Village in the Dark by Iris Yamashita #bookreview #blogtour #bookseries

Thank you Berkley Books, #partner, for the finished copy of Village in the Dark in exchange for my honest review.

Publisher: Berkley Books

Pub date: February 13, 2023

 

Summary:

Detective Cara Kennedy thought she’d lost her husband and son in an accident, but harrowing evidence has emerged that points to murder–and she will stop at nothing to find the truth in this riveting mystery from the author of City Under One Roof.

On a frigid February day, Anchorage Detective Cara Kennedy stands by the graves of her husband and son, watching as their caskets are raised from the earth. It feels sacrilegious, but she has no choice. Aaron and Dylan disappeared on a hike a year ago, their bones eventually found and buried. But shocking clues have emerged that foul play was involved, potentially connecting them to a string of other deaths and disappearances.

Somehow tied to the mystery is Mia Upash, who grew up in an isolated village called Unity, a community of women and children in hiding from abusive men. Mia never imagined the trouble she would find herself in when she left home to live in Man’s World. Although she remains haunted by the tragedy of what happened to the man and the boy in the woods, she has her own reasons for keeping quiet.

Aided by police officer Joe Barkowski and other residents of Point Mettier, Cara’s investigation will lead them on a dangerous path that puts their lives and the lives of everyone around them in mortal jeopardy.

 

My thoughts:

This is the second book in Iris Yamashita’s Cara Kennedy series. I was quite impressed with the first book in this series, City Under One Roof, when I read it last year and was wondering how she was going to be able to top it…well, I’m happy to say she totally did. As much as I loved that first book, this one is even better!

The last book ended up quite a cliffhanger and this one picks up that thread and runs with it. To that end, I really feel that it is probably best to have read the previous book, City Under One Roof, before coming into this book so that you are prepared for what happens here. Yes, the author does provide some backstory on the characters and the threads she is carrying over, however I feel you are only getting the bare basics. Just know that going into this one.

The story is told from three perspectives and I loved this. It kept things moving and each of the three perspectives all ultimately had a connection to the overall plot. We get Cara’s perspective, of course, and I found this to be both exciting and at times heartbreaking. She was all over the place with her emotions – what really happened to her husband and son? Were they still alive? And if so, where were they? We also have Ellie’s point of view, who we met in the previous book. She run’s the inn at Point Mettier and I loved getting a deeper dive into her past! And then there was Mia. She was the most fascinating of characters, coming from a community that basically lived off-the-grid.

I loved how these three women’s lives intersected. I had so many different theories when it came to Mia and I’m so glad I was wrong with a few of those theories. Each woman ends up being quite a force to be reckoned with and the circumstances they find themselves in really had my heart pumping. This book is full of twists and turns I did not see coming and I once again found myself glued to the pages.

This book was one of my most anticipated reads of the month and it totally exceeded my expectations! It is another thrilling, atmospheric, chilling read with hints of the NordicNoir that I so enjoy. I loved every second I spent with these characters and I hope there is more to come in this series…I’m not quite ready to say goodbye to Cara Kennedy and the residents of Point Mettier.

 

Books in this series:

1. City Under One Roof
2. Village in the Dark

 

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