Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin books for letting me read an advance copy of this book. I loved Cara Hunter's debut novel and absolutely devoured this one. Cannot recommend this author enough. Not many books have me hooked from the first page but this one certainly did. Cannot wait for future novels from this author *****

A real rollercoaster of a read, just when you think you know what's going on it flips everything on its head, really kept me on my toes to the final page. I really enjoy the DI Adam Fawley thrillers and I'm looking to seeing how the progress.

Wow. Another stunning novel from Cara Hunter.

This is the second novel to feature DI Adam Fawley, but can be read as a stand-alone novel. That said, Close to Home is such a good novel that you should just read it anyway...

DI Adam Fawley once again has his work cut out. This time investigating a complex abduction case after a woman and a young child are found locked in the cellar of a large and expensive property. Discovered by the wealthy neighbor who is renovating his own multi million pound property, the woman and child are both clearly traumatised by their ordeal.

The police are at first, are baffled, as there’s no trace of the woman on any missing persons register. The only woman to go missing around the same time as her presumed capture is already dead, the victim of a brutal murder, her killer already doing time.

But somehow, these two case seem to be linked. Just how is one of the many headaches that Fawley and his team must face in order to get to the truth.

Having got used to Cara Hunter's writing style, I like that there are no defined chapters, and instead the narrative is interspersed with snippets of newspaper clipping, social media, police interviews etc. Admittedly it’s unusual, but it does genuinely work.

In the Dark is an intense thriller that will have you guessing again and again. It’s got a killer twist that I didn’t see coming in a million years and will definitely keep you on your toes!

This is a gripping read and will have you puzzling over who did it.
A young woman and small child are discovered in a basement by a neighbour who is renovating his property in Oxford.
The woman is so traumatised that she won’t speak and reacts badly whenever the small child is near her.
Fawley and the team think she was raped whilst held captive by the owner of the property who is an elderly gentleman. When they interview him though he claims to know nothing about the victims and as he’s suffering from Alzheimer’s the police are careful how far they push him.
There was another death a few years ago and this has links with this case and in a way leads to the unravelling of both cases.
This is a great read and will have you hooked from the word go.
Thanks to Penguin books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I have read Cara Hunter's first book and I was looking forward to this one. I was not disappointed. This has got to be one of the best crime thrillers/police procedural's I've ever read. Absolutely fantastic plot. A definite five star read!

What a follow-up to the first book! DI Adam Fawley and his team are fast becoming favourites of mine.

When workmen remove bricks from the dividing wall in a cellar, they are shocked to see a distraught woman in the cellar next door. Thus begins the second case for the police murder squad in Oxford. As the enquiry races on, we get the chance to learn more about this team - their strengths and their weaknesses. There isn't a wasted word in this novel; you need to pay attention to every small detail no matter how insignificant it seems at the time or you will be haunted by chances missed to work out what's going on.

This is a tremendously exciting read. The author has a way of plotting an intricate crime story and merging it with amazingly created characters to create a second masterpiece in this series. The police officers - at all levels - are team players and I am fascinated by the manner in which they manage to get to the bottom of things. The shocks and surprises just never stop coming - right up to the very last - and it all adds up to an absolutely remarkable crime thriller. More, please!

My thanks to publishers Penguin Books UK for approving my request via NetGalley. This is my honest, original and unbiased review.

Hunter kept me guessing with this one. Each smug conclusion I came to was rapidly proved wrong yet, with hindsight, I could see the clues were all there.
As with all good detective mysteries there were characters to empathize with, characters to scorn and those to admire.
Overall a good thriller that I wanted the answer to.
(Thank you NetGalley & Penguin Random House for this copy)

The owner of the home which was being renovated was angry – furious in fact. One of the workmen had knocked a hole in the wall of the cellar and he was moaning about the delays; his costs; incompetence – everything was an issue. It was when he went to the cellar to look at the damage that he received the shock. There was a face in the hole – he immediately telephoned the police.

It was obvious the woman and boy discovered in the cellar of the house next door had been locked up for a long time. The child was around two years old – he had probably been born in the cellar. The woman was traumatized and terrified, unable or unwilling to speak and the hospital which was caring for them said it could take weeks or even months before they could be interviewed.

The elderly resident of the home had no idea who they were, or how they got there. He had never seen them before, he declared. But he had recently been diagnosed with dementia…

The frustration of Detective Inspector Adam Fawley and his team was immense. The confusion of this case was getting to them all – they needed to find answers soon.

In the Dark is the 2nd in the DI Fawley series by Cara Hunter, and it’s a fast-paced plot, filled with mystery and intrigue. There are twists galore – just when I thought I had the answers, it went in another direction. An excellent psychological thriller which I recommend.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read and review.

