A secluded mountain lodge. The perfect getaway. So remote no one will ever find you.The promise of a luxury vacation at a secluded wilderness spa has brought together eight lucky guests. But nothing is what they were led to believe. As a fierce storm barrels down and all contact with the outside is cut off, the guests fear that it’s not a getaway. It’s a trap.Each one has a secret. Each one has … a secret. Each one has something to hide. And now, as darkness closes in, they all have something to fear—including one another.
Alerted to the vanished party of strangers, homicide cop Mason Deniaud and search and rescue expert Callie Sutton must brave the brutal elements of the mountains to find them. But even Mason and Callie have no idea how precious time is. Because the clock is ticking, and one by one, the guests of Forest Shadow Lodge are being hunted. For them, surviving becomes part of a diabolical game.
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Outstanding suspense, great thriller. Magic that the author borrowed from the Agatha Christie novel, And Then There Were None, and turned it into this literally chilling story among breathtaking scenery. I’d love to see it as a movie! Each character was flawed but so well developed that you still cared about them. The setting enhances the feeling of frightening isolation, far from civilization and at the mercy of the unknown murderer. There was a surprise at the end of this totally enjoyable and exciting read. Five stars!
This book reads like Agatha Christie on steroids! Well done!
The lure of a retreat to an exclusive secluded spa resort brings eight people together. Each member is hoping he or she might be selected as a future vendor for the property. You can imagine the shock when they reach their destination to find an abandoned old house that looks anything but inviting. By morning, one of the members will be dead and by this time, you will be so engrossed, you won’t want to stop until you discover who is behind this twisted, dark scheme. If you love a dark and foreboding, suspenseful who dunnit, you won’t want to miss this one!
IN THE DARK by Loreth Anne White is her new book which is a mystery with a romantic suspense subplot that is now one of my favorite mystery books of 2019. You should set aside time to read this one because you will not want to put it down.
The promise of a luxury spa vacation and the chance to secure a lucrative contract for their companies has eight lucky guests coming together for two weeks in a remote location in British Columbia.
What they don’t realize is each is tied together by one tragic incident. They all have secrets to hide.
As they fly into the remote location, it is not what they were expecting. A storm keeps them trapped at the old hunting lodge and as they inspect the inside, they realize it is not a vacation, but a trap. Suddenly, everyone is suspect and no one can be trusted. They are all pawns in a game that must be played out until there is “one”.
When a seaplane is discovered by hunters, RCMP officer Mason Deniaud and SAR expert Callie Sutton come together to retrieve it and discover a dead body strapped inside. They learn of the other missing people and set out to find them.
The clock is ticking. Will Mason and Callie be able to find the missing people before there are none?
This is a GREAT read! It is a fast-paced page turner that grabs you by the throat, pulls you into the perfectly paced plot and surprises you at the end. The mystery is a cross between Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None” and the game show “Survivor”. The malicious and deadly wilderness is a whole other dark and gritty character in this story which adds to the atmosphere of dread. While this is a standalone, I am hoping Ms. White will continue writing more stories featuring Mason and Callie. They are wonderfully flawed characters that fit together well.
I highly recommend this book! I have loved all of Ms. White’s books to date, but this one is very special.
An intriguing, fast-paced story told by a master mystery author, In The Dark feels a little like a fun game you’re trying to unravel. Loved it!
The Truth Shall Set You Free!
Eight guests board a floatplane for a luxury trip into British Columbia’s wild interior. They expect to be pampered at a fancy new spa, and maybe come away with new job opportunities- what they don’t know is they are about to become pawns in a game where the only outcome is… death.
RCMP officer Mason Deniaud is transferred to the back of beyond when he goes off the rails after the loss of his wife and child. He expects to face some vandalism and speeding infractions- not a serial killer.
SAR expert Callie Sutton knows her mountains, so when a call comes in for a downed floatplane her team is called to action. She doesn’t expect the handsome, moody new cop who insists on being part of the rescue attempt- or the horrifically murdered body they find.
Callie and Mason soon learn there may be more people in danger and set out to find them with a huge storm on the horizon. But rain and snow isn’t the only hazard they will face.
THIS IS A FAST-PACED, THRILLING WHODUNIT THAT KEPT ME GUESSING UNTIL THE VERY END. AS WITH ALL OF LORETH ANNE WHITE’S BOOKS, HER SETTINGS ARE EERIE AND ATMOSPHERIC.
The spooky lodge, secretive guests/prisoners, cryptic clues, a sinister poem, and a chessboard with pieces that keep losing their heads (literally!) all add to the mystery.
I give In The Dark 4.5 lovely kisses- dark and gritty suspense!
Loved this book so much! I was hooked from the first chapter and could not put it down!
Soooo good!! I was caught up in this story from page one. There was such a creepy, thrilling, intriguing vibe right from the start. It’s a shame this hasn’t been made into a movie, as I think I could watch it numerous tines. I wish the entirety had been set in the old lodge. There was more of a “heart pounding” feel to the old place, a more edge of your seat experience so to speak. The plot, setting and characters were fantastic. Love this author.
I was lucky enough to receive an Advance Reader Copy of “In the Dark” by Loreth Anne White in exchange for this HONEST review of the book. I was even luckier to receive a paperback copy, with a personal note from Loreth thanking me for my support of her work. If the description of the book doesn’t pull you, please let her incredible human nature and relatability make a fan out of you. I digress… on with the review:
I was not previously a fan of Agatha Christie, and had not read any of her books. I was a long time fan of Loreth Anne White though, so when I heard that her newest title would pay homage to Agatha Christie, I knew I had to check it out. I read Agatha Christie’s “[b:And Then There Were None|16299|And Then There Were None|Agatha Christie|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1391120695l/16299._SY75_.jpg|3038872] and I had fun with it, but I wasn’t still thinking about the characters days later. I’m not sure I could recall any of their names to be honest.
When In the Dark arrived, I was so excited! School took priority though so it took me a week or two until I had time to sit down and read it. By then, Agatha Christie was not fresh in my mind. Loreth Anne White’s version begins with subtle references to the Christie version, and an in tune reader can pick up on it and start to make inferences of what’s to come. My initial thought was disappointment that I wouldn’t be as surprised or as thrilled by the story line if it followed one I already knew. Remakes are never as good as the original right? Well that’s exactly why I’m so fortunate that Loreth Anne White is nothing but original. This is NOT a remake. This is a homage. It respects and follows along certain plot lines, but it is not the same! Do not be fooled into thinking you have it figured out 😉
As for me, I could not put the book down. I stayed up until 4am reading one night with two toddlers and a midterm waiting for me bright and early that morning. It was that good, it had that much of a pull on me. I immediately posted to Loreth’s facebook that I couldn’t wait to get back to reading about it and spent the next two days itching to climb back into the story and finish it. The conclusion did NOT disappoint and now, even a week later, I’m still wondering about Callie. I’m still thinking about each and every one of those characters. I won’t say anything to spoil it, but if you’re like me you’ll find yourself wondering how else their lives were impacted beyond this one glimpse into the story, and hoping to hear from Callie again.
Masterfully done, I loved this book and I sent it on to my Nana to read (and return to me because I cherish it!) Add it to your wishlist – it comes out in December and you will NOT want to miss it!
Loved this story!!!!
I haven’t read this author before, but this book came in and I was intrigued by the premise. A slightly fractured timeline told through several points of view, it zips along neatly, concealing much of the mystery for just the right amount of time. The characters are well defined, and with so many in one place it means I’m impressed that I never really got confused.
There are many allusions and direct references to Agatha Christie, but this is more than a simple homage to a bunch of people alone in a secluded spot with one of them being a murderer.
The other timeline has a detective and a search-and-rescue expert (the latter by far the more interesting IMHO) which is a race against time to find the survivors from the ill-fated party.
The two timelines complement each other very well, the pace of the hunt offsetting the static nature of the mystery – and both are compelling.
My only niggle is that it somewhat runs out of steam once the mystery is revealed (or the reader works it out), but it’s definitely worth the read.
I’ll be reading more by this author.
I don’t want to spoil this one, so I will skip my usual summary and try to keep anything that gives it away out of the review.
This one came recommended to me in KU, and it hooked me from the start. Normally when there is a large cast of characters, it can get confusing keeping track. The only time that happened for me was when I had to put the book down for a while. But when I picked it up, it all quickly came back to me and was easy to follow along. White did a great job of establishing their personalities right off.
The setup of a luxury resort gone awry creates the perfect, creepy atmosphere. Especially because things go wrong right from the start. I liked the way White told the story in alternating timelines and narrators, from members of the party headed out to the resort, to Callie and Mason who are investigating what has happened. I know some people didn’t like that, but I love when an author can split a book into two, and White did it very well.
The storytelling here is wonderful. From the characters to the setting, and the mystery, it’s a fast-paced thriller from the start and a super fun read.
In The Dark is a classic ‘locked room’ mystery with more than a few nods to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. Eight people travel to a remote wilderness lodge to enjoy a ‘spa experience’ only to discover the lodge is nothing like the brochures show – it’s abandoned and dilapidated, and the plane they came in has been sabotaged, stranding them in the Canadian wilderness with bad weather closing in fast.
The story jumps back and forth in a short timeframe of a couple of weeks, going from the sole survivor recovering back to the eight leaving for the lodge, and then picking up the story of the police officer and search and rescue expert attempting to find the missing tourists after the plane wreck turns up in a river.
Nothing is as it seems from the beginning of the story, and with chapters told from the PoV of everyone involved, it’s an interesting challenge to figure out who’s masterminding the whole scenario (I did work that one out early on) and just who is doing the killing (this one took a lot longer). There are some unexpected twists and turns, but I have to say I’d have liked more of Mason and Callie in the story, and actually hope these two might make some further appearances in the author’s books as I feel like there’s more story to be told for them.
It’s always difficult in a story like this when almost all the characters are revealed to have done at least one terrible thing in the past, to feel a lot of sympathy for them, which is probably why I wanted more Mason and Callie (the two definitely good people in the story). This does tend almost over into horror with nearly everyone in whose PoV we spend time meeting a gruesome end, and that’s not quite my cup of tea, so in the end I think I’m going to give this four stars. Not my favourite story by this author by a long shot, but still very well written.
A grim book with grim characters. Some interesting plot twists but not very rewarding to read.
In the Dark is a book that will keep you on your toes. I loved this one so much. Just wait until you read this one and slowly start putting the pieces together. Just when you think you have everything figured out you are going to be thrown another curve ball and leave you figuring it out again. This is one suspenseful read that you will be pulled into and will not be able to escape. This is my first read of Loreth Anne White and I can’t wait to go back for more. You will not see this one coming. Go and one click this one today.
FINALLY! For months I’ve been skunked by my monthly free read from Kindle Unlimited, but folks??? DAMN.
I will start by saying that I have huge love for a “closed room” mystery and this one was excellent. I could not wait to learn who was knocking these folks off one by one and why.
I will say this however to anyone who has never read Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, “Dafuq is wrong wit you?” Just kidding…maybe.
No seriously, it’s one of the best books in the world and it is discussed at length and full of huge spoilers so read that first and then race to get this one.
It’s SO good.
In The Dark is a retelling of And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. I enjoyed the fast paced plot and the characters were interesting. This was a very good reimagining of Christie’s famous novel, but there were a few issues.
Indigenous/First Nations people’s monuments/cultural symbols/artwork items were utilized in a negative way, as warnings (calling them “freakish”, “ugly”, “god-awful”, “leering”, “garish”) without having another character point out that is a problem. Items such as totems and masks were unnecessary, wholly unrelated to the plot and characters, and included solely for suspense and in an attempt to ratchet up fear and demonstrate to the reader that something is seriously wrong and scary.
Further, I wish the book had stated that the underage prostitute (also referred to as a hooker in this book) was actually a sex trafficked minor – you can’t be a prostitute if you are underage because you cannot consent to sex. Calling a minor a prostitute/sex worker is wrong.
Content Warnings: rape; incest; fairly gruesome descriptions of injuries; discussions of child deaths
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions in this review are honest and my own. #InTheDark #mystery
Loreth Anne White’s latest release In the Dark is a true mystery with a bit of suspense and psychological thriller to round out her novel. As a group of eight strangers is brought together under the guise of a posh spa getaway, the ugly truth begins to reveal itself. The eight soon realize their one connection and everything begins to unravel.
White did a wonderful job of giving a full story to each character. With such a large group, she was able to masterfully tell a story without it feeling disjointed and choppy. Sure, there were a few times where it seemed busy among the transition of chapters, but nothing that distracts from the reading.
Read my complete review here: https://readingapageturner.com/2019/12/16/review-in-the-dark-by-loreth-anne-white/
This is the best book I have read in 2019. It is a riveting suspense novel. The novel is based (as we learn early in the book) on an Agatha Christie novel. The basis of the book is 9 people who are attending an all expenses paid vacation at a new luxurious, but remote resort (so remote, there is no cell phone coverage, and it’s only accessible by water. ) These people (with 2 exceptions, 1 who won his slot gambling, and 1 who was the spouse of an invited member) were invited to attend because they are heads of businesses the resort wishes to contract with. This part is a bit contrived, since normally the businesses wanting the contract would be wining and dining the resort, not the other way around. One of the party misses the plane, which appears to be good, since the plane only holds 8 people anyway. The plane then arrives at the resort, to find it’s an abandoned lodge, the radio on their float plane has been tampered with so they can’t call out, and a storm prevents them from flying out. This is another contrived part of the story, there is no way the mastermind would have been able to predict a storm would prevent them leaving the abandoned lodge. The 8 people enter the lodge and find a copy of the Agatha Christie novel with a poem detailing how they will all die, one by one. From there the psychological suspense (and deaths) begin, as the people try to figure out who is behind their predicament and why they were all chosen to be there. Slowly, it is revealed that they are all connected in various ways to an occurrence that had happened years ago. The author does a superb job at pacing the novel, keeping the suspense high, but giving clues at an appropriate rate. A separate side of the novel, involves the search party for these people, and the romantic tension between Callie (heading up remote rescues) and Mason (new head of police.) The romantic tension is tempered because Callie is a single mom, with a husband who has been in a vegetative state for 1 year. The book alternates every few chapters between the rescue efforts in the present, and the resort/lodge people in the recent past. The author does an excellent job of keeping track of all the clues, and making sure they are lead to the ending. The only error I found, was when the rescue party finds the chess board with 8 pieces, when in previous chapters it was made clear the chess board had 9 pieces (I expected there to be some significance to this, but it was never mentioned in the story again, so was apparently an error.) The ending wasn’t exactly a feel-good ending, but it was an appropriate ending for the story.
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Sarah –
This is a very scary read. A small group of not-quite-strangers are trapped together in an immense and unforgiving wilderness – and readers know from the start that there will only be one survivor. The author plays with readers, taking us back and forth in time and jumping constantly between perspectives. Everyone is a potential suspect and the lone survivor isn’t identified until the very end. The result is a book I was unable to put down – but also unable to read before bed.
There are references all the way through to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. For me, this felt more like Stephen King’s The Shining. The book is carefully paced and as the gruesome body count rises, readers start to feel the remaining group members’ panic turn to hysteria. The isolated British Columbia wilderness provides an intensely creepy backdrop and a very believable sense of total isolation.
I never want to mention the plot when reviewing a thriller, but this one was complicated and detailed enough to keep me guessing until the very end. The characters are wonderful. Each member of the stranded group has a complicated backstory and a negligible link to the others. As a whole, the group members are very difficult to like – but there are some stories that will resonate more with readers than others. Their disappearance is solved by RCMP officer Mason and SAR lead, Callie. Mason and Callie feel much more human and they are infinitely more likeable. Like the group members, their backstories are difficult, but unlike the group members, we get to see growth in both Mason and Callie.
I really loved this book. Loreth Anne White is becoming an auto-buy author for me and I think this might be her most perfectly crafted story yet.
Veronica –
The story starts with a prologue set in the present where we are given enough information to know that the group of eight people stranded in the wilderness has gone through something truly horrific. We then get taken back to the day before the group set off on their trek and start to learn about each member of the group. The story is told from the point of view of the members of the group and also from the point of view of the police and rescuers that are looking for them.
Part mystery, party horror, every time I thought I figured out what was going on, some new piece of the story would emerge to send me guessing in another direction. We quickly learn the group are not safe in that cabin and the cold, inhospitable location of northern British Colombia means they aren’t safe outside the cabin either.
What thriller this story is. I was fascinated by the story of the group, why they were pulled together and what they had in common. But I didn’t find any members of the stranded group particularly likeable, so I had no trouble watching them face their pasts and suffer. And suffer they do – it is sooo good watching the truth slowly come to light. Loreth Anne White is a must-read author for me and In the Dark doesn’t disappoint. I loved it.
Avid Reader –
Thriller
This is a book that follows closely along the lines of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. If you’ve read this and enjoyed it, you’ll like this mystery thriller too.
The who done it of this story is a mystery. Throughout the book, you’re given bits and pieces of a whole and need to put the pieces together. It’s sometimes a little hard to follow and it does jump around some.
While the style of writing wasn’t my favorite, the story itself was compelling. I wanted to know the who and the why. And while I was somewhat disappointed in the ending, I did enjoy the story quite a lot.
Reviewers received a free copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads.