Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆☆☆
This is a very scary read. A small group of not-quite-strangers are trapped together in an immense and unforgiving wilderness – and readers know from the start that there will only be one survivor. The author plays with readers, taking us back and forth in time and jumping constantly between perspectives. Everyone is a potential suspect and the lone survivor isn’t identified until the very end. The result is a book I was unable to put down – but also unable to read before bed.

There are references all the way through to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. For me, this felt more like Stephen King’s The Shining. The book is carefully paced and as the gruesome body count rises, readers start to feel the remaining group members’ panic turn to hysteria. The isolated British Columbia wilderness provides an intensely creepy backdrop and a very believable sense of total isolation.

I never want to mention the plot when reviewing a thriller, but this one was complicated and detailed enough to keep me guessing until the very end. The characters are wonderful. Each member of the stranded group has a complicated backstory and a negligible link to the others. As a whole, the group members are very difficult to like – but there are some stories that will resonate more with readers than others. Their disappearance is solved by RCMP officer Mason and SAR lead, Callie. Mason and Callie feel much more human and they are infinitely more likeable. Like the group members, their backstories are difficult, but unlike the group members, we get to see growth in both Mason and Callie.

I really loved this book. Loreth Anne White is becoming an auto-buy author for me and I think this might be her most perfectly crafted story yet.


Veronica – ☆☆☆☆
The story starts with a prologue set in the present where we are given enough information to know that the group of eight people stranded in the wilderness has gone through something truly horrific. We then get taken back to the day before the group set off on their trek and start to learn about each member of the group. The story is told from the point of view of the members of the group and also from the point of view of the police and rescuers that are looking for them.

Part mystery, party horror, every time I thought I figured out what was going on, some new piece of the story would emerge to send me guessing in another direction. We quickly learn the group are not safe in that cabin and the cold, inhospitable location of northern British Colombia means they aren’t safe outside the cabin either.

What thriller this story is. I was fascinated by the story of the group, why they were pulled together and what they had in common. But I didn’t find any members of the stranded group particularly likeable, so I had no trouble watching them face their pasts and suffer. And suffer they do – it is sooo good watching the truth slowly come to light. Loreth Anne White is a must-read author for me and In the Dark doesn’t disappoint. I loved it.


Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
Thriller

This is a book that follows closely along the lines of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. If you've read this and enjoyed it, you'll like this mystery thriller too.

The who done it of this story is a mystery. Throughout the book, you're given bits and pieces of a whole and need to put the pieces together. It's sometimes a little hard to follow and it does jump around some.

While the style of writing wasn't my favorite, the story itself was compelling. I wanted to know the who and the why. And while I was somewhat disappointed in the ending, I did enjoy the story quite a lot.

A brilliant story. Very very dark and incredibly claustrophobic. Truly exceptional. I’d recommend this to everyone xx

In the Dark by Loreth Anne White is a book that grips you and doesn't let go. The book is told in a third pov and that took me some time to get used to.
Deborah is the only survivor of a guided wilderness trip and new in town Mason Deniaud has his work laid out for him.
The book is a fast paced thriller, the mindgames played kept me on the edge of my seat and the storyline left me breathless.
I connected easily with the characters and I'm so glad I gave this new to me author a try.
4,5 stars.

I’ve never read anything by Loreth Anne White, which is crazy, right? I think I never had because I don’t think I like thrillers and/or suspense. I may have had my mind changed. This book starts off with a bang and doesn’t stop!

Eight guests have been promised a trip out to a luxurious wilderness spa resort retreat. It’s situated picture perfect on a beautiful lake, with miles of peace and quiet all around. The ill fated guests find out very quickly that what they were promised and what they received are two very different things. As they band together for survival, they start realizing that they all have something in common. There are dark secrets here and secrets don’t stay buried for long. As the lies start being discovered, an even darker past is revealed. Someone is out to get them and is killing them one by one. Is it an outsider that set all this up or is it one of their own?

I have a secret as well…I’ve never read Agatha Christie. Never. Not a mystery/thriller fan, remember? I’m thinking I should give Dame Christie a chance after this. Part of the mystery of In the Dark centers around an Agatha Christie book called And Then There Were None. In her book, eight people arrive to a isolated island, drawn by duplicitous means, met only by the butler and housekeeper. At dinner, a gramophone is played accusing them all of murder and they discover ten figurines that mysteriously are broken as each person dies in varied ways. In the Dark follows this same path very closely, with the arrival of the eight, and their discovery of the book, the adapted poem, and little wooden figurines.