3.5 stars

Mark Sexton picks up a builder's tool and starts poking at the bricks on his basement wall, Through the hole that materialises through to next door, Mark was definitely not expecting to see a face....... This is a gripping novel with many layers to it. The story is told from the persepective of the many different characters and these are interspersed with police statements, interviews, emails, news reports etc. I absolutely could not have predicted how this story would pan out; it twists and turns to a very satisfying ending.

Despite this story being written in a very original style, this style was personally not for me. Looking at the many reviews though, most people would disagree with me so don't let that put you off.

Many thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this ARC for which I have given my voluntary and unbiased review.

With thanks to Netgalley and Penguin for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

In the Dark is Cara Hunter's second book featuring DI Adam Fawley..

IYuppie Mark Sexton was overseeing some building work in the cellar of his new property. Some bricks were loose and as he was moving them away he was confronted by the body of young women lying on the floor in the property next door. The police went next door and were shocked to find the woman along with a little boy.

The property was owned by elderly dementia sufferer Dr William Harper who used to be an academic. Although Dr Harper was confused he still showed signs of the cantankerous man he was in his younger days. When questioned Dr Harper claimed he was not aware of the woman and child living in his cellar, he mentioned he heard voices from downstairs and was scared.

The unidentified woman was in hospital but was unable to speak to Fawley., so his team tried to trace any disappearances in the area. Fawley then realised that Dr Harper's house overlooked the house opposite owned by BBC Journalist Anna Gardiner who had disappeared three years earlier. When her babysitter called in sick Anna took her baby son Jake along to an interview with a building developer. The developer then rung her to say he would be late. Anna's car was on the site waiting for the developer, baby Jake was strapped in the car but Anna had disappeared with out trace. When forensics were searching the loft of Dr Harper's home they found the dead. body of Anna wrapped in a blood drenched car protector,

The storyline was intriguing with many multiple threads weaved into the plot. There were plenty of suspects and red herrings galore to trip you up. If you read Close to Home you would know that Adam and his wife Alex were grieving the death of their son Jake. In this book Alex jumped at the chance to foster the sad little boy from the cellar., whilst his mum was in hospital. It was lovely reading about Alex having a child to love again, however I understood why Adam was trying not to get too attached to be devastated again. I also liked his team at work, especially D.C. Chris Cunningham with a wife and young baby at home. I was also intrigued about ex English teacher WPC Erica Somer who although observant had an affair with DS Gareth Quinn also on the team.

I enjoyed this story and devoured it in three days. However as the story progressed I was rolling my eyes as the plot became more and more far fetched. This did not spoil my enjoyment However and award the book four stars.



I

This is the second book in the D.I. Adam Fawley series but can be read as a standalone.

It is a cleverly woven complex story which starts with the discovery of a young woman and a boy locked in a cellar. As the story unfolds the finger of suspicion points to many culprits and it is up to D.I Fawley and team to unravel the truth from the lies.

It is a very well written, compelling read and I highly recommend it!

This is a totally brilliant book from beginning to end. The characters are excellent and believable and I loved the fact that sometimes the prose was written in the first person by the boss, Adam Fawley. This is writing at it's very best. The story line seemed simple enough but every time the police thought they had solved it, new evidence emerged. I kept on looking how far along I was in the book and thinking, how are they going to fill up the rest, I'm only half way or two thirds into the story. Cara is a police procedure thriller writer at the top of her game, I will definitely now read her other novels and eagerly await new ones. It's one of the best books I've read all year and I go through a lot, very highly recommended. I couldn't put it down.

This is a fabulous mystery / police procedural set in the city of Oxford and is the second book to feature DI Adam Fawley. It is not necessary to have read the first book as the cases are completely separate. We learn much more about Fawley's home life and the tragic loss of his son, and his team of officers really shine with their individuality, totally believable characters and completely realistic dialogue.

This book certainly has a dramatic start - the accidental discovery of a young woman and small boy in a locked, dark cellar of a rambling house belonging to an old man who is showing signs of dementia. As we learn more about these victims, Fawley's team painstakingly investigates what seems like an open and shut case to reveal suspicions, theories, clues and red herrings. In this complex and superbly crafted story we find lies, deceit and ulterior motives are cleverly revealed at all stages and what we thought we knew is not necessarily the truth.

"In The Dark" is definitely a step up from "Close To Home", the first DI Fawley book, which is a good read in itself. In The Dark however is compelling, believable and completely entertaining throughout.

More twists than a corkscrew! This was an amazing book. Just when I thought I knew what was happening -bang- oh no I didnt! This is a cracking page turner that has you hooked til the very last page! Highly recommended. Can't wait for the next one.

Okay, this is the second in the DI Adam Fawley series but it can be read as a standalone. You do not need to know what happened in the first book. This is a good move by Cara Hunter. Yes, the old characters from the first novel who work in or for Thames Valley Police are carried forward and as I had just finished Close to Home, this continuation simply added further pleasure to my enjoyment of this book.

In The Dark is a police procedural set around Oxford. A young woman and a small child are found trapped in the cellar of an old house. DI Adam Fawley and his team at Thames Valley Police are on the case to solve this mystery.

