A Map of the Dark: A Novel

Karen Ellis

Nov 2018 · Hachette+ORM

About this eBook

A race-against-time thriller for fans of Tana French and Megan Abbott: To save a missing girl, FBI Agent Elsa Myers may have to lose herself.

Even as her father lies dying in a hospital north of New York City, FBI Agent Elsa Myers can't ignore a call for help. A teenage girl has disappeared from Forest Hills, Queens, and during the critical first hours of the case, a series of false leads obscures the fact that she did not go willingly.

As the hours tick by, the hunt for the girl deepens into a search for a man who may have been killing for years. Elsa's carefully compartmentalized world begins to collapse around her. She can find missing people, but she knows too well how it feels to be lost.

Everything she has buried -- her fraught relationship with her sister and niece, her self-destructive past, her mother's death -- threatens to resurface, with devastating consequences. Can our most painful childhood secrets be forgotten? Or will they always find their way back into our adult lives? These questions lie at the heart of A Map of the Dark, a riveting portrait of a woman haunted by her family legacy, and a race-against-time thriller.

Ratings and reviews

A Map of the Dark has a solid mystery at its core, one that has the potential to be both gripping and chilling. At times it is exactly that, but for much of the book, it gets lost in Elsa's story. Don't get me wrong, her backstory is an interesting one in its own right, but I felt like the author was unsure of the direction this book wanted to take. I enjoy getting to know the characters, particularly if they are going to be main players in a series, but I really wanted more of the case in this one. I did like that Elsa is far from perfect, she works hard to keep her past and her flaws hidden, but they come through little by little. Her partner for this case, Lex, was likable and became even more so by book's end. There is an interesting twist at the end, one that I saw coming, but the surprise for me was a particular character's reaction to that twist. In the end, I felt like this one had some unrealized potential, but it was worth the read, and I'll be interested to see where this series goes from here.

I was really excited when I read the blurb on this book and thought it would be a nice change with some suspense and action. well the intrigue was ok but that wasn't what was really expounded on in this story. i mean yeah the search but. . . Anyway it ends up being about this dysfunctional agent and the issues she had going on in her personal life along with the unhealthy habits. So overall it's a decent story just not what I was expecting. I had a hard time connecting with the characters or even feeling any of the suspense or excitement that should have occurred. It's the first time I have read this author and while it wasn't a bad read it's just not my cup of tea.

Loved this book! So emotional and dark, yet the main character, an FBI agent, who is troubled and stumbling through the nightmare of locating a serial killer, at the same time trying to accept and deal with her own personal issues and tragedies, makes this an addicting read. Don’t miss this one!

About the author

Novelist Karen Ellis lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her family. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers.