A race-against-time thriller for fans of Tana French and Megan Abbott: To save a missing girl, FBI Agent Elsa Myers may have to lose herself… Even as her father lies dying in a hospital north of New York City, FBI Agent Elsa Myers can’t ignore a call for help. A teenage girl has disappeared from Forest Hills, Queens, and during the critical first hours of the case, a series of false leads … case, a series of false leads obscures the fact that she did not go willingly.
With each passing hour, as the hunt for Ruby deepens into a search for a man who may have been killing for years, Elsa’s carefully compartmentalized world collapses around her. She finds missing people, but she knows too well how it feels to be lost. Everything she has buried–her fraught relationship with her sister and niece, her self-destructive past, her mother’s death–threatens to resurface, with devastating consequences.
Can our most painful childhood secrets be forgotten? Or will they always find their way back into our adult lives? These questions lie at the heart of A Map of the Dark, a riveting portrait of a woman haunted by her family legacy, and a race-against-time thriller.
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Loved it!
Flawed characters, teenagers, kidnapping, murder, serial killer, life and death, cancer.
I loved the characters, searching for answers, struggling with life.
Glad Dark is in the title, because it’s not only the villain that hides in the dark.
I am so happy this is a series because I want a whole lot more of it.
Elsa, her new partner and friend, Lex…and his brother, David. she doesn’t have much of a personal life, doesn’t strive to have one, discourages those who try to get close, until Lex who manages to earn her trust.
Deep, dark secrets.
So glad I have the next story ready and waiting…and I will begin NOW.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of A Map of the Dark by Karen Ellis.
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What an extraordinary find this was! Elsa is a marvelous creation and a fantastic protagonist. After a childhood that was nothing short of horrid, she is bent but not near as broken as she thinks – and it is precisely this knife’s-edge amalgamation of personality quirks that makes her such an amazing investigator for the FBI’s Child Abduction Rapid Deployment unit. It’s also what makes her such an incredible character, particularly in the hands of a talented writer.
Elsa’s foibles and shortcomings (real and perceived) are painted in vivid, painfully bright colors – as are her successes and excellences. The supporting cast is just as compellingly written, from the major present-day players like her “partner” Lex to those whose role is technically historical (Deb, her mother) but whose ripples threaten the structural integrity of Elsa’s world past, present and future… This combination makes for an engaging story – particularly when the characterization is wrapped around an intriguing set of abductions and secrets that unfold in what feels like real time as you read. It’s a marvelous storytelling style and works beautifully here.
Ellis is definitely onto something with this series, and I’ve already downloaded book two to see how things continue.
Thanks to NetGalley for my review copy.
One of the best aspects of this book is that detectives were represented as “real” people, including the good, the bad, and the ugly. The characters are richly developed and you find yourself feeling strong emotions on their behalf.
The abduction that starts the book has you focused on one person, but there are trickles throughout that provide clues that things are not as they seem. Don’t make assumptions. You might be wrong.
Else is an amazing individual and I ached for her as she struggled to deal with her past. I cheered her on and kept wishing that she would open herself up and develop meaningful relationships. And then you add Lex to the story. He was an amazing person and his history was touching. So much of that and his brother, David, made him into the person he was as an adult.
There were some great twists at the end that elevated my opinion of the book even more!
Thank you to NetGalley and Mulholland Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
SVU on Steroids
There are some serious issues broached in this tale of child abduction, including the concerted efforts of law enforcement to recover the victims and prevent tragedy. I am reluctant to go into detail to avoid spoilers but abuse and bullying play large roles in this tough story. Not just the teens are victims!
A riveting tale of a heinous crime. Elsa is struggling with the personal crisis of her father dying when she is called in on a kidnapping case. It stirs up memories she thought she had long buried. The story is twisted and intriguing. The characters are well created. The plot is well developed and has surprises that will leave your senses snared. It is a well written story that captures the psychosis of the criminal and the inner workings of the law enforcement tasked with tracking him down.
