARACTERS Brenna Specter / private eye
TIME/PLACE: NY/ Present
FIRST LINES The memory flew at Brenna Spector like words on a passing billboard -- there for just an instant but solid, real.
COMMENTS : Brenna Spector is a missing persons investigator, she has a rare neurological disorder -- hyperthymestic syndrome. This autobiographical memory allows her to recall everything perfectly w/ all 5 senses. Sometimes a great help … and sometimes a hindrance in allowing her to move forward w/ her life. She came to her profession due to a personal struggle -- her sister went missing when Clea was a teenager and has never been found. She is divorced w/ a teenage daughter that lives w/ her father and his new wife. Brenna's assistant, Trent, is basically the male version of a bimbo in looks but don't let that fool you … he's an ace researcher and has created a software that ages the missing person to get a fairly accurate representation of what they would look like now. In this second outing Brenna is hired to find a woman that is merely a shadow appearing on the internet. Lula Belle is a webcam performer that has attracted a lot of followers even tho' no one sees her fully or knows her identity. When Brenna hears Lula Belle reveal her deep dark secrets … a nerve has been hit. Lula Belle is talking about Brenna's and Clea's life … could this be her sister or could working on this case lead her to Clea? Another great read in this series! ( )

A deftly plotted, completely involving novel with one of the most memorable protagonists to come along in years. Brenna Spector is tough, loyal, and canny -- and that’s just in her day-to-day life as the mother of an adolescent. ( )

#2 in a series. I sincerely hope there is a #3. ( )

Pros:
- interesting and different characters, especially Brenna
- the mystery and suspense, guessing and uncertainty til the end
- the ending rocked
- the cover

Cons:
- hard to get into
- thought Brenna was stupid and whiney sometimes
- flashbacks annoying at first and hard to get used to
- the tacky “Great new read, Great low price!” sticker that ruins the cover

Recommend: Yes, for Mystery/Suspense fans

Oops...
It's a series. Damn. I have not read the first book with Brenna Spencer, And She Was. I’m a Random Order Reader this time around. Into the Dark works as is reading out of order with no previous knowledge of the author or the characters. The Neff case (the first book's mystery) itself isn't discussed at all (just referenced to) but there's personal character flashbacks. While reading I kept thinking This feels like a series... I wasn’t lost or confused though. Just curious and wondering a bit: Why this other case is such a big deal? and Why everyone started acting differently because of it?

This is why I can't say if it's a good as the first, or the same plot as the first or if the character continuation makes sense or if it is boring reading the same people doing the same things. I do plan on reading the first book and continuing the series, but it's not a burning need. Just keeping an eye out and if I get into the mood for this kind of read, I know which books to turn to.

The opening scene I had to reread it because it was so jarring trying to figure out WTF. Due to the massively detailed, hard to parse, constant flashbacks out of nowhere, re-reading and flipping back pages was common. Most often the flashbacks were pointless, except to properly show what Brenna had to cope with. In that sense, the flashbacks were effective. I was just as tired, bored and frustrated with the flashbacks as Brenna. It was a rocky start but I pressed on though because I was intrigued by the story. It became more enjoyable the more I read. I adjusted to Brenna's head It picked up a bit after 100 pages and really ramped up after another hundred pages. The ending rocked was a solid and the beginning was unsure.

I liked the mystery - as improbably twisted and convoluted as you expect from crime shows were every case is one of the rare ones in reality - and was guessing til the end how it would all come together. Hindsight shows I could have seen it coming but meh. I didn't pay attention to all the pieces when reading. I wouldn't be surprised if someone else does though and finds it obvious. Parts of the ending just rocked, others made me go "Ohhhhhhhh" but nothing really shocked. The last line is killer. There were several moments that made me smile and smirk, mostly between Brenna and Trent. Otherwise, it was all suspense, dread, and sadness.

Brenna, and I didn't really mesh at first because all the flashbacks. After adjusting, I liked her and wasn't completely annoyed with all her whining (especially about things that were all her fault) due to the problems caused by her hyperthymesia. Then there were times where I questioned her judgement and wanted to smack some sense into her. All in all, Brenna was just okay. Considering how it ended I'm hopeful for her character progression in the next book - which shouldn't be such a battle for me to get into. Trent is a real character. He's a douchebag, even Brenna thinks so. He'd belong on the Jersey Shore with the rest of the Guidos but he's a smart tech geek. Vin Diesel, Trent's idol, is a D&D nerd (I love swooning over this guy, seriously) but I don't think he's such a douche about dating like Trent. Trent is a player, is often disgusting, and doesn't stop hitting on women, even after they repeatedly say no. Goes to show you can't judge based on looks. I'd like to get to know Trent under all that false bravado and there's glimpses of that but unless you're a cat or his friend, steer clear of Trent. He's the bad boy with a heart of gold under all that spray tan and hair gel. Sure, some of the funniest moments comes from Trent and he's helpful on the case but every time he talks to or about women, I want to smack him quiet. He's very annoying in that respect. Like/annoyed for Brenna, like/hate for Trent. Now, Nick I like and root for though he has his own "I'm a man, I do this. You're a woman, you do that." bull going on. Brenna isn't having any of that and it seems more like playful banter between the two. Maya, Brenna's daughter, I like and feel for considering she's stuck loving her mother and hating what her mother does. I hope Brenna does step it up in the next book because I don't know if I can deal more with Brenna's neglect. (Yeah, yeah. Extenuating circumstances and Brenna means well but it seems like a pattern of behavior to me.)

While I did have to adjust to time jumping, the writing itself was great. Here's some quotes I like:

On page 40,

The day had gone where it always went - in and out of wormholes, with Brenna swallowed up by memories, then snapping herself back to reality. Back and forth, back and forth.

On page 57,

She would've been hard-pressed to find any item of apparel that tried half as hard as that bag did.

On page 80,

It was a Tudor three-story walk up on a street that happened to be full of them. But it stood out from the others in that it was literally crawling with ivy. Brenna normally liked a little ivy on old buildings - she found it cozy and collegiate-but in this case it just seemed liked a symptom of decay, the plant devouring the frail building, pulling it back into the earth. Someone had put a wreath on the front door, a big, clumsy thing, dripping Christmas bells. But it only added to the feeling-the Ivy Monster's bejeweled sidekick.

Minor Things That Bothered Me:
....How do they expect to keep these violent happenings (with police involvement, no less) hidden from Maya's father and stepmother? They don't watch the news? For crying out loud, Faith (the stepmom) is a reporter!

Speaking of which, the police force seems awfully incompetent since they didn't really investigate the...um...happenings, didn't ask anyone any questions. Of course, it doesn't help that Brenna didn't report half the stuff either. Yeah, smart move Brenna. Okay, so P.I's going it alone and a bumbling police force are standards in this genre but usually the reasons for not going to the police are talked about. That's the rub, it was never brought up. Silence was just a given. Am I just suppose to assume why? There's two sentences brought up about Brenna's issue with the police force but it wasn't regarding why she doesn't report things like a normal person. Is my answer in the first book? If you don't talk about it, it seems like the characters were too stupid to think of going to police. Whatever the reason, the apparent lack of common sense irritated me. ( )