Somewhere in the Dark: A Novel

Jessie Duval is a unique teenager. Just 19 years old, she's spend some time behind bars... not for the usual drugs or alcohol. When she was a child, she was locked in a room with no windows for over a year. Once a day, someone would bring her a plate of food and a clean pot. She slept on a concrete floor with only a disc player. She lived with the music of Shelley and Owen James .. a country music duo. In her mind, they became her family. When she was rescued and she spent some time with a therapist, she started following the James' .... not to hurt them or scare them, but just to be close to her 'family'. Her childhood abuse left her terrified of the dark and she couldn't stand to be touched ..especially if she didn't see it coming. One night, she was discovered as she made her way to one of their concerts. A detective who was working as security grabbed her and she went crazy, grabbing a knife she carried for protection and cutting his arm. But now she has moved on. She works for a caterer, has her own apartment, her own car. She still sees her therapist .. the one person she feels she can trust. When Shelly James is murdered, Jessie is the prime suspect .... she was on the job working at the home of the James'. She had tried desperately to get out of going, but her boss put her in a bad position ..especially as he has no knowledge of her background. Fearful of not being believed, she runs ... right into the very detective who arrested her the first time. She's wary, but he seems to listen to her, trying to understand. So what did happen to Shelly James that night? Who would have wanted her dead? A husband she no longer loved? A daughter she fought with constantly? An old boyfriend ...a new boyfriend .... a manager who may be stealing from her? Do the mistakes of the past mark us as guilty for life? It's extremely well written, with lots of page-turning action. Characters are skillfully drawn. Twists and turns to keep you riveted to each and every page lead to an unexpected conclusion. Suspects are many and varied. This was a most interesting book. Many thanks to the author / Crooked Lane Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this psychological thriller. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.