A Map of the Dark has a solid mystery at its core, one that has the potential to be both gripping and chilling. At times it is exactly that, but for much of the book, it gets lost in Elsa’s story. Don’t get me wrong, her backstory is an interesting one in its own right, but I felt like the author was unsure of the direction this book wanted to take. I enjoy getting to know the characters, particularly if they are going to be main players in a series, but I really wanted more of the case in this one. I did like that Elsa is far from perfect, she works hard to keep her past and her flaws hidden, but they come through little by little. Her partner for this case, Lex, was likable and became even more so by book’s end. There is an interesting twist at the end, one that I saw coming, but the surprise for me was a particular character’s reaction to that twist. In the end, I felt like this one had some unrealized potential, but it was worth the read, and I’ll be interested to see where this series goes from here.
” …no one can show you how to unswallow all that darkness.”
“…wonders if outsiders could really comprehend how lost a child can be inside her own house. At some point you’re beyond saving; no one can show you how to unswallow all that darkness.”
This is actually a book with two different storylines. One involves the lead character’s past abusive life and her way of dealing with the pain and the other is about a kidnapped teenager. I enjoyed both.
Special Agent Elsa Myers, FBI Child Abduction Rapid Deployment division, is called in to a case in Queens, New York involving a missing teenager. She has mixed feelings about the call because her father is dying and she wants to spend as much time as possible with him.
She does go to investigate, teaming up with NYPD Detective Lex Cole. He had specifically asked for her assistance with the case.
Elsa had actually grown up near where the teenager is missing and this brings terrible memories flooding back to her about the abuse she suffered from her mother.
I thought the author tied Elsa’s story and the evolving story of the kidnapped teenager together well.
This is book one in THE SEARCHERS new series with Elsa as protagonist. Book two LAST NIGHT is out and I’m headed off to read it next.
I received this book from Mulholland Books through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.
What a great book! This is a page turner and I didn’t want to put it down to even sleep but couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. I love the way Karen writes!
A terrific novel, wonderfully written, richly populated, and utterly gripping from start to finish.
4 and 1 / 2 stars
FBI Agent Elsa Myers is sitting by her dying father’s bedside when she receives a telephone call about a missing seventeen-year old girl named Ruby Haverstack. Reluctantly, she responds to the call, for she can do no other. She meets Police Detective Alexi “Lex” Cole in New York City. Together, they work the case.
Soon, more than just one teen is missing. As Lex and Elsa search for the kidnapper, they run into several dead ends and false leads. They learn that the abductor might be the person responsible for a series of murders covering several years. The stakes rise.
Elsa is reminded of a past that she would rather forget. Her relationship with her mother, sister and father prey on her mind. For some reason Lex seems to engender trust and she drops him little clues about her past. Up to this point in their budding friendship, they have mostly talked about Lex’ past.
This is an exciting read. It speeds along as the reader turns pages quickly to keep up with the action. I truly enjoyed this book by Karen Ellis. It is well written and plotted and Ms. Ellis ratchets up the tension in the story very well. The transitions in the book are smooth and nearly flawless. The use of language adds to the excitement. I am looking forward to reading the next (?) in this series.
I want to thank NetGalley and Mulholland Books for forwarding to me a copy of this very good book for me to read, enjoy and review.
Plodding
I was really excited when I read the blurb on this book and thought it would be a nice change with some suspense and action. well the intrigue was ok but that wasn’t what was really expounded on in this story. i mean yeah the search but. . . Anyway it ends up being about this dysfunctional agent and the issues she had going on in her personal life along with the unhealthy habits. So overall it’s a decent story just not what I was expecting. I had a hard time connecting with the characters or even feeling any of the suspense or excitement that should have occurred. It’s the first time I have read this author and while it wasn’t a bad read it’s just not my cup of tea.
A psychological thriller. Excellent character development, enjoyed the story line. Plot development was exceptional. The main character, while horribly flawed, used her negative childhood experiences in a way that made her outstanding as a FBI investigator of missing children. I would recommend this book to those who like psychological thrillers.
Loved this book! So emotional and dark, yet the main character, an FBI agent, who is troubled and stumbling through the nightmare of locating a serial killer, at the same time trying to accept and deal with her own personal issues and tragedies, makes this an addicting read. Don’t miss this one!
What an interesting twisted story. This story is a weave of both the teenager that is missing and Elsa’s past that she is still coming to grips with. We follow Elsa as she is with he dying father and pulled into a new case of a teenager missing. She gets pulled back and forth between her father, past and the missing teen. The story grips you and takes you places that you hope don’t ever happen in your life. I also think Lex will be a big help to her in the long run.
*I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.*