“Scarier than GASLIGHT…” GoodreadsA perfect marriage deteriorates as a woman starts to fear that her husband is a killer… she somehow connecting her fears to the suicide of Ben’s first wife, Susannah?
Increasingly obsessed with discovering what really happened, Annie finds homicide detective Connor Payne, who has never let go of the case. Tensions at home explode into cat-and-mouse terror, with Annie desperately, secretly, trying to investigate…
Advance praise for Into the Dark:
“It starts with creeping menace; then at every twist and turn you feel Annie’s fear and self-doubt, her deepening dread, and worst of all, her terror of losing both her little daughter and her mind. Sensational and shocking -10 stars!” Alice Liddell
“Absolutely brilliant! I LOVE this author and this book was just wow! Gripping from the very first page to the jaw dropping climax, this story burrows into you and doesn’t let go until you’ve turned the last page but even then you’re thinking about it. I will remember this story for a very long time. Memorable characters, real and believable, the story all the more thrilling because of it. Unforgettable. One of my top reads this year.” Renita D’Silva
“A great psycho-thriller. The intensity starts on page one. The paranoia and fear build like a runaway train. A book like this will transition easily from print to film. Breathtaking. Highly recommended.” Goodreads
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This was an excellent psychological thriller from the expert pen of J A Schneider.
Annie is married to Ben, she’s his second wife, his first wife committed suicide, leaving Ben to raise his son Colin. Now they have a daughter as well.
Annie gets an uncomfortable feeling about Suzanne, Ben’s first wife. He becomes controlling and Annie’s once happy life is now in decline. She finds something which belonged to Suzanne which she finds a real eye-opener. I really don’t want to say more about the plot as it will spoil it for others.
This novel was a page-turner and truly suspenseful from the very first page. I read it in a couple of days in spite of my super busy schedule as I couldn’t put it down.
If you haven’t read anything written by J A yet, what are you waiting for?
A fabulous thriller not to be missed.
This is a gripping psychological suspense with tension that continues to build. A trusting woman becomes ensnared in a marriage before she realizes the extent of the danger. Through the control, verbal abuse, manipulation, gaslighting, and other classic evil psychopathic tendencies of her spouse, she remains in her marriage for fear of losing her young daughter. After she suspects the murder of her spouse’s first wife, she meets a detective who investigated the death of the first wife. Her husband had been out of town the night of the wife’s death, leaving only his teenage son in the house with the housekeeper. The death was ruled a suicide. Like her spouse, the detective is quick to charm, and he knew the first wife quite well. As the situation escalates and becomes more unnerving, it’s a hold-your-breath wait to discover who is trustworthy and how escaping the nightmare will transpire. Well written, with a believable plot and a realistic profile of a psychopath.
If you are a nail-biter, I recommend that you wear gloves while reading this book.
INTO THE DARK takes a close look at how abuse by gaslighting works; turn the tale around by making the abused the abuser. J. A. Schneider doesn’t do warm and fuzzy; she does dark and tense in a way that makes it really hard to put her books aside. She uses the expression “heart banging” quite a few times in this story, and I can tell you that not only the heroine experiences this… the reader does too.
Over the past few years, I think I’ve read everything that J. A. Schneider has written… The Raney & Levine medical thrillers, the Detective Keri Blasco police procedurals, and now this standalone novel. The stories just keep getting better and better as we get a glimpse of the fast pace of New York City. There is an urgency to catch the bad guy, right the wrong, and finally let the humanity of the protagonist shine through. I have a mental list of authors that I must read; J. A. Schneider is very near the top of that list.
It’s one of life’s moral dilemma’s that fortunately not many people are faced with as they go about their everyday lives. If you see someone who is obviously in some sort of distress, do you go to their assistance or pretend you haven’t seen anything and walk away? You would have hoped that most people would be prepared to offer assistance especially if the victim is a young child. Unfortunately as I know from personal experience, this is not always true, there are people who have no qualms about walking past a child who is in distress.
Fortunately the heroine of this dark and chilling thriller Annie is not someone who walks away when she thinks she witnesses a young woman being assaulted. Unfortunately that one act of kindness will result in Annie being plunged into a living nightmare of paranioa, doubt and fear and the deterioration of her seemingly perfect marriage to psychiatrist Ben. When Annie mentions what she thought she witnessed why does he keep insisting that she doesn’t get involved? That she didn’t see what she thought she saw,that if she gets involved she will be bringing their lives and the life of their young daughter to the attention of the media and possibly placing their lives in danger. It causes Annie to wonder if maybe her husband has something to hide, That there is something about the assault that he doesn’t want her to uncover. So despite her growing feelings of anxiety and mistrust, a lot of encouragment from Ben’s son Colin and help from Lieutenant Connor Payne who had suspicious about the death of Ben’s first wife Susannah, she continues her investigations into the assault.
