DebJpole “In all man is evil sleeping; the good man is he who will not awaken it, in himself or in other men.” – Mary Renault
So this is the sequel to A Deeper Darkness – a previous review and features Dr Samantha Owens, Xander and Detective Fletcher as well as a whole host of different characters along the way.
We start where we left off, Dr Samantha Owens has left her home in Nashville and upped sticks to live in the mountains with her lover Xander Whitfield, and she is feeling better for it!
“Running away from Nashville had been the smartest move she’d ever made.”
She has a new job in D.C. and is succeeding in it. That is until one of her pupils falls seriously ill and now she has a different demon to face.
“Is it possible to ever really start over? To find yourself after a tragedy? How do you measure the pain you’ve experienced, and know what is appropriate and what isn’t?”
Detective Fletcher phones Sam and updates her, there’s a killer on the loser; armed and ready, this killer has unleashed an invisible yet dangerous pathogen into the Washington Metro. With two hundred people exhibiting symptoms but only three dead, something isn’t quite right.
“She could only hope that the damage would be minimal. To all of them.”
After being asked to consult on the case, she dissects all of the unlikely connections between each of the three victims and sure enough it becomes clear that this isn’t a random attack. It’s targeted.
“Someone was lying to him. He just didn’t know who. Or why.”
Xander sees life in shades of grey, not in black and white. As a former army ranger and a man of knowledge, Xander’s ties to the killer will lead to the truth but will it be too late?
“Grief changes you…it mutates your soul, your emotions, your thoughts. Green becomes yellow, the sun disappears from the sky, and your lifelong convictions no longer seem to matter.”
As Sam closes in on the killer and their identity, the truth may lead her into a life risking situation.
“And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.”
This is a killer with motives which are deeply personal and ingrained into his being. This killer has motives which are from from understandable. Is there any way to reason with them?
“They would interfere with the people next. The evil-loving societies, and their desire to be sheep, led to the slaughter. They didn’t care. They wanted to be fattened and allowed to live their useless little lives, with their cars and electric toys and drugs and sex. They were an abomination. They epitomised sin. They reveled in their greed and sloth and envy. He’d fallen prey to one of the seven deadlies himself, been captured by the bonds of lust…”
Imminent danger follows them everywhere. Will Sam, Xander and Fletcher be able to track down the killer and stop him before any more people become targets of his well laid poisonous plans?
“Temptation. A concept you don’t understand. We are bound by temptation. We are burned in hell for it. We must cleanse ourselves of our sins and be reborn in the image of our father.”
Wow oh wow does JT Ellison keep getting better and better! I genuinely couldn’t put this book down! Super eager to finish it. Even better than A Deeper Darkness this is a must read sequel and with more books to follow, I can’t wait to find out more about Samantha Owens and the tales that surround her!
If this is the perfect read for you, check it out on Amazon now!
Keep an eye out for the next book and sequel in the Dr Samantha Owens Series, When Shadows Fall.
Until next time,
Keep reading,
D x
