Brought to you by OBS reviewer Sammy

Into the Dark starts with Emilie receiving flowers and a special poem at work. She is unsure of what to do with them. The author gives it a sinister feel from the first page. Soon there is a bank robbery with hostages, but not all is as it seems. A negotiator is called in to help with the hostage situation. Emilie handles herself fairly well for the circumstances and gets a sense that one “robber” is more than he seems because of the way he is talking and treating her. When things get out of control he tries to take her through a hidden door. I had to suspend my disbelief of a door leading to tunnels in a bank, but it did work in the story and was an important and really interesting part of the story.  The kidnapper messes up and doesn’t get Emilie into the tunnels.

The author worked magic in describing the tunnels, smells and sounds.  Several times I found myself wrinkling my nose because of the way she described the stench. I found this part of the story to be my favorite, going into how people live under the city in the tunnels and how they meet some of the folks. She did a great job of incorporating that part into the story.

“The Taker” was more like a slow burn. He was intelligent, and didn’t come across as a total whack job, which made him even more creepy. Don’t let that statement let you think he wasn’t completely off the wall and in dire need of medical help. The author let his illness seep in slowly, building his insanity to a peak by the end of the book. That was nicely done.

Several of the characters in the book were not nice, and didn’t have much dimension to them. They were self-absorbed, only thinking about how things affect them. Emilie’s mother, Avery and her co-worker are examples. I liked the character Agent Ronson. She was a strong female, with compassion and knew her job.

Emilie made a lot of references about some horrible secret, so it got very built up. Perhaps I read too much into it because when it came out, I didn’t think it was that big of a deal. She did something in the book that put her into the TSTL (Too Stupid To Live) category, leaving by herself. I had to stop reading for a while because she annoyed me so much and I didn’t want to throw my kindle. I felt she was immature even though she was older. It took until the end of the book for me to warm up to her. Nathan was somewhat broken, too. They fit together nicely. The romance was subtle, but it felt all the more intense for it. When I say they fit together, I mean that they both helped one another understand themselves in really positive ways.

It was a sweet romance, trying not to start anything because of the investigation…making their relationship deep without all the overt sex happening. It worked well within this story.

Overall, I found this story to be a nice read. I loved how the author added the history of the city. Her use of interacting words was a nice change. This is a great book for people who enjoy suspenseful mysteries with an interesting “bad guy” and a bit of romance. This book can go to a wider audience because even though it has a murderous stalker, it’s not written in a gory blood and guts way. The romance is not over the top with graphic sex. It is more of a mind thriller with a romance that doesn’t take over the story, so I can see both young adults and adults enjoying this book.