What's Done in Darkness by Laura McHugh

What's Done in Darkness
☆☆☆☆1/2
.ePUB, 256 pages
Expected Publication: June 22nd 2021 by Random House Publishing Group

About the Book:
Seventeen-year-old Sarabeth has become increasingly rebellious since her parents found God and moved their family to a remote Arkansas farmstead where she’s forced to wear long dresses, follow strict rules, and grow her hair down to her waist. She’s all but given up on escaping the farm when a masked man appears one stifling summer morning and snatches her out of the cornfield. A week after her abduction, she’s found alongside a highway in a bloodstained dress—alive—but her family treats her like she’s tainted, and there’s little hope of finding her captor, who kept Sarabeth blindfolded in the dark the entire time, never uttering a word. One good thing arises from the horrific ordeal: a chance to leave the Ozarks and start a new life. Five years later, Sarabeth is struggling to keep her past buried when investigator Nick Farrow calls. Convinced that her case is connected to the strikingly similar disappearance of another young girl, Farrow wants Sarabeth’s help, and he’ll do whatever it takes to get it, even if that means dragging her back to the last place she wants to go—the hills and hollers of home, to face her estranged family and all her deepest fears.

My Review:
This was a very intelligently written thriller. I don't usually go for books with detectives but I am so happy I gave this one a chance. It is a short book (250 pages) and I was so enthralled by it I read it one sitting. I just couldn't put it down I needed to know what the hell happened to Sarabeth and why. A lot of it reminded me of cults/communes and that was really interesting.

The format of the book is my favourite....before and after...both parts are the point of view of our main character. I loved Sarabeth and her smarts and strength. She doesn't suffer fools and can take care of herself.  I took half a star off for the romance part. I think I know why the author did that but I feel it wasn't needed and cheapened the story...but everything else was perfection.

Disclosure:
Thank you NetGalley, Laura McHugh and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an impartial review; all opinions are my own.

#WhatsDoneinDarkness #NetGalley

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