The book contains an appearance of the 1957 children's novel David and the Phoenix by Edward Ormondroyd, a book of which Weber is a fan. I'm caught up now in Karen Rose's "Cincinnati Series." Whew -- after two in a row of her over-sized books, I'm frazzled by the intensity of the last two books. And once again, totally satisfied and excited for what comes next. But first, I have two more catch-ups in another of Rose's series. fivestarread #contemporaryfiction #crime #domesticdrama #policeprocedural #psychologicalthriller #suspense The premise was structured alternatingly in between past and current, from the pre-days before the Holden went missing to the aftermath that was told in multiple perspectives— Piper Holden (wife of the missing family), Julianne Hillier (a best friend and a neighbour to Piper), DC Anguish (the investigation officer) and few other secondary POVs, it was somehow easy to deduce who is the suspect(s) but I was totally engrossed on the crime process and its exploration; the motive(s), who else knows about it, what secret more to reveal and moreover, the DC was such an interesting character to me— his past and obsession were intimidating yet I love his investigative perspective. I wish his interaction with Blue (I love her character, she’s a doctor with narcolepsy condition) towards the case can be more thorough, it was too minimal and not as evocative as I hoped.

This book had all the promises but failed in the end. I have no idea what type of ending that was or it you can even call it an ending. Felt unfinished, a lot of unanswered questions very very questionable police practice which I was not a fan of. AND THEN there is the small matter of 7 dismembered bodies being dragged out of the local river, some with signs of being tortured prior to them being killed. Who was responsible and why?

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Now from the outside looking in it feels creepy. A new DS to the area, Saul Anguish is put on the case and soon finds that things do not add up. All of these characters are hiding something, there are so many secrets and lies your head will be spinning.⁣ Into the Dark by Fiona Cummins is a delicious psychological thriller with more twists than a cheese twistie! The story is meticulously plotted and there’s never a dull moment. When it comes to romantic suspense this author is definitely in my top five so I always know that I'm going to get a well written story with a twisting plot that keeps me holding my breath. This particular book not only has a vigilante killer who is almost like the Angel of death but also the romance that regular readers have been waiting for because it's Dani and Diesel !

The timeline revolves around the disappearance – days before; hours before; and weeks before; with each jump Cummins is able to give us a different glimpse into their lives, their interactions, actions and…..secrets. One late autumn morning, Piper’s best friend arrives at Seawings to discover an eerie scene – the kettle is still warm, all the family’s phones are charging on the worktop, the cars are in the garage. But the house is deserted. There were a lot of heartbreaking moments here since Michael was the victim of abuse. Diesel has his own story to tell, and he helped Michael deal with the feelings of guilt, shame and anger. Beginning with DS Anguish - I was suspicious from the get go - familiar - I’ll let you figure that out - breadcrumbs are there for readers of The Collector however if you have not read Fiona Cummins Bone Collector series that is not going to diminish your experience with this book. Dive in head first and don’t come up for air. Not all that odd except that - the coffee is still hot, the toast is on the counter, the families phones are charging on the counter, school bags are ready to go and there is not a soul in sight. The Holden family have seemingly disappeared without a trace…

Let’s take a look at the terrain first, as, in my opinion, the Space Hulk set is really the star of the show here. The Gallowdark is represented as a modular wall system, that depicts the decaying remains of an imperial spaceship. There are doors, ventilation pipes, arcane technical equipment, control screens, and of course skulls without end. There’s an insane amount of plastic in the box so you can fill the board tightly with terrain, and the moving doors and accessories bring it to life. The next three big Kill Team boxes will expand the system even more, and I’m very excited to see what else is coming. In the Gallowdark lore, it is hinted that some of the parts of the Space Hulk are made up of Chaos, Tyranid and Aeldari ships, so there are many expansion possibilities here. Gallowdark terrain unboxing: 4 x 2 large sprues of plastic Diesel knows the only woman for him is Dani but the hiv positive doctor just keeps pushing him away. Things come crashing to a head though when Diesel needs Dani to help him communicate with the damaged and very scared Michael. Dani cannot conceive how anyone could hurt either of the two adorable brothers and agrees to temporarily foster them whilst the police investigate the murder but none of them have any idea just how many the killer has targeted and in his twisted mind he sees Michael as his newest target !

