Review: Under a Dark Sky by Lori Rader-Day

Title: Under a Dark Sky

Author: Lori Rader-Day

Published: August 2018, William Morrow Paperbacks

Format: ARC Paperback, 416 pages

Source: Publisher

Summary:

Only in the dark can she find the truth . . .

Since
her husband died, Eden Wallace’s life has diminished down to a tiny
pinprick, like a far-off star in the night sky. She doesn’t work, has
given up on her love of photography, and is so plagued by night terrors
that she can’t sleep without the lights on. Everyone, including her
family, has grown weary of her grief. So when she finds paperwork in her
husband’s effects indicating that he reserved a week at a dark sky
park, she goes. She’s ready to shed her fear and return to the living,
even if it means facing her paralyzing phobia of the dark.

But
when she arrives at the park, the guest suite she thought was a private
retreat is teeming with a group of twenty-somethings, all stuck in the
orbit of their old college friendships. Horrified that her get-away has
been taken over, Eden decides to head home the next day. But then a
scream wakes the house in the middle of the night. One of the friends
has been murdered. Now everyone—including Eden—is a suspect.

Everyone
is keeping secrets, but only one is a murderer. As mishaps continue to
befall the group, Eden must make sense of the chaos and lies to evade a
ruthless killer—and she’ll have to do it before dark falls…

My thoughts: This is the first book I’ve read by Lori Rader-Day and it definitely won’t be the last. I loved this story – it was such a unique twist on the locked-room concept and one that had me glued to the pages! 

This book is a twisty whodunit involving a murder that takes place at a dark sky park – talk about atmospheric, claustrophobic and panic-inducing! It totally hooked me from the start and kept me engaged throughout. While I don’t have a fear of the dark, I could totally feel Eden’s phobia coming off pages – it was that palpable at times. 

I loved the way this story is set up. We are literally thrown into the situation and then slowly given the backstory in bits and drabs. As a result, we really don’t know who we can trust and so are quite naturally suspicious of everyone. I loved the tension between the characters – this really added to the overall suspense of the book, and makes you doubly suspicious of everyone. 

Eden is such a great character. She is flawed, for sure, but she is also dealing with the loss of her husband and that grief has basically crippled her. She is still overcome with grief, but as we come to find out, there is more to that grief than we first realize. Her complexity and fear of the dark combined with her grief make her such a fascinating narrator…is she reliable or not?

This book really kept me on my toes the entire time. It’s one of those “everyone is guilty” types of books and it makes
for a fun reading experience as you try to work it out before the final
reveal. The twists keep you guessing and the secrets and drama only add
to the mystery and intrigue. I definitely recommend adding this to your summer reading list!