In The Dark: from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Close to Home

Cara Hunter

Jul 2018 · DI Fawley Book 2 · Penguin UK

About this ebook

Do you know what they're hiding in the house next door?
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'Your next riveting, twisty read!' Shari Lapena
'Twist follows twist at a breath-taking pace' Daily Mail
'The new queen of the cliffhanger' John Marrs

A woman and child are found locked in a basement room, barely alive.

No one knows who they are - the woman can't speak, and there are no missing persons reports that match their profile. The elderly man who owns the house claims he has never seen them before.

The inhabitants of the quiet Oxford street are in shock. How could this happen right under their noses? But DI Adam Fawley knows that nothing is impossible.

And that no one is as innocent as they seem . . .

The second twisty, up-all-night thriller from the Sunday Times bestselling Cara Hunter. For fans of Shari Lapena, Claire Douglas and Lisa Jewell.

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Authors can't get enough of In the Dark

'Cancel everything. You're not going anywhere until you finish reading' Emily Koch, Keep Him Close

'Classy, agile, fresh, unpredictable and utterly compelling' Nicci French, The Unheard

'A real gripper of a read' Peter James, Picture You Dead

'One of the best crime thrillers I have ever read' Kathryn Croft, The Lying Wife

'Kept me up into the late hours. Clever and wonderfully complex!' Jane Corry, We All Have Our Secrets

'Cara Hunter is a brilliant plotter, but it's her masterfully drawn characters that really make her novels stand out' Rachel Abbott, Close Your Eyes

'A twisty, utterly compulsive read with an ending you won't see coming. I gobbled it up in one satisfying sitting' Emma Kavanagh, The Devil You Know

And readers are loving this series, too

'All hail the new queen of all things crime' Penny, Netgalley

'Mind-bending brilliance' Kath, Netgalley

'Packed full of twists' Gary, Netgalley

'Definitely for fans of Lisa Gardner, Karin Slaughter and the like' Fiona, Netgalley

'Captivating: full of mystery, tension, moral dilemma . . . outstanding' Peter, Netgalley

'This series just gets better and better' Tina, Netgalley

Ratings and reviews

I was pleased to see that the format of the previous book in the DI Adam Fawley series followed the format of the first with no clear chapters but rather broken in to descriptive prose of the events and the investigation with snippets of the media surrounding the case and excerpts from transcripts of interviews with various suspects and witnesses. Somehow the author manages to bring the investigative side to the fore and thoroughly absorbs you in it - sadly I see a whole slew of copycats emulating her style and, likely, failing. Nothing is what it seems in this tale. It seems so cut and dried in the beginning - young woman and her child locked in a cellar, the owner of the house has Alzheimer's and his responsibility is severely impaired. The only real question is how long has he kept her prisoner and why. The investigation takes a darker turn when the police realise that the garden is overlooked by the former home of a local reporter who went missing 2 years ago and is presumed dead. When a body is found in the garden it soon looks like this is far darker than kidnapping and imprisonment. There are plenty of twists and turns in this book and a large cast of civilian characters. Like their Constabulary counterparts the characters are drawn sparingly but still manage to exist on the page as fully fleshed people. However. this is not a tale about the people - even the lead character has only sparing detail about his personality and home life (although, we do find out much more about him in this book) - this is all about the investigation and the little things that can make or break the case for the team. The things they miss, the things they notice all bring about a cohesive whole. This is a gripping read that is hard to put down with twists and turns being crafted rather than just appearing by some deductive leap. For me, being able to figure things out based on logic and reasoning makes it a far better read than the denouement being reached by some miraculous deductive leap (even Sherlock Holmes always had a sound reason for his leaps of deductive prowess) which seems to be all to prevalent in the genre these days. I am looking forward to the third book being published and hopeful that Ms Hunter can continue in the same vein.

recently read and thoroughly enjoyed "Close To Home." The second novel forces you to focus and switch on your brain to high alert. The Adam Fawley team are back again. I love the rapport and dark humour between the team members. On this occasion, they discover a young girl and child falsely imprisoned in a cellar. Immediately it reminds you of the Stockholm syndrome and the case of Elizabeth Fritzel in Austria except this young girl is not related to the owner of the house. Slavery then comes to mind. The team have to work out what has been happening. It's not as straightforward as it seems as the plot develops. It's a winding road all the way through. It's a story of lies, revenge and betrayal and it's an exceptionally unusual case. I got nowhere near guessing the outcome. It's brilliantly written and compelling. What impressed me was how one character gave an excellent definition of the difference between a sociopath and a psychopath including gender differences. It is something that I have not been able to distinguish even after research, but now I have discovered the missing links that have evaded me. A gasp-like WOW ending!!!! Massive thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Books UK.

A really brilliant read. Loved the use of informal language and page layouts. Also, as the story unfolds the reader really isn't sure who the culprit is. The ending fabous. A must read. I've never read any of Cara Hunters work before but I will in the future, and considering this is only her 2nd book I think she's got a great writing career ahead.

About the author

Cara Hunter is the author of the Sunday Times bestselling crime novels Close to Home, In the Dark, No Way Out, All the Rage and The Whole Truth all featuring DI Adam Fawley and his Oxford-based police team. Close to Home was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick and was shortlisted for Crime Book of the Year in the British Book Awards 2019. No Way Out was selected by the Sunday Times as one of the 100 best crime novels since 1945. And The Whole Truth was a Richard and Judy pick in 2021. Cara's novels have sold more than a million copies worldwide, and the TV rights to the series have now been acquired by the Fremantle group. She lives in Oxford, on a street not unlike those featured in her books.