UNTIL DARK
Mariah Stewart
Ballantine
ISBN 0-345-44740-9
December 2003
Romantic Suspense
Kendra Smith is an independent sketch artist for several law enforcement agencies including the FBI. She has taken time off to head home and spend some time restoring her ancestral home, a house that in the past has brought so much sadness. Kendra is from a prominent New Jersey family, her mother having served as a US Senator until her death. She has experienced an enormous amount of sorrow in her life, largely due to events involving her close family that were of a tragic nature. This includes the death of her mother which was ruled a suicide.
The work on the house pretty much complete, Kendra has received a message from the Bureau indicating it's time for her to return to work. She is told to expect a package and the package arrives in the form of Special Agent Adam Stark, a man that Kendra once had a promising relationship with. Adam has brought information that will enable Kendra to sketch an accurate profile of the "Soccer Mom Serial Killer".
The Soccer Mom serial killer is a horrendous case that has both Kendra and Adam on edge and neither is aware of just how difficult it will become. The serial killer is behind the scenes, not only destroying the lives of other innocent people but preparing to wreak havoc on Kendra's life as well.
Now at this point you'll notice I haven't said a lot about Adam and Kendra. It's because their initial relationship was very short-lived due to one of the tragedies I mentioned. I can tell you the two were very interested in each other but the timing for pursuing a more permanent involvement was all wrong. Adam is still stuck on Kendra and she on him. UNTIL DARK is a story best not told through this review summary. It is a riveting, edge of the seat suspense, with an incidental romance.
There are two things the reader will need in order to get through this book. A large box of kleenex and a medium size bottle of Pepto Bismal. What I'm saying is, this story will make you cry and at the same time turn your stomach. The serial killer is a disgusting animal, described in vivid details by the author. UNTIL DARK is not a story for the weak. In fact I'm not sure that putting this review in the "romantic suspense" section is a good idea. Kendra and Adams romance is sweet and the explanations for why it's been on hold for so long are understandable and not really brought to a "happy ever after" ending. It's overshadowed by the horror of Kendra's unexpected connection to the serial killer. The scenario of long on suspense and short on romance will come as no surprise to fans of Mariah Stewart, and takes nothing away from an excellent book. UNTIL DARK is a must buy, but just be prepared for the unsettling circumstances that occur among it's pages.
