She's called "Hurricane" for a reason. Sheriff's Detective Katrina Williams is still recovering from the loss of her husband. She's also dealing with PTSD. While serving in the military, something awful happened to her, something that she is still coming to terms with. She's feisty, and willing to cross the line when necessary. She's full of anger, hence the reason she is required to receive counseling while she's carrying a gun.

When a body is found submerged head down in the lake, Katrina is called to investigate. what begins as a murder because of poaching of a certain fish that greatly resembles caviar leads to another body .. an illegal refugee woman. She is linked to to a revival preacher. And when she tries to question the behind-the-scenes movement, the FBI and Army CID intervene.

Katrina is a multi-layered character. Not only the physical scars, but the severe psychological damage is so very real and well-written. She used to drink her memories away, these days its only orange soda and an occasional ice tea. Secondary characters lend an air of credibility .. her father and uncle, both retired military men. The Sheriff who appreciates Katrina, but still as to rein her in every now and then. Then there's Billy ... one of her colleagues, and possibly the only friend she has.

The story premise is a good one .. it's full of movement with a few twists and turns thrown in for good measure. Although second in a series, this one does well as a stand alone,however, I always recommend starting at the very beginning.

Many thanks to the author / Kensington Books - Lyrical Underground / Netgalley for the digital copy of this well-written crime thriller. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

4.5 Stars

I’ve been wanting for a year, although it feels like ages, to read A Particular Darkness. Katrina Williams was a character I absolutely loved in the first book, A Living Grave. She had so much depth and style at the skilled hands of Robert Dunn. When I heard there was a plan for a second book I was psyched. This author is always on my radar while I wonder what will he is working on next.

A Particular Darkness opens with Katrina in a therapy session. It’s been a year since we’ve seen her last. Sadly, life hasn’t gotten any easier for Katrina. We get caught up with the events of her life as we settle in to book two. In a very short amount of time I was right back there with the protagonist and loving it. To me it was like catching up with an old friend and the comfort it brings.

Katrina is still dealing with her burdens, no different than any of us have the displeasure of doing. This is one of the aspects of Robert’s writing I thoroughly enjoy. He has an uncanny way of putting real heart and emotional damage in his characters. He makes them relatable and gives the reader an easy connection point. The mystery Katrina finds herself investigating is solid and well presented. I never get the feeling the characters are acting in a way that feels unnatural or forced. For Katrina, darkness comes in many forms and for an equal number of reasons. A Particular Darkness is a fitting title, yet again, and Robert gives the reader something to ponder. The action never let up as I struggled to solve the mystery. Props to you, Robert, I didn’t figure it out until it all unfolded before me! With great characters and an equally great plot, A Particular Darkness was a real treat. I’m left in the place as was after finishing the first book, I want more Katrina Williams novels.

This is not a stand Alone Novel. You will need to read the first one in the series to really understand the reasons for why the characters act and communicate the way they do.
Robert Dunn creates a world where people are flawed as normal humans. They are hurtful, angry and want to get back at the people who hurt them the most.
Katrina is a very flawed characters who works hard to put the past behind her without working though the issues. answers she seeks. The author paints Katrina PTSD and her use of alcohol to deal with her demons. The PTSD is very vivid and readers will find themselves growing to care of Katrina and her future.
The story starts off with a dead body which will hook readers though the twist and turns the story takes them though.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Lyrical Underground Kensington Books for the advance copy

Katrina is back and dealing with a new murder case. In the midst of an investigation, she's still dealing with PTSD, a recent loss, and a drinking problem. This second book in the series is just as compelling as the first. Dunn has a talent for keeping a complex story moving with great characters and interesting dialogue.

Sgt. Katrina Williams is still suffering from a terrifying and scaring tragedy that she experienced in the service. She is working a new case where a body is pulled out of the water. Solving this crime is a challenge. This story is full of mystery and intrigue. I would recommend this book. It has good characters in the storyline and it keeps your interest of the reader. Enjoyable!
5 Stars

Wow, what a fantastic book. I really enjoyed Robert’s first novel involving the Detective Katrina Williams in ‘A Living Grave’, and I’m glad he carried on with the same wonderful characters into a series. Besides his easy writing style, I really enjoy the background and depth the Author has put into the characters. For me, this is what really sets a truly great book apart from other thrillers. Katrina still struggles with her demons from her time in Iraq. Being viciously assaulted by her superior officers is preventing her from having close relationships with anyone, and it also doesn’t help her job when she has the occasional blackout. Initially when she’s called out to investigate a dead body in the water, it looks like a simple murder. However it doesn’t take long to run into a brick wall, with some very dangerous people wanting the investigation dropped. Katrina isn’t called the Hurricane for nothing, and she certainly isn’t the type of person to let something go. This story really intrigued me, with so many twist and turns, and a brilliant plot. I also loved the ending. If you haven’t read a Robert E Dunn novel before, then I highly recommend you do.

A PARTICULAR DARKNESS is a good novel for so many reasons. I hope you've read the first Katrina Williams story so that you can jump right in.

Author Robert Dunn created a world of flawed, real people who do stupid, hateful and hurtful things to one another. As a military brat himself he wrote what he knew about and his character Katrina follows in her family's footsteps and goes for a career in the military, then chooses to join the sheriff's department.

