By Sarah Murray
Content warning: sexual and physical abuse, murder, kidnapping, suicide, ritualistic killing
A Dark and Secret Place begins when Heather returns to her childhood home after her mother has passed away from suicide. Heather had sworn to herself that she would never return to the place she used to call home, after leaving at 16 years of age due to a troubled relationship with her mother. During the time Heather spends cleaning up her mother’s home, she finds a very troubling correspondence that her mother took part in. For numerous years Heather’s mother has been writing to convicted serial killer Michael Reave, also known as the Red Wolf, and similar murders to his have begun to happen again.
The letters, alongside the new murders, get Heather involved with the police, including DI Ben Parker, as well as with Michael Reave himself. Heather starts on a mission to learn how and why her mother was writing to Michael. As a journalist, Heather also sees the advantage of having such close contact to the Red Wolf—getting his story and perspective out through her writing could help with her career.
Heather is a very complex, badass and interesting character and I enjoyed reading from her POV even though she was struggling quite a bit with her mother’s death and other aspects of her life. It was interesting to learn alongside Heather about the parts of her mother’s life that she had no idea about. The story also includes some POVs of the murder victims, and I think this really helped with the suspense of the story and had you as the reader become more invested in the person committing these terrible murders. There were also flashbacks through Michael’s POV which I found captivating, as you get to see how he became the person he is and how he is connected to Heather’s mother. Personally, I am fascinated by serial killers and the mystery behind what they do, so I enjoyed seeing the past through Michael’s eyes. This helps the reader to see why he did these awful things, even if there really is no explanation for murdering others.
Jen Williams has a very intriguing and atmospheric writing style that drags you in and has you needing to know what will happen next. I was in a major reading slump in all of June, but I really couldn’t put this one down. The twists and turns of the story also helped to keep me invested alongside the character of Heather. I found some parts so creepy and spooky that when reading at night, I felt uneasy as I turned the pages. The ending was especially wild, and I stayed up way too late finishing the story! I definitely need to read Jen’s next book and I can’t wait for any sort of news on what she has in store for us next.
Thank you to Crooked Lane Books for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review!