Monday, December 06, 2021

Dark Night by Paige Shelton

 
First Line: None of you Rivers people ever listen.
 
As winter begins to settle in over the village of Benedict, Alaska, Beth Rivers finds herself feeling much more comfortable with the weather, the terrain, and the townspeople. In fact, she's feeling so comfortable that she thinks it might be time to tell some of the friends she's made her secret. 
 
Beth is a successful writer who was abducted, tortured, and held captive for three days before managing to escape. Hospitalized with severe head trauma after jumping from her abductor's van, Beth has barely begun to heal when she learns the man has vowed to get her back. Choosing Benedict, Alaska, at random, Beth has run there to hide, to heal, and to survive.

But Beth's mellow mood is about to change. Her mother has managed to find her, and if Mill Rivers succeeded in tracking her down, her kidnapper could, too. A battered woman's husband has been found dead in the snow in the center of town. Public opinion says that the census man is the killer-- nobody liked him and his intrusive questions-- but when he goes missing, the list of suspects grows to cover almost everyone in town. Beth and her mother have their work cut out for them in trying to find the killer.

~

I continue to enjoy Paige Shelton's Alaska Wild series. As good as her cozy mystery series have been, these books featuring writer Beth Rivers are edgy, and have more meat on the bone. I've watched Beth begin to heal from her injuries, and now in this third book, she's made a home for herself in Benedict. She's familiar with the area, she's an old hand at dressing appropriately, and she's made friends that she thinks she can share her story with-- friends who will understand and help keep her safe. In such a place, she is even beginning to understand that there are different degrees of quiet that she's never heard before.

The village of Benedict, Alaska, plays a very important role in Dark Night and the entire series. It's a town where people have moved to be beneath the radar. Many of the townspeople have secrets they want to keep. It doesn't bother them that Benedict has terrible cell phone reception or that the local library is about the only place with a decent internet connection. As Beth begins to share her story, I'm looking forward to learning more about the interesting cast of characters Shelton has populated the town with.

In Dark Night, we learn more about Beth's mother, who has made it her life's ambition to track down her missing husband-- Beth's father. Mill Rivers does things her own way. As Beth says, her mother "did fine by herself, except for when she wasn't by herself." Mill doesn't take other people's wants and needs much into consideration. Another character in Dark Night says, "...your mother has made her own bed, time and again-- and she's never really lain in it." All this makes Beth's mother a difficult character to like or even trust-- the opposite of her daughter.

With a dead body, a missing census taker, and worries that her kidnapper is on his way to Benedict, Beth has a lot on her plate, and Shelton does an excellent job of ratcheting up the suspense. The author has also shown what a good support system Beth has, and once she begins to share her story with her friends, it's a system that will only get stronger-- and I feel that it's going to be a crucial factor in the books to come. When will there be a showdown between Beth and her kidnapper? Write faster, Paige!

Dark Night by Paige Shelton
eISBN: 9781250796288
Minotaur Books © 2021
eBook, 288 pages
 
Amateur Sleuth, #3 Alaska Wild mystery
Rating: A
Source: Net Galley

17 comments:

  1. This sounds like an interesting story. I like stories in settings like these. Lots of interesting quirky characters.

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    1. Yes. I wouldn't mind living there part of the year if it were a real place.

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  2. Hmm...I might have a tough time beginning this series, Cathy, because I find it hard to read books where characters are tortured, even if they escape and begin to heal. That said, I like the setting for this one, and the idea of slowly fitting in to a new place. The mystery sounds good, too. Hm..I'll have to think about this.

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    1. Will it help if I tell you that the torture is only implied and never "spelled out"? In fact, it's seldom even mentioned.

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  3. I need to catch up with this series!

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  4. I'm excited to read this one. I really enjoyed the previous two books in this series. :)

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    1. I really like what Shelton is doing with this series.

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  5. This series does sound interesting. Those who live through the dark winters in the remote parts of Alaska are amazing to me. The characters sound unique too.

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    1. They are, and I'm looking forward to learning more about them in future books.

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  6. Another interesting series to look into. Alaska settings are always fun to imagine myself in, so this one's going to get a closer look.

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    1. Shelton makes a very good transition from cozy writer to thriller writer.

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  7. I just saw Paige Shelton at the PP and am going to tru the first book in this series, although I, too, don't like to read about abuse of women. But I'll take your word for it about the degree of this in the book. I liked the writer and will give the first book in the Alaska Wild series a chance. Glad that you like it.

    So much to read (sigh). The more I read this blog and others and watch PP interviews, the more I want to read.

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    1. I had a knitting/PP marathon Tuesday to catch up on the events I hadn't had a chance to watch. Of course, Paige's was one of them.

      Paige is an experienced cozy writer, so she does a very good job of implying what happened to Bath without going into anything resembling lurid detail.

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  8. Good. I may even try a cozy of hers. (shocking!)

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    1. Kathy D., Cozy Reader?!? Should I start worrying about you?

      Honestly though, I've found that well-written cozies are good palate cleansers for the grittier mysteries I read-- and don't mean to belittle cozies by saying that.

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  9. Well, it never hurts to try a library book. Nothing lost, perhaps something gained. We have the library right next my house and I love going through the catalogue.
    Right now I'm reading "The Necklace," a good book only available in the library's Overdrive system. So I'm online reading.

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