Thanks to NetGalley for the advance audiobook of this novel. It was a fast-paced thriller with supernatural bent. I had not read the first one of the series but was able to catch up just fine. The narrators were great and ably handled a pretty large cast. The story was told in two timelines and the mysteries of the earlier timeline slowly revealed itself. There were two additional twists at the end, one of which was really good and the other of which didn't make sense. It felt like it was done just to be surprising. So just don't read the last chapter:) the supernatural elements were a bit repetitive and stereotypical. I didn't get much out of them. I enjoyed the rest of the novel, though.

4.5 stars
The audio on this one was great and the story had me coming back and listening! I listened to this one in about 24 hours! Alice wakes up to her parents and younger sister gone, a year has gone by but the mystery is still out there. Are they dead? What happened the cold December night? Detective Jess Lambert is on the cold case to try to figure out what happened and she has baggage of her own. Read this if you enjoy twisty thrillers with some ghosts thrown in! I'll definitely be going back to read book one. This can be read as a standalone.

I wasn't wowed by this book. The narrator wasn't great for me and the book felt a little flat in the story and I didn't much care for the characters. I had to go back a couple of times because my mind wandered and that never happens.

I am going to try reading it instead and maybe that will help but I didn't love it and I so wanted to love it

I love Jess Lambert and was excited to get more of her. Finally getting some answers from her backstory was very surprising yet comforting. This was a twisty ride. Trust no one! Not even your gut!

I will say- I don’t enjoy when adult narrators try to speak as children. I do understand why it’s done but it always makes me dread that POV. Aside from that, the narration was stellar. And that’s simply personal preference.

Wow, just finished listening to the audiobook after also reading this book and it’s quite a story! The audio is well narrated and pleasant to listen to. Jess Lambert is an interesting complicated character who’s her own worst enemy! This is the second book of the series and it certainly didn’t disappoint. It’s a great read, fast paced and full of suspense. Kept me guessing right until the end. I’m already looking forward to the next instalment. Definitely a page-turner!

I thought this was good. A spooky place with lots of mystery behind the disappearances. What happened to this family and where are they? Each chapter just got better and better with a big twist at the end. Everyone in this story was a hot mess! I read and listened to the audiobook. I thought the audiobook was better. The narrators, Angela Dawe, Cassandra Morris and Carly Robins did a really good job.
Thanks Brilliance Publishing/Audio via NetGalley.

I honestly have no words. If this book didn't cement my love of Jess Lambert, a fictional character that I've gotten to know over a couple of books, I don't know what will? Christina McDonald has created an extraordinary world in which Jess is at the center of some pretty devastating losses. But with a unique gift, Jess Lambert does so much more than solve crimes and it is captivating and exciting with each new twist and discovery from beginning to end.

What Lies in Darkness is the second book in the Jess Lambert series. We began with These Still Black Waters and then Ms McDonald surprised us with a novella (The Stranger at Black Lake) that showed us Jess's character before she was a detective. These are definitely thrillers, but with a genre-bending twist, so I would recommend reading them in this order, although you could theoretically read them as standalones.

What Lies in Darkness is connected to the previous books by Jess's character. In this story, she is put on the case of a family that had an accident and went missing a year ago, with only their teen daughter, Alice still around. But once a body has been discovered, there seems to be more questions and secrets than answers and the case is reopened with the possibility that the body may be one of Alice's family members. As the story progresses, it's obvious that Alice is hiding something while trying to deal with survivors guilt, popping a few pills, and being a teen left all alone. She is in a never-ending loop of wondering what happened that night, knowing her father couldn't be capable of harming her family, while also hoping pieces of the past don't come back to haunt her. But there is so much more to the story and Jess Lambert wants answers. Told from Jess, Alice and Laura's (Alice's mother) POV, this book is told in dual timelines of past and present, slowly doling out clues to what happened to the family. And things were not as perfect with the family as Alice and others may have thought.

What Lies in Darkness was absolutely shocking, full of tense moments and eerie in a way that pulled you into not only the story, but the atmospheric setting. The characters, meanwhile were depicted in such a way that I was easily convinced that their actions were rational, no matter how flawed each of them was. I loved each twist that came, but that ending?! Mind blown! It was so well executed that it completely threw me off and left me stunned and surprised. Unexpected connection that 100% shocked me. I love Jess Lambert's world and I hope we get more and more of her.

Lastly, if given the opportunity to read or listen to this book, either is a solid choice. The narration with this audiobook was superb with 3 narrators for each point of view. Each narrator really brought each character to life and made them so darn believable. They became genuine real life people for me. I could see the story playing out so vividly. It was a whole other experience that really gave me that much extra for the story. Especially the ending. It was darn perfection!

Incredible story, with great pacing and plot twists that are fresh and exciting. You will not want to put this book down, especially if you like the feeling of being left speechless. Highly recommend!