OUT OF THE DARKNESS

4 stars out of 5

Reading this book - which I thoroughly enjoyed, BTW - marks a couple of firsts for me. It's the first time I've "won" the right to read and review a book, accomplished at Bookish First after writing an initial impressions paragraph by reading just one chapter. It's also the first time in probably 10 years that I've read a real book; that's how long I've been a confirmed ebook reader. As for the latter, it's likely to be the last for another decade; the paperback had such tiny print that it was tough for my aging eyes to read even with relatively powerful bifocals.

That said, my annoyance with the fine print had no bearing on content; in fact, I've read at least one other book by this author and, because it was good, I expected this one to be the same. And quite honestly, it is.

I've read elsewhere that this is the third in the author's Finnegan Connection series; if that's true, I didn't notice any glitches that kept it from being a standalone. It's also billed as "romantic suspense" - and I'm happy to say that the romance part really didn't take center stage (I'm so not into romance novels). What's there is a bit on the sappy side, to be sure, but for the most part it didn't get in the way of the good parts. As for the suspense, there's plenty to go around, especially as the end nears.

A decade ago, a group of high school friends had a pre-Halloween adventure that would forever change their lives. When they visited one of the New York haunted houses to which they'd scored free tickets, they were greeted with horror. One of the "actors" hired to scare the wits out of guests isn't an actor at all; but for the grace of God (and one heavy duty fake sword), the teens narrowly escaped being massacred by him on the spot (others weren't so lucky). The killer, who turned out to be an escaped convict, was killed - but even though they weren't physically harmed, all the teens were left with enough mental scars to trigger a lifetime of nightmares.

Since then, the friends have scattered a bit. Most notably, Sarah Hampton and the love of her life, Tyler Grant, went their separate ways. She's back in New York now, writing science fiction novels. He's in Boston, working as a private investigator after stints in the military and the FBI. Also hanging around is Sarah's nephew Davey Cray, who has Down Syndrome and was the sword-wielding hero of that awful night 10 years earlier.

Suddenly, the past comes roaring back: One of their friends back then, Hannah Levine, is found murdered. Actually, she wasn't just murdered; rather, she was decapitated, thoroughly chopped up into parts and strewn thither and yon. Scared out of her wits because the murder style mimics those at the haunted house, Sarah contacts Tyler for the first time in 10 years, begging him to come back home and help with the investigation. He does, of course - and also, of course, they quickly realize they're still madly in love with each other.

But alas, they and their other old friends once again have targets on their backs. For sure, the haunted house killer is dead; so who is responsible now? When he escaped prison, the killer had an equally evil partner, who supposedly is long dead as well. Or is he? Has someone else - a copycat, perhaps - taken over where those two left off? More to the point, can the culprit be captured before he (or she) wipes out all the haunted house friends, thus preventing Sarah and Tyler from living happily ever after?

The action is fast-paced and picks up speed (with a few sharp turns, only one of which I correctly guessed) all the way to the end. All in all, a solid effort and a fun read.

Out of the Darkness by Heather Graham (Harlequin Intrigue, February 2018); 256 pp.