When the Stars Go Dark
Paula McLain
Rave
Positive
Mixed
Pan
When the Stars Go Dark
Paula McLain
Rave
Positive
Mixed
Pan
Rave
Positive
Mixed
Pan
... a thoughtful exploration of the rippling impact of early trauma, perfect for true-crime aficionados and fans of Law & Order: SVU who find themselves eager to challenge the genre’s laser focus on perpetrator psychology over victimology.
... lures you into engaging with the story lest you miss a moment of its well-wrought beats. This is a haunting, intelligent novel for the discerning reader; the thinking man’s page-turner; a riveting crime-detective story.
McLain’s story line is fueled by pure high anxiety.
Anna’s trauma as well as that of earlier victims, and the hunt for Cameron and for Polly, entwine to immerse readers in a misty world of pain, longing, and sometimes victory and redemption. McLain offers readers flashes of insight—watch out for personal blind spots, for example, as what’s too close to see might be what’s most perilous—that will linger after the last, tension-packed pages of this thoughtful work..
This melancholy but gripping tale uses backstory and flashbacks to propel the mystery forward. Part suspense, part self-discovery tale, this first attempt at crime fiction from historical fiction author McLain is hard to resist. Fans of the author’s other works will not be disappointed..
... stunning.
... the stage seems set for a predictable serial killer hunt. But McLain largely avoids that well-trodden path to craft instead a psychological thriller that deftly evokes both the entrancing landscape of the Mendocino hills and the rough terrain of shattered lives.