Meg Gardiner | INTO THE BLACK NOWHERE

Plot (via Goodreads):

In southern Texas, on Saturday nights, women are disappearing. One vanishes from a movie theater. Another is ripped from her car at a stoplight. Another vanishes from her home while checking on her baby. Rookie FBI agent Caitlin Hendrix, newly assigned to the FBI's elite Behavioral Analysis Unit, fears that a serial killer is roaming the dark roads outside Austin.

Caitlin and the FBI's serial crime unit discover the first victim's body in the woods. She's laid out in a bloodstained, white baby-doll nightgown. A second victim in a white nightie lies deeper in the forest's darkness. Both bodies are surrounded by Polaroid photos, stuck in the earth like headstones. Each photo pictures a woman in a white negligee, wrists slashed, suicide-style--posed like Snow White awaiting her prince's kiss. 

To track the UNSUB, Caitlin must get inside his mind. How is he selecting these women? Working with a legendary FBI profiler, Caitlin searches for a homology--that elusive point where character and action come together. She profiles a confident, meticulous killer who convinces his victims to lower their guard until he can overpower and take them in plain sight. He then reduces them to objects in a twisted fantasy--dolls for him to possess, control, and ultimately destroy. Caitlin's profile leads the FBI to focus on one man: a charismatic, successful professional who easily gains people's trust. But with only circumstantial evidence linking him to the murders, the police allow him to escape. As Saturday night approaches, Caitlin and the FBI enter a desperate game of cat and mouse, racing to capture the cunning predator before he claims more victims.

Review:

Okay, Meg Gardiner. UNSUB was easily one of the most addictive and exciting serial killer/police procedural novels I have ever read. I find her work to be a combination of Patricia Cornwell and Thomas Harris...and I am obsessed. Her characters are amazing, the plot is tightly woven and well executed, and the plot twists are something spectacular. 

Then came along INTO THE BLACK NOWHERE and my expectations of Gardiner's novels easily were exceeded. This novel was gripping from the first chapter. Easily one of my favorite protagonists, Caitlin Hendrix is back and this time the plot is just as twisted and even more chilling. With UNSUB, I loved Gardiner's writing and found it to be an extremely enjoyable novel. Now, with crime fiction there's almost an unspoken outline of what is to come. Brutal murder, meet the protagonist, play cat and mouse, then the deadly finale. While UNSUB fell into that outline, it was still enjoyable and Gardiner's writing is a step above most authors writing novels that fall into this genre. With this one, the gloves are off. 

INTO THE BLACK NOWHERE starts off with a chilling bang and I was immediately immersed in this dark and rather gripping plot. Gardiner does not hold back with the grotesque details and really gets into the mind of not only Caitlin Hendrix, but the killer as well. I found this novel made me incredibly wound up. I was immediately suspicious of everyone. After reading UNSUB, I kind of go into Gardiner's work like I am watching a horror movie sequel in a franchise. No one is safe and no one is innocent. It's the kind of novel that drags you to the edge of your seat and holds you hostage until the final page...and that's just the surface. The characters in this novel are so well-written and I love how Gardiner gives you an inside look into not only some of the victims and smaller characters, but a gripping look into the killers perspective as well.

I can honestly say that the UNSUB series is now my favorite series. I cannot wait for more Caitlin Hendrix. I cannot wait for more Meg Gardiner. One thing I really enjoy about this series is that Gardiner features serial killers based on actual events. The epilogue to this one was enchanting, giving the reader a little inside look as to what the third novel could be about. I cannot wait.

*Special thanks to my friends at Dutton Books for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This title releases on January 30, 2018.

Rating: 5/5