"Good people do bad things, and bad people do good things...the world doesn't work in absolutes."

Gripping thriller set mainly near and on a Royal Naval base in Portsmouth. Lieutenant Danielle Lewis and partner, Master at Arms, John Granger, work for the Special Investigation Branch. In this second book the pair face a series of disasppearances and crimes that tie back to the TENACITY (a submarine) and their previous case. A very complicated plot with lots of characters, this moves along quite quickly with information and action.

After rescuing an abused wife in an abandoned shop, the duo is called to the ship, DEFIANCE, because a young female stores assistant had gone missing. Meanwhile, Dan (oh how I HATED everytime I saw that masculine name used for Danielle in the entire book -- but this was an ARC and I am hoping that someone talked some sense into the powers that be and got that changed) is also talking to a serial killer because body parts thought to belong to his victims have come to the attention of her bosses, AND she is also still secretly working on the former case involving a drug smuggling operation on the submarine. Busy lady!

There was a lot going on in this book and quite confusing to me because I was not familiar with the characters and had not read the first book in the series. In this case, I think that was a huge mistake and would urge anyone considering this title to go back and read #1 first. As far as the character of Danielle Lewis (and just again metnioning that she was called Dan throughout), I'm not sure I can say that she was believable or likeable. Let's say that some of the scenes stretched credulity and leave it at that. The reader really doesn't learn much about her personally and so she was not very three-dimensional nor were any of the other characters in the book. I did find the military connection to be quite interesting as I haven't read many books where the investigators are part of the Royal Navy.

So, despite my annoyances as described above, I did enjoy it and will probably go back and read the first book at some point. Would definitely want to read #3 because this one ends on a cliffhanger!

What happened to Natasha? How could she disappear on a naval vessel? I'd not read the first book and I think I really missed something because Dani is a terrific character. Don't get me wrong- this can easily be read as a standalone, as I did, but Dani is unique in my experience- a female investigator in the Royal Navy. She's dealing with the impact of her last investigation on a submarine even as she's trying to untangle the mystery of Natasha, whose story we also read as the story switches narrators. This is fast paced and well plotted. AND, I learned a lot about the Royal Navy. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I'm looking forward to the next one.

The Fear Within builds on the momentum of the first book in the Danielle Lewis series, and just like the first, this one is a fast-paced, dark mystery. Dan finds herself working on a new case, struggling to let go of the events on the Tenacity. She also finds herself drawn back to the case of her former mentor and partner, Chris Hamilton, who she arrests for rape and murder. Strangely enough, all these cases seem to be connected somehow.

J.S. Law does a fantastic job in creating an atmosphere of intense suspense. In halting the narrative to drive the reader back in time, the reader is forced to anxiously await new pieces of information. This style isn't for everyone, but it does create a sense of anticipation that is sure to appeal to fans of high suspense novels.

The follow-up to Defiance is immensely satisfying. Readers learn more about it's principle character, Dan, and discover the common thread that will bind the series together in subsequent books. The revelations at the end of the book completely blindsided me and will definitely have me back for book three.

The Fear Within is the second book in JS Law's series about Lieutenant Dan Lewis, an investigator in the Royal Navy. The previous book, Tenacity, ended with Lewis still pursuing her investigation into the crimes committed by members of the submarine Tenacity despite orders from her superiors to drop the case. She and her partner John Granger are called to investigate when a young woman disappears from the ship Defiance without a trace. She also gets involved in another case when her friend Felicity Green, a criminal psychologist, asks for her help in figuring out who has been sending fingers to the police in the mail. The story is well-paced and the characters are compelling, especially Dan. The ending is a cliff-hanger, so hopefully the third book is coming soon!

Superb read! Characters believable. Plot intense. Looking forward to the sequel