The story is told in bits and pieces. The point of view changes from that of the group at the resort and then jumps back to veteran big-city homicide detective Mason Deniaud and Kluhane Bay Search and Rescue expert Callie Sutton as they try to follow the breadcrumbs and hopefully find the group alive. I actually enjoyed the piecemeal way that the story was doled out to the reader in reverse.

I loved the intrigue and trying to figure out who-dun-it. While it wasn’t a complete mystery in the end, it was an enjoyable read trying to figure all the details out along the way. I typically don’t like books that waver back and forth on POV, but White builds such great characters that I didn’t mind. Especially with Mason and Callie. They had such interesting back stories, even if they were both tragic. I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the ending but given the nature of the two, I really couldn’t see anything other than the one we were given.

4.5 of out 5 propellers for this atmospheric mystery. Just don’t go into it expecting a romantic thriller. While it doesn’t shirk on the chills and thrills, there’s only a hint of flirtation in this one!

In The Dark is a gripping tale of what happens when you hide the truth and it comes back to bite you. This is my first book of Loreth Anne White but after reading this brilliantly plotted suspense thriller, it will not be the last. I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

In the Dark has everything you need for a spooky winter read: A remote town in British Columbia. A mysterious lodge surrounded by untouched wilderness. A raging snowstorm. A group of shady rich people. A series of inexplicable coincidences. A police officer and a search and rescue team leader, each with their own tragic backstory. I could go on. All these details add up to the perfect atmosphere and ambiance for a slow-burn novel that seamlessly blends elements from several genres: mystery, thriller, procedural, and a dash of horror.

The story follows three timelines simultaneously. In the first timeline, labeled “The Lodge Party,” a group of eight very different but suspiciously connected people have been invited to an exclusive luxury wilderness resort and spa, a trip that goes disastrously wrong. In the second timeline, “The Search,” police officer Mason and search and rescue team leader Callie search for the missing members of the lodge party. And in the third timeline, labeled “Now,” the sole survivor of the lodge party tells their story. To shield the survivor’s identity from the reader, these sections are written in first person and in present tense, while the rest are written in third person and past tense, alternating between the perspectives of Mason, Callie, and the members of the lodge party.

I enjoy multiple timelines and perspectives in mysteries and thrillers and thought this was an effective storytelling technique for In the Dark. It built tension and kept me turning pages. I enjoyed “The Search” timeline the most; I was heavily invested in Mason and Callie (and Oskar and even Gregson) as characters. “The Lodge Party” timeline was intense and scary, but apart from Stella, I wasn’t as attached to those characters. The “Now” timeline wasn’t my favorite, probably because I prefer third person to first person and past tense to present tense and the switch threw me off.

I had a few other, minor complaints. Loreth Anne White’s writing style is somewhat repetitive, overly relying on short, punchy sentences to make her point. I also thought the “Nine Little Liars” poem was pretty lame. In general, creepy poetry is a mystery trope I could do without. It’s almost never as well-written or clever as it would need to be to add anything meaningful to the story. The dialogue was occasionally stilted.

The ending was complex, and I liked it, but I wasn’t totally blown away. I’m stuck between a three and four star rating for this one. Went with four because I’m feeling generous and it was an enjoyable read.

9 people were invited to a resort/spa secluded in the wild fully paid for. And everyone invited were all tied through one major incident, they all had something to hide and something to protect.

This book was told in multiple pov's and set in two timelines, there were about 9-10 pov's and in my opinion they were all interesting, which is very rare for a book with multiple pov's.

This book was definitely what someone would love if they were into mystery, I wouldn't be surprised if this book would have won some awards because the writing style is just that good (in my opinion).

Would i recommend this book? Yes, if you enjoy mystery.

It’s your lucky day! You have won an all inclusive spa vacation at a wilderness getaway! Sounds great, right? It did to the eight people who got the prize, but this will not be a vacation. They have been selected because they all have something to hide, and it would appear, very good reasons to fear each other. Now they are cut off from the rest of the world by a blizzard. Their only hope comes from cop, Mason Deniaud and search and rescue expert, Callie Sutton. As a native Mainer, I know that there is nothing more claustrophobic than a snow storm that cuts you off from the rest of the world, add a killer to the mix and you get a story that will truly set you on edge

IN THE DARK by Loreth Anne White is her new book which is a mystery with a romantic suspense subplot that is now one of my favorite mystery books of 2019. You should set aside time to read this one because you will not want to put it down.

The promise of a luxury spa vacation and the chance to secure a lucrative contract for their companies has eight lucky guests coming together for two weeks in a remote location in British Columbia.

What they don’t realize is each is tied together by one tragic incident. They all have secrets to hide.

As they fly into the remote location, it is not what they were expecting. A storm keeps them trapped at the old hunting lodge and as they inspect the inside, they realize it is not a vacation, but a trap. Suddenly, everyone is suspect and no one can be trusted. They are all pawns in a game that must be played out until there is “one”.

When a seaplane is discovered by hunters, RCMP officer Mason Deniaud and SAR expert Callie Sutton come together to retrieve it and discover a dead body strapped inside. They learn of the other missing people and set out to find them.

The clock is ticking. Will Mason and Callie be able to find the missing people before there are none?

This is a GREAT read! It is a fast-paced page turner that grabs you by the throat, pulls you into the perfectly paced plot and surprises you at the end. The mystery is a cross between Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None” and the game show “Survivor”. The malicious and deadly wilderness is a whole other dark and gritty character in this story which adds to the atmosphere of dread. While this is a standalone, I am hoping Ms. White will continue writing more stories featuring Mason and Callie. They are wonderfully flawed characters that fit together well.

I highly recommend this book! I have loved all of Ms. White’s books to date, but this one is very special.

When I read the plot of In The Dark by Loreth Anne White, I knew I had to get it! I’ve said before how I love mysterious, suspenseful books with groups of people and one of them is a murderer, like the Agatha Christie book, And Then There Were None.

This is on my TO BE READ list and its getting rave reviews which means I am probably going to open the book and not move until I have read the very last page.

Check it out:

The promise of a luxury vacation at a secluded wilderness spa has brought together eight lucky guests. But nothing is what they were led to believe. As a fierce storm barrels down and all contact with the outside is cut off, the guests fear that it’s not a getaway. It’s a trap.

Each one has a secret. Each one has something to hide. And now, as darkness closes in, they all have something to fear—including one another.

Alerted to the vanished party of strangers, homicide cop Mason Deniaud and search and rescue expert Callie Sutton must brave the brutal elements of the mountains to find them. But even Mason and Callie have no idea how precious time is. Because the clock is ticking, and one by one, the guests of Forest Shadow Lodge are being hunted. For them, surviving becomes part of a diabolical game.

Have you read this book yet?

Get the book here!

4.25 stars-IN THE DARK by Loreth Ann White is a contemporary, adult, stand alone, mystery thriller akin to Agatha Christie’s AND THEN THERE WERE NONE (aka Ten Little Indians).


Told from several third person and first person perspectives following two timelines, IN THE DARK follows homicide cop Mason Deniaud and search and rescue expert Callie Sutton as they are called into a potential crime scene where a plane and its’ ‘pilot’ have been found in the BC forest, a pilot with obvious signs of knife wounds in her neck. What ensues is the search for the truth, and the discovery that more than one person fell victim to a masterful game.


Loreth Anne White pulls the reader into a mystery thriller as we are up close and personal with a group of people who have been invited to the opening of a new high-end lodge and spa in the BC wilderness , a group of people connected by sins of the past. From a PI to a former police officer, to a doctor, a business woman and her husband, a former prostitute, a one-time newscaster, and an airline pilot, the fated group will slowly succumbed to a game of revenge and betrayal, secrets and lies. Having willingly walked into a trap, the guests become pawns and prey to a killer, and the wilderness alike.


IN THE DARK is a story of intrigue and mystery; of revenge and retribution; of secrets and lies; of circumstance and opportunity. The premise is entertaining, sensational, and electrifying ; the characters are numerous, dynamic, and fated to die.


