A really great and quick mystery read. I really enjoy the world that this author is setting up for this series.

I liked this one but felt the first part was too slow. Toward the end the plot sped up and got better and overall was a good read

Just as good as the first book. Jess Lambert is back, investigating when a body has turned up in an abandoned house. She’s still battling with her own demons and seeing ghosts, but she’s determined to keep fighting for the ones that have no voice. As we read, we get multiple pov’s & every one of them is interesting. This story had me riveted. There was so much going on, but it weaved together so well. The last few chapters had my jaw dropping. Excellent sequel.

Picture this. A long dark deserted road and a sixteen year old found stumbling along bloody and all alone. Alice cannot recall the details of the night her family disappeared along that stretch of road after being in the car accident. Poor Alice can’t come to grips with why she’s was left and what happened to her entire family. Rumors swirl, nightmares continue and it seems like they are more questions than answers. Detective Jess Lambert is on the case and things get heated after Alice finds her sister’s bloody backpack 🎒 in an abandoned house. 😱 Alice sees ghosts and they are trying to lead her to find the answers to what happened that fateful night!

This was such a fun and thrilling read! I found myself whizzing through the pages to read “just one more page!” This is my second by this author and I am quickly learning Christina can tell an eerie ghost story that will have you peeking underneath your bed before you get in! Love it! This one kept me guessing until the end and just when you thought it was over there was one more twist and then another! This book is a sure fire way to make your heart pound and maybe sweat a little! 😅 This one comes out this summer and you won’t want to miss it!

This is a thriller you’re definitely going to want to get your hands on this summer! As an avid thriller reader, I love finding one that throws me for a loop and gets my blood pumping and this one did that for me! Mixed with equal parts procedural, family drama, trauma, and paranormal - it kept me on my toes and I had that “just one more chapter” feeling the entire time!

Told in multiple points of view, you get an idea of what’s going on but you never truly know until you KNOW. There are so many twists at the end and the story comes together perfectly! This is book 2 of the Jess Lambert series and I haven’t yet read book 1. Although I’m definitely going to because I’m now invested in Jess as a character, this one can definitely be read as a standalone!

Swipe for the official synopsis and run to goodreads to add this one to your shelf!

I have not read the first book in this series, but this one can be read as a stand-alone. I love a good police procedural and this one had such a unique premise-a deadly car crash where the victims’ bodies have disappeared. I really enjoyed Jess Lambert’s character and her backstory. In fact, I was not prepared at all for how emotional I would get while reading this! The story was so well told that I found myself more invested than I normally would be with a thriller. I highly recommend this to readers who like female detectives and well-developed characters!

This book was so intense. I was drawn in immediately and could not stop!

Jess is a police detective who suffered a leg injury in an auto accident that killed her daughter and all but ended her marriage. Her job is what she is clinging to and it keeps her going.

An entire family goes missing after a minor car accident. All except the teenage daughter, who is found near the accident site. But she doesn't really remember what happened.

Jess gets assigned the case, but isn't the lead. She is working under a younger, less experienced detective, and she does go rouge occasionally.

As tends to be her usual, Jess gets emotionally invested in the case and feels a bond with Alice, the surviving teen. They have mutual grief and survivor's guilt. Oh, and they see dead people!

There were so many twists and turns. The truth was peeled back layer by layer, keeping you on the edge of your seat until the very end.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Thriller Book Lovers Promotions and Thomas & Mercer for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

What Lies in Darkness again confirms that Christina McDonald can write twisty, interesting, gripping thrillers. It is so good!

The second in the Detective Jess Lambert series, but which can be read as a stand-alone, it is an emotional, taut, captivating read with a fast-paced plot filled with secrets, lies, betrayal, and a clever, surprising twist near the end.

I love the easy to read but descriptive writing that makes you feel that you are part of the scenes unfolding on the page. Jess is a great complicated character and to see her deal with her own losses and demons is just as interesting as the missing family case she is assigned to investigate in What Lies in Darkness. The author does a great job intertwining Jess’ past with the case so that the reader gets both a carefully plotted mystery and an emotional connection to Jess. I’ve read all the books in this series to date and am loving it!!

Can’t wait for the next story with Jess!

Thanks to Thriller Book Lovers Promotion, Thomas and Mercer and Netgalley for this complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

This book was so GOOD!! I stayed up way too late last night so I could finish because I could not put it down. I HAD to know what happened. I was SHOCKED by the ending. Such a good book! Can't wait to read more by this author.

What Lies in Darkness is the second of the Jess Lambert series and after reading and loving These Still Black Waters last year, I was very excited for the next installment.

Jess Lambert is stellar protagonist - disabled after an accident the year prior that killed her daughter, her marriage is in shambles and she's clinging on for dear life trying to keep her career and life from spiraling out of control. What Lies in Darkness features a Jess on the mend. She's cleaning up her act and is a month sober, but still needing to prove to herself and to her job that she can handle it. Because of her grief and mistakes and recklessness, Lambert is sidelined as lead detective for Black Waters' latest case - one in which an entire family except one daughter has gone missing.

