When the Stars Go Dark by Paula McLain @randomhouse #paulamclain #libraryreads #suspense #audiobooks #bookblogger #bookreviewer

Susanne’s Review:

Taut, Terrifying and Realistic.

So darn good, scary, and realistic, it gave me heart palpitations! If this isn’t on your TBR Add It Now!

The Year is 1993: The Place is Mendocino, California.

A Detective with a troubled past returns to the place she once called home: Mendocino and the place where Cameron, a local teenage girl has been abducted. Detective Anna Hart is a missing person detective in San Francisco. Now she’s in the right place at the right time and can assist Will, the Sheriff of Mendocino, who also happens to be an old friend, in the search for the missing girl.

Cameron is not the first, nor will she be the last girl to be taken from the surrounding area. The story opens with the abduction of Polly Klaas which took center stage in real life and in “When the Stars Go Dark.” Somehow, Paula McClain was able to weave fact and fiction together both beautifully and tragically.

As the investigation continues, tensions mount, and hearts break.

Here, the timeline flips back and forth between past and present. That is, Anna Hart’s past and present, as Anna’s past has a lot to do with her current line of work and the demons she faces every day. The time period this novel takes place in has a major impact on the way this story is told as well as the outcome of it.

Brilliantly plotted, taut, and extremely suspenseful, this slow-burn mystery suspense was both hard to listen to and hard to put down.

The worst part for me in listening to this was simply knowing that children are abducted and assaulted every day.

I listened to the audiobook version of this which was narrated by the stupendous Marin Ireland. If you are looking for an extremely important and relevant mystery/suspense to read and enjoy, I highly recommend “When Stars Go Dark” by Paula McLain.

Thank you to my local library for loaning me a copy.

Published on Goodreads, Twitter, and Instagram.