#WhatLiesInDarkness #NetGalley
Late Christmas Eve, the Harper family’s car crashed on a desolate stretch outside Black Lake. Sixteen-year-old Alice was found injured by the side of the road—alone. It was as if her parents and younger sister, Ella, had simply disappeared. One year later, Alice is still dealing with nightmares and unanswered questions when she and her friends find Ella’s bloodstained backpack in the basement of an abandoned home. As Detective Jess Lambert investigates, she uncovers dark secrets that put her on a collision course with her past. Jess’s only witness is haunted by her own ghosts—ghosts that might ultimately be connected to Jess. Jess will do anything to find out what happened to the Harpers—no matter how deep she has to dig. Because neither the living nor the dead are giving up their secrets easily.
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for giving me an advance copy.

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review-
The Harper family has a car. Crash on Xmas Eve and Alice is the only one alive. The family ,mom, father, and child are missing. How can that be? Where are they? Are they alive? Alice struggles with nightmares, flashbacks and so many questions? Why was she left? where is her family? Jess investigates and feels for Alice as she lost her daughter in a car accident too. She vows to find answers for Alice. When they find a bloody backpack things start moving- is Alice safe? Will they find the family?

This is the 2nd book in the Jess Lambert series .I would recommend reading the first book and the novella in this series before reading this book. I really like this series it is like nothing I have read in awhile it's not a storyline that has been re written over and over. Jess helps Alice find out what happened to her family when they were killed in a car accident and disappeared. There is so much more to this book then just a disappearance of a family. Many twists and turns and an unexpected link to Jess's own accident killing her daughter. Love this book absolutely would recommend! Look forward to the next book in the series!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.
Late on Christmas Eve, on their way home from dinner with their family, the Harpers’ car crashed outside Black Lake. Their sixteen-year-old daughter Alice was found by the side of the road alone, her parents and younger sister Ella missing.
A year later, Alice and her friend Maya unexpectedly find Ella’s bloody backpack in the basement of an abandoned home. As Detective Jessica Lambert begins to investigate, she also needs to grapple with her own recent loss.
This is the second book in a series, but it works as a stand-alone as I had not read the first one. The story was fast paced, the characters well developed and I really enjoyed the author’s writing style. A lot of twists at the end (maybe too many), but a solid book nonetheless.

Number 2 in the Jess Lambert thriller series did not disappoint! Another fun and twisty story with familiar characters from the first in the series. A quick and easy read!

Thank you very much to Thomas & Mercer for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Overall, this book was entertaining! I haven’t read the first book, but I didn’t feel as if I was missing a ton as I read this, which I’m thankful for! The author did a good job of filling in the reader. I was a little confused about the narrators of this story. I just didn’t really love them and kept getting them mixed up, which is not something I normally struggle with. I am someone who normally likes to cheer on the main character, but Alice and Jess just fell a little flat for me. I would still read another book by this author and plan to go back and read the first!

That was awesome. Suspense/ thrillers are my genre of choice. I’m not big on legal thrillers or police procedurals, as a whole. However this was part police procedural with enough drama, heart & suspense to keep me invested from about 15% to the promising end. I think I read the prequel to this story but can definitively say it’s been at least 5 dozen reads previous. But I know & hope I’ll be looking for the next installment with Alice, Jess & (Claire??). Fabulous read!!

Fantastic! While I’m not usually here for the spirits, author Christina McDonald tells the story so well that I was engrossed the whole time. Young Alice loses her parents and sister after a car crash on Christmas Eve. But the bodies have never been recovered and the awful event has never been put to rest. Alice feels something is wrong and pulls herself out of grief and depression and begins to look for answers. Detective Jess enters after losing her own daughter to tragedy. The ghosts of their love ones lead them to Alice’s family home where secrets unravel and their life is on the line.

Another stunning novel from one of my favorite thriller authors! Christina McDonald pulls you in immediately with setting, characters and emotion. Twisty, creeptastically fun and shocking! I loved it and any thriller lover will be in unputdownable mode with this one. Brava! I loved it.

This was really good. Face paced, and a quick read. My only complaint is that the last few pages seemed a bit rushed to add in a final twist that could have been left alone but the passages on grief really hit home.

So I had no idea this was part of a series, but honestly it can be read as a stand alone (will definitely catch up now).
I loved this book so much, this was everything I want and love in a thriller.
Jess lost her daughter a year ago, her mariage failed and she's trying to get her life back and to stay sober. Alice also lost her family a year ago, she doesn't know what happened to them but she knows they're dead. Both appear to have a connection even though we don't know what it is at the beginning. Honestly didn't see most of the twists coming, and the ending :O Yet it all made sense and it worked out so well. All the characters were really good. Loved the relationship between Jess and her new partner, I actually cannot wait to see them both going through new cases. It was also incredibly touching and moving at times.

Thank you to my partners, Thriller Book Lovers Promotion and NetGalley, and the author. I appreciate the gifted eARC, and I am leaving this review voluntarily!

1. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐟𝐭 - Alice has quite the devastatingly awful past to grapple with. How can one even fathom losing your entire family and not even knowing what happened or where they went. The mystery begs to be solved!

2. 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞 - Even though this is the second book in the Jess Lambert series, I found that it was easy to read as a standalone. Now, with that being said, I highly recommend reading the first one first because this series is just too good to miss any of it! I’m going back to read it ASAP!

3. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐎𝐧𝐞 - Wow! As the story began to clear up, I was completely blindsided how one part of the story connected to the big picture. I mean HOLY COW!

4. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐓𝐰𝐨 - And then, a little bout of whiplash came around and got me with the next whopper of a shock. Just when we think we know, we find out that we really don’t! Thank goodness for the repression of memories for these characters!

5. 𝐁𝐔𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄 - Yes! And then the 360° turn came to full tilt with the next twist! The last chapter sure leaves the story hanging, but also got me thinking about how I really did let my mind fill in the blanks. The wrong blanks apparently!

What Lies in Darkness is the second book in the #jesslambert series but could easily be read as a stand alone. While I was a fan of the first book, I thought this one was even better. A missing family, one survivor of a horrific accident, dual time lines and a perfect blend of mystery and suspense with a hint of supernatural. Definitely worth a read.

Christina McDonald's 'What Lies in the Darkness' is the second book featuring Jess Lambert. McDonald does a great job summarizing the first book, making it easy to dive into this one. The writing is smooth, drawing you into the story effortlessly. Jess is a strong character with a well-developed background. If you enjoy intense mysteries, this one's for you!

In the next installment of the Detective Jess Lambert series, we meet the Harper family who resides in Black Lake. The story was a prequel, but do not need to read the first book. Jess Lambert will do what it takes for the case to be solved.
Told in multiple POV and dual timelines to keep you on your toes.
Alice, the lone survivor of the crash is still having nightmares one year after the crash.
This is a page turner that keeps you guessing. I honestly did not see that coming. Please @christinamac79 give us more of Jess Lambert!
#thrillerbookloverspromotions #thrillerbooks #bookstagramfeature #reading
5 ⭐️

Christina McDonald did it once again! Pushed me out of my comfort zone. I typically do not read series books until the whole series is available for me to plow through. I'm so glad I read this book, the character development and storyline are gripping. I felt like I was IN the book, I laughed and cried a bunch. I'm not sure why but this one, even though it's a thriller it made me feel all the feels.
Thanks you to netgalley, the publisher and author for the chance to read this advanced copy.

Told from multiple perspectives and alternating timelines, What Lies in Darkness starts out by basically yanking you by the hair and pulling you in! Yeah! It was that kind of beginning! And the creep factor was high which of course I absolutely loved!

However, it kind of lost me in the last 3/4 of the book. Seeds of implausibility began to curl their way into my brain and it also felt like it had 3 different endings. Like it juked you over and over, but not necessarily in a "WOW, you really pulled that off" kind of way, but more like an overzealous way. At least for me.

Regardless, would I recommend this? Absolutely. Thrill seekers will love this trip which is chock full of misdirection, ghosts and backstabbing!

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this arc in exchange for review!

Pub date: 7.16.24.

This book was full of twists to the very end! The second Jess Lambert book, continues with Jess’s story after completing rehab and returning to work. I love a redemption story and a strong woman and Jess has both going for her. Full disclosure, I went into the first book completely blind and was not prepared for the paranormal aspect, this time I was prepared and enjoyed it more.

I want to say I’m pretty good at guessing what happened during thrillers but this book had several twists I didn’t see coming! I liked it a lot more than the first book, mostly because of Jess’s development.

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. What Lies in Darkness is out July 2024!

What Lies In Darkness is the second installment in the Jess Lambert series and let me tell you it was truly AMAZING. For the full experience I highly recommend you start with These Still Black Waters to fully grasp everyhing. I was hooked from the first page up until the last. The suspense, the build up, the twists, the plot everything was all on point to make the perfect thriller. It will keep you on the edge of your seat.

I truly love Jess, I love digging deeper into who she is, why she does the things she does. She is so complex and the more you read about her the more you love her. Following her from book to book and revisiting her is great.

This is a thriller that you will want to binge. With it's dark atmospheric setting, you won't be able to put it down. McDonald has a way with words, with unfolding the plot to give you just enough until the final bang, which truly left me shook. Her writing style is captivating and engaging. The way everything and everyone connected in such an unexpectable way was amazing. With that ending I am truly hopeful for a third book.

One of the best thrillers I've read recently and I highly recommend it ! I am obsessed.

✨️Thank you to @thrillerbookloverspromotions, @netgalley, Thomas & Mercer & @christinamac79 for my free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow!! Christina McDonald really can write a great book! In What Lies in Darkness, we meet up again with Detective Jess Lambert who has a new case to solve about Alice's missing family. What we don't expect is to learn even more about Jess's daughter's death while trying to solve the missing family's disappearance. McDonald keeps the reader guessing throughout the entire book and delivers an amazing amount of twists and turns. Just when you think you know, you realize you don't! This is definitely a must read!