Thank you to Netgally, the publishers, and Linda Cotton Jeffries

When I requested this book I was unaware that it was apart of a series, one that requires you to read the previous books for this one to make sense. I am unable to read all the previous books along with this one before the publish date. Therefore, I will rate this a fair 3/5 stars and will adjust the rating and review when I am able to read all the books in the series along with this one.

*5 Stars*

Copy kindly received via NetGalley for an honest review.

A very good read with great characters.What Audrey, Sandy & Oscar went through was horrific. Not just for them, but their family and friends. Julius didn't go about things the right way even though it was out of love. Things turned out really well for some characters and some got quite the surpise ending.

I really enjoyed this story, and I think the author's approach to giving multiple POVs was much better than in the first book. I found that there was less of what felt like pointless repetition of situations and scenes in this. When we'd switch to another character's perspective, we would either continue on with the story, or their perspective of a situation we just read through would actually add to the story. Definitely made it more enjoyable!

Some of the specific details about the police and court side of things felt a bit unrealistic in the way of seeming a bit simplified to help the story flow, but I didn't find that it took away from things.

Picturing The Dark in the second book in the Audrey Markum series by American author, Linda Cotton Jeffries. Some months after her traumatic ordeal at the hands of a recently-released convict with a grudge, photographer Audrey Markum has recovered physically, but is still in the grip of PTSD, persistent however hard she tries to overcome it. It has worsened as Gary Adams’s trial draws closer: Audrey knows she will have to take the witness stand.

What has helped to distract her, apart from shooting wedding photographs, and crime scene photography for the Pittsburgh PD, is spending time with her friend Sandy Wilder-Jones and her darling four-month-old twin girls, Martha and Rose. Exhaustion has finally convinced Sandy to seek daycare at their church-run child care centre, two mornings a week.

It’s during a fire drill that Rose goes missing, and when one of the care assistants later disappears, it becomes clear that this is a well-planned abduction. But there’s been no ransom demand, so what is Rosey’s fate? When the care assistant’s body turns up in the river, finding Rose suddenly becomes a whole lot more challenging. Audrey’s boyfriend, Rod and his PD colleague Smitty don’t intend to rest until they do.

Because the reader is aware from the start exactly who has Rose Wilder-Jones, and how and why, this is more of a slow-burn police procedural than a mystery, with the unique perspective of a hearing-impaired protagonist whose eye for detail comes in handy several times. Watching the detectives uncover significant clues, and cheering them on as they track down the kidnapper, keeps the pages turning.

In this instalment, Cotton Jeffries expands the background of the core cast as well as developing the romance between Rod and Audrey. PTSD, depression and OCD, infertility and grief all form part of this well-thought-out plot. The court case is a bit sketchy, but the appealing characters more than make up for any deficiency.

This is a gripping addition to the crime/romance genre. There is enough recap that it can probably stand alone, but that recap by necessity includes spoilers for the first book in the series. Again the eye-catching cover design might attract readers, but it’s the well-written contents that will have them hoping for a third instalment that features this cast of characters. An excellent sequel.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Sunbury Press.

This was a quick, fast paced enjoyable read that was good for a little break in between books for me. If you are one for the details and want a lot of believability to the story, I do not suggest this for you. Some of the dialogue was corny and the police procedure aspect of this was off. For instance, anyone close or related to the family of a missing child would not be allowed to work the case in any way. Also, the court proceedings would have been way more in depth than they were and way more objections would have been called, as well as the side bars. That didn't bother me but again, if your one for the details it may bother you a bit. That said, there wasn't much character development going on here which I would have loved since the two protagonists were highly likeable. There were two stories going on in this and both were solid that I wanted more of. This was entertaining and just what I needed at the moment. Three Stars.

Thank you Netgalley and Sunbury Press, Inc. for this ARC.

I was reading this book and all of a sudden I'm thinking hey this character sounds familiar?! What a great surprise! The book before this one was one heck of a book! This book was pretty awesome too! It had suspense, intrigue, action, kidnapping, murder, great police work and so many crazy twists and turns! The storyline was very interesting and had me glued to my Kindle! I definitely recommend reading this book as it was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!