Into the Dark is the fifth instalment in the Cincinnati series and is the most gripping and absorbing so far. There is no problem with jumping into the series in this book although you will probably not want to miss the preceding book as this is romantic suspense at its best. The plot follows two brothers, Michael and Joseph, who happen to be there to witness a man being bundled into the boot of a car never to be seen again; they then find themselves in grave danger by the very same person as they have seen the face of a dangerous vigilante who does not intend to be disturbed from his disturbing "duty". Away from the primary plotline, the developing will they-won't they relationship between Diesel Kennedy and our feisty heroine Dr Dani Novak continues. Following a criminal carrying out his own system of vigilante justice, we see just how warped different people viewing the exact same event can become. He’d wanted her to eat nutritious meals, to afford the electricity bill without having to choose between rent or heat, to not barter the secret parts of herself in exchange for dirty notes, touches by lustful fingers. But while she had sometimes attempted to do what he’d asked of her, she’d been unable to resist the siren song of liquid oblivion." That being said, I absolutely loved the setting of this one and some of the twists were definitely able to blow me away. I struggled to follow the jumping timeline occasionally and didn’t connect with any of the characters. I couldn’t see anything special in DS Anguish, if anything he gives me really bad vibes. However, if another book was published with his character I would definitely read it to see if I could gather more insight. It feels like this story isn’t over and it definitely left me wanting more! I think the authors previous book just left such a high bar for me that it would never have been met!

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Diesel has loved Dani from the moment he set eyes on her 18 months ago, in her free clinic helping disadvantaged and under privileged people who need her help. But she has always pushed him away and told him that they can't be together. Karen Rose is a proficient writer whose play of words soon caught my interest. This book was part of a series, and I knew nobody, hence I concentrated solely on the murders. Dani and Diesel were highly complexed characters. It was nice to see Diesel accept Dani even with her medical situation. I enjoyed their conversations as baggage of the past was soon unloaded. Diesel has always been a bit of a mystery and his silent affection for Dr. Dani thoroughly enchanting. And to see her reciprocate was a beautiful thing. Together these two are downright delightful even with all their personal baggage. They are captivating and interesting characters without a doubt. There are other strands that run alongside these two main stories - such as Grant Masterson and his missing siblings. It all ties up nicely in the end though.

THE CRIME: The gilded Holden family - Piper and Gray and their two teenage children, Riva and Artie - has vanished from the house without a trace. Fourteen-year-old Michael witnesses the murder of his stepfather. His stepfather was a pedophile and abused Michael, so I wasn’t too broken up over his death. My heart truly went out to Michael growing up with a neglectful, selfish mother. She didn’t even bother to learn sign language even though Michael was deaf from birth. On top of all that, she marries an abusive asshole leaving her kids vulnerable! This story held some heartbreaking triggers. When children are involved, crime always seems doubly horrifying. And Michael and his little brother were such marvels. One deaf and the other dependent on his older brother. Their circumstances shredded my heart and their journey to safety enthralling for every single minute. Michael Rowland has been terrorized and abused in his own home for some time, but one night, his sleazy step-dad goes after his five year old brother and Michael moves heaven and earth to get Joshua to safety. Their flight deters one situation, but forces Michael to witness a murder. At the coaxing of young Josh, Michael places his trust in Josh's soccer coach, Diesel Kennedy, and Michael's high school friend Greg's sister, Dr. Dani Novak. He is hearing impaired, but he is determined to keep his brother safe and keep them together no matter what. Coach and Dr. Dani are the first people in his life to give whole-heartedly and care for him as much as Joshua. But a killer is out there who knows Michael saw him that nig There are 2 main characters Piper and Julianne who are best friends. Piper is the one who goes missing . The story centres around both their families. Most of the characters are dark and evil.

Julianne Hillier and Piper Holden have been friends since their daughters were young. Both have, what appears to be a perfect family, a successful husband, one son and one daughter each. Both attractive and financially comfortable, the two women go for a run each morning. On the morning this novel opens, Julianne jogs up to the Holdens beautiful house, Seawings, but Piper does not, as usual, open the door. The cleaner appears and opens the door, but the sight that is revealed is mystifying. There are open schoolbags by the door, phones charging on the counter, doors on the drive and in the garage, even the smell of breakfast being prepared, but no sign of Gray or Piper Holden, or their children Riva and Artie, apart from a message on a mirror and a misting of what appears to be blood on the chandelier…. Secondly. DON'T let the fact it's book 5 in the series bother you, genuinely you will want to read Books 1-4 after finishing 'Into The Dark', that is guarenteed, but you don't need prior knowledge to be reading the fifth in the Cincinatti series.