Copy supplied by Netgalley


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This was such a great thriller, as I continually guessed wrong about what was going to happen. Very few authors can surprise me, so I really enjoyed this one!

Thanks goes to the publisher, via Net-Galley, for the opportunity to read and review In the Dark by Loreth Anne White in advance of publication. My opinions are my own and are not influenced in any way.
I stumbled across Ms. White’s books a while ago, and while they aren’t romances, but thrillers, I was amazed with her fantastic books and quickly devoured her back list. Whenever I find a new book by her, I know I’m in for a thrilling read. In the Dark is definitely that.

In the Dark is dark and exciting. It’s a “Whodunit” at it’s best. It takes an unlikely group on a journey where the player in this tale will discover the worse aspect of their character, a piece that lives inside each of them.

The mystery aspect is excellent. Although I suspected who set up the fake tour that takes the characters on their journey. I didn’t suspect the character who ends up the true villain. I love being surprised, and it speaks to Ms. White’s abilities as an author who spins a tale that will keep the reader on the edge from the first page to the last.

There is first-hand knowledge of all the players in this exciting story. It’s a lot to take in and keep track of, but well worth the effort. Each have their own reasons to suspect the others, so although they should work together, they can’t. Each have a hand in what started the vengeful charade. Throughout the tale, it moves from one player to the other, which will have you wondering who set them up.

There’s also insight into the search and rescue team as well. What motivates them and drives them to find the group before it’s too late is enthralling. I quite enjoyed that aspect of this book a great deal. There’s plenty of emotions running around with all the characters, whether they are part of the group missing or on the SAR team.

Ms. White’s mastery of the written word comes through from the description of the environment to the enter-workings of the characters, to the intricate plot. I will continue reading her books because I know she’ll have me gripping my Kindle, flipping through the page at lightning speed!

If you enjoy thrillers with plenty of mystery, a dash of psychological thriller in it, and an intriguing plot, then you will be in for an exciting reading experience. I recommend you read In the Dark when you can have an uninterrupted period of time. You will not want to put this one aside to take care of mundane tasks. Happy reading!

Holy moly was this ever a twisty, intense, tension filled story of murder. Told in multiple POV between 2 different timelines it would have been easy to get confused but Loreth Anne White wrote with such skill and voice to each character that I never stumbled with the shifts. I loved getting to know Callie and Mason and loved how fleshed out they were.

And then there was none is one of my favourite Agatha Christie so this book had me hooked from the get go and there was no way I could put it down either until I figured it out.
If you like locked room, twisty, detective fiction definitely check this one out.



Thank you to netgalley and Montlake for an arc in exchange for my honest review

Loreth Anne White is a one-click author for me. I love all of her books and to be honest I didn't even read the blurb before requesting this book. Her name alone is a guarantee that I will enjoy the story.

In the Dark is an enigmatic, fast-paced, suspense thriller that left me with a satisfied smile.

The story is told from different POV's. It's a story of revenge and death. One, I couldn't stop reading. I was interested in learning about SAR (search and rescue) operations and I was hooked on the mystery, trying to figure out who the killer was.

In the Dark starts with eight individuals granted an invitation of a lifetime. They have been selected to spend a week of vacation at a remote spa location. But for them, the problems begin when they arrived by plane to the location. Nothing looks like the internet pictures. There's nothing glamorous about the lodge. It's an eerie setting. Then the questions begin, do they know each other? Have they kept a secret? Are they being punished for it? Are they going to survive? Is there only going to be one left alive?

These are all fair questions. Questions that a week later, RCMP Sgt. Mason Deniaud and SAR leader Callie Sutton want the answers to when they find the plane stranded with a dead pilot in it.

I love how Loreth Anne White pays homage to Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. I read it a long time ago and I remember its premise. I enjoyed figuring out who was the one trying to off the others. I also love Mason and Callie. Their situations are strange. Both have family issues and I'm not sure if they can become more. For now, a friendship is all they can afford. I do hope this is not the end for them.

Cliffhanger: No

5/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by Montlake Romance via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

In the Dark is an intense, edge of your seat thriller that kept me guessing until the end. At first it was a bit challenging to get used to the author's writing style as she kept jumping from past to present to past and had a ton of characters to keep track of but once I adapted to that style of writing, it was smooth sailing and I was able to immerse myself into the storyline.

Even though there was no romance in this story, the author did build up the potential for a possible romance between Mason and Callie sometime down the road. I look forward to reading more about these two.

I had never read anything by this author before and went into this book blind. I forgot the synopsis and did not know what to expect. And- yowza- was it one to remember.
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This tale was absolutely terrifying. Granted, I haven’t read for 3 weeks, but the plot was absolutely electric. The characters were all fleshed out beautifully and there were so many tangential plot lines that flowed seamlessly across one another. It never felt like too much and it wasn’t too difficult to follow, but it still retained so much complexity. The piece just felt so raw- as the reader, you can’t help but get affected by all the heartache and terror.
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A note of caution though: this book does get pretty gruesome. I didn’t know this going in and it definitely caught me by surprise. It’s fantastically written, but it plays out like a movie in your mind, and those mental images can get a little terrifying.
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I had a little trouble making my way through the first 15% or so. Granted, things were still getting set up at the time, but my interest wasn’t completely drawn until about 20% of the way in. But once it was caught, there was no letting go.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this piece! A comprehensive review will be posted on social media shortly.

Never before have I read a book this unexpected, this twisty, this...phenomenal.

Loreth Anne White has written a vivid and intense mystery that will both keep you guessing, and clamouring for more by the end. Every time I thought I knew who was manipulating the characters, I'd find out I was wrong. The clues are so well-placed that they hardly seem important until pages later. The plot is full-steam-ahead and never lets up until the end. You're always kept guessing, always wondering, never sure of that next chilling step.
This is man vs man, man vs nature and man vs self at its very best.

The setting is so well developed, so real, that it becomes just as much a killing force as any of the human characters. The wilderness can kill you, make no mistake. 'In The Dark' points this out in bold and then underlines it in case you missed the lesson the first time.

This is a stunning novel, written by a brilliant author. I am a new fan now, and likely will be for years to come.
Thank you Loreth Anne White, for sacrificing family time to write this, for sharing your white-hot talent and for trusting ARC readers.
Thank you also to NetGalley and Montlake for the system by which I found a new favourite, in exchange for an honest review.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go find the rest of this ingenious author's catalogue.

I wish I had started reading this book before Halloween, because it carried with it the feeling of a scary/thriller movie - in fact, while reading I kept envisioning how it would play out on screen.

The novel opens with narration from the sole unidentified survivor of a terrifying ordeal that has taken place in recent days. The character is being asked to explain what happened to police. 

We then go back in time to see the perspective of the detective who arrived on the scene of a downed aircraft, which contains the remains of what appears to be a female pilot.

We go further back in time still to meet a cast of characters heading to the yet-to-open-to-the-public Forest Shadow Wilderness Resort and Spa. Each party heading to the resort for the first time has potential interest in bidding to provide various services at the resort, if they like what they see there.

The book goes back and forth between different days to piece together the full story, bringing with it mystery and anticipation as you start to learn new things and try to figure out what's going to happen.

We get to be inside the heads of the various group of characters who have come to the resort — which doesn't turn out to be at all what they expected — and it seems each person has some secrets of their own or some demons they're fighting. They soon realize that they've all been lured to this situation because of specific circumstances in their life — and that they have a weird familiarity with each other. "We're all being punished for something," one character says.

Of course, in the vein of And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, people start to die, and the stakes are raised. 

I found it challenging at first to try and keep the characters and who they were straight because there were several, but they were fleshed out enough and written with enough variance that it was soon easy to remember them and even get a sense for who they were and what their motivations were. 

This was a quick and easy read, and I enjoyed the way it was set up with differing timeframes and differing perspectives - it definitely kept up the mystery!

A steadfast thriller (not at all a romantic suspense) that pays homage to the classic who-done-it mystery novel. Loreth Anne White delivers an impeccably crafted narrative with a brilliant cast of characters. The plot moves steadily through multiple points of view and delivers all the unsettling thrills that allow readers to become immersed in the storyline. Aside from the misrepresentation of the genre, this book has everything going for it. Absolutely loved it. 5 stars!


Thank you to #NetGalley and @MontlakeRomance for this ARC of #InTheDark. It was read and reviewed voluntarily, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Tarrah Marie (@wayward_readers)