Alone in the Dark is the second novel in the Cincinnati series and the seventeenth in the Romantic Suspense series by author Karen Rose. Alone in the Dark features a dark, suspenseful, murder mystery surrounding human trafficking and offers a side dish of romance involving Homicide Detective Scarlet Bishop. Twists, turns, and pure evil awaits you in this page turner.

Five reasons to grab Alone in the Dark

Trigger Warning: This case deals with human trafficking, torture and there is violence. View Spoiler »

Set in Cincinnati the tale picks up a few months after Closer Than You Think and gives us Homicide Detective Scarlet Bishop story as we begin a dark case involving human trafficking. Fans of psychological thrillers and darker romantic suspense will find themselves quickly pulled in. Rose delivers the full story from the case to her depth of characters. Alone in the Dark weighed in at over 700 pages allowing us to see the case, the criminal, the victims and especially the main characters like Scarlet and Marcus O’Bannion.

The characters are complex, and you form attachments even to secondary characters. Scarlet is Decker’s partner, and I knew going into the tale I was going to love this courageous woman. She presents this tough as nails exterior, but we quickly get to learn about some of the baggage she claims that drives her to excel. Former Army Ranger Marcus O’Bannion runs the local paper called the Ledger, along with his brother Cal, friend Diesel and a crew he considers family. Marcus is driven and his past drives him and his team to help victims in ways the law cannot. I loved the reporter angle and the more I got to know him and his crew the more I loved them. I loved the secondary characters from familiar ones to new ones. They were interesting, had their own unique voices and added a sense of community to the tale. I loved Cal, Diesel and even Jill with all her attitude. Even the victims had a voice here, and I appreciated it.

The case was interesting and begins when Scarlet gets a phone call in the wee hours asking her to meet in a shady section of town. She goes because the caller is Marcus O’Bannion a man she met on a previous case. Marcus was meeting a young woman who apparently needed help, but things quickly go south, and the young woman ends up dead, but not before saying something that soon has Scarlet and Bishop working side by side.
Rose delivers the full picture as she relates the case to us. We spend time with the FBI and local authorities as well as time with the criminals and victims. I love this aspect to detail, and it makes the seven hundred pages read more like a book half that length. Each thread is fully developed, and she pays attention to the detail. The change is perspectives enhanced my reading pleasure even as I squirmed when with the criminal elements of this tale.

The romance was well done and tugged at my heart-strings. Scarlet and Marcus have met previously, so there was chemistry established. Working together forced them to admit the attraction and be brave enough to act. I love when damaged or scared individuals open up and grow with the right person. Rose gave us delicious banter, snark, attitude and handled these alpha personalities well. These two clicked making their emotions and actions felt genuine. While the romance is threaded throughout and we enjoyed a little heat, it stayed firmly on the sidelines of this thrilling and suspenseful tale.

Alone in the Dark was a fully developed tales with twists and turns that will hold the reader spellbound. Perfect for fans of dark, gritty suspense thrillers and memorable characters. Every Dark Corner, the next book set to release February 7th will feature two FBI Agents we met in Alone in the Dark. I cannot wait to devour it!