I really enjoyed reading In The Dark. I thought the plot was very good indeed. I liked the strong characterization of ALL the characters involved, whether they were members of the public or the Police. Like the first book, parts were of content from broadcasters and the public using social media. I loved that breaking-news-story feel of this novel. There was lots of finger pointing and many, many leads for the police to follow. The ending was really good and I loved it when the full story was told from the point of view of the young woman who had become trapped in the cellar and another central character.

I thought In The Dark was a big improvement on Close to Home, which I voted 4 stars. The time-line of In The Dark was linear and did not jump backwards and forwards like Close to Home. You did not know more than the Thames Valley Police as the story progressed. Although DI Adam Fawley’s son Jake was mentioned yet again, it was not a distraction this time!

In The Dark has jumped up a gear from Close to Home. Well done Cara, I can find nothing wrong with your novel, so In The Dark gets the top score of 5 stars from me.

Oh My this is a roller coaster - lots going on here, at first I was unsure about the first person narrative however I quickly got the hang of it, Lots of blind alleys in this crime thriller set in apparently quiet suburban Oxford ! There are sub plots galore and the ongoing setting of the police station with all it's little dramas. All in all quite absorbing, I really struggled to put it down at night and I spent quite a bit of time trying to guess what was really happening.

All in all if you like Police Procedurals at all you will like this book.

Well, I enjoyed the first in this new series when I read it a while ago so I was quite looking forward to seeing what was next for DI Adam Fawley. I really wasn't expecting this! Oh my goodness, I really didn't see that coming! And I read a lot of this genre of book so it takes a fair bit to fox me I can tell you! Mixing police procedural seamlessly with psychological thriller this ticked every box for me; and then some! Although the main story is self-contained, to get the best from it with respect to DI Fawley's backstory, you would do better reading the series opener first.
A house is being refurbished and work in the cellar there leads to a really nasty discovery. A woman and child are being held in the cellar of next door. The police are called and free them, at the same time finding the owner of the house in a dishevelled and disorientated state. They take him in and it becomes evident that he confused and is suffering from dementia and violently protests that he knows nothing of his captives. Meanwhile, the woman, Vicky, is hospitalised and in her traumatised state violently rejects the child.
Enter DI Adam Fawley to investigate. He remembers a similar case where another woman went missing a couple of years ago; in the same neighbourhood. The press also get wind of it so he goes to see the previous woman's husband and reopens that investigation in parallel to the new one.
And so begins a veritable tale of secrets, lies, duplicitous behaviour and all sorts of other shenanigans that held me completely rapt throughout. Are the two cases linked and, if so, how? With his main suspect not really all there and being very unhelpful in his rare lucid moments how will Hawley manage to get to the bottom of what happened and why?
What started off as relatively simple in the beginning degenerated into more murky waters as slowly the evidence started to come to light. The main narrative was interspersed with social media, including comments, and press reports which made for a good way of giving a lot of information in a short space of time. The plot itself kept me guessing throughout as I, along with the police, suspected this person, then that person. Luckily for me, they managed to get there eventually, whereas I was still pretty flummoxed. I did have an inkling as to the fate of the original woman but, well, the rest of it was a right shock to me when it was revealed.
Characterisation was great. So many duplicitous characters, most with their own secrets and lies, some to do with what was happening, others just adding to the twisty turny nature off the book. Pacing was perfect and there was also the usual banter and camaraderie between the police which you would expect from the genre giving a bit of light relief from what was going on.
I'm not the biggest fan of characters personal lives overshadowing what is happening in the main thread but here, with what is happening between Fawley and his wife, stays just below my threshold of tolerance. In fact, its inclusion does speak enough to Fawley's personality so it is justified.
All in all, a cracking read that I thoroughly enjoyed, leaving me eager for round three. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

I enjoyed In The Dark by Cara Hunter. From the first page you are drawn in and the book gathers momentum with each chapter.

DI Adam Fawley and his team are investigating two cases. A woman and child are found barely alive in a basement. No one knows who they are and she can’t speak and it’s down to Fawley’s team to investigate.

There’s some great characters in this book and the story flows well. I wasn’t a massive fan of the police interview/transcript parts of the book but they weren’t too off putting.

All in all a good read. Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin and the author for the chance to review.

An excellent book and I didn't see the ending coming at all. I thought it was a well written book and I liked (most) of the police characters very much. I will definitely seek out other titles in this series. Recommended.

Cara Hunter's second instalment with DI Adam Fawley is definitely not disappointing.
Captivated from the start, the tension and suspense build up at a great pace - love getting to know the characters more - plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing, right up to the unforeseeable ending, completely captivated.

Enjoyed close to home, enjoyed this more.
Not long to wait for book 3 - no way out.

Thank you netgalley, Viking and Cara Hunter for allowing me to read and review this book.