I liked the title and cover of Vera Kuria's new novel - A Step Past Darkness. I had also enjoyed her debut novel - Never Saw Me Coming. And at last but not least - I liked the premise!

1995. Six high school students who live in the perfect little town of Wesley Falls head down to an abandoned mine for a big party. Uh huh, you're getting the idea right? The six see something unbelievable down in the mine. They swear to each that they'll never speak about it again, to be careful, and to get out of the town as soon as they graduate. Gotcha yet? I was - I needed to know more about the mine and what they saw.

2025. Five of the six return to Wesley Falls - and I'll leave it there for you to discover what happens next...

A Step Past Darkness is told in a now and then style. I always like this style of storytelling. Just when we're on the cusp of something, we're taken back to the teen years. It makes for addictive reading.

All six characters are given a voice, so we see what's going on from very different views and timelines. Each one has a unique personality. I quite liked them all, but especially Jia. Her view is not quite like the others. Kurian has fleshed out each protagonist with a rich personal story that enhances the story being told.

The suspense action and danger and action is palpable. (There's a bit of a Stranger Things feel to this tale.) And the final aha is was spot on for this reader. See for yourself. I'll be watching for Kurian's third book! ( )

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC of this book.

OMG I LOVED IT. I always say that I don't like magical realism, but I think I might just be lying to myself because this book was fire. There were so many genre elements in this book from historical fiction, contemporary fiction, magical realism, mystery and thriller (all rolled up into one fantastic book).

I had no idea how intense and crazy this book would be- I also think I pictured this as something that mostly occurs in the woods, rather than down a mine shaft. As someone that lived in Appalachia as a young adult, mines, caves, mountains, small towns, etc. are pretty common and at least to me, not that frightening- but woah boy, this one was.

I may be completely wrong, but I am pretty sure that the setting is loosely based on Centralia, Pennsylvania, where like the story setting had an underground coal mine fire years ago that continues to burn underground to this day, leaving a ghost town in it's wake filled with abandoned buildings, bubbled up cracks in the asphalt, and graffiti. All my urban-explorer friends, this book is for you! So- this was a big hook for me.

The main cast of characters (Jia, Padma, Casey, Maddy, Kelly and James) were all so very diverse both in social clique, race and family life, and all had different personal issues they were battling against which are so prevalent (eating disorders, abuse, pressure to be perfect, being gay). I became invested in each characters' part of the story. I truly loved them all, partially because of their flaws. Character development was on point!

Where we start is at a mine party which our six witness several students being pushed into the heart or center of the mine to their deaths. The six realize that they can't trust anyone in their small town when everyone seems linked to one another and to the prominent mega church (which seems to run the town and its police force as well). They realize this may be a secret they have to keep to keep themselves and their families safe, so they agree not to talk about it or to each other. But then, Maddy is murdered and there are too many questions that beg answers. Was Maddy murdered for what they all saw years ago? Who did it and why? These questions bring the crew back into town years later to investigate what happened to their friend.

There is so much I could say about what went on in this book that I would never do it justice. There's time-hopping flash backs, suspects and (my personal favorite) some culty behavior.

Please just do yourself a favor and read this book- it was amazing and will be pushing it into the hands of any of my thriller friends. 10 out of 10- absolutely fantastic and I can't wait to read more from this author. ( )