Working under a much more junior detective, Lambert has to re-learn what it means to be part of a team and not the lead dog.

Like her last case, Jess immediately gets overinvested and over emotional with the current case in hand. I loved the parallels between Jess and the survivor, Alice. Both grief stricken, both sensitive and able to see the dead.

If you're a lover of thrillers with a touch of horror, McDonald absolutely delivers with the Jess Lambert series. There were a few parts in this latest installment where I worried McDonald's images would haunt my dreams! She takes the creepiness to the next level and I was totally here for it.

This novel had other elements I love in a good thriller too - multiple narrators, dual timelines, and a complex plot. The ending gave me whiplash and I'm still trying to wrap my head around what I learned, what was truth for the series, and where Lambert may go from here! It's safe to say McDonald has me totally hooked!

What Lies in Darkness can absolutely be read as a standalone. One thing I really loved about this second book in the series is that McDonald didn't bore us with a recap of These Still Black Waters. Details from the first book were inserted when and where as needed, but the reader was inundated or rereading the first book.

A huge thanks to Thriller Book Lovers Promotions for putting this series on my radar and to Thomas & Mercer for the copy.

Thank you to @thrillerbookloverspromotions for the tour opportunity and to @netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the digital copy.

Full disclosure, I didn’t read the synopsis before going into this one (I often don’t as I prefer to go in blind), so I must admit this wasn’t necessarily my cup of tea. That said, I loved the writing style and was able to stay engaged because of it. I think that says something about McDonald’s talent as a writer! 3.5 stars rounding up and I think a lot of readers will love this one!

𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳:
✨a good old fashioned haunted ghost mystery
✨multiple POVs

On Christmas Eve, the Harper family’s car crashed on a deserted road by Black Lake. Sixteen-year-old Alice is the only one found; it’s as if her parents and younger sister just vanished. A year later, Alice still can’t remember what happened that night and is struggling in the aftermath. When her younger sister’s backpack is found in an abandoned house, past and present collide. Detective Jess Lambert is fresh out of rehab and ready to get back to work. Still haunted by her past, she has found a way to fight through the darkness without relying on alcohol. Now, Jess finds her only witness is haunted by the same ghosts Jess herself may be connected to. And she will stop at nothing to find out why.

I have loved this Jess Lambert series so much! Christina McDonald created such a multifaceted, raw character in Jess and I was rooting for her from the beginning. I felt like I was cheering on a friend in a way, having read her backstory in “The Stranger at Black Lake '' recently too. But when I say that this book blew me away, I mean it literally had my jaw dropping multiple times. I could not believe how Jess and Alice’s paths connected and ultimately brought them together for a reason. Told from dual perspectives, once again we have Jess’ perspective working the case and Alice’s perspective as the only victim who has been found.

The ending left me screaming for more - I hope this series goes on for a long, long time! It was thrilling, heartbreaking and had a bit of hope too. It’s only February but this is definitely going to be a top book of the year for me.

Thank you to Christina McDonald, Thriller Book Lovers for the ARC! “What Lies in Darkness” releases July 16, 2024. This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly :)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 STARS!!!

Thank you thank you thank you! My first 5 star read this year! Christina McDonald has solidified herself as an auto-buy author for me. I loved her previous books, but I hadn’t read the previous book before this one. WHAT LIES IN DARKNESS was so good that I am now going to go back and read her previous book “These Still Black Waters”.

From the beginning this book had a hold on me. Every word was written with such beautiful prose that I had to stop reading to mention this to a fellow book lover. I mean her writing and the way she describes a scene is absolutely flawless.

At no point while reading this book did I know how things would end so of course it kept fully invested because I wanted to know what happened to Alice’s family.

There were a lot of players in this book but the only ones I really liked were Alice, Jess, Jinx, and Mrs. McCormack.

There was a huge grief theme in this book and the author does a phenomenal job talking about grief and everything grief is and what those grieving are actually going through and I appreciated that.

The suspense, the tension, and the family turmoil coupled with the emotional aspect of this book could not have been done better.

I am a tough critic and I honestly could not have loved his book more.

Thank you to Netgalley, Thomas & Mercer and Thriller Book Lover Promotions for this ARC!

Thank you Thriller Book Lovers, Thomas & Mercer, and Christina McDonald for the advanced copy of What Lies in Darkness in exchange for my honest review.

First, this is technically book 2 in a series but as someone who has not read book one I can tell you it can be read as a standalone with no problem.

The mystery in this book was super intriguing and the slight paranormal aspect made it really unique and I'm kind of surprised that it really worked for me! (Paranormal can be very tricky to pull off in my opinion)

I probably should have seen the big twist coming, but I didn't and kudos to McDonald for totally pulling the wool over my eyes.

Having read this I may backtrack and read book one, it definitely goes in the category of unputdownable!

What Lies in Darkness will be published July 16!

