A very good book that I would recommend to all genre fans. The mystery keeps you guessing and ends up in unexpected places. This was a great thriller.

FBI Agent and bomb tech Paul Grale has been investigating a series of bombings and sniper attacks that are targeting power stations in the American West. The attacks are becoming more sophisticated and as rolling blackouts sweep across the West, the clues point to several locations in California. Meanwhile, Grale's niece Julia unknowingly gets involved thanks to her boyfriend Nick. But Nick disappears after a car accident and leaves Julia to face the fallout from his crimes: multiple identities and stolen military-grade ammunition found in her car. As the sole survivor of a homeland bombing that killed her parents and brother, Julia is an avowed pacifist but evidence mounts about her involvement with the domestic terrorists. The attacks continue to escalate and Grale is alarmed when Julia goes missing. It's a race against time to find Julia and to stop the bombers from setting their most ambitious attack in San Francisco.

I received an eARC via Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.

Gone Dark is the second fast-paced action thriller in the Paul Grale series written by author Kirk Russell. Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for the advance copy.

I would like to thank Thomas and Mercer Publishing and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book for an honest review. Kirk Russell’s previous Paul Grace novel dealt with the use of drones for defense as well as terror attacks. In Gone Dark he addresses the vulnerability of our power and communication grids.

Grace is a special agent bomb technician for the FBI in their Las Vegas Office. When bomb attacks are carried out against power stations in LA he is sent to assist the investigation. He is also dealing with problems back home, where his niece Julia has unknowingly become involved with a boyfriend who has a criminal background. The loss of her family in a bombing left her traumatized and she is still trying to work through her loss. Realizing that she is being used, she breaks up with her boyfriend but is still implicated in a theft of military grade ammunition. As Grace chases the bombers, he begins to find connections with some of Julia’s friends. Before he can discover more, Julia disappears.

Grace must try to balance his obligations as an agent with his quest to prove Julia’s innocence and protect her. Julia grows from a vulnerable and somewhat naive girl to a strong young woman who realizes that she is the only one that can save herself. Along the way she sees that she has a way to go in dealing with the traumas in her life, but finds herself moving to the right path.

From the frustrations of Grale’s earlyinvestigations to the final resolution, Russell keeps the story moving at a steady pace. His topical theme is one that makes the reader aware of security issues that we face and is guaranteed to make this book very hard to put down.