I really liked Annie, she was a very realistic character who was feisty, stubborn but also had moments of doubt and flaws that made her more human and relatable. I also liked Colin and how he backed Annie and was willing to go against his father’s wishes and help her discover the truth. But was I right in liking him or did he have his own personal reasons for helping Annie? The intensity builds as the story unfolds and Annie and the reader discover the true nature that Ben has been hiding behind his careful constructed mask and find ourselves caught up in a chilling game of cat and mouse.
As with all Joyce Schneider’s thrillers this is a very well written story that covers some very dark themes and causes the reader to experience a wide range of emotions. The reader is drawn into her characters fictional but scarily realistic lives and kept glued to your kindle as the story unfolded before your captivated eyes. I love this very talented author’s books and can’t wait to read what she has in store for her reader’s in her next book.
Annie thought she hit the jackpot when her whirlwind romance with Ben quickly moved to marriage. The first four years seemed like a dream come true––until it turned into a nightmare.
Discovering the truth about Ben’s ex-wife’s death shook her. The more she learned, the more controlling Ben became. If it wasn’t for their daughter, she would have run for her life the moment she realized he was gaslighting her. Instead, she continued to delve deeper into Suzanne’s death.
Enter Conner, the detective who handled Suzanne’s case. Was he really telling the truth about Ben, or could Conner be involved in the murder as well? Twists and turns abound in this thriller, leaving Annie doubting everyone––and her own judgement as well.
Into The Dark, by J.A, Schneider is a thrilling psychological rollercoaster ride that will keep you guessing. This author grabbed me on page one and didn’t let go until the end. I highly recommend this story and author. Schneider never disappoints to bring richly-drawn characters and an intense storyline.
Great psycho-thriller
I love a good gaslighting novel and this book did not disappoint. The tension in the marriage and the depiction of manipulation and growing terror was excellent. I read the book quickly, always afraid Annie would not escape her marriage alive. The author’s depiction of the villain felt real and accurate.
Great book!
The book definitely keeps you wondering whether or not she is living with a killer and which one did it. This book was easy to read and kept you reading and guessing.
Reading INTO THE DARK, the suspense was such that I had to fight myself not to take a peek at the end, because even as the protagonist gathers more clues into crimes past and preparations for crimes present, she keeps doubting her own judgement. Annie is forced to keep her investigation under wraps, lost in the inner workings of a troubled family and in a rushed lifestyle, all of which adds a sense of anxiety to the unraveling story. And in the end, Annie is willing to put herself in harm’s way just so that the police get their ‘smoking gun’ proof, so as to protect her four years old daughter, Emma. It is only then that we can once and for all dispel any remnants of double vision about the facts.
Don’t be fooled by the opening: ‘A young couple arguing. That is how it began.’ While it is intriguing, the argument is merely a projection of Annie’s fears. She built a nest in a place of danger and is looking for answers about her husband’s deceased wife: Did Susannah take her own life, as everyone seems to believe? For the longest time Annie is unsure about a simple fact: In which tub had Susannah drowned herself?
The charming husband, Ben, a psychologist by profession, seems too sensitive—perhaps overly so—and unable to talk about the suicide. Carrying his own sense of abandonment, for which he blames his mother, Ben is a conflicted figure. Is he trying to protect his older son, Colin, from having to deal with the loss of his mother?
I gripped the edge of my seat all the way to the end. I bet you will, too.
Love this story. Five stars.
4.5 Stars
Annie and Ben have been married for several years, are parents to 4-year-old Emma and to Colin, Ben’s older son by his first wife.
Going into the marriage, Annie knew that Colin’s first wife had died. It’s only been recently that she learned his wife has killed herself … in their home. She had taken an overdose of drugs and then fallen asleep in the bathtub.
The anniversary of her death is coming soon and so are Annie’s nightmares. It seems to get worse each year. And Ben is changing. He’s been more controlling, more manipulative, more angry in general over the years. When Annie asks about his first wife, he gets extremely angry, to the point where Annie is scared for her own life.
Annie becomes obsessed with discovering what really happened, and the tension at home escalates.
She believes that either her husband is a killer and got away with killing his first wife .. or she’s losing her mind, which is what her husband suggests. He reminds her of conversations she says they’ve never had. He tells her she has a history of Xanax; she says she’s never taken drugs of any kind.
So who is right? If she is …. her very life is in danger. If he is … he could leave and take their young daughter.
This is a very well written psychological drama laden with twists and turns that appear out of nowhere. One moment I was sure I had the answer, only to doubt myself as I continued to read. I felt the terror, the self-doubt, the anxiety of Annie and the hostility and rage that comes from Ben.
Many thanks to the author for the digital copy of INTO THE DARK. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
A psychological thriller that sets the stage with the opening with the protagonist projecting onto another. She constantly questions her own judgment and is in a marriage with a very controlling person. Ms. Schneider does a wonderful job of moving through the protagonist through her self doubt and questioning her own judgement. I could to put this book down until I finished it.