Her cases are convoluted and gruesome. More power to you if you can figure out the answers by the midpoint! Robert Dunn has penned one fine book here, unlike most thrillers out there. The publishers at Lyrical Underground have already asked him for another, and I couldn't be happier to see this series continue. Fine writing, thoughtful titles and very real scenarios make this a series not to be missed.

Look for An Interview with Robert Dunn to run on my blog, Cat After Dark in August 2017.

Katrina "Hurricaine" WIlliams is back in Dunn's newest, A Particular Darkness. When called to an apparent drowning/murder, Katrina suspects things are not exactly what they seem. Fish poaching, sex trafficking, and gun running abound in this novel, set against the dark beauty of the Ozarks.
Since we last met Hurricane, she has married and then become a widow when her husband Nelson succumbed to cancer. Now, rich beyond the need to work, Katrina never the less wants to do what she does best: be a cop. WHen the dead man turns out to be former military, an alphabet soup of government agencies descends on her tiny town. Add in a suspicious traveling revival show run by an enigmatic and egomaniacal son of the Ozarks, and Katrina's cup runs over with mystery, murder, Russian fish poachers and a plot that rivals the Iran Contra deal of the 80's.
Through it all, Katrina remains her indomitable self, always stretching the limits of the law in order to get to the truth. She is truly one of the best written female characters around because she is so true to her inner core set of ideals and values that she just exudes the archetype of the female warrior in every sense of her being.
The back story we first heard about in the first book about her military career and the subsequent tragedy that befell her while in service plays a very large role in this book. So does her fight with her alcoholism. Dunn's treatment of Katrina's PTSD is so vivid and so en point, it makes me wonder if he himself was ever in the service and if so, what atrocities he witnessed.
This book is by no means an easy, finish in one day read. It's gritty, raw in its emotions, and delves into a plotline that could have a great deal of potential in real life today, a very scary thought indeed.
5 well deserved stars for another great Katrina Williams story.
I was given an arc from Netgalley for an honest opinion of this book and my honest opinion is that it is a fabulous read.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Kensington Books for an advance copy of A Particular Darkness, the second novel in the Missouri based Detective Katrina "Hurricane" Williams series.

Katrina gets a call from her friend and colleague, Billy Blevins, to go out to a murder scene. Once there she finds a man who has been drowned in a fishing net. Further investigation leads her to a revivalist tent and more questions than answers but she is swimming in deep waters when the Feds turn up and try to shut down her investigation.

What a read. The intelligent, detailed plotting, strong sense of place, intertwining relationships, protagonist with a troubled past and flashbacks, violence and raw, honest first person narrative are reminiscent of James Lee Burke's work but maybe this isn't surprising given the rural setting.

I am in awe of Mr Dunn's ability to take a simple, backwater crime and turn it into a much, wider, deeper tale and do it plausibly because the conspiracy at the heart of the novel is unbelievably realistic and should give the government pause for thought. The final irony of the novel made me laugh out loud.

Much of Katrina's trouble lies in the trauma of being raped and left for dead in Iraq by superior officers and the army's response to it by trying to dismiss her for tarnishing its reputation. Many younger readers may find this unbelievable but there are plenty of documented cases to make it not just possible but probable. It does, however, bring in to question how you loyally serve your country and there is a wonderful exchange between Katrina and one of the G-Men on this subject which offers food for thought. Whatever the rights and wrongs Mr Dunn is convinced that the organs of government will do everything it takes to protect themselves from adverse scrutiny or comment. How very apt in current times.

It is way too complicated to summarise the intertwining relationships in this novel but they add a certain frisson to the narrative as they expose the eternal conflict of family v beliefs. As each person's role unfolds it is fascinating to see how this dichotomy works.

The characterisation is excellent and each one has a role to play. There is no wastage or irrelevancy. Obviously this is the Katrina show - I refer to her as Katrina as she doesn't like the nickname Hurricane although it sums up her character perfectly (God help anyone who gets in her way). In many ways she is a bit of a stereotype, angry, violent, traumatised, grieving for her dead husband, on the wagon but continually tempted, especially when someone tries to derail her by leaving her bottles of whiskey and undergoing job mandated therapy but she is more than that with her mixture of searing self analysis and flagellation and her inability to navigate or see clearly her personal relationships. The novel is as much her character study as it is murder investigation and it makes for powerful reading. I love all the little details in the novel that say so much like Billy taking her to feel the sunshine or her friend Clare making her homemade root beer. It's these simple gestures that show she is not alone.

I love everything about A Particular Darkness and have no hesitation in recommending it as an excellent read.

Review: A PARTICULAR DARKNESS by Robert E. Dunn

I've been following this author through several books now, and he has been a "go to" author from the beginning. A PARTICULAR DARKNESS Is second in his Katrina Williams series. Katrina is a detective with the Taney County, Missouri, Sheriff's Department. She is also a widow, a vet, and an individual who has suffered horribly. During the progress of this novel, she will suffer yet again.

Robert E. Dunn understands characters like few others. He also knows the darkness within: the darkness born in us, the darkness we embrace, and the darkness others foist on us. You won't walk away from this novel seeing sweetness and light; but you will experience the artistic hand of a master.