What Lies in Darkness
By: Christina McDonald
5🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

A devastating crash outside Black Lake has a young girl as the only survivor. Her parents and younger sister Ella were never found.

The rumors were rampant that it was a murder-suicide but why would Alice have survived? Does she know more than she is telling?

A backpack of Ella’s is found abandon in a home that has been vacant for years.

Detective Jess Lambert is in the case and she is also fighting her own demons as she lost her daughter in an accident.

Both Jess and Alice are see ghosts of their past. As the investigation continues they both find out how they are connected.

I love this series by McDonald. Her first one These Still Black Waters is not to be missed as well. I hope there is a 3rd because this detective is an interesting and complex character.

The book is engaging, captivating, atmospheric, dark and unputdownable. It is emotionally gripping and touching. Twists and Turns were unpredictable and ending was jaw dropping.

Alice Harper’s family died and disappeared the night of the late Christmas eve in the Killer’s grave. The car crashed, blood was dripping and sixteen year old Alice found herself injured and alone. The tragic death of her family sent her in trauma and grief consumed her with hallucinations, nightmares, secrets, desolation and unanswered questions. She is trying to get a closure. But the truth is tangled and twisted. The truth and dark secrets will open the knot of the dreadful past. Detective Jess is investigating the case but will she be able to get to the bottom of it? Will Alice move forward or forever stay in trauma and shock of the loss of her loved ones?

Thanks to the Author, Publisher and Netgalley for allowing me read this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my e-ARC of What Lies in Darkness!

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔
🕵🏻‍♀️ love a good mystery
👻 have ever seen a ghost
🚘 enjoy missing persons stories
🌲 live near a haunted forest

• 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓

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.

• 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒

This was such a good follow up to the first Jess Lambert mystery! I really enjoyed seeing Alice’s POV during this story, as she has been through a lot. Her family is missing and she doesn’t know if they are dead or alive. She was a bit of an unreliable narrator during the story because she admitted to lying about a lot of things. Overall, I was really shocked by the last chapter’s twist! If you want a good detective story with several different POVs, check out the Jess Lambert series!

A terrible car accident on Christmas Eve has totally shattered Alice’s world. Her mother, father, and sister are gone, presumed dead, but no one knows, since they just disappeared. Yep, Alice was with her family, but after the crash, she was all alone.
Detective Jess Lambert is still recovering from the devastating car accident that changed her life. She was not on the original team that searched for the Harper family, but she is determined now that she is back at work to uncover the truth.
Told from Jess and Alice’s POV’s, with some chapters from Laura (Alice’s mother), I did not even come close to seeing how this would end. I did guess the “bad guy” but even after that reveal, there was still more to this story. Lots of twist and turns, a ton of potential suspects and the ending had me screaming “What”. Such a heartbreaking read, but there are two characters (I won’t name because of spoilers) who I hope are able to move forward with their lives.

Wow! I wondered what track this story would take after I enjoyed the first book in the series so much, and this book was everything I was hoping for in a sequel and more. Detective Jess Lambert is such a wonderful character, and I was thrilled to see her backstory and current case so well-explored in this story. The other main POV character, Alice, was such a fantastic counterpoint with her grief so poignant and paralleling Jess Lambert's along with that desperate need we all have as humans to know the truth. What I love most about Christina McDonald's books is the way she delves into real emotions we all share and understand.

𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇...𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍, 𝒎𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒇 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉 𝒐𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒚𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒆𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒕𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆. 𝑺𝒉𝒆'𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆.

I am in love with this series and Detective Jess Lambert. She is, hands-down, one of the most realistic, deeply flawed yet relatable characters to grace the pages of current thrillers. I implore you to read the first book, THESE STILL BLACK WATERS, so that you will know her tragic history, as it's that grief that drives her in this book.

The Harpers always spend Christmas Eve with family; both girls, teenage Alice and younger sister Ella, have their bags packed in anticipation. But a snap decision to go home means the end of a happy family. The car crashes on a desolate stretch of road, and only Alice is found, injured by the side of the road. Her family? They're gone, vanished as though they never existed.

Detective Jess Lambert is still reeling from her loss, and is still estranged from husband Mac. When the Harper case is presented, she throws herself into it but finds nothing. A year later, Alice and a friend find Ella's backpack in an abandoned house, and the case heats up again. But Alice is too traumatized to be of much help, and it doesn't help that she's being haunted by her father's ghost.

Jess knows only too well what it's like to be haunted, and when a familiar presence from her past visits her once again, she knows she has to follow the lead, regardless of where it may take her.

The author captures grief and its lasting effects so eloquently; the primal desire to give up and give in is intertwined with the need to go on so beautifully. The suffering that both Jess and Alice are experiencing is not quietly tucked away; it's laid bare so starkly, so vividly, that it makes the reader pause and take a breath. The ending was a gut punch of both pain and hope, but most of all, it was clear that Jess's work is far from over.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, the author, Thomas & Mercer Publishing, and Thriller Book Lovers Promotions for this stunning early read. This title will publish July 16, 2024.