FIND ME IN THE DARK

5 stars out of 5

I've been fortunate to get in at the beginning of several new series of late, and I've concluded one thing: It's impossible to find a central character, male or female, who isn't carrying around a ton of personal baggage from his or her past, whether physical or emotional or both. Nowhere is that more true than in this one, in which New York state detective Harlow Durant keeps moving from job to job, staying only long enough for her colleagues to learn that her father, a psychologist, was a prolific serial killer. Her supervisors always know her background, but she believes - rightly or wrongly - that once the truth comes out she'll no longer be accepted by her peers or the community and bolts to territory where her secret will remain secret for a while. Amid her angst, she's never developed any real or lasting friendships or romances in the belief that those attachments will turn sour once her past is discovered.

Now she's in Plattsburgh, an upstate New York community with a SUNY campus. Fairly new at the job and constantly heckled by other officers just because she's female (an indication that all her problems are not in her past), she and partner detective Lucas Park - for whom she's reluctantly begun to respect for his work ethic and acceptance of hers as well - learn about a dead body dumped in one of the winter's snowbanks. The victim is identified as a college student, and at first the investigation centers around an ex-boyfriend. But then, after Harlow suffers an injury at the hands of a suspect and is forced to sit it out longer than she'd like, the unthinkable happens: Another woman's dead body is found in a snowbank and then another. Clearly, they're dealing with a serial killer - bringing the case far too close to memories that have dogged Harlow from early childhood on and turning it into an emotional challenge.

The story is narrated by Harlow, who doesn't hesitate to lay out exactly what she's thinking and how that was influenced by her childhood (some chapters revert to what happened in the past, giving readers a closer look inside those steamer trunk-sized visions that have shaped her life). And, as if tracking down a murderer isn't enough of a job, Harlow also is plagued with text messages from an unidentifiable source that threaten her very life if she doesn't stop meddling in the case.

Little by little, clues are unearthed along with the bodies, bringing a satisfactory end to the story for readers (along with a little surprise that, of course, I won't reveal). I can't say I'd ever want Harlow for a best friend, but for sure she's an intriguing character I'd love to read more about. Until that happens, I'll just say thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy of this one. Well done!

Find Me in the Dark by Dea Poirier (Bookouture, October 2021); 300 pp.